Half the Heart, Twice the Fight: 37 Weeks

I cannot believe how fast the last week has gone. The weeks waiting for 36 weeks seemed to take forever, simply because it was crucial to make it there. Now we are nearly one week away from delivery day! Just 10 short days away.

Last week, the team had a comprehensive meeting about delivering Kennedy, finalizing all the details. Yesterday, we had an ultrasound and a fetal echo. The ascites in her belly has remained the same, and the doctor said the edema under her scalp has seemed to go down a bit! Such amazing news. Praise the Lord! With all that being said, yesterday was our last set of appointments before April 20.

The day of delivery is obviously going to be pretty hectic. We are the first scheduled appointment, scheduled for 7:30AM. We will have to arrive at the hospital around 6AM to get me prepped for surgery. Instead of delivering me on the woman's floor where they typically deliver babies, we will be delivering on the general surgery floor in the OR next to our surgeon's (Dr. Ohye) OR. Blaine will not be with me for my epidural, as they will be prepping him to meet us in the OR for delivery. I am so happy and grateful he will be able to be there with us and get to see his baby girl. Once Kennedy is delivered, she will get cleaned up, vitals taken, baptized, pictures taken, and prepped to head over to the next OR for her septostomy. Blaine and I will be returning to recovery and they will be keeping him updated. Once I can be moved into my postpartum room and Kennedy is out of surgery, I am hoping I will be able to go up and see her ASAP.

These last few weeks have been pretty stressful in themselves, let alone this next week and a half. I still feel like I have gotten nothing done, besides trying to keep the house decently picked up. Sleep at night isn't easy, and I still have to pack our bags!!! Yikes. Thankfully, I still feel great, besides my sore hips and lack of sleep for the most part. No signs of labor yet. And I at least have my lists written out for what I need to pack for Carsyn and I. My dad is coming this weekend and will be taking Izzy back to Ohio with him, until we are ready for her to come back home. Every time I think of her leaving, I get teary eyed and slightly upset. It's always been difficult for me to leave her. The longest she's been gone has been 2 weeks. I don't even know the next time I will see her, and Carsyn has been all about her dog lately, which really breaks my heart. When Izzy isn't visible to her, she always asks, "Where's Izzy?" She says Izzy better than she says anything else. At least I know Izzy will be taken care of, I just hope she doesn't forget me! ;)

As we all prepare for these final days before our lives really take on a big change, I have started a group on Facebook (link is posted at the end) for all those who would like to follow. I will continue to update the blog, as it is very therapeutic for me to write about my thoughts and feelings, but on the group it will be easier to post updates and pictures and for people to contact us. Please understand that we have begun these things (blog and group) to try and update all our friends and families as easily as possible for us. We love hearing from everyone, but trying to text, call, and message each individual back can be overwhelming. So if we don't directly respond to you, do not take it personally! We still enjoy hearing from you all! :)

God bless,

The Maag Family