Twenty Nine and Three

Today, I am 29 weeks and three days pregnant. Further along that I have ever been.

Karyssa and Kyran were born at 29 weeks and two days.

Every day of this pregnancy has been a gift, but from here until the end, it's also a mystery to me. Although I had nearly six pounds of baby in me with them, I've never had a baby in me that weighed more than 3 lb, 4 oz. I've never had one as strong as this sweet girl will be. I've never been instrumental in the continued brain and lung development of a child past this point.

Things are going very well (aside from some kidney stones I'm praying will pass easily). My cervical length is 3.8, and the cerclage is holding nice and tightly. I'm taking my medicine for contractions and my weekly injections seem to be helping too. (Special thanks to my friend Lala for doing those for me each week!)

I am not yet as uncomfortable as I was with Kyran and Karyssa at 23 weeks, but I am experiencing more swelling, tingling and shortness of breath than I did with them (I'm assuming part of that is being five years older and taking care of 5-year-old twins).

I am looking forward to every surprise that comes over the next two months. I know that too soon, she will be here and I won't feel the discomfort, but I also won't feel her sweet movements. The sudden kicks and waves across my belly are things that I want to remember forever, but I know how those memories fade. I can capture it on video, but I can never regain this feeling.

Every day that passes means she is bigger, stronger and healthier. I can only imagine the day when they place a 7ish pound baby in my arms and I ask them why they're handing me a three-month-old! I pray she will be one of those "giants" we saw in the nursery every day on our way to the NICU. As of Thursday, she was measuring 3 lb, 8 oz...in the 75th percentile!

Having watched Kyran and Karyssa grow outside of me from this point, I do know some things. Four pounds is when she will be able to regulate her own body temperature. Thirty-three to 34 weeks is when she will be able to really begin sucking. I'm sure there are many more that I can't think of right now, but how neat to think that she will achieve all of this while still inside me.

At birth, Kyran and Karyssa had full heads of dark hair and, according to the NICU nurses, some of the longest eyelashes they'd ever seen on preemies. I'm excited to know how she will look, but happy to not know for quite a while longer.

The past week has been rough. Just about every day I convinced myself that I was in labor. The kidney stones didn't help, but since they couldn't figure out what they were, they did the Fetal Fibronectin test Friday, and determined that my body is showing no current signs of labor. Now that I am past this point, I pray that I can stop worrying and trust God's plan for our sweet baby.

Please join me in celebrating every day!