Our little baby "B"

At our 18 week ultrasound (the same ultrasound where we found out they were girls) we were also made aware that our little baby "B" has a malformation called Omphalocele. This is a malformation that describes what happens when some of the baby's abdominal organs, such as the liver, spleen or intestines, do not make it into the abdominal cavity during development. It's common enough that Doctors know how to treat it, and it can be remedied, but it's still not what you want to hear when you are hoping your baby is perfect. Since we found this out, it has made made my pregnancy quite a bit more complicated, and high risk. It means I cannot deliver here in Bend, that my medical care and delivery via C-section will be scheduled and monitored up in Portland (3 hours away), that our baby "B" will have to have immediate surgery upon her arrival into the world, and will have possibly a lengthly stay in the NICU until she is ready to be away from constant medical monitoring.

My first appointment with my high risk doctor, a Perinatalogist, was in Portland on Tuesday. My parents and in-laws went with me since Doug had to stay in Bend for work. We had another ultrasound, where we learned that both babies are growing well, already up to a pound in weight, and are close in size, which is very good. We also learned that B's condition is quite a bit larger than initially thought- at this point it looks as if her spleen, liver, and part of her intestines are in the omphalocele. While it is still repairable, and she will hardly have a scar, it means her surgery may be more complicated than initially thought. When the organs are outside of her tummy, everything that's left in her tummy settles into the empty space, so her heart, lungs and other organs are not where they should be. It means a gradual surgery to slowly push everything back in to where it should be, and we don't know yet how long that could take, but that once fixed, she will lead a totally normal and healthy life.

Here are some pictures of what is very hard to envision by my poor explanation:

The Before and After situation

What our "B" will likely look like when she is born before they repair her tummy. That bubble where her umbilical cord comes out is where her organs are.

We meet again with the doctor in portland on January 20, and also the Pediatric surgeon who will be performing B's surgery. At that point we should find out some more information on her time in the NICU and overall recovery.

I have been told I will need to move to my parent's house in Portland possibly starting at 28-30 weeks for close monitoring and more frequent appointments. This time away from Doug is going to be very hard and definitely a surprise to us, as we were initially expecting me to move there at 36 weeks, and do the C-section at 38 weeks.

I only mention all of this because you are all my dear friends, and would soon learn of our situation soon enough, and I also hope you can keep our family and our little girls in your prayers that they continue to grow and develop the way they need to and that my pregnancy can last until 38 weeks to ensure their good health and survival.

Much love,
the Mayo's