So it begins, about 3 months earlier than we expected:)

I'm not a blogger, so hang in with me as I get out of my comfort zone a bit and start to share with you  the story of Joshua Derek French.

It all started sitting at the lunch table at Zoe's kitchen with my mom and Maddy. I was starting to contract, but I passed it off as gas and continued throughout the day. It got to be around 3:45 and what I thought was gas was beginning to feel more and more like the same labor pains I had before having Maddy. I called the doctor and told him that what I thought was gas, I think now was contractions. He sent me to Memorial Hermann to just get it checked out to make sure all was well.  After 24 phone calls, Derek finally was able to join me, my mom and Maddy at the hospital. Once settled in they realized it was in fact contractions and said I was dilated to a 4. They quickly put me on medicine to try and stop the contractions but Joshua and god had a different plan. The pain slowly got worse and worse and I began to scream louder and louder, as my mother and law kept saying breath and my poor mother thought that she could help me breath by making breathing noises herself.  Neither really helped for the state I was in.
The anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural but I was hesitant to consent to it when the nurse said I was probably too far a long for it to work.
She asked if I wanted it and I replied, I don't know, it just hurts, which translates yes to the anesthesiologist. He rolled me on my side and began to numb the area when I could no longer keep Joshua inside. I told them he was coming, and out he shot like a bullet, and at 9 pm on March 25,  5 or 6 AMAZING people from NICU started doing their thing.  How a 2 lb 6 oz 14.75 inch  baby could give me so much pain is a mystery to me. (I now know that I am an advocate for epidurals!)
So the journey begins, and I'd like to invite y'all along with us to pray for this sweet boy as we venture into the unknown and take it one day at a time! Derek and I both would like to thank you for your prayers in advance, we have felt them and we know God hears every single last one!
Today has been a good day, Joshua has been getting his tan on as they are trying to get the jaundice under control.  He's breathing well with the help of the ventilator. We were able to take over 25 people to see our little "miracle child" today! The love and support we feel from friends and family coming to see us, texting and writing words of encouragement on Facebook is beyond a blessing to us. Thank you from the bottom of our heart! We love y'all!

What you can be praying today:

That Joshua will pee a lot, every organ on his body is underdeveloped, so his kidneys are beginning to do their thing, but they need to continue to keep up the good work!

That his lungs will be able to function without the ventilator as soon as tomorrow and continue to be able to function that way!

That he will keep up his strength and fight. The first 48 hours are known as the honeymoon period and the babies fight hard, but then they sometimes digress. Please pray that he doesn't digress and continues to fight. We named him Joshua after the Joshua in the Bible, who was willing to fight when no one else would and I can't think of a better time for him to continue to fight than now!

He will have a sonogram on Monday or Tuesday to check for bleeding in the brain, please pray that there is no bleeding and that his brain is continuing to form well.

Lastly, selfishly I ask you to pray for Derek and me, that we will be a light to those around us and that God will continue to give us peace that surpasses all understanding.

Thanks again for all the prayers. I will try to keep you updated daily on what's going on!