GIRL!!!!!
God has truly answered prayers for our future as parents. I am humbled and amazed by His faithfulness to us. We had our 18 week appointment today and really enjoyed the ultrasound. It was so fun to get to see all of Baby Girl Hardy's organs, skeleton, tiny toes and wiggling hands. She had the hiccups while we watched and was willing to bare her all for us to confirm the gender. It was one of the coolest experiences to watch her moving around and see how perfectly she has already been made.
After our ultrasound we met with Dr. Braquet. We were scheduled to see a P.A. today, but the doctor wanted to come in and talk with us because they noted an abnormality on the ultrasound. We will see an OB specialist at Forsyth Hospital next week for further ultrasounds (and possibly an MRI) in order to discover more clearly exactly what is going on. The doctor's suspicion is that the baby has a herniated diaphragm. My understanding is that this means there is a hole in the diaphragm that is causing part or all of her stomach to be squeezing through into her chest. This would take up space needed by her lungs to grow and develop. We will know more after meeting with the specialists next week, but what it likely means is that if this is the case the baby will face surgery soon after birth to try to correct this problem. In some very severe cases, the problem cannot be remediated and it can be fatal. There is also a chance that what was seen on the ultrasound today was just an anomaly and everything is perfectly okay. Again, we'll know more about the size, the location and the future after further tests.
Dr. Braquet was incredibly patient, thorough and compassionate. He gave us a full hour of his time in the exam room at the very end of his work day and was willing to explain all scenarios to us with love and concern. We are thankful for the doctors in this practice and the exceptional care they have offered to us. It was the first time we had met this doctor, but his obvious concern for us was very meaningful.
There are many things to be thankful for:
1) We're having a baby girl.
2) This condition, if our baby has it, may be treatable with no lingering complications.
3) We live in a place with excellent health care and are under the watchful care of terrific doctors who love us and will advocate for us through this.
4) There is no additional risk to the pregnancy... the baby is breathing through me right now and we should not have any complications because of this before delivery. I should be able to still have a normal delivery.
5) The rest of the ultrasound looked great. (And the sonographer took lots of time checking!) There are no additional signs of any other problems with this Baby. She is healthy and growing right on track.
6) We are surrounded by the love and support of amazing friends and family who will do anything in the world for us.
And most importantly, the Creator who made us all is loving us and caring for us during this with His perfect plan for all of us.
We are scared. I had my meltdown this afternoon. Nobody wants to hear that there could be something wrong. I am so deeply grateful for this Baby's Daddy and his amazing faith. He trusts the Lord fully and instinctlvely and gives me a great sense of strength, security and peace because of that. While I worry and stress and try to solve problems on my own, Robert is constantly reminding me that we believe in a good and loving God who wants the best for us and for our baby. He will take care of us and provide us with whatever strength we need to face whatever may be ahead of us. A dear friend reminded us of this today, "God's been knitting your sweet baby together in your womb and he's the one who knows every cell of her tiny body. He's created your daughter for a purpose and he already knows all of her days." We are resting in this promise.
We covet your prayers. Having faced medical crisis before in my life I know the power of an army of people praying for great miracles. We already love this little girl so much and want only wonderful things for her. Please remember her in your prayers.
We are truly tickled pink to have a baby girl on the way! For more news and to stay posted on updates to her condition, please follow our blog at: http://www.thehardylife.blogspot.com. We'll be posting some pictures, and hopefully a little ultrasound video soon too.
Thanks for being an important part of (all of) our lives!
Robert, Chrissy and Baby Girl Hardy
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