24 Weeks! Woo-Hoo!

That’s right Amy and the little ones have now made it to 24 weeks, and it’s time for a little update. First of all, Amy and I can not be more thankful for your support and encouragement. She has now been at Santa Monica Hospital for 5 weeks… That’s a long time! But it has gone very quickly for the both of us… especially Amy. The visitors, the cards, the calls, the gifts, the prayers… it has all helped Amy keep in great spirits and feel like every one is behind her. Amy was especially encouraged today as the nursery for the little ones was completed.



Now the grandmas will come in and brighten it up with some finishing touches until Amy finally comes home.

The babies are dong great. On Wednesday the 7th, we had our first full ultra-sound in over a month. They measured each head, stomach, arm, and leg of each baby. Keep in mind; although the measurements were done at 23 weeks, each baby’s progression is on a different time-line depending on how hungry they are. Little Hope is a chubby, beef-eater! Her progress was at 24 weeks 2 days, and weighed 1 pound 6 ounces. Cedar seems to be watching her figure. Her progress was at 21 weeks 5 days and weighed exactly 1 pound. Don’t worry, she’s a little behind, but she’s still within range. Jordan and Jonah seem to be best bud’s already. Both showed progress at 23 weeks and 3 days, weighing in at 1 pound 4 ounces each.



The boys are on the left side of Amy’s belly and seem to have a lot of energy. They are constantly moving around. The girls are both on the right side, and tend to be a little calmer although they wrestle around every once in a while as well. Yesterday, we found out that the kids don’t seem to like Johnny Cash or Lauren Hill that much. But when we put on some Outkast and Jay-Z, they started jumping. It’s crazy to feel them moving around so much. Some times, we can even see an elbow or knee graze against her stomach. The kids are so active that Amy’s belly is constantly changing shape.

With one month down and at least a month and half to go, here are some ideas that could help you support Amy…

1) I was thinking that we could all work together and give her a boost each time she progresses another week. For example, next week she will be at 25 weeks. It would be great if each week she could receive pictures of you, your kids, your pets, your garden-gnomes, WHAT EVER... holding a sign, poster, or something that says, “25 weeks, Way to go Amy!!!.” Her hospital room will look more incredible day-by-day as your pictures and posters cover it. Below you’ll see an example of what I’m talking about.



Here’s a calendar so that you can keep track of her weekly progression.

25 weeks – Feb 21
26 weeks – Feb 28
27 weeks – March 7
28 weeks – March 14
29 weeks – March 21
30 weeks – March 28

Send those pictures! And please keep this a secret from Amy. I’m sure she’ll ask me what’s going on, and I’ll eventually let her know. The address for the hospital is

Santa Monica UCLA Hospital
Amy Shahbaz
Labor and Delivery, #513
1250 15th Street
Santa Monica 90404

2) Amy has not been able to watch DVD’s because her hospital-room TV is too old to connect a DVD player. Many of you have asked if you can send her or bring her DVD’s, and until now I’ve said no. Well, now she’s got a small flat screen TV as well as a portable DVD player. Her AV needs are covered thanks to the support and generosity of a few amazing visitors last night. Send her all the DVD’s you want! She also loves your cards and letters as well, and posts each one behind her bed.

3) Please continue to pray for her. Please pray specifically that her uterus stays calm. Today for some reason she had a few more contractions then normal and was given a shot of terbutaline. It’s a drug that helps keep the uterus calm. She hasn’t needed the shot until now, but I guess it’s to be expected. The bigger the kids get the more active her uterus will become. But we still need to make 30 weeks, so please pray hard.

4) Once again, if you’d like to visit, please call Amy directly. In the last update, I DID write her direct phone # down but I wrote it wrong. The correct # is 310-449-0805. Her cell phone again is 909-534-0644.

Thanks again for your prayers, visits, love, and support,

Phil