33 weeks

  First, some clarification on my last post as a couple people have said something....the doctor mistakenly thought the umbilical cord was a penis and commented that we were having a boy.  We corrected the doctor so every can rest assured we are still having a girl.  We all had a good laugh.

  After our first meeting with Maternal Fetal Medicine, they decided they would like to see us twice a week to monitor the baby.  One appointment would be a non-stress test and the other would be a biophysical profile (includes non-stress test and fetal ultrasound).    Yesterday we had our second appointment for the biophysical profile.  The stress test showed the baseline fetal heart rate steady at around 135 bpm.  During the stress test they are looking for a 15 beat increase during movement multiple times which was present.  During the fetal ultrasound they look at movement, breathing and amniotic fluid around the baby.  The ultrasound was a little longer than I expected.  When the doctor came in to talk with us we found out why.  I don't have all the medical terms (as we were in a hurry to our next appointment to meet the surgeon) but in lay men's terms, they saw that blood flow to the baby through the umbilical cord was static (it should be forward flowing).  This means that the baby is not getting the amount of blood and nutrients that it needs to grow at the normal rate.  The MFM OB's need to determine if it is better for the baby to continue to grow in the womb or to deliver early and intervene medically.  We will be back next Friday for another biophysical profile and probably speak more in depth on what are options are.  For now, they recommended I get antenatal steroids to help mature the the lungs.

The silver lining, we met with Dr. Ilbawi (the pediatric heart surgeon) and gave him the news of the last appointment.  He re-assured us there were other options if she is too small or not stable enough for the Norwood procedure.  He definitely gave us some peace of mind.

I know we have many pray warriors out there and we can't thank you enough for support.
If we could ask for some specific prayer this week as we struggle to understand this new piece of information.

-For her growth and movement, that she show some improvement over the last week and continues to move
-For blood flow through the umbilical cord
-For our doctors that will recommend what is our best option
-For Mike and I as we learn about our options and have to make a decisions.
-For Mike and I to have a sense of peace and calm as we work our way through this unexpected news.