30 Week Appointment.

Today was a good day. 

And it was the day I remembered I never mentioned our newest change in health care providers. 

A few weeks ago, after a visit with the University OB in Jackson, Justin and I easily decided we wanted to explore other options. 

With a little research and a lot of calling around, we landed ourselves an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine OB at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.  We went for an appointment four weeks ago and decided, right then and there, that this was the team of doctors we trusted with our baby. 

So, instead of our original plan to deliver in Jackson, MS, we've made the exciting switch to deliver in New Orleans. 

Today was our second visit with them. 

Justin and I were a little nervous going in to the appointment, because it seemed that every appointment since we learned of our son's spina bifida had uncovered more bad news - sometimes the news was just a little worse, and other times it made me physically ill. At our last appointment, there was no terrible news, but we found out that Little Brother's kidneys were slightly dilated, which was an indication that damage may be occurring to them due to incomplete drainage of the bladder. 

We also found that the ventricles in his brain - the areas where fluid was building up due to the tension on his spinal cord - were continuing to grow. The fluid buildup causes pressure on the brain that can damage brain tissue if it gets too high. The upper boundary for "normal" ventricles are considered to be up to 13 mm wide for boys. Little Brother's ventricles were already measuring 17 and 18 mm and had been growing at about 1 mm per week for about two months. So we were afraid to find out how large they may have gotten in the month since out last appointment.

When we were led into the ultrasound room, we were greeted by our a very nice technician. She talked us through the ultrasound step-by-step, describing every part that she was measuring and what it meant. The first surprise came when she measured Little Brother's ventricles. One of them was still measuring at 17 mm, but the other had shrunk to 12 mm! It was the first time in three months of observation that the ventricles had not gotten larger, much less shrunk. Since we were expecting his ventricles to be measuring over 20 mm by this point, this was a wonderful surprise to us! We won't know what all of this means until farther down the road, but it is definitely good news!

The second surprise that we got came when our doctor came in to review the pictures that the ultrasound technician had taken. He was the first to report that Little Brother's kidneys were slightly dilated when we visited him a month earlier, but this time they measured in at 4 mm. He told us that the upper limit for "normal" kidneys at this stage would be 7 mm, so his kidneys no longer appeared dilated - more good news!

As important as the good news that we received about Little Brother's development today was the way we were treated when we visited our new hospital. We have been seen immediately both times we have been there, and the doctors and staff treat us like we are their priority. Our doctor has a strong focus on "What does the research say?", as opposed to our previous doctors, whose driving force always seemed to be, "Well, that's the way we've always done it." 

As an example, the previous specialists that we had seen in Jackson had all insisted on a C-section to deliver at about 37 weeks. This conflicted with the research I had read about online, which almost all seemed to agree that there was no evidence of a change in the long-term prognosis for children with spina bifida that were born by a normal delivery. By contrast, our doctor in New Orleans brought up the research right away and pretty much made it clear that his preference would be for a normal, full-term delivery. "If you just want us to cut you, we'll do it," he said, "but I would really like to see you make it to 39 weeks, and unless something changes in the development of your baby, there's no reason not to do a vaginal delivery." It sure is nice to have a doctor that goes by research instead of just convenience!

Needless to say, we're ecstatic. Throughout our pregnancy, we've felt God move through peace and comfort and guidance, but now, to physically see His touch and see His love revealed to us through this display of healing is amazing! 

As we continue to pray, please rejoice with us and give all the credit to our Father who loves us so passionately, even when though we are so undeserving.  We understand that we may see all these changes back in abnormal range at our next visit, but we have faith and assurance that God knows exactly what is in store, and he will help us through whatever it is!

REJOICE!