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May 11, 2009

20 Weeks, 6 Days

Yes, you read that right. I have re-adjusted my due date yet again. I have no idea when it is, so why should anyone else.

Thursday night we had our Fetal Echo at Morristown. The heart was well formed and had good function, but they couldn't get a picture of the pulminary arteries and the septum dropped off in the picture. The doctor said not to worry as this was common, but they wanted to see me back in a few weeks.

Friday we went to Robert Wood Johnson where I had another Ultrasound, a Fetal MRI and back again for another Ultrasound. After all that, they believe it is a Cervical Teratoma. There is good news and bad news:

Good News:
- the doctor I'm dealing with has managed 3 of these cases, 2 with excellent results and 1 with lesser results. In that case, the baby survived, but with brain damage and facial deformity, but his teratoma was growing into his brain.
- at this time, the heart is not straining and I do not have an excess of amniotic fluid
- they saw the pulminary arteries and they were formed fine
- there are not a lot of blood vessels going into the teratoma, so it may not grow fast

Bad News
- the teratoma is very large and at any time the baby's heart could start having probems
- the baby's mouth was not open at any time during the ultrasound. This could indicate that the teratoma is keeping him from being able to open his mouth and therefore, he will not be able to drink the amniotic fluid.

They want to see me again in 2 weeks, to continue to monitor how this is progressing. Best case scenario, if I make it to 36-37 weeks they will do an EXIT surgery on me at that point. In the meantime, they are monitoring to make sure the heart is ok and the fluid doesn't build up. If the fluid builds up, they can do a half-hour long amnio to remove fluid, which sounds like a joy. If the heart starts having trouble, then we have to assess whether the baby can be delivered at that time or if something else has to be done. I'm not quite sure what "something else" is, but there was talk about in-utero surgery.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have my first OB appointment with my shiny new OB. I'm sure he's going to love me. "Hi, nice to meet you. By the way, you won't be delivering my baby, so just have fun taking my blood pressure and dopplering my stomach. Thanks."

So, I will leave you with a conversation we had getting into the car after dinner this Saturday at Friday's. Just to lighten things up a bit.

Me: I know I said I wasn't going to complain about pregnancy...
Darren: I'm sensing a big "but"
Me: Ha ha - yeah - that's my big but.
Darren: Mommy's got a big ol' butt.
Me: Oh yeah!
Dylan: (what sounds to me like) Mommy has a little butt.
Me: Aww! Dylan, I think that's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me! Thank you for saying I have a little butt!
Dylan: I said Daddy. Daddy has a little butt.

This was very amusing to Darren.

Posted by Terri at May 11, 2009 10:14 AM

Comments

The two of you are getting the best care there is. There is hope. Sending lots of positive vibes & thinking of you.

Posted by: Juno at May 11, 2009 02:35 PM

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