An Ultrasound Update

It's been a while since I gave an update... Have you noticed? It isn't because we're boring, lazy, have nothing to say, or don't take pictures... quite the opposite. Our extremely eventful (and fun) week started with a blast of information that has taken me this long to process!

So let the updating begin :)

On Valentine's Day, the day I turned 17 weeks pregnant, Ben and I went to get our first Type II ultrasound. I get ultrasound scans done every time I visit my midwife clinic, but one department at the Women's Hospital of North Carolina (the only one in NC and conveniently located in our backyard) has a very thorough, Type II level of ultrasound machine and experts to read the scans. The scan went well, we found out we were having a boy and everything was fine. Phew. They did, however, schedule me for another ultrasound within a month because "he was a little too small to see everything."

I found out at my second appointment, last Tuesday, that the real reason they'd asked me back was because of some abnormalities with his heart they wanted to keep track of. Luckily his heart had grown enough to confirm that any issues had cleared up with his recent development, but this time scans showed another abnormality with his brain!

I am scheduled for yet another thorough ultrasound scan in 6 weeks, and assured that many of these abnormalities clear up by that stage of development.

The bad news, though, is that these are markers for a severe disorder that would probably lead to stillbirth.

So the question now is, is this genetic, and could it be what happened to Eleanor? Are we at an increased risk for another stillbirth?

I didn't get a Type II ultrasound with Eleanor- only a standard anatomical screening- so we will never know if she, too, had issues with her heart or brain. But this is around the developmental time that we lost her, so every day I feel Dragon move we consider a celebration. I'm so grateful to be past the 20 week mark, when a baby is considered stillborn instead of miscarried and recognized by the medical community and the church as member of your family, and can't wait to get to 26 weeks when a baby is viable! Luckily the clinic I see is very, very supportive and understanding and they invite me in any time I want to be reassured and are always available when I have questions :) 

Ben didn't come with me to this second ultrasound (we thought nothing would be wrong, and we had had to wait for over an hour last time-- that is valuable work time for him!), so we spent the afternoon talking things over and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. 

Ben brought out the slack line and we walked to a great spot in the park, Latham Park, next to our house. 

Something about walking the slack line helped me feel much more in control of an out-of-control situation. It was a great activity for our day- feeling unsteady, but knowing I can rely on my inner strength and stability. 

I love how I felt when Ben took this picture :)

This is my hope :)