We had our all day appointment yesterday at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and it was fantastic!! It was an incredibly long long day but still great. A little background- Audrey had thrown up the entire night on Tuesday and I probably slept hmm... 2 hrs between cleaning up her, me and the sheets. Wednesday she slept okay but Thursday night she was so restless and was just having a hard time. I've been sleeping with her because she's got the only real bed in the house. I can no longer roll out of the air mattress and the couch we have does a number on my hips. I know, I'm a mess. I've been one tired Momma and haven't had the chance to really catch up on my sleep. I was a little restless too thinking about the appointment and didn't sleep much. I was up at 4, an hour before my alarm.
We got started out and the drive to the hospital was great. I'm so glad we printed the directions CHOP sent and didn't rely on the GPS, they were so much better and we avoided downtown completely. We got to the hospital, found our parking garage, and made our way up to the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and Special Delivery Unit. They had a lite breakfast there for us if we wanted it, complete with Dunkin Doughnuts Decaf Coffee (my weakness this pregnancy...along with a few other things) We were registered and were taken back for our ultrasound that was scheduled to be 2 hours long!
The ultrasound tech was awesome. She was super kind and friendly! They had a huge screen over the bed so I could watch the ultrasound without having to keep looking way to the side- I really enjoyed that. Baby was super cooperative and kept the flips for the very end of the scan. The way CHOP does the scans the tech does the majority and then a doctor comes and does some more. When the doctor came in she was laughing after taking a close look at both of our faces. She said, "baby has YOUR chin Momma" hahaha Just like Audrey, this baby has my chin. Hopefully this one won't get stuck on my pelvis and come out with a black and blue mouth and chin :)
After the ultrasound we met with the genetic counselor and was by far the best part of the day. She said after much study of the genetic study she STRONGLY STRONGLY feels that this is an isolated event with NO genetic abnormality. Did you all read that, NO GENETIC ABNORMALITY!!! They has originally told us baby had a very rare and complicated genetic abnormality. But because the breaking of the chromosomes and reattachment of the the 4 chromosomes only happen in 1 of the 5 cultures, the doctors all agree with the lab that it was a lab error. They still want to run some blood tests on the cord blood and do a biopsy on the heart tissues when they go in for the open heart surgery, which is fine with us. I just sat there in complete disbelief, shaking my head, and holding my emotions intact. She kept repeating the results and saying, you know what this means right? and that they do not see this as an issue and we shouldn't either. I was just praying over and over, Thank you God, Thank you God. This was a MIRACLE, a pure 100%, MIRACLE. God has been blessing us over and over again- in ways that we never could have imagined.
After that great meeting we had the baby's echo followed by meeting with the team of cardiologist, radiologist, social worker and two nurses. They had been watching the echo and further explained baby's condition and what was going to happen. It was pretty much the same that we had been hearing but the cardiologist said that the PFO appears to be large enough that they may not have to tear the atrium septum to allow for oxygen to get to the body, but that it was still a possibility. Also that as of right now and as along as baby does well surgery will most likely be on day 3-5 of life. We'll meet the surgeons next time I believe and get to tour the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit where baby will be before and after surgery.
Then we met with the High Risk OB (MFM) and talked about the possibility of delivering at the Children's Hospital and as of right now that's the plan. This is where we got another blessing, she said that unless I got past 39.5 weeks- I would be able to go into labor on my own- NO PITOCIN!!!! I'm so excited!!! We're starting to make some plans and back up plans for Audrey and how we're going to tackle that part if I do go early since baby is measuring big and a week ahead. 39wks by my date and early ultrasound is the week after the 6th of June but by baby's size is the week after the 30th of May. Um I just had to remind myself to breathe when I did the math just now.... 30 May... oh my word. :)
We went a had some lunch, came back upstairs for a mini prenatal appointment, toured the Special Delivery Unit, and headed home. I'm so very thankful with this kiddo that my gallbladder is gone. I've been able to eat and not have such horrible pain. I'm just a few pounds less now at 132 than when I delivery Audrey. I've still got another 2 months but still on track with healthy weight gain. I'm feeling great but just having a hard time with my hips. I'm carrying this one so much differently than Audrey, as all babies are different, and can defiantly can feel it in my hips and back. Thank goodness I have a fantastic husband who gives great back rubs, and gives up his comfort so his super pregnant wife and sleep as best as she can :)
Our next appointment is in two weeks for just a routine prenatal visit and then on the 18th we go for another echo, meeting the surgeons, touring the CICU and another prenatal visit. After the 18th I'll be going weekly for checkups until baby is born!
Thanks so much for all your prayers and continued prayers! We'll keep you updated!
