More clarity on why the lungs have not developed.

As you all know from the previous post the lungs were not developed and were still pretty much very immature. Of course when I found the news out Phillip had left to go pick up some of the things for the gifts we are going to be giving to the nurses. Dr. B came in and knew I was not going to take the news too well. I actually did really well while she was in here but for some reason as soon as Phillip walked in I lost it. I had tried telling myself all weekend that there was a great chance the the lungs would not be developed and that we would indeed be spending Christmas here in this little room. Even though I tried hard to prepare myself for the worse news I still couldn't hold it in when I saw him. I don't know if it is the disappointment that I know that me being hospitalized means we will not get to spend Christmas Eve with my grandparents, aunts, and cousins; and we won't be able to spend Christmas Day as usual at my parents house and then go down to Phillip's sisters house to see what all the nieces and nephews go from Santa. I know for sure that our plans for Christmas all involve being here in the hospital. The nurses once again have been great and have offered the conference room to us so that we can celebrate Christmas here. However, I am not going to ask everyone to change plans to celebrate on of the most special times of the year in the hospital with us. I know that mom is planning to cook a good home-cooked meal for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for our family. I am really looking forward to it and I am extremely happy that neither meal includes tomato soup or salad, which are on the meal plan daily here. I know everything is going to work out perfectly and next year we will just look back at the memories we made and will have lots of stories to tell the little one when he gets here about spending the holidays in the hospital since he was being too stubborn to come out. Phillip and I keep picking that we are going to start charging the little one rent since he doesn't want to come out. I do appreciate all that my family has done while I have been in here over the past 22 days. Mom has only missed one day of coming up because she was sick and Phillip has only missed one day of coming up because of some training at work. My dad has been up here almost everyday and Allison has too. I really love all of my family and they do not realize how much they mean to me and how much it means for them to come up everynight. I also want to thank my parents and Phillip for all of the laundry they are doing for me. I never really realized how many pairs of pjs one person could need so of course I do not have very many at all. When I was at home I always just found a t-shirt or tank top to sleep in. Well, while being up here and my belly growing those shirts no longer work and I have to have the maternity shirts for bed. Also, I never really purchased a lot of maternity shirts to begin with so I really thank them for washing my clothes each day and bringing the clean clothes back with them the next day. I know I am wearing you guys out but I really do appreciate all of your hardwork.

Anyways back to the title of this post. The doctor came by tonight and spent a good amount of time with Phillip and me. She explained to us that one reason the lungs are taking time to develop is because I have gestational diabetes. Even though they have been able to control the diabetes with insulin I still have gestational diabetes and that delays the development of the little ones lungs. Honestly the doctors are not sure when the lung development will take place and I will just have to keep undergoing an amnio every 7 to 10 days until we get a positive result. Well, that is as long as all other symptoms stay stable. The only way they will deliver without lung maturity is if my body naturally goes into labor on its own or if the liver enzymes or protein in urine rapidly increases and becomes dangerous. Since everything has been stable for so long now I got the courage up to ask if I have to be on complete bed rest or if I can get up and walk the halls. To my suprise she told me I was able to get up and walk around all I wanted. This makes me very happy. Phillip and I will be taking many, many walks and we will venture outside a few times so that I can get a breath of fresh air. I have only been outside in the fresh air once since I arrived and I was only out there long enough for Phillip to run to the car and get something and then we came right back in. So, tennis shoes will arrive with mom and dad tomorrow night and I will be up and wondering the halls to get some much needed exercise. Even though I can't go far I am just excited to be able to get out of this room to walk around.

I have been doing daily devotionals while sitting up here and they have really helped a lot. In the past few days God has really placed devotionals at the right place. One of the past couple of days devotion was about God's timing. I know that God already knows when I will go into labor and when our little man will be born. He knows what he will look like and how much he will weigh. It doesn't matter when I want him born God has already hand picked his birth date and until that time I will sit here and wait for his timing. When I have days like today it is refreshing to just sit here and know that God is always with me, he never leaves me for any reason and he understands that I am going to have good days and bad days but in the end he is in charge and has the big picture already worked out. So now I am just waiting and looking forward to his plan. I know what the doctors are saying but right now I am putting all of my faith and trust in the Lord for he is the only one who knows exactly what is going to happen. God has blessed us this far. He blessed us with a child and we will gladly wait for him to say it is time for the birth of his child. Please keep us in your prayers as it is getting harder each and every day. It is hard not only for me but also for Phillip. It is hard for Phillip to see me sitting here in the hospital but looking perfectly healthy. Normally people in the hospital look bad and feel bad. Most days I feel great and it is hard to comprehend that I have to stay here when I feel fine. After speaking to numerous nurses we do know that I could feel perfect one minute and 30 minutes later I could be sick as a dog and emergency intervention would be needed. So thank you for the prayers and espcially for the visits. We were blessed with some visitors today and it really helped my spirits. We had a very good friend with her two children come and we also had some close family friends come back to visit. As always thank you so much for the visits and prayers. Please keep praying for us and when God says its time we will let you all know.

One more thing, I did find out the side effect of my blood pressure medication today. Ever since I have been admitted and began taking all the new medication my head tingles when it is touched and I get extremely sleepy after taking my morning medications. Today I was looking online and the blood pressure medication that they give me at 9 in the morning and 9 at night has the side effect of a tingling scalp and causes tiredness. This is why I always take a nap after breakfast because the medication knocks me out. I have a routine now that I take a morning nap from about 10 until about 12 when lunch comes. I never understood why I was so sleepy at this time but it all makes sense now. So please do not be surprised if you call or are expecting a blog and I haven't posted or I just do not answer the phone. Once in a while I do get in a blog before I fall asleep while on the monitor but I rarely answer the phone while napping. The afternoons are much better for me. Well, I am off to bed for the night but again thank you for your prayers and please continue to remember us in them when you pray.