Greetings to you all, and thank you for your prayers.

Rebecca is doing well. Her blood pressure is down, and we are getting used to the idea of a longer hospital stay. Our room is very nice with many amenities including an uncomfortable fold-out bed for Husband/Daddy.

The news today now has better context than what we had yesterday. The resident perinatal doctor had some time to assimilate the data and speak with all the other doctors involved, and discussions with him this morning went better.

It appears at this time that Rebecca will be in the hospital through the end of the pregnancy. One thing we heard today was that for every day Rebecca stays pregnant means four less days Xavier will be in ICU. We are gearing up for a premie.

There are several issues at work with the pregnancy. The primary issue is that the placenta early on in the pregnancy did not cleanly connect to mom's uterine blood flow. This issue has nothing to do with age, it happens to young and "advanced maternal" alike. The connection which formed is not allowing mother's blood to enter into the placenta freely; there is a restriction to the flow. This restriction also means a restriction to the nutrients getting to Xavier. The restriction in blood flow from mother to placenta is also contributing to Rebecca's high blood pressure (contributing, but not entirely the cause).

The restricted nutrient flow is the reason Xavier's growth is three weeks behind. This has led to another problem uncovered yesterday by the ultrasound. The amniotic fluid is decreasing as the baby is directing what nutrients he gets to his body and organs and less to making the fluid.

I want to point out, that all of Xavier's organs, skin, brain, bones, etc. are well-formed. His umbilical to the placenta is well-formed and blood is flowing easily and freely to and from the placenta.

The mentioned conditions have set up a situation which is of strong concern. The restricted nutrient flow is not allowing for the creation of a sufficient amount of amniotic fluids and is retarding the baby's growth. Xavier's body is shunting much of the available nutrients to development of the head and brain. Though all his other organs are functioning fine (bladder filling and voiding, mouth, arm and legs moving, etc), there will come a point in time when Xavier's body will start shutting down organs to favor his brain. As the amount of amniotic fluid continues to decline, there will come a point when his heart (and other organs) will stop. This is one side of the issue.

The other side is as the baby grows and his body (and heart) strengthen, they will create greater and greater pressure into the placenta. Though Xavier's connection to the placenta is unimpeded, still the impedance between placenta and mom's blood flow will create a building "back pressure" on the baby's side of the placenta. This will also lead to stopping the heart.

A nuance arose with Rebecca's high BP. As she has had the higher BP through most of the pregnancy, it is now necessary to maintain a high BP (though not as high as yesterday afternoon) because the mother-placenta-child nexus has grown to depend on the higher BP. If the BP drops too low, it will mean a likely loss of the child. So, there is a tightrope to walk in keeping Rebecca's BP high enough, but not so high as to affect her health. There is some concern (as it seems to be common is such cases) of seizures if the BP is too high. This is not only harmful to Rebecca, but probably fatal to Xavier.

To be brief at this point, here is the plan as we know and have agreed to today:

1. We need to get Xavier into his 24th week. If he must come prior to that, the chances of his survival are very low. We believe this will not be a problem as we are already in the 23rd week.
2. Rebecca is expected to remain in the hospital through the rest of the pregnancy, the goal being to attain at least the 28th week (5 and 1/2 weeks away). This is so the doctors can keep a constant eye on the changing conditions in the baby's development and the placental issues working against it. They can react on a moment's notice and give Xavier the best chances. It's going to be day by day for now. Our first goal is to get into the 24th week, then to 27/28 because of his slower growth.
3. Once in week 24, we will transfer down to either Children's in Denver or University (also in Denver). They have the staff and equipment to monitor and manage baby's 24 weeks and older. Also, at 24 weeks, something happens with a baby and makes it much more able to cope with an early delivery (the doctor said it's like a switch being thrown). 24 weeks is when the baby will be medically treated rather than given to hospice care (not my words, the doctor's).
4. The next goal is to reach week 28 (and beyond), but that will depend on how the baby is doing. It is going to be a tight race the doctors think, some thinking 28 weeks is too much to hope for.
5. At 28 weeks, Rebecca returns to PVH in Fort Collins. PVH is well able to manage premies 28 weeks and older and all her doctors are here.

We are spurred on by "for every day Rebecca remains pregnant is four less days Xavier stays in ICU"

We are spurred on because mother, father and child are fighters and we see the 28th week as an attainable goal.

We are spurred on because it is not only we who fight for the life of our little Xavier, but all you also fight along side us with your prayers and support.

We are spurred on because we do not serve our God in vain.

We are spurred on because we are those who walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7)

Great is our God!

Here is a March 12th ultrasound profile of our Xavier Michael. His head is center-right and his body to the left; he is laying on his back. His lips are visible, and though the still cannot show it, they were moving as he practised suckling.