Mr Patient

Well, Maxwell Edward Bayliss attempted an early entrance to the outside world at 22 weeks (17 weeks ago). But we asked him nicely to stay inside (with the help of a nice big stitch in the cervix) and he relented.

He arrived this morning at 6:40 am. We praise God that he waited so long. Next Wednesday would have been 40 weeks. To go from 22 weeks to almost 40 weeks is amazing.
Hallelujah!!!

The little guy's stats are 3.81 kg, 52 cm, a big head and chubby cheeks.

Mum and Bub are doing well and hope to be home from hospital ASAP.

Raphael is beside himself with excitement.

Love you all.

Update: 12th July 2011

Lil has had the stitch removed successfully and tomorrow (Tuesday 13th July) she will be 37 weeks pregnant which is a great time for a baby to arrive. No sign yet of any contractions, but who knows, maybe they will sneak up on her.

Lil is very excited but now freaking out about labour. Naturally.

Mikey is battling a man-cold and he has no voice and wants to get back into training for City2Surf and the City2Surf&Turf (yum).

Raphy says, "Hi everyone".

And that's about it for the moment.

Love and prayers back at you.

Remembering Teddy

Saturday 2nd July is the day we remember when Teddy graced us with his presence a year ago. We miss him. It has really surprised us how feelings of intense sadness can come on at any time. The sadness we feel now transports us straight back to a year ago.

We really wish Teddy was still with us but we thank God for him and his short life through which we have received great blessings and love from God and many around us.

Raph knows he has one brother on the way and one brother in heaven. We really hope Raph is able to deal with all the emotions that we can see he is experiencing.

So please remember Teddy with us
and thank you again for all your thoughts, prayers and love.

Mikey, Lil and Raphael

Update from Lil: 23/6/2011

Hi all!
Baby boy is still inside, getting fat, hurrah! So we are now officially 34 weeks and 1 day! Thankyou G!

The Prof was happy and he's planning for me to get "unstitched" in about two and a half weeks.

I am thankful for this time of rest and refreshment I've had and cannot believe it will soon come to an end!

Mikey is not feeling so refreshed! He has been driving us around, encouraging Raphy to sit on toilets, 'nesting', training for the City to Surf, amongst other things.

Raphy is getting excited that Baby will "come out soon!" and is amused that I'm getting so big. He really wants to come with us every time we go to RPA.
In a week or so we'll hit the anniversary of Teddy's dramatic entrance into this world and then his glorious exit to heaven.
At the moment, I'm feeling quite buoyant, but am aware that the next few weeks could be emotional. It's all quite unknown.

So thankyou for staying with us and praying thus far. We're very blessed by you all.

Almost 31 weeks and all is well

Hi everyone.

Doctors today were happy with the scan.
Pray that Lil will keep resting and that the baby can wait as long as possible.

If the little dude comes before 37 weeks then he will probably have to spend some time in the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit (Nicu) where Teddy hung out when he was around.
We would of course prefer not to have the little guy spend anytime there because it would mean we would have to leave him there. But we have to be prepared for anything.

I, Mikey, am planning a short trip to Perth 10th-12th June so let's hope the little guy doesn't decide to enter the world then.

Till soon
Lots of love

30 weeks: Update and apology from Mikey

Hi everyone,

I have to apologise. Lil sent me the update for the blog last week, but I didn't put it up. I have included it below. It was from when Lil hit 29 weeks.

Good news is that today Lil 30 weeks. We are still holding our breath for two more weeks however if bub comes now he has a fighting chance.

God has taught us so much, and he is definitely telling us to simplify our lives and sort somes things out, so we can be ready for the bub and for hopefully leaving next year.

So 30 weeks and all is well.
More soon.

---- Update from Lil from 29 weeks ------

Yeaaaah 29 weeks!!!! Went for a scan yesterday and the Prof is still happy! Wooohooo! He says to stick with the leisurely lifestyle. Fine by me! Apparently a little more than a third of women at RPA who get a cervical stitch can make it to full term. Yeeeah!
He also gave me and my sister a 3D look at baby. It was an unexpected treat. And he is definitely related! Big squashy Pang nose and fat lips!
I also had a check up at the Birth Centre and all else is well. If we make it to full term and all is ok, the bub can be born there. Making it to full term would make me the happiest labouring lady ever, with or without gas!
We are very thankful for 29 weeks!
I am grateful I have yet to be bored. I have really taken to this pace of life. I do some small outings. Even going to the hospital is fun since there are lots of yum places around RPA. My appointments are often timed around meals.....Why did I rush around so much before?! ...I'm going to make the most of this, I know I'll be a bit busy soon enough, yay!
Please keep Mikey in your prayers especially as his back is still healing and he's been hit with a bad case of food poisoning (and has lots of other things happening too, eg. ping pong, sermons etc.) - thanks!
Lots of love,
Lil (: xo

Still so far so good.

Hi everyone

Everything is still stable and Lil has been given a bit more leave by the Doctors to be a bit more mobile. She is still not allowed to train for the City2surf or resume her ninja training but she can get out a bit more.

Thanks for everything

Will be in touch
Mikey and Lil and Raphy

Lil update and reflections: 16/4/2011

Although my family have put me under house arrest, I am really quite enjoying this sedentary lifestyle. I haven't been bored once. Thankyou for ongoing prayers.

We're now 24 weeks and hurrah, the scan on Thursday showed that it's all looking as good as it possibly can at the moment. I am so thankful for developments in modern medicine and a great public health system.

We are so thankful to God that we've reached 24 weeks and I'm not in labour. This time, last pregnancy, I was already starting to have contractions, lying in the RPA labour ward.

We have thought of Teddy lots this week especially. It blows my mind knowing that he came out around this point, so small but beautifully formed. I can never imagine what Teddy would've been like full-term. He will forever be "Tiny Teddy". Raphy's Peter Pan, is what Mikey has called him.

Our third son, is not a replacement. Being pregnant with another son and having Raphy around has not made the pain of losing Teddy any less. Rather, the time passing has made us miss him more as it's longer since we were with him.

Losing Teddy has made us extra thankful for Raphy and the wonders of this life growing inside me. Teddy has changed us forever. Grief is a strange and new journey for us. You think you are doing ok and then get hit with a wave of pain. However there is still so much joy and things to be thankful for.

Thanks for listening
Love Lil

PS: Mikey's back has just started playing up and he is finding it hard to lift Raph or do anything for that matter. Please pray.

Cheese

Here's a photo to show you that we are doing ok so far.
We are approaching 24 weeks, which is the time that Teddy entered the world.
We are really praying that we get past this emotional anniversary and that Lil can stay pregnant for at least a few more weeks.

Till soon
Love Mikey, Lil and Raph

Update from Lil: 1/04/2011

Hi everyone.
Yesterday (Thursday 31st March) we went for a scan to see how the cervix was looking. We were excited and nervous to if the stitch was doing its thing. And yay, Professor H said it was all looking as good as possible.

Last week, my cervix had shortened to 1.5cm and now it was more than 3.5cm. The Professor said it was a very difficult stitch to put in as my cervix was so short. I now officially have an incompetent cervix. And if I need a c-section for any reason to get this baby out, this Shirodkar Suture can stay in for any subsequent pregnancies. (Shirodkar was the Indian doctor who came up with the procedure in 1948.) Apparently such a stitch is far more difficult to put in as it is deep in the cervix, and thus will require an Epidural to take out. Eech!!!

So for now, all is well! And we wait to reach 24 weeks, after which a baby is "viable" (an awful term) and then we push on to 28 weeks and beyond.

So, I've been told to take it easy and a I have a scan fortnightly to check the cervix. I've been taking full advantage of ling on the Pang couch reading and listening to Classic FM.

Thank you again for all the prayers. We are feeling less anxious and have had a chance to process the last week. Please pray for Mikey who is exhausted. I have been reminded that all our lives hang by a thread, by the grace of God.

Love Lil

Lil is resting

Hi everyone.

Just to say a few things.
Lil is really loving all the messages and love sent her way. We thank you so much.

Also, we have comment moderation turned on on the blog. So if you leave a message it won't be added to the blog immediately. So don't fret, it should turn up as some stage. However, some people have had problems when sending comments from their phone.

Thank you again for all your prayers, love and messages.

Mikey

Update from Lil: 27/3/2011

Yay, the procedure went well! I went under general anesthetic on Friday morning and came out feeling all relaxed with a big stitch around my cervix. So now, we wait.

The worst case scenario is that my body continues to head towards labour and my cervix shortens and opens and the stitch tears everything (ourch! sorry about the detail) and I go into premature labour. The best case scenario is that everything stabilises and we all get to 37 weeks at which point the doc removes the stitch to await the spontaneous labour of a full term baby boy. And everything between the 2 cases could happen.

I find the worst case scenario absolutely terrifying. So we put ourselves in God's hands and I am thanking God for every moment that is ok.

The last few days have been full on and we're slowly processing this new twist in our journey. The nights seem long as I try to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Thank you for all your generous offers of help, love, prayers, emails and messages. We're at my parents now, so we're being looked after. It's hard trying to not do much when there's a fun, energetic Raphy bouncing around. Please pray for Raphy. He was quite distressed last night. He was fearful that I might leave again and we think he was missing Marrickville.

So, here we are in a new scary and unknown phase. But we do know He is walking with us. Emmanuel.

Love Lil

Labour averted for the moment

(Ok, the title is not a comment on the NSW Election.)

We can let everyone know that for the moment Lil's operation is a success and she now needs to rest for the next 18 weeks. The operation to put a cervical stitch in went well and Lil is now at home resting. This is good news. However, if the cervic decides it wants to keep opening then the stitch really won't do anything. This would mean that labour would start and there would not be a good outcome. Pray this does not happen.

Raphy of course wants to hug his mum and jump on her tummy because he is so happy to see her back from the hospital. Pray that he will go gentle on her.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and love in the last couple of days as many of you have heard the news.

Best thing for Lil is to rest and to stay at home so thank you for understanding if you don't see her for a few months :)

We love you all,

God is in control

Mikey

Lil in hospital with another possible early pregnancy

Hi everyone,

Please pray. Lil is due to have an operation tomorrow Friday 25th in an attempt to slow down her next pregnancy.

After her bi-weekly scan showed that her cervic had begun shortening the doctors decided they needed to act because Lil is not more than 21 weeks pregnant.

All the emotions of Teddy's early arrival hit us as again. However, now we are feeling some peace and hope that our nexr little guy can stay inside fir a bit more.

I will post more news after the Op.

Of course we keep asking 'Why God?' but we know he is in control.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and/or prayers,

Love Mikey

PS: yes, Lil is very upset she can't camp outside the Apple store to get an iPad 2 (hey, where did the irony button go?)

Teddy's earthly resting place

In October 2010, just after Teddy's due date, we picked up his ashes from the crematorium.
We then spent a few days in the Blue Mountains. This was to prepare ourselves to bury Teddy's earthly remains at Mikey's parents' house in Leura.

Raphy helped us to dig the small hole under one of the trees near the front gate. Raphy knew what was going on and we were so proud of him. He kept saying "bye bye. Baby. Bye bye."

So, if you haven't heard we are now expecting our third baby, but it is still early days. We still miss Teddy and Raphy remembers him and is not quite sure what to make of everything. We continue to thank everyone for your love and prayers.

The Lord gives and takes away.
Blessed be his name.