Thankfulness and Cuteness

I'm going to start with the Thankfulness because that is what is on my heart and mind. This past week we have gotten some very encouraging and GREAT news from the doctor's about baby Noah! We are so very happy to report that the little guy has broken his arrhythmia and his heart is beating in completely normal sinus rhythm, at a normal rate of 130-140! For the past 4 weeks he has been beating in the 130's consistently at our ultrasounds, which is always nice to hear, but we were hesitant to jump the gun and assume that Noah had broken the arrhythmia before we saw Dr. G. So yesterday we had our fetal echo and saw her and she said that he looked perfect! His heart did not have any extra beats and was normal-sized, with no fluid build-up. This does not mean that the underlying problem is not still there- we won't know that for sure until he is here and they can run all of the tests that they need to be able to determine that, but it does mean that he can grow comfortably and we can be at ease that his heart is not going to hinder his development. We know that his life is in God's hands and He is doing wonderful things for our little boy! Thank you for the prayers- I've said it before, but they are working!

Several people have asked what the "plan" is and, to be honest, we aren't 100% sure ourselves. We have been told that the latest we will go is 37 weeks. At that point, Noah will be considered full term and the doctors would like to get me off all of the medication and get him out to start treating him directly. I don't know yet if it will be a normal delivery or a c-section- my OB won't really commit to an answer and just says "We'll see." What we do know is that he will go to the NICU immediately for heart tests, and that he will probably have a longer than normal hospital stay. It will take 7-14 days for the medicine that is in him at birth to clear his system, which the doctors need for it to do so that they can determine the problem and the best way to treat it. It makes me sad to know that he will have to stay in the hospital and that he won't get to come home when I do, but I know that it is what is best for him and his health and that is my number one priority. So, instead of thinking about that, I just think of all of the great progress we have made and hearing Dr. G say that he has broken his arrhythmia and it makes me happy again :)

Onto the Cuteness!

I was in SA this past weekend for a family baby shower for Noah given by my sisters and mom and got to hang out a lot with the fam. Jackson started basketball and had his first game on Saturday and was just too cute!

Little #13- his jersey was humongo on him, which made it even cuter!

My adorable diaper cake with lots of fun toys on it that Karen (sister #2) made

In case you ever wondered what it was like opening baby gifts with 4 little girls under the age of 6 around...wonder no more- that's pretty much what it's like. I got lots of help :)

Terri (sister #1) and Karen (sister #2) and me (at 29 weeks!)

Missing: Courtney (sister #3) and Mom (she had SWINE FLU. No joke)

And, finally, I inherited this little beauty from Terri and Jackson! Noah will look so cute eating in it!

Tomorrow is my work shower, so I'm sure there will be more cuteness to be had! So exciting!

PS if you think about it, please say a prayer for Ben- he has pneumonia and has been on medicine for a while now and just isn't quite shaking feeling crummy. He's going back to the doctor this week and would really appreciate prayers for him to get better!