A day of changes

I am elated to report that Kate and the boys had a good day today. After two rounds with the contraction monitor, I am happy to report that Kate won both of them. The nurses didn't think there was a contraction on either of the "strips" as they are called (the contraction monitoring machine prints the results on a type of graph paper...very old school). What an amazing answer to prayers. This past weekend sees like a distant memory, and I think Kate could handle bed rest for months without TV or any other form of entertainment if you told her every day would be like the last two. We are a bit anxious because the doctors have taken Kate of the Mag, and that goofy bag of clear liquid has us both convinced that there is no other way to stop Kate's contractions and keep them away. We were both surprised that they chose to take this course of action, but after a few questions we found out that they do not want to keep her on the mag because if it is already built up in her blood stream and the contractions return, there will be very little they can do. After 24 hours, the drug will have worked out of her system and it could again be used as a treatment option. The upside is that Kate is "IV free' right now, which gives her more freedom to get up to use the bathroom, take a shower without being wrapped in saran wrap, and gives me more sleep...win/win in my mind. The doctors are again using a drug called Procardia, but Kate has had mixed results on this drug and we are a little uneasy about its ability to keep the contractions away. The one thing we are sure of is God's ability to keep the contractions away, via medication or by way of his Might Hand. One other change is that Kate is again being given blood thinning medicine via an injection twice a day to keep from getting blood clots in her legs due to inactivity. They started this treatment on Friday of last week, but they stopped giving her the shots because she was in labor and the doctors think C-section is the likely from of delivery, and apparently blood thinners and surgery do not mix well. So she had these really neat inflatable leg warmer things complete with an air compressor on the end of her bed. As cool as they were, they made getting in and out of bed even more cumbersome, so my mourning there loss will be short lived. All of these changes led up to Kate being "disconnected" from all devices, so sleep should come easier for both of us now. I will miss the intermittent hum of the air compressor, however.

I was able to get a full day of work in today, which was great. We are so thankful for two relatively uneventful days in a row. We are almost wondering what we did to deserve such a luxury, but we will bless God for these days every chance we get.

For those of you who were wondering, the Aerobed slept like a dream. My only struggle with it is the lack of space along side the bed (about 3 inches total between Kate's bed and the wall), so I have to perform this awkward "caterpillar" type move down to the bottom of the bed to get in and out...but it is well worth it. I am pretty sure the nurses that saw me performing the move last night got a good laugh out of it.

We found out this morning that Kate has gestational diabetes. When they told Kate that she had tested positive, her response was, "of course I did...why wouldn't I". She is used to getting her blood drawn every 6 hours, so a little finger prick doesn't offer too much inconvenience. The real inconvenience comes in looking at all the delicious candy and home-made delicacies laying around the hospital room. A few minutes after they told Kate that she had tested positive and discussed with her the changes she will need to make to her diet...the worst possible thing happened - our friends Leah Geenen and her mom Sue Timmer came in with 2-dozen fresh baked cookies. These are not just any cookies...they are Cafe 58 cookies. For those of you who don't know, Cafe 58 is an amazing restaurant (operated by Leah and her mom) in the old Zeeland Hospital, and their cookies are out of sight. Seriously, if you have not had one, make a special trip. You will be a better person for it. Then, about 2 hours later Kathy and Brian Busscher stopped by with fresh made scotch-a-roos, another one of Kate's favorites. It was almost enough to put today in the "bad day" category...for her, anyway. I was able to sample both and this has been one of the best days of my life!!