Prayers answered. Praise God!

Thank you everyone for praying for the cholestasis issue. I got the lab results yesterday and they told me I only have a mild form of it. My liver enzymes are only a little higher than normal and I won't have to be constantly monitored. I just need to keep up with the medication the Dr. prescribed until little Faith is born. :D

Also, another answer to prayer... God provided us with a van last month. Through gifts from our family and friends we were able to purchase a pre-owned van in excellent condition. Now we can tote our whole family in the same vehicle when the baby arrives.

Throughout this pregnancy the Lord keeps reminding me of His constant faithfulness and provision in our lives. At times we do not understand the circumstances (or why we have to go through them), but then God reveals Himself to us in a more glorious way then had we not gone through those things. This is why we have named our little one "Faith Celeste" meaning Faith Divine. It is only from faith in knowing He will be who He always has been that we can have this heavenly peace... the kind that does surpass understanding.

Gizelle :D

Urgent Prayer Request: Cholestasis of Pregnancy

So I went into the Dr. yesterday because I've been severely itching from head to toe (literally), even my palms, soles of my feet and even my eyes for the past couple of weeks. At first I thought it was an allergic reaction to taking different vitamins or immunity boosters, but after I stopped those it still kept happening. So much that I had lots of trouble sleeping and would be very fatigued during the day.

Anyway, they took a blood test to check on my liver because she thinks I might have this condition called Cholestasis of Pregnancy. It means that the bile salts from my liver are leaking out into my system and also into the baby's placenta which can be poisonous to her. The risks for me is pretty low (just itching and maybe Jaundice until I deliver the baby), but it is very high for the baby. There is a possibility of still birth, pre-term labor, or meconium poisoning - which means I would have to be induced early, maybe right after we get back from CA when I will be 36 weeks. The Dr. has already put me on meds to flush my liver out, but we won't know for sure if I have Cholestasis until the lab results get back in a couple of days.

All this to say --- Please pray!!!!

Pray that the results come back negative for cholestasis.

If it comes back positive:
- that I deliver at full term (37 - 39 weeks) so she will not have lots of problems when she's born.
- that the meds would clear out all the bile in my liver.
- that the poison would not get into the placenta
- And that my itching would stop or decrease.

God has done so many miraculous things already for our little Faith and I think this is just one more thing that we need to get through to prove how great our God is!

Love, Gizelle

30 week ultrasound

Today was our 5th ultrasound and the good news is ---- I am clear to give birth at our local birthing center instead of an hour away! The hole in Faith's heart was still detected, but was no cause for concern to our pediatric cardiologist. Dr. King will check up on her heart after she is a month old to determine whether or not surgery is needed. We are still praying that the hole will close on it's own.

This was my first time having a 3D ultrasound and we loved it! It was such an amazing thing to see. It's crazy that at 2 lb. 3 oz. she can look so healthy. Faith's character is already beginning to show. Every time the ultrasound tech would put the wand on my belly, Faith would punch it back. She stuck out her tongue a couple times (as evidenced above), covered her face with her hands and then later on added her feet simultaneously. Either she didn't like getting an ultrasound or she is very playful. All in all she was so absolutely adorable. We are still in awe of God's great little gift to our lives.

Prayer Requests:

- Once again please keep in prayer the hole in her heart - for complete healing.

- When she is born she will be able to nurse well and gain weight. It is very difficult for babies with Down Syndrome to nurse because of the low muscle tone in their mouths and they tend to sleep through feedings which leads to weight loss. Heart issues also make it difficult to breath well while nursing.

- No one in our family gets the swine flu. Currently one of the kids in Justice's school has it. Pregnant women and young children are most susceptible to getting it if exposed.

Thank you all again, Gizelle

27 weeks and growing!

27 weeks along now and am feeling it!

Answer to prayer:

Praise God my insurance now covers chiropractic care. Definitely an answer to everyone's prayers :D My visits to the chiropractor have decreased my sciatic pain as well as my migraines.

Prayer requests:

Next ultrasound is scheduled for Oct. 15th and we are praying for a complete closure of the small hole that is in Faith's heart. Another needful prayer request is for a van to tote all 4 kids. Our little faithful 5 seater won't cut it anymore. So... we must take the plunge into the mini van kingdom.

Praise:

A good friend has offered to host a baby shower for us, which will be held on Oct. 24th at our church. Even though I have 2 other girls, I gave away all our baby items when we moved away for missions. Thus, we are very grateful for this added blessing. Thanks Amanda!

Praise God!

Sorry this update is 2 weeks overdue. We just recently returned from our Youth Group's annual Bike Trip from the San Juan Islands where I cooked for 75 people for 8 days. Fun times.

2 days before we left for this trip we had another ultrasound. This time a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. King, was present to view the echocardiogram on Faith's heart. We also had a very experienced ultrasound tech who had been doing this job for 25 years. Prior to Dr. King's arrival the ultrasound tech took pictures of all of Faith's major organs (brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.). As he was viewing all her organs he was a bit puzzled to see no major defects in any of the organs. "I see no defects that are common to babies with Down Syndrome," were his exact words. There were no signs of fluid in her lungs or under her skin. He also said that she is growing at a good rate for a baby with DS. PRAISE GOD!

The one thing the cardiologist saw was a very small hole in her heart. Normally these holes either heal themselves in the womb or a few months after birth. If it still were present beyond that, it would be very operable and wouldn't affect her for the rest of her life! In a couple of months (Oct. 15th) I am due back for another ultrasound to check up on the hole and see if it has healed. If so, I may be able to deliver at our McMinnville hospital (only 5 minutes from where we live)!

Before this news John and I prepared ourselves to hear of major defects, lots of surgeries and so on. It was more than we had hoped for. Thank you all once again for your prayers. We know that God is listening and is making a miracle of this. Someone to glorify Himself by.

Prayer Requests:

- The hole in Faith's heart would completely close and that they would see that in the next ultrasound (Oct. 15th). Then I'd be able to deliver close to home.

- Continued strength for John and I. John's ministry is the busiest and most fruitful in the summer and he has not had much time for rest. With that I have little breaks from my duties with the kids and taking care of our home. So, I get tired very easily.

- My sciatica flare ups and constant headaches. When I have sciatica it can be very difficult to walk. In my last trimester I end up using a cane. It would be nice to not have to use it this time. I've never had constant headaches during any of my pregnancies, so this is a first for me. They get to the point where it is hard for me to even be awake and the only way to relieve myself from them is to sleep, which can be very difficult to do with 3 little kids running around.

Blessings to you all, Gizelle and John

Baby Movement

This week I finally felt the baby move. Very light cute little kicks. I know it's normal for pregnancy, but it was so reassuring. :D

Good News!

Thank you all so much for your prayers. The Lord is definitely answering them. Today was my first visit to St. Vincent's hospital and it was a very good experience. I am so glad we decided to transfer care to this facility. Not only were they helpful, but also very hopeful.

The ultrasound went very well. Our new Dr. (David Able - good name) was very supportive. He said that from what he saw he could not see fluid in the baby's lungs, but said that it could also return later on. It's interesting because they kept on mentioning that the baby was still too small to diagnose exactly how she's doing and whether or not any fluid is affecting her (whereas at OHSU they made it seem so certain from their findings). She is growing at a normal rate for a DS baby (a little shortie, but that's normal for my kids) and is very, very active. As we watched the monitor she moved all over the place (it's good she's still small). There could possibly be no heart defect at all, or at least a minor one. But we will not know for sure until August 6th (my next ultrasound with the pediatric cardiologist="baby heart doctor"). By then the baby would be at a stage where the Dr. could see definite heart defects and whether or not the baby needed surgery once delivered. If no heart defects are found I could actually return to my original doctor in town and possibly deliver at the birthing center that is closer to home. To top it all off the risk of miscarriage is lowering the farther along I carry the baby :D

What a difference between the 2 hospitals! The environment, the doctors, the outlook on the baby's life and condition - it was like night and day. God is so GOOD!

A special thank you to my good friend Erin Timm who drove me to the hospital and kept me company while John stayed back to oversee VBS for our church.