“Final Countdown” 36 Weeks
Can't believe we're at 38 weeks! I wanted to give a bumpdate since little man could make an appearance any day now. Yes, we have a name - Jack Rooney Grant. Jack means 'God is Gracious' and we thought that was so fitting for his story. It's only by God's grace this whole situation has brought us closer to Jesus. AND I've always loved the name Jack - simple & strong! Rooney is my maiden name. I tell you the name because like I've said in previous posts, I believe in the power of prayer. Would you please say this name in your prayers? We're believing for a miracle, that baby boy is going to be born perfectly healthy. We can't wait to meet you, Jack!
I get asked the question how we're feeling a lot - about the diagnosis of baby boy having enlarged ventricles in his brain. I'm at a place now where I have a supernatural peace. I didn't think I'd get here, but I can honestly say I'm not anxious for the unknown and I have come to accept it's out of our control. I'm believing he's going to be born perfectly healthy. Our main high risk doctor even told us in our last visit, I pray you come back to me and say "You're a liar and you don't know what you're talking about!
As far as what the doctors are saying, if anything the fluid has reduced a little since the 20 week ultrasound, great news. And no changes is a good thing, praise God! All other parts of baby boy were developing properly. Tyler and I started to get frustrated towards the end because we wouldn't get to see the same high risk doctor every time, and they all have different opinions and approaches. So that was extremely hard to navigate, given we are not the professionals.
We got 'discharged' from the high risk doctor at 35 weeks because the skull had begun to harden making it difficult for an ultrasound to see the ventricles. Can't say I was disappointed we never had to go to that facility again for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Once the baby is born he will have a small probe ultrasound on the top of his head to check the ventricles. Worst-case scenario is that they are so large he has to have a shunt put in his head to drain the fluid, although the doctors are thinking this will not be necessary based of measurements now. Medium-case scenario (for lack of a better word) is that he has a mild amount of fluid but everything else looks OK and we may face some developmental challenges down the road but we won't know anything until he starts to grow. Best-case scenario is that the fluid is completely gone and it was just something he had while in utero. Life goes on as normal. We're trusting God with any of the outcomes, it's the only option!
I'm currently 2cm dilated, which I'm excited about considering I went to the hospital at 0cm with our first, Marleigh. I was also induced with her when she was 41 weeks (you can read all about that here) If I can avoid being induced, I'm going to! We're currently on a mini-babymoon, so he can stay cozy in there a few more days if he'd like.
Here are some other lighthearted updates about the pregnancy and life 😊
I'm popping antacids like they are tic-tacs. It used to be certain foods triggering it, but now it's really just anything I eat or drink gives me acid reflux. I had this with Marleigh and as soon as I had her, the next day it was gone! Crazy what your body does during and after pregnancy.
Sleeping is almost non-existent - I think it's your body preparing you to wake up every hour with a newborn but man is it hard. I try to take a nap when I can during the day.
I've gained 28 lbs so far - 1 lb less than with marleigh. Not that I'm clinging to that I know it's going to go up and that's A OK!
Baby boy was measuring 6 lbs 11 oz at our 35 week appointment. I'm guessing he will be about 8.5lbs. - what are your guesses?! His little face looked just like Marleighs in the 4D ultrasound.
Cookies & Creme pop tarts still take first place for my snack of choice along with cinnamon & raisin English muffins.
As mentioned before, I'm 2cm dilated. I was elated when I heard this because I had been having some contractions and lower back pain over the weekend so when I got checked I was relieved it was for a good reason. Maybe we'll have a September baby.
We sold our house! It's so bittersweet. We will miss it, but are excited to be building a home on some property not far from where we were. We are living with my parents (Lord bless them!) while it's being built. Estimated move in date is March-April so we will have two under two at their home lol! I wasn't lying when I said we're addicted to chaos. It's tight, but having the extra hands will be so nice in the newborn months.
Marleigh has no clue of anything that is going on. She's starting to repeat everything we say and her favorite words are: duck, snack, all done, please, moon, poop, and no. What a wide vocabulary, haha! She is our little ray of sunshine, I can't wait to see how she is as a big sister.
Anyways, again we can't thank everyone enough for the prayers and well wishes. They have been felt, we don't know how we could do it without the hope of Jesus and our army of believers! Please say a prayer in the coming weeks, that we get to witness a miracle. That this baby is born and we can say all glory be to God! Even if the outcome isn't what we prayed for, we know He will not bring us through anything we can't handle.
xoxo
much love,
Alex