Follow-Up on "Baby Sister"

When I told you about my first OB appointment here in Florida, I wasn't completely honest. When I got home from my appointment, there was a message that I needed to call the office back. When I did, the receptionist told me that the doctor wanted to see me Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. to discuss the results of the ultrasound. My mother was in town, and she had kept my children for me for this first appointment, but she was leaving on Saturday. And getting to the doctor's office, thirty minutes away, by 8:00 with three little children was going to be tough. And if the doctor was just going to tell me that everything was fine, I didn't want to make the effort. So I asked if I could come back that afternoon. Then the doctor got on the line.

She told me that they had found a "bright spot" (or echogenic intracardiac focus) on "Baby Sister's" heart which is an indicator for trisomy 21 or Down's Syndrome. She thought the possibility was rare, but she wanted another, more detailed ultrasound done to be sure. When I discussed it later with John, we agreed to have this ultrasound done. If the baby were "normal," we would want to know. If she has Down's Syndrome, we want time to prepare. It doesn't really matter, either way, because we will love her the same no matter what, but it would be nice to know.

After we made that decision, I felt a peace about the whole situation. I'm not sure exactly what it was: God's peace about the future comforting me, denial that this could happen to my baby, or knowing the odds were in "Baby Sister's" favor. And honestly, it's probably a combination of all three.

So last Friday, John left work early and drove the hour down with me for this specialized ultrasound. My sweet aunt also drove an hour from her house to keep Sarah Beth, Daniel, and Rachel during my appointment. Concerning the possibility of Trisomy 21 or Down's Syndrome, everything looked normal. There were no other defects that would lead us to think that she has Down's. As a matter of fact, even the "bright spot" that the sonographer found a couple of weeks ago wasn't there anymore. She wasn't sure if it just went away or if there was a glitch in the other ultrasound machine. It doesn't matter, does it? Our baby does not have Down's Syndrome.

However, since this ultrasound was more specialized than normal ones, the sonographer found an anomaly in our baby's third (I think) ventricle -- one of the ventricles in the brain. It was a little enlarged so she got the neonatologist or perinatologist, I forgot which, who also looked at it. Basically, this ventricle is moderately enlarged, probably from producing too much CSF or spinal fluid. It doesn't look like there is a blockage because the third and fourth ventricles are not both enlarged. But there is cause for concern -- hydrocephalus. The doctor thinks our baby will be fine, but he wants to do more tests. The next thing to do is to draw blood (from me) to see if I have had CMV because it can cause this. I haven't been sick with this pregnancy (except for morning sickness), so I don't think I've had this. If I have, though, I may need IVIG before this baby is born to get rid of the virus. If not, they will just monitor the baby via ultrasounds; I have my next one scheduled the beginning of October. They also want to transfer my care to the doctors in this practice; I will deliver there (instead of in the small hospital here) in case "Baby Sister" needs specialized care when she is born.

We have a few prayer requests:

1. That God would be glorified through all of this. We know that He has a plan, that nothing happens by accident, and we know His glory should be our main focus. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

2. That said, we would like to have a completely normal, healthy baby. While the doctor does think that the prognosis is good, he doesn't think the enlargement will go down in this next month. I won't be surprised if it does, however, since it is the only abnormality and is only moderately enlarged. But he's the doctor, and he knows better, so I also won't be surprised if he's right.

3. Peace and comfort about this situation. In many ways, it's harder than the other "scare" because there is so much uncertainty. With the other one, it was either yes or no. With this one, there is a wide range, and I don't do well without concretes.

4. Wisdom. We want to make the best decisions for this baby that we can with the information that we have. I don't want the doctors to do things just because.... On the other hand, I want to do what's best for "Baby Sister." There's a good chance that I will have to have a C-section to keep from putting more pressure on her brain during delivery. However, if everything looks fine, I don't want a C-section just because they want to do one. Things like that. I want to fight for the right things and give in on the right ones.

We are so thankful that we are under contract for a house in the next town over because it is only half an hour to my new doctors from there instead of the hour from our current rental house. We should close at the end of October, but we hope to be able to move the date up.

In the meantime before my next appointment, I have decided not to worry about "Baby Sister's" outcome. We will love her the same as any of our other children regardless of anything. My worry will accomplish exactly nothing. No matter how much I chew my fingernails, or if I pull every single last hair out of my head, I will change nothing. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34. So I choose to delight in the fact that we are going to have another daughter. I plan to crochet her some beautiful blankets, like I did for my other babies. And I plan to enjoy my time with my other three children before "Baby Sister" gets here and disrupts all of our new routines. (But aren't newborns supposed to disrupt routines? And isn't that part of why they're fun?) I may even buy "Baby Sister" a new outfit or two, even though I have plenty of hand-me-downs from her big sisters. Every baby should have something new, shouldn't she?