Zane and I decided to start this so that we can keep everyone informed of all doctors appointments and any information we can. We are going to have a baby boy join our family on March 15th. The past 35 weeks have flown by for me. Up until a few weeks ago I have had a great pregnancy with very few complications and no sickness.

January 6th, 2011
We went in for what we expected to be our last ultrasound. The ultrasound tech did the ultrasound and took all his measurements, while we sat and talked about how cute he was (my mom came with us). Most of my ultrasounds have been 4D, but this time we could really tell what he looked like. He was being difficult for her to get the measurements she needed for my doctor. He would not move his hands out of the way and he would not be still so she could get some good pictures. I guess he cooperated enough and she got what she could so we went over with her report and ultrasound pictres to see my OB. My doctor told us the ultrasound showed that the baby's head was small and he was surrounded with extra fluid. My doctors main concern was the excess fliud and he decided the head size may have been positional because his head was snuggled up against my placenta. He sent me for the 3 hour glucose test to test me for gestational diabetes (diabetes can be a cause for the extra fluid) and said he would do the ultrasound again in 2 weeks at our next visit to measure the babies head again.

January 18th, 2011
We went back to see Dr. Carrasco (my OB) and found out that I was not diabetic, which was great news! Then we started the ultrasound...the good news was he had turned into position with his head down. The bad news was his head had not changed sizes in the past two weeks. Dr. Carrasco decided we needed to see a Fetal/Maternal Specialist that could see more with a better ultrasound and who specializes in this area. My doctors office set up our appointment with the specialist and my doctor sent me on to get some blood tests run for the specialist to get ahead, since I was only 8 weeks away from my due date.

We did not get an appointment with the specialist until February 3rd, 2011, so I was now 6 weeks away from my due date.

February 3rd, 2011
We have an appointment with a RN who went over our entire family health history, from us to our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. They were very detailed. Then luckily Dr. Holmes had a cancellation so we got right into see her on the same day (these 2 appointments are normally a few days or weeks apart), otherwise our appointment with Dr. Holmes would not have been until February 15th. We were unaware there would be 2 appointments, but her office staff was great and so was she to get us worked in that day so that we could get some answers.

It did not go as we hoped.  The front of the baby’s brain is severely under-developed at this point.  It is measuring approximately 24 weeks in size, and I am currently at 34 weeks.  From what we have to go by right now, there is an 80%-90% chance he will have a fairly significant problem.  If a good deal of progress does not occur, there is a chance he might not make it. He also has some possible heart problems where his heart is not pumping the blood that it should.

They do not know what the cause of the problem is, but we will be seeing a neurologist, cardiologist and geneticist next week to run further tests hoping to determine the cause and to prepare for any treatment after he is born.  We will also be introduced to the two doctors at BSA who run the neo-natal ICU, because he will be going there immediately.  If they are unable to gather any additional information, they will be sending us to Dallas for a pre-natal MRI. Somewhere in there, we also have to pick a pediatrician and get them up to speed. We will be seeing at least one doctor every week until delivery to monitor.  If they detect he is in distress at any point, they will perform an emergency c-section. If any or his heart or brain are surgical we will need to be in Dallas for his surgeries.

We have two appointments set for February 14th in Amarillo with a geneticist and pediatric cardiologist. Then February 16th we will meet wih the NICU doctors at BSA.

February 8th, 2011
We had another appointment with my OB and discussed everything we were told by Dr. Holmes, the fetal/ maternal specialist. During that appointment we decided that the best place for us to be is in Dallas. If the baby needs any surgery after being born he will need to go to Dallas because there are not any pediatric carologists that perform surgery. I may be stubborn but refuse to be stuck here in the hospital with my baby boy and husband on their way in an air ambulance to Dallas. So my doctor got us set up to meet with a fetal/maternal specialist and a pediatric cardiologist in Dallas on Friday February 11th.

Which bring us to today...February 10th, 2011
We are on our way to Dallas to meet with the doctors and hopefully get some answers and next steps.

We want to thank you all for your prayers and support as we take this journey we know we are not alone. We really have an amazing group of family and friends and we love you all!!