Blood work, yuck!

My OB in Harrisburg has been asking me to get some blood work done. I finally did it...today was the day I've been dreading! I had 5 tubes of blood drawn, one of which was for the glucose test. Yes, I had to drink the dreaded "orange soda".

But, as much as I tried to avoid the tests, I survived...

Baby...an official introduction!!

I got this great shot printed at my last OB appointment. I figured it was time to actually show off our handsome little man!

This ultrasound was done at 26 weeks and 2 days!

(August 29th)

A. I. duPont Children's Hospital

This past weekend we had an appointment for our "Family Session" at the duPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington Delaware. We met the surgeon who will be doing Baby's open heart surgery and took a tour of the Cardiac Unit.

Originally, we planned on staying in Wilmington/Philadelphia area for the night. Mainly because we were expecting this to be a very overwhelming visit. I didn't expect the visit to go well, mainly because of how my appointments went in Harrisburg. The appointment didn't go anything like I had thought it would.

The surgeon knew all about us, before we arrived. He actually took the time to study our chart, which made the visit way more personal. We spoke with him about the actual procedure and what to expect. We also got to meet some of his staff. We were impressed with how friendly and sincere everyone was. You could definitely tell they were passionate about their jobs. We met Judy, the social worker, who would be handling our case. She was very excited to meet us face to face. She said that Dr. Robinson had already told her all about us! She was a wonderful lady...she showed us around the cardiac unit, operating room, and living areas.

The entire appointment took a little less than 2 hours. When we left, Honey and I both felt a huge relief, like a weight had been lifted from our backs. We were both very nervous about how the day would go. But, after this visit, we both felt very comfortable with the doctors and staff that will be caring for Baby.

The only time I got a bit emotional was when we walked through the Cardiac ICU and there were two tiny babies laying in cribs with monitors and stuff attached to them. They each had a nurse sitting by them...and no parents around...anywhere. It broke my heart to see such a tiny baby, post surgery, with only a stranger there to comfort them.

25 weeks!

About 2 weeks ago, I had a dream. And, in my dream I was having a conversation with God. He was telling me that I was to have an ultrasound at my next prenatal visit. The conversation went like this:

God: You need to have an ultrasound at your next doctor visit.

Me: Why, I just had one a few weeks ago? I would rather not do it again, yet.

God: You need to have an ultrasound...request one if you need to.

Me: Fine, I'll do it. But why is it so necessary already.

God: I have something to show you!

When I woke up the next morning, I shared my conversation with Honey. He said we would do whatever was necessary to have that ultrasound.

Friday August 29th we were driving to Harrisburg to see the OB, and for the first time I felt a peacefulness about going. For the first time I didn't cry the entire drive there.

The visit went fine, it was a routine exam just like I expected. Before I left the doctor came into the room and said he wanted to do an updated ultrasound to check Baby's growth.

During the ultrasound, the technician was measuring Baby's arms, legs, belly, and head. She also checked the umbilical cord & its blood flow. She saved his heart for last. When she got a good angle of his heart, she took the required measurements then just looked at the pictures with a puzzled look on her face. She then asked us if we were sure the baby's diagnosis was HLHS. When we told her yes, she continued taking measurements. When we saw the pictures of Baby's heart we could see all four functioning chambers and the two on the left were almost the same size as the right! The smaller left chambers were obviously growing!!

Baby weighs: about 1 lb 10 ozs

Next appointment: September 26, with the cardiologist

We have no official heart measurements, or a report from the cardiologist at this point. But, it was clear to us just what it was that God wanted us to see in that ultrasound.