Lots of Updates

Alayna/Pregnancy

For two weeks in a row now my blood pressure has been back down to my normal (120’s instead of 130’s or higher). This is such a blessing. It’s been a difficult few months, both with Alayna’s diagnosis and everything going on at church. I’m so thankful that my health is starting to get back under control for Alayna’s last bit of time where she’s still relying on me to keep her heart healthy.

With two weeks to go, we are also thankful to be past the ‘danger zone’ with her coming early. She is a really good healthy weight (already 7 lbs 13 oz) and she should be perfectly healthy to come any time now.

Our prayer in the next few weeks is ‘simply’ that everything goes right at birth. At birth her lungs will inflate and for the first time she will rely on her heart to fully take over the pumping blood to the lungs and body. We know that the weaker side of her heart has the harder job of pumping to the body and are praying that it holds up without complication as she makes that transition during birth.

Jessica

Our poor baby girl has been struggling lately. Last week we brought her to the doctor to see if she still had her ear infections. She has been pretty crabby and that normally means an ear infection or two. We were so thankful that the doctor said she was ear-infection free! He thought, however, that perhaps she had some allergies that were bothering her, causing her runny nose, making her throat hurt, etc. We picked up Children’s Liquid Claritin to help with this, but so far no luck. Saturday night she woke up crying repeatedly until I finally brought her upstairs in bed with me. I returned her to the crib around 4 am and she did end up sleeping through until morning, but it made for a long night. Then last night we put her down and while she didn’t wake up like Saturday, we realized she was running a fever. Ever so cautious daddy decided he wanted her upstairs in bed with me again (Tim sleeps on the couch rather than having the three of us in bed together…something about constantly getting kicked in the face). Around 3 am she woke up crying and I realized her fever was worse. After lots of screaming tears we got her temperature taken (under arm) and it was just over 102. We assume actual temperature was slightly higher, but probably not high enough to warrant taking her in. We gave her some children’s ibuprofin and she eventually fell asleep. This morning we felt her head and she seemed totally fine (fever free). So, not sure if we’ll call the doctor today or see what happens the rest of the day.

Update: Tim did call and they said to bring her in today. She is officially back on meds for another ear infection. If it doesn’t clear up or she gets another right away then we’re at tubes. Doc also said the high fever last night could be a bug that’s going around (so not entirely the ear infection). Poor baby.

Church

Last week I discovered that there are 14, yes 14, distinctly baptist churches within about 8 miles of our house. While I do believe this is completely crazy, it is encouraging to know that we should be able to find a church family in our area. Considering we’re due to have Alayna anytime in the next few weeks, I resorted to something I know is a bit taboo: internet stalking these churches. I’ve looked at websites, sent e-mails, read statements of faith, etc. trying to figure out where we want to visit first. I consider this preliminary prioritizing knowing full well that we won’t know who a church really is until we visit there in person.

Yesterday we visited a wonderful church very close to our house (1.5 miles to be exact). The pastor has been so kind to us this week exchanging e-mails and even visiting with us this last Saturday. We had hoped to go to Sunday School and the service yesterday, but with Jessica’s antics Saturday night, we only made it to the service. We were immediately welcomed from the time we entered the church. We attempted to keep Jessica with us in the service as long as possible (this was a matter of a few songs) and then I went into the nursery with her. While it is difficult not being able to be in the service, it was really nice for me to be able to fellowship personally with the ladies in the nursery. Church got out and we hung out in the back of the church to see what happened. One of the things we’ll be looking for in a church is the fellowship – do people clear out of the church and head on their own separate ways within minutes of dismisal, or do they hang out together after the service? Not only did quite a few people make us feel welcome while we watched this dynamic, but when we eventually left about 40 minutes after the service, there were still quite a few people there talking with each other. We don’t know if this church will be our family, but they are a family who genuinely seem interested in doing life together and welcoming others into that family. We were very blessed to have had the opportunity to be ministered to by this family yesterday. They may not know the impact of their kindness, but it was a really great experience for us as we venture down this difficult road wondering where God will lead us. It may be there, it may be somewhere else. We don’t know. God still only promises a lantern instead of a street light. There sure are days, though, that I really wish for that street light.