July 16, 2012: Important Delivery Update and Prayer Request

Friends and family,

It is starting to look as though there is a good chance Pearl may be coming a bit early.

We went in a couple weeks ago for what was supposed to be our last appointment with the specialists before delivery date (August 12), but Ruth and Pearl’s amniotic fluid measured a good bit low. They instructed her to drink tons of water and to come back in a week, so that is what we did last Thursday. Well, in spite of her efforts, her fluid dropped another 2 centimeters.

At last weeks appointment, they instructed us to come back again this coming Thursday to see where we stand. We’ve also been told that if things are low this week, then we will be faced with a few decisions that we are ill prepared to make.

After talking with her midwife this morning, we have decided that if we go in this Thursday and her fluid is not measuring as it should, we will probably admit Ruth and put her on an IV. The hope would be that an IV would help return her fluids to a good level, and that Pearl can continue to grow for a few more weeks.

If it continues to drop from that point, we may have to induce labor early, by about 3 weeks. I know 3 weeks doesn’t seem like an extremely early delivery, but Pearl is in the 3^rd percentile in terms of size, so every day that she can stay in Ruth’s womb will help her to grow stronger, as she will need every ounce of strength for her delivery.

We are trying to avoid a scenario in which Pearl, due to a lack of amniotic fluid, would become distressed during labor, at which point we would have to decide whether or not to have a cesarean section.

These and many other decisions are coming rather quickly, and honestly we feel a little like deer in a headlight. We know that she can’t stay in there forever, though there is a side of us that wishes that she would. We aren’t prepared for any of this. We’ve learned to function fairly well within the tension of knowing what is likely to happen. We aren’t prepared for that to actually happen.

In a weird way, everything almost feels “right” like it is: 4 of us live outside the womb. 1 of us lives inside a womb. That’s just the way it is, and that has become the new normal.

We aren’t completely paralyzed by all of this, but I feel close to that. Her life doesn’t depend on the decisions that we make, but it sure it feels that way at times. Please continue to pray with us this week. Pray for wisdom and peace. Please pray for Pearl’s health. We want so much for her to be carried to term, and to be strong for her delivery.  Thank you all for being here with us now.
Eric Brown