It’s hard to believe that September is here, but the arrival of gorgeous, crisp mornings and pumpkin-spiced everything make it undeniable. For us, this means the third trimester of our pregnancy has officially begun! Here is the latest family update:

Both Juliana and I had good check-ups this week. My labwork was all great, my blood pressure is good, and one of my ER coworkers said my belly has been upgraded to basketball status! Juliana is growing well(she is about 2.5lbs, which is in the 50th percentile!) & we are very happy to report that the right ventricle and AV valve continue to do their jobs well. Our next appointments would be the last week of September, but we bumped them into the first week of October due to my work schedule and the Papal visit.

We love you, tiny one. Please stay strong!

We have a lot to be thankful for! It still looks like we will be relocating to Philly at the end of October - the doctor advised that it would be appropriate to move between 36 & 37 weeks gestation.  Our family that lives in the city (Rolly, Margie, and Alena) have graciously offered to open their home to us during our extended stay. I can’t begin to express how blessed we are by this huge act of kindness.

Most of you are already probably aware of this, but my dear friends and former coworkers in the HLA lab have arranged a fund-raiser to help support our family through this difficult time.  It’s called Dance for the DiSantes and will be held on October 11th from 1-5pm (please see the link if you are interested in more details). A few years back, some of my colleagues attended one of these dances together & it was a fun, hilarious time. I can’t thank our friends enough for this amazing, thoughtful surprise. Thank you, also, to those who have "liked" and / or "shared" this page - your support means the world to us.

I also want to publicly thank two of my coworkers, Madison & Amanda, who worked to rearrange the schedule so that I can attend this event. Thank you. If I can ever reciprocate, I would love to do so.

And last, but certainly not least, we are thankful for the prayers, thoughts, and kind gestures of all of our family, friends, and coworkers. You guys have been an amazing support during this rather tumultuous time. Thank you for all that you do for our family. We love you.

On a personal note, I hope that you don’t mind me sharing that I have been struggling with a lot of sadness in the past week. We are still really hopeful, but as we approach the time for Juli to arrive, I can’t help but think about all of the things this sweet girl will have to endure. If only I could take her place on that operating table...

And I am struggling at work, too. I love my job, my coworkers are awesome, and I those sweet babies just melt my heart. The problem is that I can only sleep a few hours when I work overnight & by the end of my three days I am physically and emotionally spent. I feel like I need to take a break, but we just can’t afford for me to use any precious vacation time.

Here are the prayer request updates:
1. That Juliana continues to grow well & that the right side of her heart continues to do double duty effectively (plump baby!)
2. Please pray for our hearts, too, & for strength to get through some of these tough days (& nights!)
3. No recurrence of pre-eclampsia

Praise God for taking care of us in this journey & for all of the great blessings mentioned above!

Thank you. We are so very grateful for each and every one of you & the blessing you are in our lives. 

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