C-Section Scheduled for Tomorrow (Saturday)
Ultrasound revealed baby is 2.9 kg/6.4 pounds, 35 gestational weeks.
Pray! More news to come soon!
Tag: William and Stella Page 2 of 3
Last week I ran into William and he told me the doctor says he will do a C-section on Stella this Thursday. I was a little shocked to hear that, and decided not to post it until I had it confirmed.
So Dr. Carolyn did some investigating on Saturday. The OB doctor was too busy to talk, so she asked around with the various nurses. You have to understand that even though this is a “good” hospital, the methods of running this hospital are very different from what you would be used to. Nothing is computerized; everything is hand-written.
She said that what she discovered is that there is certainly an ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday to determine the size of the baby. She is guessing that based on the ultrasound, they will decide when to do the C-section. So it’s possible that if the baby is big enough, they will take it on Thursday. But it hasn’t exactly been scheduled as William said, so he probably misunderstood.
I wondered why they would do a C-section when she is already staying at the hospital and it seems logical to let her go as long as she can. But Carolyn thinks that because she lost so much blood during her last delivery, that this doctor doesn’t want to take any chances. That seems to make sense.
Carolyn says that all her other reports are good. Stella and baby both seem to be doing great. I’ll keep you updated as much as I can!
Stellais at 32 weeks. Just after my last update about her, the doctor admitted her to the hospital as a precautionary measure. She will stay there until the baby is born.
I went to see her the other day, and she is enormous. She’s a tiny woman to begin with, which makes her look even more huge than she is. That’s got to be a good sign, right?
Her main problem right now is that she is anemic and can’t seem to get her blood level up. In fact, on Wednesday the doctor decided to give her a transfusion, so William donated some blood. Apparently she was too afraid to receive it and wouldn’t let the nurse give it to her. I’m sure this is because the last time she had a transfusion (during her previous delivery), she had a horrible reaction to it. Dr. Carolyn told me that at her current hospital, they automatically give the drugs to prevent a reaction, so that should not happen this time. Carolyn was hoping that Stella would agree to the transfusion today, but I haven’t heard yet.
I’m sure Stella is struggling with fear these days. She lost her other babies around 32 weeks. Please keep praying! If she makes it at least 3 more weeks, it seems like the danger zone will be over. It sounds like the doctor might even give her a C-section at that point if the baby is big enough. There is no NICU in the country, so the baby needs to be big enough to survive on its own.
Good news on all fronts.
Stella: She is at 30 weeks. She is somewhat anemic but otherwise healthy. Her doctor still has not admitted her to the hospital, but he is optimistic she will make it to full-term. She lost the other babies somewhere around 32 weeks. Please keep praying.
The Medinas: I finally connected with Mama A this week, after two other attempts to see her.
Happiness #1: She has received Mama S’s homestudy report. I saw it with my own two eyes, which was exciting since I still wasn’t entirely sure it even existed. It looked extremely thorough. Should be, since it took six months to write.
Happiness #2: Mama A didn’t say anything about needing an International Report. Hoping it stays that way.
Happiness #3: She was in a good mood.
Happiness #4: We should just be waiting for final approval now. That approval letter will also give us the name of a child–our little girl. At the advice of our lawyer, we have not requested a particular child, but only a gender and age. However, Mama A did ask me about our preference for orphanages.
Could be two weeks; could be two months…two years. But she’s coming!
I’ve been thinking a lot about babies recently.
Maybe it’s because tomorrow I am helping to host a baby shower for three, that’s right, three HOPAC ladies who are having babies in the next few months. The kindergarten teacher, the wife of the science teacher, and the wife of the history teacher. Two are giving birth in country.
Maybe it’s because I spent an hour yesterday looking at these beautiful babies. Forever Angels just might be “our” orphanage this time around.
Maybe it’s because my worker, Esta, is pregnant and due in April.
Maybe it’s because Stella is always on my mind.
That’s a heck-of-a-lot of babies.
So this here post is a dual update: partly about Stella, and partly about what’s next for us. Here you go:
Stella:
Stella had an appointment yesterday. The doctor said she is doing great. He said she will be admitted no later than March 10th. They will do an ultrasound to find out the size of the baby at that point. If the baby is big enough, then at that time they will take the baby by C-section. Or she will stay at the hospital until the baby is big enough, and then do the C-section. The doctor said that after losing 4 babies in labor, they will not let her go into labor this time. So that means she has five weeks to go! Pray with me!
And us:
Assuming that Mama S’s report really was sent yesterday (and we’ve learned never to really assume anything), then the next step is that we wait for approval from the District Commissioner. A few things would have to happen to make this problem-free:
1. They receive the report, which really was sent, and does not get lost in the mail or someone’s office.
2. They accept the report as it is written and do not require Mama S to add anything else.
3. They don’t require us to do an International Report. (We had to do this for Grace and Josiah, but were assured that we don’t have to this time. However, they could change their minds).
4. They decide that they will approve us for a third child.
As friends have rejoiced with us, the inevitable question is always, “So when will you get the baby?” Well, hypothetically, it could happen as soon as a couple of months. But as you can see, a number of scenarios could lengthen that process.
Next week, I will go to the district social welfare office. Instead of nagging Mama S, now I get to nag Mama A. We will tell her which orphanage we are requesting, and remind her that we have requested a girl between one and two years old. And I will weekly talk to her about the “progress” of our approval letter….until we get it. That letter, Lord willing, will not only grant us approval to foster a child, but will give us the name of the particular child they have chosen for us. We will have a name, a face, and then wait for the paperwork to be done on that child. The paperwork gets sent back to the district office, and they issue a final-final-final letter which will let us take her home.
It always starts and ends with a letter, remember?
I love adoption. But I must admit that sometimes I am envious of all these other ladies who actually have a due date. 🙂