Deja vu all over again

Well, in spite of all our hopes and plans, Stephanie is in preterm labor again. It all seemed eerily familiar as Stephanie had a really uncomfortable night Friday and woke me up in the wee hours of Saturday to take her to the hospital. She was banging out contractions every 2-3 minutes at one point, but the docs got all that quieted down with the dreaded mag sulfate. It hasn't made her quite as loopey this time, which is nice. The steroids for baby take 48 hours for full effect, so she's just chilling out at the hospital now, hoping things stay calm tomorrow after they shut off the mag (at the 48 hr mark). If so, she'll be able to come home on some modified bed rest, but if not.... well, we may end up with a baby this week.

The downside? This is even earlier than when she went into labor with Caleb. He was a 30 weeker (she went into labor at 29 weeks, then spent almost a week in the hospital). This little guy is only 28 weeks, which doesn't sound like much of a difference, but a lot changes in a week or two for those little babies. We'll see how it goes, but this might signal the end of biological children for the two of us.

The upside? Well, she's not had any issues with blood pressure this pregnancy. Many of you will remember that with Caleb, she had pre-ecclampsia, which is basically high blood pressure in pregnancy and some associated badness. That is not the case now, so at least we have one less person to worry about this go 'round. This also means that we can pull out all the stops to keep the kid in. With Caleb, Stephanie was in such rough shape it just couldn't wait any longer. Here in Nebraska, there is also lots of family around who have been great about offering to help with Caleb while we get through all this. And there's always the advantage of working where she's staying, so I can pop in throughout the day and see how things are going.

The other thing that worked out so well was just the timing of it all. My little brother, his fiance, and her dad just happened to be staying at our house Friday night, and I just happed to be home with the weekend off. As a result, Stephanie could wake me up without worrying about me working the next day and Andrew et al could be at home with Caleb while he slept. Makes me wonder how much of life, at least at times like that, are coincidental vs orchestrated. There were also a few "coincicences" that brought us to the doctor when Stephanie was in labor with Caleb that very well could have made the difference for both of them. It all just serves to remind me that even when things happen that are less than ideal in our minds (to say the least), the Lord is always there in the midst of it, letting us know we're not in it by ourselves. He has showed over and over that whatever the situation and whatever the outcome, He will be by our side, sharing our joys and our burdens. That is what He promised. It is more than we need, and infinitely more than we deserve.