It's time! Six oclock and we are Eastbound!

It's been a long week of mostly sleepless nights. Bethany had consistent contractions for most of thursday and friday, but they subsided in time for us to get some much needed sleep last night. We've been in contact with the OB Triage at UofM today, and they confirmed our induction on the docket for tomorrow. We can't believe the day is finally here! So it looks like tomorrow evening we'll be heading that way to get things started. We never had any idea how stressful the past few weeks would be, with the stress of making sure that we're in Ann Arbor for the birth, etc... So it's with a lot of people's support and a very clear reminder of God's faithfullness to give mercy for the day, that we are finally heading east. We approach impending pain with reminders of God's grace in full view.

Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full...

Well, we went to U of M monday night and walked around for a few hours to try to get to active labor. They sent us home at 4am. Although we're scheduled for induction this following monday, they felt it was too soon and that we weren't quite ready. The experience exhausted us, made us long a little more for next monday, and made us a little more aware of how miserable it will be to live in a hospital for several weeks. At least our dog was happy to see us again.

Put a fork in her folks, she's done.

Today's appointment with our Lansing OB, Dr. Guerin, was encouraging, with news that Bethany seems to be progressing toward labor quite well for a 38 weeker. The baby has "dropped", and Bethany is ready. So, why wait a week to induce if a little castor oil and brisk walking will do the trick? So, contractions are increasing, and it looks like we might be driving to Ann Arbor tonight!

Complicated Complications

It's been a stressful week. Lots of changes and ups and downs with "plans." Our OB's office in Ann Arbor gave us advice that conflicted with our previous visit, which was cleared up and we were again reassured after talking with our OB here in Lansing that induction was the best option. Then, with concerns of hightened blood pressure and possibly elevated protein levels in her urine, Bethany went in to get some tests done concerning preeclampsia (toxemia). So tomorrow will involve a further test, which we'll get back on saturday. If the results don't look good, we'll be inducing as soon as possible. So, while this too is scary, it might be a more expediant relief.

Three weeks and counting...

Week 35 was a busy one, with our friends Annie and Allan's wedding finally coming on Saturday. We had a lot of fun, and Bethany, who stood up in the wedding, even got out on the dance floor... which was great at the time. But from 2 am until 8 am, constant pain and contractions proved it might not have been a great idea. So we spent Easter morning at the OB triage, getting checked out. With a diagnosis of fatigue and exhaustion, we came home after a few hours to spend the afternoon with friends and family for Easter dinner. So, with three weeks left until our April 29th induction, Bethany is un-officially on house arrest, and no more dancing!

Week 33

This week brought another trip to UofM Childrens Hospital on thursday. We started off with a ultrasound to check on normal developmental progress, which looks good (our baby falls in the 50th percentile for height and weight so far), and we got this 3D picture of the baby's face, pretty amazing.
Next, we met Dr. Bove, the pediatric cardiology surgeon who will most likely be doing the arterial switch on our baby. We also met one of the five high-risk OB Doctors who will be doing the actual delivery. It was great to meet them and get all of our questions answered. One that has been on our mind a lot is how and when we'll head that way for the delivery. We've come to the conclusion that we'll begin inducing labor on Sunday, April 29th, which means that birth should be tuesday(ish).
It's a little sureal that we're finally that close to the big day, only five weeks or so. It once seemed so far away, but now seems more managable. We're very grateful for all of your help and prayer for the past three months, we've been amazed by how many people have expressed their concern for us.. Thank you.