ONE MORE WEEK

Hi all, tomorrow another week will have past by and the babies will have achieved 32 weeks of life in the womb. I am attaching a couple of recent ultrasound pictures for you to see, but I have to admit that they are not as exciting in this format as they are when seeing them on the monitors in Christy's room. We have many ultrasound photos, and I know which picture is of which baby when Christy tells me, but by the time I get home they are all mixed up in my mind, so you will have to bear with me and just accept the two I selected, but don't ask me who they are of. Perhaps Christy can add some names when she reads this. I think that you will clearly see a foot in one picture and can make out the head and body in the other.

Today we went to the hospital in the morning and treated Christy and her nurses to Belgium waffles, complete with strawberries and whipped cream. One of the nurses commented that they are going to miss all of these little special benefits when Christy goes home. I think the bonds developed between Christy and her nurses will make it difficult when the tinme comes for Chrsity and the babies to come home. I expect that the delievery room will be very crowded as every nurse has vowed to be there when Christy delivers. Everyone at the hosptial is so geared at getting healthy babies into this world. I am so amazed at their dedication. Sharon and I were given a tour of the NICU - the intensive care unit for the premies. The little ones are so dear. This tough old grandpa's heart just melted when I saw them. Another set of triplets, born last week at 30 weeks and 4 days was in the NICU. That gave us an idea of what to expect when our little three angels will appear. While the premies look so fragile, I can't wait to hold them and give them warmth and loves. I'm sure that Sharon feels the same. I watched while a nurse was teaching a little one to suckle. She did this by inserting a very small feeding tube through the center of a nipple, then as the baby suckled on the nipple, the nurse pushed a little lliquid food through the tube. It was truly amazing to watch.

The time is getting exciting now, as we probably only have a few days, maybe two weeks weeks maximum, before the Dierking triples make their grand appearance. What will they be like? Who will they look like? What will their personalities be like? Who will be the most active? Last Tuesday (6/23) the babies weights were as follows; Madeline and Nicklaus were both 3 pounds 5 ounces (1500 grams for our European friends), and Grace was 3 pounds even (1360 grams). Now with the scrumptious waffle breakfast they were also treated to this morning, they probably gained at least a few ounces today. Well, there you have it. Please keep praying and thanking God for all his blessings, and asking for the Holy Spirit's guidance and presence providing safety during the delivery and recovery afterward.

LATEST MESSAGE FROM CHRISTY

Can you believe it? If I have to be honest, time has flown by. I have been here at UCI for 62 days. Yesterday was a great day. My friend Rebecca was here all day and then my Mom, Dad and Steve were here towards the end of the day. Besides having nice guests, I had my growth ultrasound and was able to look at all the babies and get their new weights. Madeline is still our Baby "A" and weighs in at about three pounds five ounces. Nicklaus has met up with his sister and is currently tied at three pounds, five ounces. Our little Grace is still a little behind, but strong as can be. She weighs three pounds exactly. If you are doing your math I have about ten pounds of baby inside and when you add three placentas and three bags of amniotic fluid, I currently am like a mother at about 41 weeks. For those of you reading this a full term baby goes 40 weeks so I am currently overdue. Everyday is a little bit of a struggle to move, get up or lay down. If I am being honest, this pregnancy is not very difficult. The hardest part is leaving "my life outside the hospital" and living in a small room with slight freedoms. My husband and family have made this whole process a lot easier. Steve brings me my mail, special snacks, dinner and my scissors. ( Yes, I have trimmed a few bangs here at the hospital.) My Mom and Dad have also brought homemade dinners and we have played lots of games day after day. I also have loved the e-mails and cards from friends and family. Thank you too for the visits and phone calls. I am getting very anxious to meet my babies in person. Yesterday during the ultrasound we got a perfect picture of Maddie's face and she was beautiful. This Sunday marks 32 weeks, this was my goal in the very beginning. The doctors are still saying 34 weeks and I hope I do not disappoint. Any day would be great for me, but I know that the longer I go, the healthier the babies will be. I joke that I will be doing cartwheels down the hospital to get the babies out. The doctors response to that was, if you can do cartwheels you can go to 34 weeks. Thank you again for all the prayers. Steve and I are truly blessed to have the support we do. Christy

30 1/2 WEEKS AND COUNTING

Not exactly a romantic anniversary dinner, but certainly a memorable one. This photo is of Steve and Christy enjoying their 2nd Anniversary together in the University of Irvine Medical Center lunch area. Sharon prepared them a sumptious dinner of salad, Filet Mignon and dessert, complete with candlelight and two red roses. As you can see both had an enjoyable evening. Christy had a little problem scooting up to the table, as there was a large bulge keeping her from sitting up close, but that did not keep her from enjyoying the dinner, espcially the sugar free chocolate dessert.

The babies and mother continue to do fine. Christy's blood pressure is still a little high, and is being monitored closely by the medical staff. Her doctors keep telling her that they fully expect Christy to carry the babies til week 34, which as of today would be about another 3 1/2 weeks. I had hoped to be able to report on the babies weights, etc., but this more detailed exam and sonagram where the babies sizes are measured won't happen til next Wednesday. The estimates are that the babies are probably over 3 pounds each now, but apparently aren't quite ready to make their grand entrance into the world yet. Well, we are off to make our almost daily visit to the hospital to keep Christy, Gracie, Madeline and Nicklaus company. Til next time, God Bless. Bernd

ONLY A FEW MORE WEEKS TO GO

Hi All, It's Tuesday morning, June 17, 30 weeks and 2 days into the pregnancy, and Steve and Christy's 2nd Wedding Anniversary!!! What a glorious day. Yesterday was a good day as far as Christy's health goes. Her blood pressure had gone down into a normal range, after several days of cllimbing a little each day. Her doctors were all pleased with her and the babies progress, and are still predicting birth around week 34. Christy has really "popped" out. Her stomach is big, and as you may be able to imagine, stretched to what seems like the limit. I think I could bounce a nickle off her stomach, it's so tight. Nicklaus was really moving about yesterday, kicking back whenever anyone pushed on the stomach area he was occupying, and Christy said it seemed like he had been doing summersaults earlier in the day. The girls are both occupying the lower abdomen area, and seem to be a little quieter. We spent our time with Christy as we usually do, playing games, talking with the nurses as they stop by to chat, and having snacks (yesterday it was pizza and frozen yogurt). We will be taking a candlelight dinner (filet mignon) t0 to Christy and Steve tonight so that they can celebrate their anniversary together there at the hospital. If my memory is correct, tomorrow will be another measurement day, and we look forward to hearing how big the babies are now. So that's it, short but good. Take care everyone and keep the prayers coming. When I think about all your answered prayers, I'm reminded of when I was coaching Pop Warner football. We always prayed before each game, and our prayers were always not about victory, but about no-one getting hurt. This particular year I coached a team of 7-8 year olds, and we ended the sesaon without any serious injuries. On our last game, as I ended our pre-game prayer, one of the little guys said "Wow coach, this praying stuff sure works", yes it did, and it still does. Bernie

Update from Christy

Hi all, Christy sent this out as an e-mail last week, so some of you may have already seen tihs, but I thought it was definitely worth sharing with all. I will try to get you an update later today, after we visit with Christy. Bernd

Today is Wednesday and I am 29 weeks and 3 days. This Sunday is
another big day of happiness. It is funny to think that almost 50 days ago
we started this journey in the hospital. Everything, for the most part,
has been good. My body is getting a little closer to being done. (so
is my mind) Over the weekend my blood pressure is slightly rising and
I am getting a few headaches. These are signs of preclampsia which
would push us into a delivery. I guess my prayer is that I do not stress
myself out and make things worse than they really are. I am still
having ultrasounds everyday to check heartbeats and the babies are
wonderful.
When I get e-mails and phone calls a lot of you have asked about Steve.
Seeing as it is Fathers Day this weekend I thought I would share some
of the neat things and interesting things that have happened with him
in this process. First of all Steve has been great in the support
department. He is here almost everyday and brings food, newspapers (I like
the sport section), any drinks I might want, my mail, and plays games
to pass the time. I will say I still have not succeeded in beating him
in Connect Four. He also has had some surprises . If you know Steve
those are not his favorite but he did enjoy these. One of the classes
Steve teaches at night threw him a surprise baby shower on the last
night of class, and yesterday some of his co-workers did the same thing.
I am so glad that people have made him feel special. Steve also had to
try and "one up" me by spending a night in the emergency room. About
a month ago he went to a CSUF baseball game with my boss Bill and was
sitting behind first base and a line drive came right to him and hit him
in the jaw. Being a man he said he was fine until he realized that he
could not hear out of his right ear. Bill and Steve headed over to
St. Jude emergency and he was checked out, cat-scan and all. Thank
goodness he was okay and was sent home around midnight. I guess you can
imagine how I was doing and what I was thinking. How many people can say
that both spouses were in two different hospitals at the same time.
The best part about this pregnancy for me is seeing my husband grow in
the Lord. Steve has been so touched by the overwhelming prayer and
support from all over the world, literally. One class of students even
asked my name so that they could pray for me by name. Another student said
her husband was in Guatemala and could she send the request there.
Co-workers have lent helpful advice and of course our families are
constantly there for us. My husband has grabbed my hands and just started
praying when things are getting rough. If there was one thing that these
babies of ours have done for both Steve and I it is improve our
relationship with the Lord. I knew they were going to be special and I was
right.
As the weekend quickly approaches and we celebrate our Fathers I want
to give a quick shout out to mine. My Dad has also made my life in this
hospital a lot easier. He and my Mom are here almost everyday
bringing food and playing games. My Dad has even let me win a few games of
Phase 10. (what a giver) Remember to call your Dad this weekend and
tell him how special he is. Thank you again for all your prayers. Christy

THE BABIES ARE GROWING

Hi All, I was hoping for some new baby pictures today, but the latest ultrasounds were mainly of body parts the doctor was interested in, and were not interesting to look at, so no new pictures. Christy's doctors are happy, no elated, with the babies progress. Achieving 28 weeks is a major milestone as far as the health of premature babies go. I think that every one of her doctors has predicted that she will carry the babies past the 34th week, which would be absolutely fabulous. All of you around the world who are in the daily prayer chain must certainly realize that God has answered all of your and our prayers. Thank you for all your prayers, and please keep the prayers coming. Sharon and I and Steve are spending many hours playing card and dice games with Christy. Yesterday 4 nurses joined us for some real championship Skippo card games. The only problem with that is I keep losing and Chrsity does a lot of the winning. I have found out that several of her nurses are very competitive which makes the games lots of fun. Below is a short little note Christy wrote this morning. She did send it to a few people, and here it is for everyone to read. God Bless. Bernd

I know it has been a few weeks since you have had an update, I was waiting to give a growth scan report. Today I had an ultrasound that measures the babies heads, abdomens, and legs. They put all the information into the computer and come up with an estimated weight.Madeline has taken the lead. She is weighing in at 2 pounds and 10 ounces. Nicklaus is right behind her at 2 pounds and 9 ounces. My little Gracie is a little smaller with a weight of 2 pounds and 3 ounces.It is amazing how much I feel I know my babies. They have already developed personalities. Madeline is down at the bottom and will most likely be born first. She has been very stable and I think she will have the personality of a first born child. I also think she and Steve will have a really close relationship. Nicklaus is hanging out at the top of my uterus. He seems to almost be quietly staying away from his sisters and behaving. I think he will be very kind and gentle spirited. I hope that he and I have a close relationship like Steve shares with his Mom. Then there is Gracie. She is the mover. Her position changes almost everyday. I tell everyone that she will be the child who gets the leash to keep her close to us. I also think she is going to carry the Kammer trait of being strong willed. Am I a little scared about that, just a little.I would like to say thank you again to all of you who pray for us daily. We know that we are still here because of Gods grace. We are WOWING the doctors. Speaking of, they have predicted that I will go to at least 32 weeks and possibly 34 or 35. I cannot imagine my tummy getting bigger but it would have to to carry all the weight. I also would like to say thank you to all the visitors and e-mails and letters we receive. It really keeps me connected to the outside and I feel like I know a little about what is going on in your lives as you do mine.I guess that is all for today, my next growth scan will be in about three weeks but I will send an update possibly next week. Again, thank you from Steve and I. God bless to everyone!