No more doctor's appointments!

We have successfully made it to 37 weeks and we are done with our doctor's appointments!! I cannot tell you how good that feels! For the past 10 weeks, we have been juggling our normal responsibilities, work, getting things ready for baby Max, and going to 2-3 doctors appointments every week. It's been exhausting, but the big day is finally approaching. I honestly never really thought we would make it this far, but God has been so good to us and helped us reach this goal.

We had our last doctor's appointment on Thursday, June 30, and everything looked great. Max, once again passed his BPP. His heart rate was 82! That's the highest it's been yet and we were very excited. My amniotic fluid levels continue to remain adequate which is also a blessing.

So, all in all, now Tyler and I are just going to try to enjoy our last weekend with it being just the two of us. We plan on enjoying the holiday weekend with friends as well as spending some time just the two of us hanging out. The past 10 weeks have been crazy, and we are looking forward to starting this new part of our life. We can't wait to meet our new little man on Tuesday and begin a whole new journey.

I do have to be honest and say that I am quite nervous about Tuesday. Not for myself, but for Max. We continue to ask for your prayers. Please pray specifically for the doctor that delivers Max and the whole team of other physicians and nurses that will be present and providing him care. Please pray that they will know how to best care for him and help him receive the best healthcare possible. (We have been super impressed with Vandy so far).

Please pray for Tyler and myself, also, that we will be strong and make good decisions for Max. We also want to enjoy this special time, so please pray for peace for us. I also wouldn't mind for some prayers for a safe delivery and good recovery.

Please also pray that Max will be strong and make it easy for the doctors to know how to proceed with his care. Aside from his heart issues, it will be very important for him to be able to maintain his temperature, tolerate oral feedings, and overall support his own system since he will no longer be supported in utero by me. These are all challenges for a new baby, especially one with heart issues.

We will not know what actions will need to be taken with Max's care until "he shows himself." His care will totally be tailored according to his status. This could include a spectrum from just simply monitoring his heart rate for about a week and helping him gain weight, to using drugs to keep his heart rate stable, to inserting a temporary pacemaker, or even inserting a permanent pacemaker. We just have to wait and see. Tyler and I are willing to do whatever we need to do and will trust that the doctors will help us make the right decisions for Max.

For those of you that will be anxiously awaiting news on Tuesday, it will take some time before we know anything. The c-section is at 12:30pm and we are anticipating that he will be taken to the NICU immediately after birth. They will get him situated in his "pod" in the NICU (aka own private room) and that takes quite a bit of time. Then they will wait and see how he reacts to "life on the outside." So, we do not anticipate knowing anything for several hours and it will probably be several hours before we can go visit him. We will plan on updating the blog with any information Tuesday afternoon/evening.

Thank you again for all your support. We honestly could not have done this without all of your kind words and prayers! It means so much more than you realize!