Update; before & after pics

We are still here, taking it one day at a time. We have recently gotten back from our third trip to St. Louis where we have met with sooo many drs. Baby is growing and developing very well and already weighs over 5pounds! (Nearly as much as I weighed when I was born). Baby Itty Bitty will definitely have to have "balloon procedure" done right away as there is lots of flappy tissue around the small opening between right &left sides of heart. This tissue tends to want to close over the hole right away & in our baby's case this needs to stay open until surgery. Surgery could be anywhere from day 2 to day 7 of baby's life. First night in NICU and the remainder of time in the CICU(cardiac intensive care unit). We should be able to have an inducement date soon. They are thinking sometime the 2nd week of Nov. Not much longer! Thinking about the reality of it all and seeing our precious baby undergo so much brings about lots of scared and nervous feelings as we get closer to "D" day. But, we continue to trust in the Lord and know that He will help see us through. Please continue your prayers as we anxiously await our miracle.

Max at our neighbors annual
"Pig Roast" celebration Labor Day weekend.

Brothers, will there be another brother joining the Peters' boys clan? We'll find out soon enough!

Max with new baby kitty Bogart Peters.

Me: 35wks preggers.

And now for some before & after "nesting" projects. This is a pic of the buffet I am standing in front of before I got my hands on it.

My kitchen before. I have been dying to get my hands on it and always visualized the after in my brain.

My $100 kitchen makeover. What a huge change huh!?!? Took me a week to work over those cabinets but sooo worth it in the end. Amazing what an electric sander and some paint can do!

Vintage table found for $3 bucks at garage sale, now in a fun fabulous turquoise

Coffee table before and...

After w/top of Maxy's head. The paint is called black leather but looks a little navy in this photo.

Cool chair I revamped but could not find the before photo.

Boy's room/pad. Before. Stay tuned for after. It's almost done.

Nursery. Before. Oh Lord. We do at least now have crib set up

with clean sheets and bedding :) Stay tuned for the after coming very soon.

Update on "Itty Bitty"

We have had our first doctor's visit to St. Louis Children's Hospital and we are feeling more encouraged now. It has been confirmed that it is Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), but they did not see any other heart defects or problems at this time. One major surgery is done around day 5 after baby is born. The surgery takes a total of 6-8 hrs. and baby will have to stay in the hospital for about 2 wks after surgery. The first few days of baby's life before the surgery, the baby will take a medicine to keep the small hole open between the right & left sides of the heart that is present when baby is in mommy's tummy. (This opening eventually closes after birth). This small hole allows the oxygen rich blood to mix with the non-oxygen rich blood. Our cardiologist also told us that with this particular type of heart defect that chromosomal abnormalities aren't as likely as what we thought. Praise the Lord!

I will continue to see my OBGYN here as well as the doctors in St. Louis. Our next trip to St. Louis will be sometime the second week of Sept. and then returning every 2 wks. after that. If myself and the baby are progressing well and no changes are happening, then they will ideally induce me 1 wk early.
We continue to trust in the Lord and rely on His strength and take comfort in His peace.


I want to thank all of you who have been praying and offering support as well as all of the sweet, encouraging comments. We are blessed to have such wonderful prayer believing family and friends. It is a comfort to us. We will continue to keep you updated and please continue your prayers. They work!

Pray for Baby Peters

Yesterday, after what was supposed to be a routine checkup and a follow up sonogram, we received some devastating news. Our baby "Itty Bitty", has been diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA). In short, this means that the positions of the pulmonary artery and the aorta have been switched. Baby is unable to get oxygen rich blood to the body and will not survive without immediate heart surgery. Although very complicated, the success/survival rate after surgery is very promising. However, there are some chromosomal abnormalities that can cause this defect. Downs syndrome and trisomy 18 (fatal) are a couple of them. Amniocentesis will give us the answers as to whether or not there is a chromosomal abnormality as well. We do not know much more at this point, but we will be meeting with a fetal cardiologist at Washington Hospital in St. Louis early next week. The baby will have to be delivered there. I am asking all of you who believe in the power of prayer to fight with me and my family & pray for our precious baby. Please also pray for me, Stephen, Max, Ed & Will as we try to process and cope with all of this.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

Halfway!

I can't believe that I am already halfway through my pregnancy. The first 20 wks have gone by pretty quickly although I have had quite a bit more discomfort this time around. My belly is growing rapidly-Max thinks there is a boy and a girl in momma's tummy. I don't think so...An endless "to do" list is constantly running through my brain. So much to prepare, organize, clean, decorate. I am most definitely "nesting" as they say. Can't wait to hold this miracle.

Me: 20 wks. preggers. I feel baby move all the time. :). low back pain, abdominal pains, heartburn,

itchy skin (weird), fatigue, food "issues", emotional, & grateful to have this experience again!

"Itty Bitty": 10 oz., very active, (so active in fact that I will be having another sono at my next checkup, Darn :) 146 heart rate, abou 5 2/3 to 6 1/2 in. long

Bottoms of 2 feet and toesies.

Summer beckons

Summer is technically, officially not here yet, but the activities are in full swing. Although we have been getting bucket loads of rain, we have still managed to squeeze in some super fun activites.

We took the boys camping a couple nights and hit up the nearest small town pool. Max & I camped 1 night while the big boys camped 2. Max is still new at the whole camping thing so sharing a tent with his two big brothers was just too exciting-not much sleep. And, Stephen & I's blow up mattress had a slow leak so we ended up on the hard ground, yes, ground by 11:00. pm. It was hot and there were lots of noises and the ground was digging into my side. Normally, I am quite the camper. I love it. Love being in nature. But this time, 18 wks pregnant, it just wasn't working out. I woke up, well I should say finally just got up at 5:40 am and informed Stephen-who was already awake with Will preparing to set off for fishing-that I was sorry but that Max and I would be sleeping at home tonight. (We're only a 15 min. drive from this state park). Stephen understood. I was a little disappointed in myself but then remembered that I have a pretty good track record at being the "happy camper." So, me, Itty Bitty (baby), and Max slept soundly and snuggly in our cool, soft beds. :)

"Sittn' on the dock of the bay"

The "Boys" Fishing time

Max & Momma in the rowboat. Max started singing "Row row row your boat" when Stephen started rowing.

Ed & Will

We had our very own private little dock that led right up to our campsite.

At the pool: Max didn't let go of that ball the whole time-unless he was shooting a basket.

Ed & Will-great big bros, fantastic helpers, studs. :)

The pool house is sooo vintage-love it-hope they never change it.

Vintage tin pool sign.

16 wks!

I am 16 wks pregnant! Our baby is due Nov. 14th and we are soo excited to welcome our new little one.

We feel extremely blessed, humbled and still somewhat shocked. Although we had been planning this for quite some time, it took us almost 2 years to conceive. Talk about a lesson in perseverance and patience, faith and character building! After visiting a fertility dr. 8 m0nths ago, I got some answers and we became more hopeful. I learned to trust God in this matter and to realize that this Was going to happen-when He wanted it to!

Max is excited and curious about the "baby in mommy's tummy." He keeps asking what "her" name is. No, we do not know if its a boy or girl & don't think we will find out either!
My sister, Mindy, just had her precious baby girl on our mom's b-day! We got to share a little time being pregnant together and how wonderful it will be to have 4 cousins so close together! Christmas at Gma Lila's & Gpa 'Mutache's will be full, fun and frazzled with a 3 and 2 yr. old, 6 mo. old and a 1 mo. old!

Baby is about 4 1/2 inches and weighs 2 3/4 ounces. Fine lanugo hair covers baby's head fingernails are formed. Legs are longer than arms and both are moving. Baby may suck its thumb.

Me: fatigue, heartburn, upset stomach, sciatic nerve pain, food "issues", clumsiness, forgetfullness, emotional, (pass the tissues please), itchy skin, frequent & annoying urination. Just to name a few.. Best part- I have just begun to feel movement, slight "fluttering"! :)

Neighborhood snapshots & more

As most of you know, we live in the country. I am pretty proud of this fact. We may not live in the grandest, fanciest of homes, but our surroundings are beautiful and our neighbors are salt of the earth people. Every day I am grateful for the scenery and for our little "retreat" nestled in the trees. I love that Max is getting to be a "country" boy and loving all of God's creatures. We recently put up a bird feeder & enjoy getting to watch goldfinch, cardinals, blue birds and some we can't quite figure out. We have grown used to the commute to grocery store, UofI campus, drs., resaurants, shopping, whatever. If we desperately need something, like milk or bread, tp... pop....chocolate..the BP is 3 min. up the road on the highway. You can even rent "yurself" a video there. What do you like about your neighborhood & your home? There is nothing like being able to go home and feel so relaxed, comfortable, yourself; surrounded by the things that you love and make you happy.

Max andMr. Toad

This old school house is just down the road. We walk there all the time.

Emma and Summer-mother & daughter

Honery boy-with dinosaur squirty-a new fave.

Huh? I wasn't suppose to pick this one mama?

Neighbors who graciously watch Max on occasion.

A sweet grandma lives here. She was an Avon rep back in the day. Boy would I love to see her vintage jewerly.

These fun folks just brought us farm fresh eggs and fresh garden grown asparagus.

Hey Bessy!