Some friends are smaller than others

Originally posted March 31, 2009

Hey everyone -
It's been awhile since we've written an update on how our baby boy is doing and how the pregnancy is progressing.
First of all, the secret's out--we've decided on naming the baby Lucas Hermon Chisholm. We call him Luke, and David's going to have fun saying "Luke, I am your father." when he gets here.
We've been seeing either the Maternal Fetal Specialist (MFM) or the fetal cardiologist every week for a few weeks now. In the last several weeks there has been no change in Luke's condition - a true blessing. Not only has the fluid around his heart NOT increased, it's GONE. Thank you to everyone who had a part in praying that fluid away. He has a much higher chance of survival because he's gotten to stay in mommy's tummy that much longer.
Another praise, we've made it to the 32 week milestone. When we first learned about his condition, I remember thinking how fantastic it would be to make it to 32 weeks. Of course 40 (the length of a normal full-term pregnancy) is the best, but David and I both have been holding up 32 weeks as the goal. We've made it, and that's no accident either. Thank you for your continued prayers.
We visited the MFM today and they checked all his measurements (they don't do this every time). Luke has slipped down to being about 2 weeks behind where he should be in size at this time in the pregnancy. He's currently 3 lbs 5 oz, but still only between the 7th and 15th percentile of weight (I heard Dr. Rosnes say both of those numbers and I'm not sure which one we're going with). So we're going to begin weekly visits to the MFM instead of every two weeks. In two weeks, they will measure him again, and if he has slipped anymore behind (5th percentile or lower) in growth, Dr. Rosnes says it'll be time to bail. Meaning they'll take Luke early so they can get his heart worked on. The plan right now is to induce me at 39 weeks and 2 days on May 18th. If he's not tracking in two weeks and the docs decide we need to get him out then, that will put us at 34.
This time frame is obviously exceeding our original expectations, but is still very scary. With all the problems that Luke is expected to have at birth, we don't really need to add smallness onto the package. But first and foremost, we need to trust God. Before we even got pregnant with Luke, we prayed that God would give us a baby at the right time. We need to trust that God is going to be faithful and cause Luke to be born the very minute he needs to be. Second, we need to trust our medical professionals. We have a whole team of docs working with us to make sure Luke has the best care possible. If they say he has a better chance if they take him early, then as scary as that is, we'll go ahead and do it.
So we continue to ask for your prayers for our tiny son. Pray that he will begin tracking like he should and grow like a weed in the next two weeks. And pray that his mommy and daddy have sufficient strength to handle whatever lies ahead. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. We love you!

Rachael and David