Monday, September 1, 2008

28 weeks!

We made it! The first time I came in and needed the circlage, it didn't seem like we would ever get this far, but I'm still pregnant! AND! AND! The doctor was so happy with the monitoring that this morning she decided to stop the magnesium sulfate and see how I do with contractions!! It's only been about 20 minutes, so we'll have to wait a little longer to see the effects of this change.

28 weeks is a pretty big developmental milestone as far as the survival and complication rates with babies. I found a chart that broke it down pretty well. If you compare this baby to Will, the differences are huge. The risk of respiratory distress drops from 71% to 36%, chronic lung disease drops from 47% to 15%, Inflammation or death of part of the GI tract drops from 11% to 6%, the risk of infection goes from 44% to 17%, survival to 120 days or hospital discharge jumps from 56% to 94% and survival without any of these complications goes from 36% to 79%!

Will had problems with everything on that list and more. He had to have part of his intestines removed due to the death of part of his GI tract, he had respiratory issues, and he was constantly fighting infections. At this point, it looks like this kid could still have problems, but not nearly as many or as severe! We still know that there are all kinds of things that might not work out, but we can't help but be excited that we've gotten as far as this, and that everything looks so stable.

I did ask the doctor this morning about my chances of going home and she said there was a small chance, but we definitely have to make sure that I'll be okay without the mag. We'll take that small chance!

Thanks for checking in today, and I'm so glad I could write up some good news!

6 comments:

Mary Connealy said...

28 WEEKS!!!!!!!!
I wish I could post FIRWORKS and celebration music in this comment.

Hang in there girl. I know the days seem long but the time is passing and your little boy is growing up.

I'm still praying for you all the time.

Unknown said...

Jen and Jon,
We're so happy for you! You're getting prayers and lots of good sticky baby vibes from Michigan.
:)
Heidi, Chris, and Lucy

Anonymous said...

Yay! My parents and I are SO happy for you three! Lots of thoughts, love, and prayers:)

-Andrea

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy that things are going so well!! Good vibes are coming from Las Vegas, too! Hang in there!

GalaxyQueen4011 said...

I'm sooo happy for you! Yay for 28 weeks! It's nothing like the scary movie! :-P

Anonymous said...

Congrats!! :)