December 22, 2010

Another Sneak Peak

Well, today's appointments all went well.  First we had our regular OB appointment and got "checked off" that everything there was good - weight gain is on track, blood pressure holding steady, belly measuring exactly 26cm (which is perfect for 26 weeks), so all is well.  We talked a little more about delivery options and are definitely going to deliver at Forsyth Hospital.  We had heard that sometimes Baptist will do deliveries and since that's where Clara will be transferred for her surgery and most of her care, we wondered if it was best to go ahead and deliver there too.  But there are lots of negatives for that including: a resident would have to deliver instead of our doctor that we love and trust, they do so few deliveries there that they don't really have the equipment/staff/experience to do them, the post-delivery care for me is not as good, etc. etc.  So we're very satisfied with the plan to deliver at Forsyth, stabilize Clara and then transfer her to Baptist.  Plus, our doctor told us that even if I haven't been discharged yet from Forsyth (due to C-section or any other complication) that she can get me a "pass" so that I can leave for a few hours at a time, go over to Brenner's and check on Clara and then come back to Forsyth again.  So that was also nice to hear.

This afternoon we went for another level 2 ultrasound at Forsyth Hospital's Prenatal Assessment Center.  Have I mentioned how much we love Kathy, the sonographer, who works there?  She is so very loving and encouraging and affirming.  She thinks Clara is as beautiful as we do and was so positive about everything she saw.  We like to hear that.  She weighs 2 pounds, 2 ounces which is the 60th percentile.  The stomach is still above the diaphragm, but liver and spleen are still below so no change there.  We were able to watch her lungs "working" a little.  Before babies are born they kind of practice-breathe the fluid in and out of their lungs and we could see her little chest rising and falling.  That was a great encouragement to us because if she's able to do that then it seems like to me that we're getting some healthy lung growth and development.  They couldn't really say how much lung tissue there is (that's something hard to tell on an ultrasound and better seen with an MRI), but we have no reason to believe that the lungs aren't still trying to grow and develop in what space they have.  Her heart is deviated (which just means it's moved a little to a different place and rotated some) because of the stomach so they can't really get a great look at it, but it was beating strong and sounding good at 156bpm.  We have another fetal echocardiogram in January to take a better look at the heart.  We also saw her hiccup, smile (YES, SMILE!), and suck on her fingers.  She is looking more and more human and we think awfully beautiful (despite Kathy's suggestion that she may have Robert's head).  So, enjoy these new ultrasound photos and keep praying.  It means so much to us. 

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Face and hand

SMILE!


Finger sucking
Here's a picture that shows the diaphragmatic hernia.  You should not be able to see her stomach and heart in the same plane and there they are together....

There's our girl.  Robert and I are headed out on a date night - we know there won't be too many more of those before long!  Thanks for sharing in our love and joy and in continued fervent prayers.  A good work is begun, for sure.

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