Day 12: Good new - more of the same!

We continue to be overwhelmed by the support you have all given us over these last two weeks. It is such a powerful feeling to find encouragement everywhere you turn... to know that the family you were given and the friends you have chosen are cut from such kind and benevolent stock. Your love has helped challenged us to dig deep and find the strong and positive energy we need to continue providing Oliver with a healthy and stable womb.

The news from the hospital continues to be excellent. Michele is healthy and Oliver's vital signs are very encouraging. The doctors are quite optimistic and they are beginning to treat her like a long-term visitor. She's signing up for in-bed physical therapy and is being exposed to other services the hospital offers for patients that are in for the long haul. The only "setback" we have experienced this week is a very itchy (but non-contagious) condition the doctors are calling the "rash of pregnancy." Judging from the amount of kicking and squirming he has been doing, Oliver thinks its funny.

True story: for several months prior to our admission to the hospital, I would whisper to Oliver (or, more specifically, to Michele's belly) that he needed to "hurry up and get born" or else I was going to go crazy. On several occasions I told him that if he didn't hurry up I was going to "squeeze him out." (Michele did not find this very funny.) I'm not a very superstitious person, but it is difficult not to cringe a little when I think about those silly comments. For goodness sake, boy, I was KIDDING! Not taking any chances, I've decided that from now on I will spell things out for Oliver in no uncertain terms: you're grounded for one week for every day you are born premature!

More milestones are ahead... Oliver celebrates his second week in the hospital on Friday and on Monday he will reach 28 weeks gestational age. The advances in medical care are staggering: for babies born at 28-31 weeks gestational age, the fatality rate has been halved in the last 20 years. As he continues to grow, his odds improve dramatically. In just the time he has been there, his prospects for survival have doubled. At 28 weeks, the survival rates for pre-term infants exceeds 90%!

Our love for Oliver and our faith in ourselves has grown just as dramatically in the past few weeks. Thank you for being part of this process and for giving us your shoulders to lean on. Your thoughts and prayers and jokes and hugs have been our fuel. Come on little Oliver, let's do this!

Love,

Charlie, Michele and Oliver