A First

Right at 22 weeks we saw and felt the baby kicking from the outside. This was the first time and I'm so glad we were able to experience it together. Brad's face really lit up. It was a moment I'll never forget. It's so nice to have confirmation that our baby is actually growing and moving around in there.

Iowa City Appointment

Our first appointment for the day was to have a Level II Ultrasound. We first met with a nurse to go over family history and to give them a little more information about our pregnancy so far. We then went in for the ultrasound. Again, everything looked great and was measuring right on, except for her heart. The ultrasound tech could clearly see the right ventricle, the right atrium and a small left atrium. She was having a very hard time pin pointing the left ventricle. She had the OB come in to take a look as well and he was in agreement. The left side of our baby's heart was very underdeveloped. She most likely has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. We went into this appointment knowing there was likely something wrong and that we would do whatever we needed to do to help our baby survive. Getting the confirmation still hits you like a ton of bricks. They gave us as much information as they could and let us know that the pediatric cardiologist conducting the fetal echo would be able to give us much more information.

We met with the pediatric cardiologist about an hour later. He confirmed what the OB had said and gave us a ton of details about our baby's heart problem. In a nut shell, this is a very serious heart problem. Our baby will essentially be born with a half a heart. We will be considered high risk and will need to deliver in Iowa City. Our baby will be taken to the NICU immediately after birth. She will require surgery at 1 week old, 6 months old and 3 years old. After her first surgery she will remain at the hospital for at least 4-6 weeks, maybe longer. The first 6 months will be the hardest. There is a possibility that she will need to eat through a tube, and there's always the possibility that there will be complications and she won't make it. We're praying for the best and trying to stay positive for our little girl.

We have a follow-up appointment on March 31st for another Level II Ultrasound and a fetal echo. We're keeping our fingers crossed for some improvement, no matter how small!

"She didn't see what she wanted to see."

These are the words from our Midwife after our 20 week anatomy scan. February 9th was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of our life. We were going to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We found out right away that our baby is breech. No big deal, a lot of babies turn during the second half of pregnancy. We were later told that everything looked great and our baby GIRL was measuring a day ahead. We got a few pictures and a short video and went back out to the waiting room to wait to see our Midwife. When we were finally able to see her, she dropped the bomb. There was potentially something seriously wrong with our baby's heart. "They weren't seeing what they wanted to see." We were then told that we would need to have another ultrasound followed by a fetal echo in Iowa City at the hospital. Not the type of appointment you dream of having.

We received a call from the hospital in IA City the next day, letting us know that our appointment would be the following Wednesday. We were stuck in limbo with no explanation or answers for a week.