No Amnio Today

So, we had a very long doctor’s appointment today. Appointment was at 1 and we didn’t leave until 3:30. We first met with the genetics counselor and went over the procedure itself and what the results will look like. We then went in for an ultrasound to check on baby before the procedure itself. They have to check to make sure the amniotic sac fused with the uterine cavity (I am sure those might be 2 different things, but that’s the best I can remember). Anyways, if you do the amnio before these 2 things fuse you are at an increased risk of complications. Well mine weren’t fused at all yet, so we will have to postpone the amnio a couple of weeks until this happens. She continued on and looked at all the different structures. The CH was still there and was about the same size. It looked a little better though simply because the baby was larger which made the CH not seem as large. She pointed out a bunch of key structures and everything was there and the heartbeat was strong. The doctor came in to discuss our ultrasound and take a look for himself. The ultrasound tech had raised a concern about the heart. She was trying to locate all the chambers, but was having difficulty. She noted that it could just be because the heart is still so small. When the doctor looked he told us the same thing. He said he noticed a defect called AV canal defect. He said it is still early for a positive diagnosis on this, but that is what he was seeing at this point. At the same time, when he looked at the heart from a different angle he did not see this defect at all. We already knew that heart defects were common with CH and knew we would be going for a fetal echo at some point, so we will be looking forward to that appointment for some answers. There was also a concern with the umbilical cord. Normally there are 2 arteries that flow through the cord, ours only has one. They said this is a situation seen in normal babies and babies with genetic issues so we will know more about this after the amnio results come back. There were a couple of measurements in the legs that were a little on the short side, but nothing of great concern. (OK so the baby may have my height genes).  It seems like a lot of unknowns were thrown our way again. Still all these questions about why these issues are there and what they will be like in the future.

With all this being thrown at me in this appointment, surprisingly there was a calming sensation through it all. No panic. I felt like God had his hands on me and my belly and was comforting me and making me feel like He had this in His hands. It was a weird sensation. Trey and I both left the office feeling better than we had at the first appointment. There seemed to be more hope this go around and we weren’t being given such a negative outlook. Yes, there are still a number of things that can go wrong still, but there was this sense of calming for both of us. All we can do is take it one appointment/procedure/test at a time.

The whole time we were having the ultrasound done; this baby was all over the place. I don’t think he/she  was ever still. I told Trey this baby looks like a bundle of fun.  I can’t wait to start feeling all that movement.  Again he/she was a little stubborn and wouldn’t quite cooperate with the ultrasound tech. She would get an image and go to get an image from a different angle and as soon as she would go to capture it, he would jump and change positions. It was rather entertaining to watch. I know with normal pregnancies there aren’t a lot of ultrasounds that take place, and so I kind of find this to be a positive of all this, we get lots of time to see baby and watch him/her grow.

We re-scheduled the amnio for 2 weeks on 02/13. We have to wait for Texas Children’s in the medical center to call us to schedule the fetal echo. Hopefully this next month will be full of answers and good results.

Words cannot express the gratitude for all the people we have praying for us and our baby. I pray that I am able to tell him one day about all these wonderful people that cared for him before he was ever born. I guess the old saying is true, it takes a village…