Second Email Update to Family & Friends

Hello again everyone,

Another quick update. Yesterday afternoon Mike and I met with my
high-risk OB. After a thorough exam the doctor was still not able to
rule out amniotic leakage. The fluid around the baby is slightly lower
than what it should be, and there is some blood in the fluid. The
placenta is also not functioning as well as it should, so as a result,
the baby's heart is slightly enlarged from working much harder than it
ought to be. I'm really just glossing over these things as I don't
think you all really want to hear the gritty details. Because of all
of this I am still on bed rest. While that status will be re-evaluated
in two weeks when I visit the doctors again, it would take a major
turn of events for me to be allowed to resume normal activities.
Things are so much better for the baby when I'm not active, and at
this point we're really just trying to progress the pregnancy far
enough that, should the placenta totally stop working, the baby would
have a chance of survival outside of my body. That is six more weeks
at the minimum, but ideally my doctors would like the baby to make it
to 30 weeks gestation to avoid some of the problems premature babies
face. That is 10 weeks from now.

I physically feel fine, just a little stiff from laying down so much.
Mentally, Mike and I are both doing alright. We were told in the
beginning that this pregnancy wasn't going to make it past 10 weeks,
and we're way past that. We think this baby is a fighter and are
hoping for the best.

I'm selfishly bummed about being on bed rest. Fall is my favorite time
of year, with the playoff stretch in baseball and college football in
full swing. I'll miss work more than I can bear as I love my job and
being at the stadium with all my friends. But it's worth it to protect
the health of the baby and myself. Everyone keep me posted on
everything! I'm going to go nuts with just the TV and computer to
entertain me.

Thanks to everyone for being supportive, Mike and I really appreciate
it. Talk to you all soon.

Heather & Mike