First milestone: 24 weeks

We made it to the first milestone! We had a lengthy conversation with a NICU doctor last night now that we've entered this new stage in the pregnancy. Obviously, we want to keep them baking as long as possible. He indicated that things could change very quickly with me, so every day means so much, and every week is an unbelievable blessing.

The babies are now at the earliest point of viability, which is to say that if they were born, their odds would be 50/50. Believe it or not, that's way better than if they were born last week. With every passing week, their odds get better and better, and by 28 weeks they'll have a 95% chance of survival. Of course, the other scary thing is that even if they live, they have a very high risk of lifelong developmental and/or physical disabilities. If they were born during the next week, they'd only have a 1 in 4 chance of being totally healthy.

I've now had my 2 injections of steroids to help develop the babies' lungs and other systems, but these are most effective within a week of delivery. Of course, we don't want me to deliver for a while, so I may have a repeat dose in a few weeks if we make it that long.

The babies are continuing to kick the heck out of me, and their heart rates are strong and steady, so I'm enjoying them as long as I can. Shawn and Brady are visiting as often as possible, and Skype is helping us stay more connected.

I've had lots of visitors, calls, texts, and messages, and my friend Heather is now in from Philadelphia to keep me company and translate medical jargon. ;) I can't tell you how thankful we are for your thoughts, prayers, and love.

We have another ultrasound tomorrow, but hopefully we won't get any "new" news-- more of the same is what we want. More updates soon!