After many hours of contemplating, I finally decided that I absolutely couldn't wait, and I was opting for the early ultrasound. My 20-week ultrasound would be December 18, but I just couldn't wait that long...I was dying to know the sex of my baby! I called and scheduled my ultrasound for November 20, at which point I would be 16 weeks.
I discussed my choice with many people, whether I should wait or go ahead. Most said wait, it's only FOUR MORE WEEKS. Although I knew it would only be a short period of time, something kept telling me on the inside to go ahead and do it. Later I would find out that my instincts proved to be right.
The day before I was to go in for the big reveal, I was having a very uneasy feeling. I was nervous. I knew deep down inside that something was wrong. I even brought it up to my mom several times, "I just feel like something isn't right." She, of course, would re-assure me everything was fine.
The next day I was scheduled to have my regular OB appointment at 10:45 and my ultrasound at 1:00. Going into this appointment with my uneasy feelings was not fun. I laid on the table, the nurse took the doppler in her hand and began to search for the heartbeat. The search took a little longer than I would have liked, so that had me scared, but then I heard that wonderful, comforting sound of the glug glug glug at 154 bpm. Whew! Breath of fresh air! The doctor came in, we talked about normal appointment things (weight gain, nutrition, etc.) and I was ready to go. I was in and out in about 30 minutes, so I had time to go to lunch with my mom.
12:30 rolled around and we were already back at the doctor's office. My mom came to the appointment with me, and Brian met us there on his lunch break. We anxiously waited in the waiting room...waiting, waiting, waiting. 1:10 came and we finally got called back. I was in a fog of excitement! The ultrasound technician came in, squirted the jelly on my belly, and I immediately saw the most beautiful image. Tears started flowing immediately. At last sight, my little one was merely a nugget on the screen. This time, my baby actually looked like a human being! I could see little arms, legs, and an outline of a face. We watched as the baby waved at us and did gymnastics in my stomach. The tech finally got a peek and told us we are having a GIRL!! We were all so happy and we all knew it was going to be a girl! Then the tech got quiet and said the words that made my heart stop. "I see a problem."
The room got very somber as she continued to look at my baby girl's "defect." She then proceeded to tell me what was going on. She has what is known as an Omphalocele. This is where the baby's intestines do not go all the way back into their stomach through the umbilical cord. This cause them to stay outside of their body in a 'sac'. I could look at the ultrasound and clearly see the omphalocele. She said they see about 1 to 2 cases of these every year, so it was pretty rare. They immediately told me I would be going to Birmingham to the Maternal and Fetal medicine clinic to have a level 2 ultrasound. Going home with only this information is of course overwhelming to a mother, much less a new mother. So what did I do? Of course I GOOGLED. Most people would say not to do that, but I believe God puts certain things in your life, and I found some blogs that comforted me when no one else could.
No comments:
Post a Comment