Greetings!

Thank you for holding us up in prayer today!  We are so grateful to report that we had another great scan! We didn’t see a lot of detail today… our little girl was very active and not very cooperative!  That’s actually great news. She was moving about so much, that the doctor had a difficult time getting the scan she wanted to get.  One of the most exciting things we saw was our baby “practicing breathing” – I am sure there is a real medical term for this.  Anyway, you could see her little abdomen moving up and down as she “inhaled and exhaled” amniotic fluid in preparation for her entry into the real world!  It was very cool and exciting to see!

We were really surprised to learn that, not only does our baby weigh nearly 5 pounds (4 lbs 13 oz), she is measuring 10 days ahead on the gestational calendar!  Wow… we really are getting so close to meeting our little girl!

As we enter the home stretch, we really need your prayers.  As encouraging as the visit was today, it was also sobering.  Because we have folks reading who are new to the blog, and maybe haven’t had time to read-up on where we are, I want to take a minute to update you, so that you can pray more specifically.

Early in the pregnancy, Jennifer’s OB ordered some prenatal testing to scan for specific chromosomal abnormalities.  This test, the Panorama screen, is one of the newer screens of its type, in which fetal DNA circulating freely in the maternal blood stream is tested for chromosomal abnormalities.  These tests are touted to be 99% accurate, with few false positives.  They are used to screen primarily for Trisomy 21 (Down’s Syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) and Trisomy 13 (Patau Syndrome).  When the results came back, we were told that our baby had a >99% chance of having Trisomy 13. In children born with Trisomy 13, the extra genetic material from chromosome 13 disrupts the normal course of development, causing multiple and complex organ defects.  Sadly, many of these children do not survive.  But, we know those who are surviving, and in fact, are thriving!

Because of the positive screening, we have been followed by a perinatologist, who has performed an ultrasound every 4 weeks.  She has found absolutely nothing during the scans, and in fact, were it not for the Panorama screen, she would have already released us to be followed solely by Jennifer’s obstetrician. However, because the screening tests the baby’s DNA, it is considered more reliable than ultrasounds alone.  It is important to remember that the Panorama is a screening – it is not diagnostic.  We elected not to have any invasive testing performed, because it would not have changed our decision to carry our baby for as long as God allows.  For us, abortion was not an option. Our hope is that our positive test was a false positive!

Our perinatologist referred us to a cardiologist, who found that our baby does have a VSD – or a hole in the membranous tissue between the ventricles of the heart.  This is a huge concern for us, since nearly all Trisomy babies have a heart defect.  However, the VSD could also be random or even hereditary. We have a follow-up scan with the cardiologist next Thursday, November 20th.  We are praying that the scan reveals that the hole has closed on its own, and would ask that you pray the same!

The days ahead…

Earlier in the post, I mentioned that the visit today was as sobering as it was encouraging. On the one hand, the perinatologist inferred that, based on our scans, she would ordinarily release us from further scans. However, she reminded us that since we have the positive Trisomy 13 screen, she felt it important that we come see her on a weekly basis until our baby is born.  So, we will be seeing her at the beginning of each week and the OB at the end of each week.  She also told us something we did not know… that babies with chromosomal abnormalities are at much higher risk of stillbirth, and that she was going to recommend that we be induced in week 39, but definitely not beyond week 40.  This means we should be seeing our little girl sometime between December 30th and January 5th!

So… there is much to pray about!  We specifically need your prayers for wisdom as we make decisions around our plan for delivery.  Because life is so full, we also need to accelerate getting the house ready for our baby’s arrival. Finally, we ask that you pray that God would heal our baby’s heart, and would protect her during these final weeks before we get to meet her. We pray daily for God’s healing, and that he would bring her to us full term, and free from Trisomy 13.  We know that this is not too difficult for him!

In the end, we are trying to hold our baby with open hands, asking that God prepare our hearts to whatever he has for us, knowing that he only gives good to his children.  Thank you for being prayer warriors on our behalf.  We appreciate you more than we can say.

“And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?… Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:28-39

Andy & Jennifer