Daniel's most recent attempts to escape...

I think I'll just summarize a bit what has been happening since Viggo's last post, for those of you who don't always see Viggo's daily "updates" on the sidebar. Not that that much really "happens" on a daily basis here. However, there was major excitement last Friday, because I went into labor. I have had several episodes of contractions over the last few weeks, but this time it looked like the doctors weren't going to be able to stop it, and I was really going to give birth. I had much more painful contractions than I'd ever had before, and although the estimates seem to vary a bit, it seems likely that I dilated at least to 6cm or so. (I was 5cm before this episode of labor started). However, after a few hours of labor, things started to slow down, so the doctors decided to try one last time to stop them, and then the labor really did stop. It was actually a bit strange and almost sad for me, because I had adjusted to the idea that we were going to have the baby that night, and then there was no baby after all; things just went back to the same as before. Both the doctors and I thought I would probably go back into labor within the next couple of days, but nothing happened. Which is wonderful, of course, because my tummy is still by far the best and safest place for baby Daniel to be right now.

I did have some quite regular contractions for a couple of hours again on Tuesday evening, but it didn't get so far.

I wrote the above part yesterday evening. I had some contractions again after that, which eventually calmed down again, and I have been having some more painful ones this morning. Viggo still got to play soccer today, though! He just has to take along the cell phone and have someone on the sidelines hold onto it while he plays in case I call to say I'm having the baby. Really, things are still the same as they have been all along. It could happen any time now, or not. I guess that's all I'll be writing for now. I'm in a bit of pain and it's kind of hard to focus, so I'll let Viggo finish.

So far our focus has been on the baby, but a few days ago we became aware of the fact that it will be very difficult for me to stay in the US after March 8th, when my 90-day visa waiver expires. We're hoping to find a way for me to stay, but I might have to go home, or at least go to Europe, before I can return to the States. We've made a few phone calls to different government agencies, but have not been able to find a solution yet. We might try to get help from an imigration lawyer sometime next week. We really hope things will work out, so that I can stay here and that all three of us can travel home to Norway together.

Visitors from far and near

Up until now I haven’t done any posting to this blog, since I do all the posting to our Norwegian blog, but here's my first entry. Tomorrow we will have been here for four weeks. Not much has changed since Julia was admitted to the hospital. I like to say that this little hospital room is our bedroom, our living room, and my office. It’s kind of crazy to be living like this for such a long time, but we’re coping well. It started to make me a bit nuts last week, but it really helped that I got to go visit Julia's parents for a couple of days during the weekend. The challenge for Julia is greater of course, but she seems to handle the situation quite well.

The great and all-important thing is that our little baby has gotten four more weeks to grow and mature. In fact, according to the last two ultrasound check-ups, Daniel has grown a whole pound over the last three weeks, which means that he is now approximately 3lb 12oz (1700 grams) and about two weeks ahead of schedule when it comes to size. We're very pleased about this, though Julia is starting to worry a bit that he might actually be too big if he goes to full term (March 23rd). This isn’t very likely though. The doctors still believe that Julia could deliver any day now.

On Monday Julia had a check-up, and the results showed that she was still 4-5 cm dilated, and 80% effaced, with the baby’s head sitting very low, so the doctors told her that she'd still have to stay in the hospital. We had been hoping that she might be able to go home to her parents, but this is what we were really expecting, so we're not too disappointed. Julia will have to stay at the hospital in Eugene for at least 4 more weeks, unless Daniel is born sooner than that. After that she will probably get to go home until she gives birth.


We’ve been really blessed to have several friends and family come visit us while we’ve been here. On Saturday we had visitors all the way from BC, Canada. My old roommate and two of our friends from school made the 9 hour trip to spend the day with us, before they returned back home. On Friday we were surprised to have Julia’s grandparents come visit together with Julia’s mom and aunt. Julia’s grandmother has been very sick since mid-November, and this was her first real trip since then. Whenever Julia’s mom visits she talks with baby Daniel putting her mouth to Julia’s tummy and doing both parts of the conversation. This is always very entertaining for everybody else in the room. Click here, if you want to see a video clip of Barbara talking with Daniel.

Home sweet home

So, Viggo has started referring to our hospital room as our temporary "home". He said we should put up a sign that says "welcome to our humble abode" outside the door. I realized today that I am definitely starting to miss just being at home, at our little house in Norway. It seems almost surreal that we are going to be here three or four months, instead of the planned 3 weeks. But under the circumstances, we've decided that we're probably actually better off here in the US, for various reasons. For one thing, in Norway, I would probably have to stay in the hospital alone, with Viggo working and sleeping at home instead of by my side. We'd rather be together, even if the room is kind of small.
We've had quite a few visitors this week, and I've gotten to go across the street (in a wheelchair, for half an hour) for coffee a couple of times. I'm touched that friends from high school who I haven't really kept in touch with very well over the past six years would take the trouble to come and visit me. I really enjoy visits from my family, too. It's always a party with my Mom here. She has developed a hilarious habit of talking to my belly, actually leaning over with her lips touching the belly and having a conversation with the baby. She speaks for the baby too. Daniel says things like "leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep" in a cute baby voice. If you know my mother very well, this will be easy to picture...
Otherwise, I am just trying not to think about the fact that I have been lying here for almost a whole three weeks now. On the other hand, we are grateful that I am still here, rather than out of the hospital with the baby in the NICU.

Still waiting...

Happy New Year!

We're still here in the hospital, which of course is a good thing, because it means that baby Daniel is still in my tummy. The nurses put a monitor on my belly for an hour twice a day to watch for contractions and to look at the baby's heart rate and movement. He is usually very active, and they always tell me he seems very healthy. Yesterday I did have a couple of contractions show up on the monitor, but they say a couple in an hour is nothing to worry about. Still, the doctor tells me that it is most likely that I will give birth fairly soon, perhaps within the next couple of weeks. It is still possible that I could carry the baby to full term, though. If my cervix remains as dilated as it is (4cm), they will want to keep me here in the hospital until I'm at least 34 weeks (today I am 28 weeks and 2 days).

I am starting to get a bit bored lying here in my room all day, but it's still quite bearable. I often have someone come to visit in the evening, which makes a bit of a change. If it's my Mom visiting, then we often get takeout for a change from hospital food (which is not bad, but is starting to get pretty repetitive). I started knitting a scarf today, I have some books to read, and we're borrowing a DVD player at the moment. One of the nurses lent me her copy of a national geographic film called "in the womb", and we watched it this evening. It was pretty interesting, with lots of 3D ultrasound footage of real babies in the womb. Viggo is still staying here with me, but he went up to my parents' house for the weekend to get a bit of a break from the hospital. Viggo has also found a good running trail in a park nearby, where he's gone running twice this week.

I was able to get out of the hospital for the first time today. My doctor has said that I can go on a short wheelchair trip once a day, so today Viggo and my mom and sister took me across the street to Starbucks. We didn't stay long, but it was nice to get some fresh air (and a decaf eggnog latte). I have been having a lot of headaches the past few days, which is a side effect of one of the medicines I'm taking, but thankfully I feel a bit better this evening. We're continuing to just take things day by day.

News from the Larsen Family in the Hospital

A New Blog...

So, Viggo and I have been planning on starting a blog for a while now. We wanted to keep people updated on our plans with Wycliffe, and my parents have been bugging us to start a blog so they can see pictures of us and have another source of news besides phone calls. Now there seems to be a more particular reason to start writing. I'm sure this blog will cover a variety of topics and events in the future, but for the moment it will be rather focused on the status of our little baby, Daniel Jakob. I think most of you have probably received emails about the situation, and if not a good place to look for any details I miss here is my Dad's blog (the link is on the side here). If you've already read his blog, there will probably be a lot of repeat in the paragraphs below, but from my point of view.

Our unexpected hospital stay
I have been in the hospital in Eugene, Oregon for about a week now. Viggo and I came to Oregon to visit my family for Christmas on the 8th of December. On the 21st, we were about to leave to celebrate my Mom's 50th birthday on the Oregon coast when I started having contractions. They quickly became regular enough that we decided to go to the hospital instead of going to the coast. It is still much to early for me to give birth. When I got to the hospital, they found I was 1 cm dilated. They gave me medicine to stop the contractions, but they continued, and a few hours later I was 3 cm dilated. At that point they decided to transfer me to Sacred Heart hospital in Eugene, which has a good neonatal intensive care unit, because it was starting to look like the baby might be born that night. When we got there, I was dilated to 5cm, and the doctor told us to expect to have a baby in the course of the night. But we didn't.

Current status
Things have calmed down a lot since the 21st. I've had a few contractions and some pain here and there, but with the doctors' help and many prayers, things are much more stable than was initially expected. We are very thankful for the fact that Daniel has already gotten one more week to grow and mature inside of me. The doctors here say, however, that I will need to stay in the hospital until I give birth, even if that is two months from now or more. I'm still on medicine to suppress contractions, and it seems to be working. However, because I am already halfway dilated, I need to stay on bedrest and be regularly monitored here in the hospital. When the labor does begin again for real, things will probably go very quickly.

I had an intensive ultrasound yesterday, and they estimated that Daniel weighs 2 pounds and 13 ounces. This means that he is big for his age; the size of a 29 week baby instead of a 27 weeker. Which is very good if he is born soon. They even got some 3D shots of baby's face, which were really fun to see.

Both Daniel and I are in very good health, the only problem is my body wanting to go into labor too early. If Daniel is born prematurely, he will need to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) here at Sacred Heart until at least a month or so before his due date, which is March 23rd. Viggo is sleeping on a cot in my hospital room for now, and if Daniel is born early we will move to the hospital's family guesthouse so that we can be near him and visit the NICU as often as possible.

How we're doing and changes in plans
Viggo and I are both doing very well with all this. We have had an amazing amount of peace about the situation. We trust that God is in control and is taking care of us, no matter what happens. We really appreciate everyone's prayers, and believe God is hearing and answering them.

This does mean some big changes in plans for us. Whether Daniel or I is the one in the hospital, we will need to stay here in Eugene probably at least until the beginning of March, and it is not likely we would travel back to Norway before sometime in April. We had just begun to say that we were planning to travel to Tanzania this August to begin Bible Translation work there. Considering the situation at this point, August is looking very unlikely. We are thinking that it seems likely we won't be ready to move to Tanzania before winter 2008. Premature babies often need some special care for the first year of their lives, and Daniel's health will be top priority for us. But if I am able to carry him to term, and everything else falls into place, it is possible that we won't have to wait so long after all.

Right now we are taking things day by day. Although staying in the hospital is a bit monotonous, it's easy to have a good attitude about it, because we are just so grateful for every day more that Daniel is able to stay safe in my womb. The birth could still happen any time, but we are hoping for a long stay here. Viggo works as a freelance translator over the internet, so he is able to have a little "office" set up next to my bed and work from here. We have great support from my family. Night before last Viggo got to go up to my house in Philomath (an hour away) for the night to have a break, and my sister came and stayed with me. We ordered chinese food and watched a movie together. When Viggo came back yesterday he brought me a beautiful bouquet of tulips, and my Mom came down with him, so I got to spend some time with her as well. This is a great hospital and they take very good care of us. There is always someone coming in to check if I want more ice in my water or a snack. We are very blessed in many ways.

I think my dinner is coming soon and this post has certainly gotten long enough, so I will sign off for now. Thank you all for thinking of us and for your prayers.