31 Weeks!

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 8 weeks since I was admitted to the hospital (and 7 weeks since I've been home!). At that point, we weren't sure how long I would be able to keep these babies inside and were hoping and praying to just get to 28 weeks. It's really great to be at 31 weeks now and to know that both babies are thriving!

I had appointments on Monday at the specialist and regular OB. My Mom drove up on Sunday afternoon to go to the doc with me and to get another chance to see the babies. We had a "growth ultrasound" at the specialists office. The babies are really growing! They estimated William's weight at 4 lbs 2 ounces (83rd percentile) and Maggie's weight at 3 lbs 7 ounces (36th percentile). So basically, Maggie is 3 1/2 lbs and William is 4 lbs...not a bad difference in fraternal twins. I was a little concerned at first because I thought the difference in weight was significant, but all the docs were pleased with their growth. They also look at each twins vital organs at these detailed ultrasounds and both babies look awesome! As I am getting bigger and more uncomfortable it's nice to know that the babies are thriving. If I were to have them now, the docs estimate that they would spend about two weeks in the NICU...not too bad when we were looking at 3 months in the NICU when I was first admitted to the hospital. My goal is to hold onto these little ones until 34-36 weeks so they spend very little time in the NICU at all.

I am getting more excited about bringing Maggie and William home. I know that our house is going to be chaotic for a while, but I look forward to being off of bedrest and taking care of my 3 kids (my goodness...that sounds weird!). Jackson's preschool starts again on September 5th...he will go 3 days a weeks from 9am-12pm. He enjoyed it so much last year and I know he'll be excited to start "school" again. The three mornings he is at school will give me "2-on-1" time with the twins and I look forward to getting them on a good schedule so that Jackson and I can have "1-on-1" time in the afternoon.

Brandon has been working diligently on the "honey-do" list that WE(!) put together. He has done a great job taking care of me, Jackson, the household, his job and still finding the time to work on our list. I know that he welcomes the day that we cross the last item off the list and throw it away (or maybe he'll want it framed!). He left the house at 4am this morning to fly to Washington DC and flies back in tonight around 7pm. He continues to excel at his job and I expect to hear great things about the meeting he had today. I am very proud of him and know that I am blessed to have a great husband/best friend as well as him being an excellent father and provider.

HUGE ANSWER TO PRAYER!
Thank you to everyone that joined us in praying that Jackson would get into the dermatologist earlier. I've been calling almost daily to ask for him to be squeezed into a canceled appointment rather than having to wait until his August 14th appointment (I would have been 34 weeks at that point). I struck gold this morning when I called...they had a cancellation tomorrow at 11:15 and we got the appointment!!!! I am super excited! The doc we're taking Jackson to is the best pediatric dermatologist in the Atlanta area and is on the Alopecia Areata board. I feel so much relief to have a chance to see this doc and to get a second opinion on Jackson's hair loss. I finally feel like we are making progress...even if nothing new comes of this appointment, I will know that we are doing everything possible. So my new prayer request in regards to Jackson's alopecia is that we would have a good appointment and connect with the doctor in such a way that we know without a doubt that we are in the best place possible for Jackson, getting the best care. I do still ask that you all pray for a miracle...that Jackson's hair would regrow and we wouldn't have to deal with this. But, if that doesn't happen, I ask that you all would pray for Brandon and I as we figure out how to deal with this and that we would equip Jackson in a way that he can stand tall in knowing that alopecia doesn't in any way define who he is. He is such a great little boy that I don't think this can or will hinder him...I believe that I will always have a harder time with it than he does.

I do have one additional prayer request. A family member was given a difficult diagnosis yesterday. I won't go into detail, but I do ask that those that pray would join us in prayer for this unspoken request.

So thankful to have each of you in our lives... :)