A real update...

We had our follow up appointment this morning with the perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor). Since this morning was their first morning in a new building, things were running exceptionally slowly, even at 8:00 am. Nothing like dragging out the waiting! It was easy to see immediately that the heart rhythm looked normal. We watched it for a while on the ultrasound and saw that both the atriums and ventricles were beating at exactly the same rate (around 158). Praise God. But of course, we were still not certain that there wasn't a problem, and had to wait for quite a while longer (see a pattern here? maybe God's trying to teach me something!) to see the doctor, who had my blood work results. Thank God, my blood work came back completely normal for the 2 antibodies we were concerned about. It was barely positive for my ability to carry those 2 antibodies, so it is something I may deal with later on (negative is anything less than 20, mine measured at 20). The doctor was stunned. He told us that seeing an abnormal heartbeat like what we saw last week was explainable for a few minutes, but said that he reviewed our scan from last week which documented the irregular activity for 50 minutes. He said he has no medical explanation for this, and even said it just had to be a higher power. We certainly think so!! The doctor said he considered writing a paper on the situation... this just does not happen. I will continue to see the high risk doctor for the duration of the pregnancy. I will have a non-stress test next Wednesday in which they chart the heart beat for a while to check it. I'll go back a week later for a regular appointment and back for an ultrasound 2 weeks after that. If everything is still looking fine at that point, I'll be considered "normal" (there's a first for everything!). We know that God orchestrated all of this for our little sweetie. We know that He is the only way we can explain away this medical abnormality. We certainly thank all of you for praying for this during this time and appreciate them continuing. We'll continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

Not much of any update...

I called my doctor's office (as instructed by my doctor on Monday) this morning to try to get my test results. Come to find out, yesterday and today their office is moving to another building. No one bothered to tell me that last Monday when I made an appointment for this coming Monday. I'm glad I found out or I would have shown up at the wrong place! 

Anyway, I was told that they would not take a message and that I could not speak with the doctor on call as it wasn't an emergency. I guess it's not an emergency, but it is pretty important in my life! So I have to wait until Monday to find out. The waiting is really difficult.  I haven't been sleeping well at all. It's not so much that I'm upset or anxious... I just can't get my mind to slow down when I need to go to sleep. It's been an exhausting week. 

I have another ultrasound on Monday, so I assume I'll find out the results then. I'll post when I know more. We really do appreciate all the prayers we know are being made on behalf of this little sweetie.

On a lighter note, here's a conversation with my 3 year old sweeties that we had tonight while snuggling on the couch. Bekah and I were sitting together and Joey came over to join us.

Joey: Where can I sit?

Bekah: I skootched. You can sit next to me.

After Joey sat down...

Bekah: I'm in the middle!

Me: Are you the monkey in the middle?

Bekah: YES!!!

Joey: I'm the bear on the left.

He really enjoys the grizzly at the zoo.

Baby Update - Please Pray

I had my ultrasound this morning. They discovered a heart problem with the baby called congenital heart block. The ventricles are not receiving the correct stimulus, so it's setting its own rate, about 70 beats per minute (should be around 140). It's still pumping enough blood to the rest of the baby, but has to work a lot harder to do so. We watched it for around 15 minutes at the ultrasound, then the doctor sent us upstairs to a specialist (praise God, she had a cancellation and could fit us in immediately). When we got there, it was like looking at a different heart - it beat perfectly, so the problem was either a fluke, or is in beginning stages and is having difficulty intermittently. 

Congenital heart block is caused by an antibody that I produce. So they sent me to the lab to have blood drawn to see if I do in fact carry the antibody. If I do, then it's congenital heart block and they'd put me on steroids for the remainder of the pregnancy to minimize the damage to the baby's heart. If I test negative for the antibody, then chances are that it was just a fluke, and we'll continue monitoring it just to be sure.

If I do test positively, the antibody is associated with auto-immune diseases, meaning I have a 50% chance of contracting one sometime in my life (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc).

If the baby has congenital heart block, there's a really high chance that the baby will be put on a pacemaker a day after birth. It's not a really invasive procedure, so the baby would just stay in the hospital a few extra days for monitoring. This would also require replacement pacemakers for the duration of his/her life. 

As you can imagine, this is quite a shock and a lot to take in for us. We are praying that I test negative for the antibodies, and that our little one just decided to play a trick on us for a few minutes.

We're praising God that the rest of the baby looks completely perfect. If there is a problem, we're very glad to have caught it early.

My blood work results should be back on Friday. I'll have another ultrasound on Monday to recheck things.

It's Hockey Night in Pittsburgh

Not too much is new with us, hence the lack of blogging. However, hockey season officially starts in Pittsburgh tonight. Tim, of course, is beyond excited. So if you happen to catch a Penguin game this season, but sure to listen for the organ in the background!