This morning Leigh and I had an ultrasound to check up on the Gibblet. It had been a month since the last one so we were anxious to see how he was developing. It was great to see the little guy again, this time he had the hiccups for a short time and we could clearly see him sticking his tongue out at us!!! They examined the head to determine if the size of the ventricles had changed. They did slightly get bigger. We were somewhat discouraged by this, but then were reminded that this is normal for a baby with spina bifida. In fact 80-90% of babies born with spina bifida have hydrocephulus and require a shunt to drain the excess fluid around the brain.
Basically we wanted the doctor to come in and say "well kids, looks like everything is ship-shape, no spina bifida today!" :)
As far as growth development he's right in the middle of the charts, which is great! His feet still appear to be straight and theres movement in his legs. The hole in his spine is fairly large. (we knew this already) but it was just hard to hear it again.
We were praying to go into this ultrasound and hear that nothing had changed. Unfortunately it did, but this is out of our hands and we continue to give it to God and pray for peace.
Shortly after the ultrasound, we were able to meet a neonatal doctor and tour the NICU at spectrum hospital. This actually made us feel much better. The doctor, nurses, and staff were so nice and encouraging and it was nice to see where our little guy would be staying after his surgery. It looks as if he will be there for a minimum of 2 weeks, possibly longer. For the first week after his back closure he will need to be on his stomach and we won't be able to hold him. This was, by far, the hardest thing to swallow. Lately we have been having far more good days than bad, however today was one of those hard days. Please continue to keep the three of us in your prayers.
Love,
Andy and Leigh (plus one) :)
3 comments:
thanks for the update...
continued prayers and thoughts...
-chad
Your posting all of this brings it all back for me. I remember those dr. visits and the NICU tour just like it was yesterday. I can honestly say that I know how you feel. Our perinatologist is one of the best in his field, but his beside manner is very methodical and impersonal. We also got news of increasing ventricle size and it was very difficult to take. I felt so helpless. The idea of not getting to hold Gage for a week was one of my biggest hang-ups as well. It was hard, but you find other ways to bond with your baby. I would lower the side of his bed and lay my head next to his and just talk to him while I rubbed his back. The day I got to hold him for the first time might be the happiest day of my life.
I don't know how you feel about this, but if you want to nurse, seek out a lactation consultant now to help you (the hospital probably has several). I was so worried that my son would not be able to nurse since he would get nothing by mouth at all for a week, then I wasn't able to be there for every feeding so he got a lot of bottles as well. I am happy to say that we are going on 15 months now and Gage has been a nursing pro. It wasn't easy at first, but well worth it in the end.
It's so hard to describe to a mom-to-be how little all of this will matter when he gets here. He will be wonderful and you will be so in love. One day all of this worry will be a memory and you will be at home, just loving your baby boy.
Im glad he is still doing well! Sounds like you will be in good hands in the NICU.
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