Everything is Going to be Alright!

Firstly, I feel that I need to start out this post by saying that Little Baby Girl is 100% healthy and perfect in every way.
A few weeks ago I had my 20week ultrasound where we got the exciting news that we would be welcoming a little girl in November. Our whole family was excited and feeling very content with the ultrasound as a whole. Several days after the ultrasound my Doctor called and told us that they had detected some mild swelling on the baby's brain, and that the swelling was a sign of one or more chromosomal abnormalities. Boom! The stress that I had already been feeling towards this pregnancy had in an instant become multiplied a hundred times, no a million times.
The nurse helped me set up an appointment at the University of Iowa for a Level 2 ultrasound that would be attended by a Geneticist, a neonatal neurologist and a GP doctor. After the ultrasound I had an appointment where we would discuss the immediate care that the baby would need at birth and then the continual care that they would need throughout their life.
The 10 days of waiting for my appointment were really hard on me. I could only imagine the worst case scenario, and the thought of my baby having a life filled with suffering or pain was truly shattering. We didn't tell the kids anything because we wanted to have all of the information before we concerned them about anything. On Sunday night it was Emme's turn to say family prayer, and in her perfect way she made me feel a thousand times better. She began her prayer by thanking Heavenly Father for the new baby and then asked that He would bless that the new baby would be healthy. Kids really are amazing!
On Tuesday, I went into my appointment and I was a little surprised when the Geneticist wanted to meet with me before the ultrasound to discuss what would be seen on the ultrasound and what to expect overall from this appointment. She sat me down, got her tissue box positioned in front of me and informed me that after going over the previous ultrasound results that they had decided that the baby did indeed have Down's Syndrome. She paused and waited for what I assume was an emotional break down from me. Instead, I felt... relief...huge relief! After looking into the other chromosomal abnormalities that the baby could have had, Down's Syndrome was a huge relief. People with Down's are as a whole very healthy, especially if there is no heart defect. All of the other possibilities that the baby could have had would have guaranteed a life (short or long) filled with operations and surgeries and hospital stays.
Obviously surprised by my response the Geneticist asked "Elizabeth, you do understand what Down's Syndrome is?" I told her that yes, I did know what Down's Syndrome was and that the only concern I had was the baby's heart and that I wanted to make sure that during the upcoming ultrasound, the heart health would be a priority. She assured me that yes, that of course would be evaluated in the ultrasound. I said alright then, let's go ahead with the ultrasound then and get everything done, "everything's going to be alright."
The ultrasound technician came in and started out the ultrasound by remeasuring all of the ventricles in the brain. She stopped. Did all of the measurements again and then said "well, I can't say anything officially, but all of the swelling is gone. I mean completely gone. What was measuring as a 10 is now well within the normal range of around 7. I am going to call for the doctors now instead of waiting until the end." While we waited for them to come in, she went through all of the other standard measurements for Down's Syndrome, especially those that had come back as "soft markers" for it in the previous ultrasound. Once they came in she went over all of the measurements and again did a quick version of the ultrasound for the doctors to see. They huddled together for a minute and then came back to the chair to let me know their findings. "Elizabeth, we can't explain it, but all of the swelling has disappeared and the brain seems to have corrected itself on its own. All of the previous measurements are now invalid and everything is measuring exactly perfect for a 100% healthy baby girl." They all shook my hand and mumbled about how pleased they were to give me the happy news and how they just couldn't explain the changes.
I got all cleaned up and got my shirt all situated and the ultrasound technician again told me how glad she was for me and said that the baby's profile and facial features were truly the prettiest that she had ever seen. She shook my hand and sent me back out to the front counter to get all checked out.
As I was driving home, everything that had happened in the last several hours hit me. How amazing! Heavenly Father truly knows each of us, even/especially my little baby still growing inside of me. Miracles happen! Heavenly Father will always give us what we need and what can handle.  Heavenly Father knew that our family needed this unplanned little baby. He knew more than us how much this little girl would bless and strength us before she was even born. As trying as this pregnancy has been, for me especially, I know that in the end I will be stronger and that I hopefully will be able to appreciate this beautiful little gift more and more everyday. I know that even if this baby had been born with any of the possible chromosomal defects, that it would have been alright. "Everything will be alright," has been a very recurring sentence in our house the past five months. And I know that because Heavenly Father loves us and knows us, that He will help us and that with His help, "everything will be alright."

Happy 5th Birthday Embry Elizabeth!

Happy Birthday Emme! Emme is a spunky, creative little girl who ALWAYS has a song (of her own creation) to sing. Emme gives the best hugs! Every time she hugs you, you can just feel her giving you all of her love and warmth. She is a great big sister and is super excited for the new baby to be born. Emme is a helper and always looks out for her younger siblings. Emme is a daddy's girl 100% and she dotes on him and always takes care of him. Emme loves Primary and she says the most thoughtful and special prayers at family prayer. Emme is excited to start all day kindergarten this school year, she really wants to eat hot lunches like Elijah and the other big kids at school. We love Emme and are so very grateful to have her in our family.  

22 Weeks!

Baby Girl #3!

 

We are so excited to say we will be welcoming another girl right before Thanksgiving!