Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Ultrasound #3 & Amniocentesis

We had our 3rd ultrasound today with the same doctor as last time.  His assistant started out by doing a complete ultrasound with all of the measurements of little Logan.  He cooperated for the most part, especially when she was looking at his boy parts... he seems to be very proud of those ;).  Once she was finished, the doctor came in and reviewed her pictures & clips and he then did another mini-ultrasound to look at the heart for himself.  Here are the things he told us:

The baby still has a hole in his heart (VSD).  While this can sometimes close on its own, he said the hole is a "little bigger" and may require surgery, probably when he's around 5-6 months old.  His heart is on the left side of his chest, but it's positioned (twisted?) toward the center.  What this means is that they just need to keep an eye on the anatomy of his heart to make sure that everything is there and where it should be.  As for his arteries, I'm not sure if I misunderstood him last time or what, but he said that his concern with Logan's arteries is that they can't get a good picture of the blood flow out of his heart (leading to his lungs/brain).  This doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't flowing to those places, it just means they haven't been able to see the flow clearly.  We're praying that it is flowing!  Finally, the last time I was there, he said that Logan's kidneys were a slight concern because when he urinated, a small amount of the urine went back into his kidneys.  However, today he said that it seems to be correcting itself, so that's a big "Praise God" :). 

The amnio was honestly not very bad.  I just psyched myself out a lot beforehand because of the 5" needle and because Logan is a very active baby and I didn't want him to get poked.  The nurse and the doctor both reassured me that everything would be ok and when I laid down for the 'procedure', I was at peace (which I attribute to all of your prayers!).  They told me everything that they were doing:  swabbing my stomach with iodine, putting gel on my stomach to monitor the needle via ultrasound, and then inserting the needle.  I felt a poke and then it was ok.  I did feel the needle going in part of the way, but I tried to ignore it :).  Once in, we could see the needle on the ultrasound, right next to Logan's hand.  I was praying that he wouldn't move!!!  The doctor (probably trying to ease my fears) said "oh, sometimes the baby will grab the needle"... gah!!!  I prayed even more after he said that :).  Anyway, Logan was a good little boy and after about a minute of collecting fluid, the doctor told me "take a deep breath" and he pulled the needle out, which bothered me more than inserting it.  I could feel it come out the entire way and it felt like it was never going to end.  Bleh. 

The fluid is being sent to Emory and we should get the results back on 3 of the major chromosomal defects (10,18, & 23) on Thursday.  The other defects will take longer to test and we should hopefully hear back on them by the end of next week.  Depending on the results, we will either go back in about 2 weeks (if it's positive for a defect) or 4 weeks (if it's negative for defects).  We're praying that he doesn't have any chromosomal defects, which would mean they will have us come back to see a fetal cardiologist and they can just focus on the heart and how to proceed from there.

I did ask if having a natural vaginal delivery is still a possibility and the doctor was very encouraging.  He said that the majority of times that's the better option and healthier for the baby.  He said that I should be able to carry Logan full-term and have a vaginal delivery - the hospital may just need to have additional resources available for Logan as soon as he's "out".

I think I covered pretty much everything.  We did get another profile picture of Logan and he's just adorable :).  He already has his mommy tied around his finger ;).  We also got a couple pictures of his 'boy stuff' and we were able to see him kicking his cute little legs.  It's always a blessing to see our baby boy... I'm getting more and more excited about meeting him!

Oh, a couple of things I forgot.  Logan now weighs 1 lb 8 oz, which is right on track.  He's measuring at 24 weeks 2 days and according to my due date, I'm 24 weeks 4 days.  The doctor said that Logan looks great as far as his growth and development.  He has a strong heartbeat and his heart is pumping well, so we're thankful for a strong baby :).  We're praying for continued improvement and believing that his chromosomes are normal.

Thank you again for your prayers... we appreciate them more than we can ever say.  I will try to keep you updated with the results that we receive.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing with us! We will continue to pray for your family! :)

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  2. Such good news! We went through quite a few things like that with Dane. It's all so scary at the time, I remember it sooo well! We will continue to keep your little family in our prayers-not just your baby, but you and your husband. It's stressful for all 3 of you! Keep us all posted on how things go. Take Care :)

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  3. Amanda and I are praying for you guys!

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  4. Just thought i'd let you know that a good friend of mine was born with a hole in her heart and she is doing very well. She is in her late 50s. They can fix so much these days. Love ya and i'm prayin. Taron

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  5. Mary - it really is nerve-wracking! Thanks for the prayers and encouragement :). I'll post as soon as we get some results.

    Ziggy - thank you!!! I hope you guys are doing well :).

    Taron - thanks for the prayers :). It seems to be a fairly common problem, so we're praying that if he's born with the hole, there will be excellent surgeons & doctors to take care of it.

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