I posted today that Heidi and I were in the hospital due to some labor-like symptoms. She is 32 weeks along with our second child. As most of you probably know, our son, Lincoln, was born at 34 weeks and spent nearly four weeks in NICU before he came home to us. Lincoln, of course, is perfect and brilliant and funny and precocious, so there is no problem with his having been premature. That said, we were hoping for a smoother final trimester this time around.

At any rate, here's the current status on Heidi and baby Gavin:

- For the past several weeks, Gavin has been very active, rolling and kicking inside her belly. Or so we thought. Now, it seems she's been experiencing at least some irregular mild to moderate contractions.

- As of this afternoon, Heidi is about 25% effaced. For those of you who understand these things, instead of 2.5 cm, she's about 1.7 cm. This sort of thing is a sort of pre-labor symptom, but is not the same as being in labor.

- A fetal fibronectin test was performed and came back negative, which means it's highly unlikely that she will go into labor within the next 7-10 days.

- Heidi was on IV fluids, but they've stopped that for now. She's been given some meds to help calm the contractions and steroids to accelerate Gavin's heart and lung development. There has been talk of giving her magnesium sulfate, but that hasn't happened yet.

- Heidi and I will be meeting with some doctors tomorrow from the NICU at the hospital, and I will have more details about what's coming then.

- Heidi will likely be in the hospital until Tuesday, and we will reconsider everything then.

A great big thanks to our amazing family for helping out with Lincoln, my pastor for coming by and praying with us, and my awesome neighbors for taking care of our furry kids at home. I'll keep everyone updated through the blog as news comes. Of course, by and large, this is a situation where no news is probably good news. We appreciate all of your prayers and kind words. Heidi is asleep, and she kicked me out of the hospital room because she didn't want to hear me snore.

We love you all.

UPDATE: January 17, 2015 - 16:46

We just spoke with the doctor, and, by and large, things are staying the same. On Tuesday, they will measure the length of her cervix again with her main obstetrician and the high-risk pregnancy team to see how things are going. Most likely, she's going to be on bed rest until 36 weeks, at which point she will be considered full term, and will have no restrictions.

Heidi is on a course of meds, as I mentioned before, to calm the contractions. Today, instead of frequent, irregular contractions she has been experiencing for the past several weeks, she's only had four or five. This is a great improvement. The course of medication will continue for every six hours for 48 hours, so this round will end on Sunday. If contractions continue, they will discuss other options.

Heidi has received one steroid injection; she will receive the second injection later today. Fortunately, she does a better job of dealing with injections than I do, and she hasn't run, passed out, or hit the nurse yet.

Again, thank you to everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. You mean so much to us both, and we appreciate the encouragement.

UPDATE: January 20, 2015 - 17:27

Heidi had another ultrasound today and everything is stable. We're being discharged! She'll complete her bed rest at home instead of the hospital and have weekly exams with the obstetrician.

Again, everyone, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers and kind words. You've helped make this stressful situation much more bearable. A special thanks to everyone who came to visit, to our parents for helping us out with Lincoln this weekend, and to Brad and Ashley for looking after me and taking care of Dizzy while I was otherwise occupied.

Today, at 5:16 pm, my son, Lincoln Daniel was born. He weighed 5 lbs 8 oz, and we haven't had a chance to measure him yet. He was born 5 1/2 weeks premature, and was breach, so he was born via cesarean rather than traditional childbirth. Heidi is doing great. She was a champ, and I'm super proud of her. She's worn out - naturally - but she's in great spirits and is recovering from the procedure very well. Kudos to the team at Wishard Hospital for a terrific, professional, and friendly experience on the single most frightening day of my life.

Because Lincoln was born early, his lungs are a bit underdeveloped. He is on a CPAP machine to help him breathe. The good news is that he's NOT on oxygen - he's breathing room air. So the CPAP machine is simply keeping the airway open - he is respirating well. That said, the pediatrician will be stepping down the pressure on the CPAP tonight, and by morning, Lincoln may be breathing completely on his own. I appreciate any and all prayers to this end.

Also, because he was early, Lincoln can't eat yet - he's on an IV for nutrition. Hopefully, once he's off the CPAP, he will be able to eat.

Heidi will be in the hospital for about three days - we hope to be home Saturday night in time to root (very calmly) for Butler in the Final Four. Lincoln, however, will be in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until he can breathe on his own, eat, and maintain body temperature. While we want Lincoln to get all the care he needs, we are eager to take him home and to make him part of our lives. We appreciate all your prayers during this time.

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About Lincoln: Updates on Heidi and my son