She’s Making Lemonade from Pure Crap

 

When I first met my blogger friend, Stephanie, the baby she was carrying was no larger than a peanut.  I’ve been there with her every step of the way, reading her posts about her pregnancy and general life, swapping emails about same.

Although Steph’s first pregnancy was a difficult one, her one big dream in life is to have a house full of wee ones to love, so she took the chance and planned for another baby.

It wasn’t long into her pregnancy that things started getting difficult and she was put on full bed rest.  Not an easy task when you have a 2-1/2 year old little boy to care for and love.  But Stephanie did so with grace (most of the time) and, always in the front of her mind was the fact that she’d do anything for the little girl growing within her.

A couple of months ago things started to become very worrisome.  Little Ella was not growing normally and it was questionable how long  Steph could stay pregnant to give Ella her best chance of survival.  Over the next months, Stephanie had multiple ultrasounds scheduled per week to determine Ella’s growth pattern and keep an eye on amniotic fluid levels and such.

Baby Ella still wasn’t growing and with each week that went by, Stephanie’s chances of going into labor were increasing.  At 31 weeks, and Ella just about 2 and a half pounds, they gave Stephanie painful steroid shots to help develop Ella’s lungs so she could be delivered safely last week.

All set for her C-section and admitted to labor and delivery, Steph and her husband James were given a shock.  The baby’s lungs had not matured, even with the steroid shots, so the delivery was not going to happen that day.  Stephanie needed to be admitted so that Ella could be monitored constantly.

So laying there in a hospital bed, Stephanie waits.  Waits to see if her baby will grow.  Waits to see if Ella’s lungs will mature enough to come into this world screaming.  Waits for the moment the doctor tells her that keeping the baby inside has become more dangerous than delivering her premature.  Waits to find out why her baby hasn’t been growing.  Because, you see, she’s been given no answers.  They don’t know why Ella is so small, or why her head and torso are growing disproportionately to the rest of her body.  They have ideas, but no concrete answers because an amnio would have been too risky.

And all this time, does Stephanie scream out to God, “Why?  Why me?  Why my baby?”  Well, I’m sure she does at times, but for the most part, she’s been facing this obstacle head-on and with positive thoughts.  No matter what challenges lay ahead for Ella and their family, they will be met with a fierce love that will propel them through any circumstance.

This silly award is what prompted me to write this post.  Stephanie gave me this award, when I think she alone owns it.  Because if anyone is making lemonade out of lemons, (or in my mind, making lemonade out of crap on a cracker) it’s her.

 

This post also serves one more purpose.  By telling you some of Stephanie’s story, I hope you will feel inspired to pray for my girl Stephanie, her husband James, her son, Josh, and her precious baby, Ella.  I know in my heart that everything is going to turn out fine, but every little prayer sent up to God will pave an easier way for Ella.

And please, if you have the time, stop by Mama Still Wears Gucci and say hello to Stephanie.  She’s got her laptop at the hospital and would love to receive some well wishes, I’m sure.