31 Weeks

Thanks for your continued prayers for Victoria Jayne. They are still very much needed. Just so you know, I'm 31 weeks now. We are nearing the end of this pregnancy!

Mark and I went to my specialist yesterday, Kathy Porter. She said that Victoria had grown more, which was good, but she said that her femur measurement was still a little short. But, she did seem encouraged by her growth. In all this, they suspect the heart issue or a possible genetic problem to be the cause of the lack of growth they are seeing. That will not be known for sure until Victoria is born, however. They estimate Victoria's present weight at 3 lbs 7 oz, which is typical for her gestational age.

We could see an ear and some fuzzy stuff on her head, which the tech said was hair! We NEVER saw hair on an ultrasound with our other two children! So, that tells you how much better these ultrasounds are! Victoria was head down (vertex) and facing my back so we never could get a profile or front view of her face. She was hiding yesterday!

They are still seeing a large atrium-ventricular septal defect (AVSD) and large ventricular septum defect (VSD). However, this visit, Dr. Porter said it looked like the right ventricle wall was thickening (decrease in chamber size). She said that the heart may be really having to work hard. She did mention "heart failure" and "hydrops" in a sentence but I cannot remember her exact words. I guess they are looking for signs of these things but are not seeing them yet. Here were her exact comments in her report that I give to my regular OBGYN:

AVCD with large ASD and VSD and decrease chamber size right ventricle with right wall thickening. No sign hydrops. Dopplers across valves limited today.

So, although she said that the ultrasound views were limited today, she thought she was seeing that decrease in the chamber size of the right ventricle. I guess we will know better on Thursday when I go to see the pediatric cardiologist. They will repeat a heart echo there to verify these possible findings.

Please continue to pray for Victoria's heart and body. We know that God can do anything and we are asking still for a miracle.

Also, just say a prayer for me. These past three days have been really rough for me. Mark is doing better this time around. I'm the one seeming to fall apart. I am beginning to feel overwhelmed knowing that the time is growing closer for Victoria to be here. I want to be happy at her coming, but it's hard not to feel worried about her or wonder what our lives will be like after she arrives. So, more than anything ... we just covet your prayers for strength for her and for us. We know that God is walking through this with us, but honestly, the past few days I've feel a little alone with my emotions going crazy. Thanks for your prayers for peace.

Thank you all for remembering our family. We love you and pray blessings on you as well!

Getting Close

Today Mark and I went to see Dr. Porter (my specialist). She said they are still seeing the heart problems they had seen in the past. Something that was different today, however, was that the head and femur had not grown in proportion with the rest of the body. This is something they say is a sign of a chromosome abnormality (such as Downs or Trisomy 13/18). She wants me to come back in 3 weeks and she said don't be surprised if she says that there is still a lag in growth. She suspects this will happen. She said if this continues, there is concern for still-birth at some point. So, to prevent that from happening, she'd want to do an amnio if the growth continues to lag to see if the lungs are developed enough to induce labor. At this point, she said doing an amnio would fulfill the purpose of trying to save the baby's life (by making sure the lungs were ready for delivery).

It's kinda crazy ... the heart doctor recently said that he wants me to carry full term (so the baby will gain as much weight as possible to prepare for the heart surgery), but now we might be presented with a situation in which the baby has to be induced early to prevent still-birth.

We just don't know what the future will hold for us or baby Victoria. All seems so very uncertain and nerve-racking at times, but we always have to remember that God is with us every moment.

Please continue to pray for healing for Victoria's body and wisdom for us and the doctors. I am now 27 weeks and it is seeming we may have to make some decisions earlier than we anticipated.