As I start to write this long overdue post, it’s hard to wrap my mind around all the things I want to share.
First, I know many have been faithfully praying, even as I have failed to keep you updated. I apologize. Thank you for praying for us and the baby Melanie is carrying. Melanie rejoices in the privilege of being pregnant again. For a couple that spent five years wondering if we could have children, this is a wonderful blessing.
We have now passed the 30th week! This is the farthest Melanie has ever made it without being on hospitalized bedrest. While for several weeks earlier in the pregnancy, she was on home bedrest, in the past month, she has been able to be cautiously up and around. Although each day we wonder if this little feeling, or that twinge will lead to bedrest, for now, even though she’s significantly restricting her activities, she’s not on bedrest. We are thrilled with that.
To illustrate God’s hand of direction in this pregnancy, we had a bit of surprise a couple weeks ago. Melanie is supposed to be on Hydroxy17 progesterone. The compounding pharmacy we purchased it from somehow had the wrong bottle inside the protective plastic bottle – outer bottle read correct, inner not. For ten weeks, she had been on the wrong type of progesterone, and a dosage much lower than prescribed. Had our confidence for this pregnancy been in progesterone injections, we would have been devastated. Instead, we thanked the Lord for letting us discover the problem, switched her to the correct, and sat wondering what His purpose was for her being on the “wrong” medication.
We continue to battle with fear and concern. We are grateful with each day that Melanie is not on bedrest, and particularly that we don’t have a baby in the NICU. However, everytime my phone rings and I see it’s Melanie calling, my heart skips a beat as I wonder what, if any, news she has. We wrestle with what an appropriate amount of activity is. We wish we had a way to know whether the contractions she’s having are benign or not. All that aside, we pray and ask God for the privilege of raising this child. There are so many emotions and yet our prevailing one is, “Thank You, Lord, for this (very active) baby.” Children are God’s gift (Psalms 1237:3), and we are grateful to Him for this one.
Nathan
Thank you for letting us know about your family. I am praying for all four of you, and looking with hope to the future.
By the way, those little snurly-nosed grins of Abby’s are too cute. We have several pictures of our daughter wearing a similar expression, and they warm my heart every time I see them.
Good to hear that Melanie and Baby max are doing well! We’ve been wondering how she’s been and we are praying and will continue to do so!
Cute pictures of Abby! She’s adorable!
God bless! The Ks
Your news is wonderful thank you for sharing it with us. May the next ten weeks fly by until you are rejoicing in the safe delivery of the baby and you are sharing pictures of your little one.
30th week!! Hurray! God be praised! Still covering all of you in prayer!
So glad that Melanie is not on the restricted bed rest! Praise the Lord! 🙂 Yes, we are keeping Melanie, baby and you and Abby in our prayers!!!! So happy that she is on the correct amount of medication now! Yes, I too have to be on medication for my health (thyroid disease) and it’s so comforting to know my health is in God’s hands…not the medication. 😉
May the Lord bless your family with another little one to treasure. 🙂 Thank you for the update, it is wonderful to know specifically how to keep Melanie and the baby (and you as well) in our prayers. 🙂
God Bless you!
~Miss Rachel~
PRAISE GOD for answered prayer! Having had 4 NICU babies myself I know that it’s hard to enjoy the pregnancy without worrying. I pray God’s peace and comfort through the rest of this pregnancy and that your joy will be full.
What precious pictures of Miss Abby! Thank you for sharing your faith, hope and blessings with all of us! My prayers are with you, Melanie, Abby and the rest of your family as you await the arrival of this precious blessing from God!
Hi, this is my first time posting a response… I have been wondering how Melanie’s pregnancy was going… praise the Lord that she is doing well!! I will pray that the rest of the pregnancy will be smooth and free from any problems. You have an adorable little girl… I bet she is excited to have a sister or a brother!
Thank you so much for the update! What wonderful news. I had been wondering but didn’t want to seem intrusive by asking.
Thank you Jesus for this baby and every day that Melanie is able to carry this precious little life! I was wondering if something had happened when there were several days silence. Praising God for this good news.
I am so glad for the update and the wonderful news. We are still praying here for God’s blessings on your family:-)
Praise the Lord! What a joy and blessing to have His grace and guidance.
Thank you for posting an update on Mrs Maxwell. My sisters and I have been praying for her and the baby. May the next ten weeks be smooth and uneventful!
Blessings in Christ,
Alice, Louisa, Marianne and Hannah
Thank you so much for the update. Our family has been faithfully praying for Melanie. Every once in a while I go back in your posts in order to remember how many weeks along she is. You mentioned when she was 15 weeks so I just add from there. We are thankful to God she is doing so well and will continue to pray for a healthy outcome. We rejoice with you.
Abby is beautiful, what a blessing she is to your family.
Praise the Lord that things are going well. Your family remains in our prayers!!!! Thank you so much for the update. You and Melanie are such a huge encouragement…you both show just how much trust you have in the Lord even with trials. That is a very strong witness for the Lord and I thank you for that. We are so blessed that the Lord led us to your family and your family’s ministry.
Many blessings,
Carl & Vania
Thank you for sharing, I had been praying and hoping for an update. Asking our Savior to give you peace as you walk through this finally phase of pregnancy. Also for a healthy mama and baby! He is good!!
We will continue to lift you in prayer. May God’s peace and faithfulness overwhelm you day by day. What a beautiful testimony of His daily care for each of you. May He receive all the Praise for all that will unfold in the weeks ahead.
In His Grace,
Jennifer
Jeremiah 17:7
Praise the Lord for such a good report ! We also have been praying for Melanie and baby Maxwell as well. Thanks for the update ! 🙂
Praise God for the good news! I’ve been praying for Melanie and the little one so I was glad to read this post. May God continue to bless their health according to His will!
Glad to hear such a great report! I had just been thinking of you and realized Melanie must be past 30 weeks by now. I know every week is a victory and can remember thanking God for each one. My own health was of great concern during my last pregnancy, and there was much talk of an early delivery in the event of an emergency. But God is faithful, and I made it to 39 weeks with no problem. Praying you make it all the way to “the end” and for another healthy little Maxwell.
I can’t tell you how very happy I was to find that Melanie has safely made it to the 30 week mark. I hadn’t realized that she was that far along already!
I know every week that baby M stays in the womb is such a blessing. I’m continuing to pray for you all and am looking forward to baby M’s birth announcement—-in about 10 weeks. 🙂
We are keeping Mom and Baby in our prayers. God Bless 🙂
So very, very happy for you all – and I will pray for your patience and equanimity, though neither my husband nor I have ever been good at exhibiting either one while we are in the last stages of waiting for a baby. :> More seriously, I cannot tell you how often the Lord has brought Melanie and you all to mind the last six or eight months. It is a joy and a privilege to share in YOUR joy. May you truly have that “peace that passeth all understanding” as your family grows.
Your little girl is adorable and I bet she will be a wonderful big sister! We will be praying for Melanie and baby. It’s a blessing to know God is so much bigger than the challenges we face! God bless you!
Thanks for the update. Praying that things continue to go well for Melanie and baby. As always, love the Abby pictures. 🙂
Thank you for this update, Nathan! How wonderful that Melanie is at 30 weeks and is still able to be up and about (although limited activity). I have been– and will continue–lifting up Melanie, you, Abby and the baby in my prayers. Blessings from Georgia, Patti M. 🙂
Thanks for the update. What wonderful news! I’ve been praying for your family. I just passed the 28 week mark (due Sept 8 with #6), and it’s especially neat hearing updates with such similar due dates. Will continue to pray.
Thank you so much for the update on Melaine and Baby. You are all in our prayers every day. What a blessing it is for Melanie to not be on continuous bedrest–I’m sure this makes it all much easier on Abby to have Mommy available.
Keeping you in prayer.
Blessings, Mrs. Mari
Dear Nathan and Melanie,
Generally I don’t like commenting on blogs but today I simply have to.
Thank you for sharing your walk with the Lord through what He allows in your life. I have been extremely blessed by your posts since I began reading them, that is when Melanie was pregnant with Abigail. Our soon-2-year-old daughter had the same due date as Abigail, her twin went to the Lord at the beginning of the pregnancy and we have had the joy to welcome a new baby daughter nearly two months ago. During the challenging transition weeks after her birth, I have read Melanie’s post about 1P5,6-7 (written when Abigail was 7 weeks old) over and over again and it has been a tremendous blessing!
Praying for you all,
Anne-Laure from Germany (annelaure on MOTHBoard)
Thank you, Jesus.
We have been praying for your family. Thank you for keeping us updated.
Thanks for the update. Praise the Lord!! Will continue to keep Melanie and baby in my prayers. The Lord is faithful… 🙂
I’m praying for precious baby M. How wonderful that little Miss Abby is going to be a big sister. (It does seem like Abby was just born yesterday!)
Peace.