It’s been three weeks since we received the news about our baby girl’s heart condition. Next Tuesday morning, we will be heading back to CHOP so that both baby and I can be evaluated for delivery there. We have a two hour ultrasound in the morning, a meeting with one of the nurses (I believe about a clinical trial involving maternal use of progesterone to promote optimal brain function), and a meeting with the perinatologist to work out a plan.  The appointment starts at 0645 in the morning and may be up to 8 hours long! Hopefully we will have a clearer picture about how things will progress through the rest of this pregnancy afterwards.

In the meantime, our little love bundle has a name. (We had necklaces made for our moms to share the news):

(All of Mama Allen’s little loves: Alexander, Alice, Gavin, and Juliana)

(All of Mama DiSante’s grandbabies: Samantha, Cailin, Erin, Emma, Megan, Luke, Alena, Gavin, Sophia, and Juliana)

This is Juliana at 12 weeks gestation:

I am so thankful for this little life that I now feel tumbling around inside my belly all day. We love you, baby girl.

I’m also grateful for my amazing guys - Anthony has been such a rock throughout all of this & Gavin’s pure joy has been an amazing blessing.

Last but not least, I am thankful for YOU, our awesome family and friends that are faithful in praying for us & giving us your unwavering support. Thank you so much.

Prayer requests:

Please pray that Juliana’s heart valve remains competent, that the right side of her heart will be strong and efficient, for wisdom for her doctors, and for no other pregnancy complications.

Lastly, please pray for courage, strength, and peace for us, too.  To be very honest, I have been really struggling a lot over the past few weeks. Please be patient with me: my temper is shorter than usual, my coping mechanisms are barely existent, & I need more time and space to myself these days.

I hope (over the next few weeks) to make a separate page for Juliana updates. When he has a few hours, Anthony is going to set this site up so that you can sign up to receive email updates if interested.

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