WOW, 27 WEEKS AND COUNTING

It wasn't that long ago when we were all sweating out Christy getting to week 24. Today she completed week 27, prayers answered. Thanks to all of you around the world who are praying for her, the babies and Steve. Every day, every week, means better health and less issues for both mom and the babies. Saturday, the 24th was spent celebrating Steve's birthday in the hospital, where he seems to be spending almost all of his non-working hours. Several family members were there to help Steve celebrate, making the room a little crowded. I'm sure Steve will not celebrate another birthday like that.

The attached photo is of Christy and Breanna taken during Steve's birthday celebration in Christy's hospital room. While the photo doesn't really show the size of Christy's stomach, you can be sure that it is getting BIG. We are all looking forward to Christy being able to carry the babies for several more weeks, hopefully, with your prayers, all the way to week 32. Christy and Steve are doing well. The babies are moving around a bit, and are most likely around 2 pounds each now. Well, that's all for today. Send Christy an e-mail or give her a call on her cell phone when you get a chance. Grandpa Bernd

A NOTE FROM STEVE

Howdy everybody.
Yesterday (Sunday 5/18) marked the 26th week of Christy's pregnancy. Each passing hour is a real blessing, as the babies continue to get stronger. Yesterday, the doctors actually allowed me to take Christy outside, in a wheelchair, for 10 minutes. It's the first time that she has seen the sun, felt the heat, heard the birds singing, and smelled the air in 23 days. She rejoiced as her dormant senses came alive outside. I could even hear her sing, "The hills are alive, with the sound of music"......as I twirled her around in her wheelchair. (smiles).

Christy has developed a real friendship with many of the nurses at the hospital. Sometimes when I call Christy in the evening, before bed, I'll hear laughing coming from her room. It sounds like a college sorority party. Christy definitely has a gift of making new friends very easily.

Thank you very much for all of your prayers during the past few weeks. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as the babies need more time to grow and mature. Thanks, Steve

I just want to add a couple of lines to update you on Christy's condition as of today, Wednesday May 21. Her doctors are very pleased with her progress and the babies overall good health. Her doctors have set a short term goal for Christy of completing 28 weeks. Today she has completed 26 4/7 weeks, so she has one week and three days to go to achieve that goal. We are all praying and hoping for 32 weeks, which according to the doctors is about the same as for a full term single birth. The hospital staff have all been great, arranging ultrasound examinations so that we family members and friends have a chance to see the babies. I was so amazed to see the close up of their hearts and see the valves opening and closing. When I think of how small their little hearts actually are, it is pretty amazing to see what technology has brought to the medical field. Christy and Steve were able to visit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) today and to see several babies born prematurely, including one that weighed 200 grams less at birth than Christy and Steve's babies weigh now. This little one was doing just fine, giving us a lot of confidence that even if Madeline, Grace, and Nicklaus were to make their appearance today or tomorrow (not likely), they would also do just fine. Bernie

25 and 3/7th weeks down

INTRODUCING NICKLAUS DIERKING.................
from Mommy's tummy of course

Both Christy and Sharon are making good progress as they deal with their medical situations. But for the moment, let's focus on Nicklaus Dierking, formally known as Baby C. The ultrasound today was very detailed, with measurements taken, heart beats monitored, and the overall health of all three babies evaluated. Nicklaus has overtaken his sister in size, being slightly bigger and heavier. He also gave the best pose, so I thought it would be fun to share that with you. To help you identify the ultrasound pix at left, picture that Nicklaus is lying on his back looking up, the head being to the right. His right arm is up to the right side of his head. I had the honor of being there to watch the ultrasound examination, unfortunately most of what the nurses and Christy saw could not be made out by me. I do know that all three had strong heartbeats, moved around a bit to frustrate the nurses, and all got positive reviews from the nurses. I do have a couple of pix of the girls, Madeline, formerly known as Baby A, and Grace, formally known as Baby B, but they are not as clear as Nicklaus, so I will wait til another time to reveal the girls. As noted in this blog's heading, today was the 3rd day of week 25. We are all praying for another 7 weeks at minimum, and with the Lord's help are confident that we can get there. Christy's stomach is getting quite large, as you can probably imagine.

Sharon is making great progress in her recovery. Yesterday we went for a short walk in the neighborhood, and this morning she wanted to go again, so we did. She still gets tired fairly quickly, and has weird pulling sensation when she stretches, but operation scars are all healing well. Her next surgery, which will be an outpatient procedure (go home same day as surgery) will be next month. And, the best part is that she is doing the cooking again, taking a huge load off my shoulders.

Please keep praying for both Christy and Sharon. I would also like to add my brother Walt to your daily prayers. Nine years ago he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had one kidney removed. The cancer has been in remission, however, recently he had a cyst removed from his head, and the biopsy revealed that the cyst was of the kidney cancer type. The cyst was removed and a body scan failed to show any other signs of cancer, but, he needs the Holy Spirit to intervene and eradicate any remaining cancer cells in his body. So that's it for today. May God bless each and every one of you. Bernd

FROM A MOM TO BE - A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Hello Friends and Family,

I thought I would give a small update to everyone. I have been here at
UCI for 18 days. It is really not that bad. I have three meals a
day, lots of company,and doctors and nurses that really take care of me.
The babies are doing great. On Wednesday I will have an ultrasound
that does some measuring, and we will get a better understanding of their
size. The babies continue to move all through the day. Madeline
continues to sit at the bottom, (I think I feel her the most), Gracie moves
all over the place, and Nicklaus is still on top staying far away from
his sisters. He actually had the strongest heartbeat today which is
really good for boys. I would like to say thank you for all the prayers
and support. I have received so many e-mails of encouragement and I
know that we are being prayed for constantly during the day. What a
miracle from God we are all getting to witness. If there is one specific
prayer, we are hoping to get to at least 30 weeks, 32 would be ideal.
Thank you for your prayers, and e-mails it really helps the day go by a
little faster. Christy

P.S. Happy Mothers Day!

A QUICK UPDATE FROM CHRISTY

Written Friday, May 2
Today is my one week celebration in the hospital. I am calling it a
celebration because God has placed me in a place where loving people are
caring for me. I know that most or all of you have been praying
continually and I have some answers that are proof. One of my doctors came
in today and gave us some good news. I am going to back up a bit and
tell you some background first. I have been on a contractions monitor
since I have been here. It tells us if we are having contractions and
yes we were having quite a few. They were small but they were there.
For about two days now they have gone to about two a day as opposed to
twenty a day. We knew this was good news. Another thing we have been
faced with is that I will need to take steroids in order for the babies
to grow and mature a little faster than normal. The steroids cannot be
given until after Sunday because of the viability factor. The best
scenario would be to wait and take them in a few weeks. When we first got
here the doctors did not feel we had a few weeks so I was to start the
steroids on Sunday. Well, God is proving He is moving in this
situation because the doctor came in this morning and said we are going to
hold off on the steroids for a while because there is no threat of
delivery at this time. PRAISE THE LORD! We were also taken off the monitor
because I am not having any contractions. This decision has come from
all the doctors gathering together and discussing my pregnancy. We also
had a chance to look at my beautiful babies and see their heart beats
and watch them play. Nicklaus is still up high watching his sisters
from and distance. Gracie is playing and kicking as usual and Madeline
(newest name) is down below but not as close to my cervix as last week.
This is also good because she is not putting any pressure on me. My
reason for this letter is to say thank you for the prayers. This would
not be happening without them, good work family and friends. Please
keep praying so we can all share in the miracles together. God is so
good. Christy

LOT'S OF GOOD NEWS

I have been busy so doing both a man's and a woman's house work, grocery shopping, cleaning house (just a little), fixing meals, and so on. I think that Sharon is impressed with my meal preparation capabilities, hey I can even fry an egg without breaking the yolk. I just find that there aren't enough hours in the day to do all that needs to be done. Makes one really appreciate your life partner, in my case, my best friend. Sharon is doing well in her recovery. We went to the Dr on Wed for her first post-op visit. Two of her three drain tubes have been removed, and the Dr wants to discuss the next surgery during her appointment next week. She gets better every day, although she wears out rather quickly. Keeping her down is getting harder and harder.

Christy and Steve are also making good progress in their family creation experience. Steve has taken the week off from work and spends every day in the hosp with Christy. She is doing well. No contractions to speak of. Her Drs and nurses are very positive and assure Christy that they will get her to week 30, at minimum. All that is helping Christy stay positive. She has great nurses, several of them who are Christian, and one who went to the same high school (Canyon) as Christy, and also attended Eastside Christian Church, where our family went during the kids early years. Today's examination includes measuring the babies, so in the next blog I should have more baby information for you. Sunday will be the day Christy completes her 24th week of pregnancy, which technically means the babies could survive outside the womb. Christy is planning a little celebration. We see this as the turning point in the pregnancy, the apex if you will, and look forward to every day and week hereafer, as that means better survival chances for the babies. Christy does have her laptop in the hosp, so any of you who feel up to writing her a note, please do so, it will give her something to do in those hours when Steve or other visitors are not there. God Bless, keep those prayers coming. Bernd