Sweet Baby Face

We had an ultrasound this past Monday to check Leah's growth and progress. The u/s tech took her measurements and observations for about 20 minutes. I was unable to see any of this because she had the monitor turned towards her the entire time. Jason was able to see everything and tried to keep me updated as to what he was able to see. It doesn't help much when the tech purses her lips every now & then and doesn't explain what she's seeing or thinking. So needless to say, I was a nervous wreck the entire time. Then, FINALLY, she turned the monitor toward me and showed me Leah's face, arms, hands, legs, and feet for about 45 seconds. It was brief, but at least I got to see her. Then, she handed us some photos and told us to go back to the waiting room to wait for the Doctor. I was pleasantly shocked and surprised to see that she had taken a 3D picture of Leah's face and I teared up when I realized that she definitely shares Bryce's features. Her nose looks just like his and so do her lips. It was AMAZING to see her and to know that she is a beautiful little girl (which I know we would think regardless). I know we will treasure that photo forever!

Out appointment with the Doctor went well. She told me that based on the u/s I am carrying extra amniotic fluid (hydramnio or polyhydramnios) due to Leah's condition and not being able to swallow & recycle as much fluid as a "normal" baby. Normal levels are between 10-20 and I'm at 32. She said this is considered high and that we would have to keep an eye on it. This is why my belly is measuring bigger and feeling bigger and why none of the shirts that I tried to wear over the weekend fit me! She said she's sure that we won't have any problems, but we asked how this could affect me. It could cause prolonged bleeding after delivery or a uterine rupture if it gets to be too high - but they would remove fluid to a safe level through an amniocentesis-like procedure. It could also cause early labor, fetal distress, or stillbirth. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that everything stays where it is.

We asked her if she could check back with the Neonatologist to see if he found anything out about organ donation and also to check with the International Skeletal Dysplasia Registry to see if we could donate umbilical cord blood for research on Thanatophoric Dysplasia. She said that at the next appointment that we could set a date for the c-section. We decided that a c-section is the best bet at this point since Leah's head measured above the 97th percentile. Jason and I both laughed at this because I guess we just make kids with big heads! She also promised that she would not keep me in the hospital longer than necessary:) We'll do another u/s in a few weeks to check my amniotic fluid level.

We left that appointment almost on cloud 9 for the simple fact that we got to see our beautiful baby girl and have a picture of her sweet baby face! It was definitely bittersweet seeing her perfect, little face and also seeing her small, short little arms and small chest. We still have a long road ahead of us, but continue to thank God every day for each moment that we get to celebrate her life with us. Every kick, hiccup, flip, and turn remind us of how lucky we are to be able to experience her life and personality before the inevitable. We know that this is a gift that God is giving us to be able to enjoy and get to know our baby.