PROBLEM CHILDREN

It seems the Duncans are not destined to have normal pregnancies or non-dramatic babies. As most of you know, Noah was in NICU for a few days after he was born. In fact, he had already come into this world by c-section since he weighed in at almost 10 pounds, but he was dehydrated. A couple of months after his birth he decided a stay in Children's Hospital was in order. It turned out all his problems were just minor setbacks but not before scaring us all to death.

Then Brady decided he wanted to top Noah and be born a month early. He weighed in at 5 pounds and 5 ounces, but went home after a couple of days. And not to be outdone, he, too, decided to pay a visit to Children's Hospital at around 3 months of age. That one set me and Alan on a flying trip home from Destin. After minor surgery for a common, correctible problem, he was back on the right track.

Then there's Emma. She isn't going to let those boys outdo her, and she isn't even here yet. I'm sitting at the hospital with Melissa right now. She has been having high blood pressure issues, and they are testing her for preeclampsia. If she has this condition, she could be looking at a five-week stay in the hospital waiting for Emma to reach the 36 week point, so she can be born with fewer problems. Her vitals are looking pretty good today, though, so we're hoping this is just a scare. Afterall, the boys scared us, so why not Emma?

We could use all your prayers for Melissa and Emma. The doctors assure us that even if Emma were to be born today, they are highly optimistic that she would be OK. We sure could do without all this drama, though. We'll have test results back this afternoon and have a better idea what we're facing.