Change

Last year we found out the most exciting news!!

We are adding another baby to our family!! Fast forward to Thursday March 29th, we went in for our 20 week ultrasound. It's a GIRL! We are so excited and grateful to have "one more sister!" as Kamryn tells us. As we sat in the waiting room after we found out I was fixing Aubrey's little pony tail and I thought, there is no end of me doing pony tails, good thing I love it! 

When we went to visit with my sweet doctor she shared with us news that no parent ever imagines hearing. "There's something wrong, an abnormality." Our sweet baby girl has Spina Bifida. Let me begin by saying how excited we are to hold our baby girl, this news by no mean lessens our excitement only increases it. When we told our kids that she would be sick when she was born their immediate respose was "She will need our help." That's right! So let me try to explain what Spina Bifida is and what we are doing.

Spina Bifida occurs when the baby's spine fails to close during the first months of pregnancy. The point where the underdeveloped area occurs in the called the level of the the Spina Bifida. We are still waiting for an official level but her's occurs on the lower back closer to the tailbone. The higher up the the Spinal column the greater the effect on nerve function. Some people with very low levels of Spina Bifida can walk with little or no assistance while others with higher levels will require leg braces, crutches, walkers or wheelchairs.There are a few hospitals in the United States that now offer  fetal surgery to close the lesion. We have one close to us in Nashville at Vanderbilt. Research shows that surgery can reduce the need risk of the baby needing a shut to manage hydrocephalus and increase motor ability. Babies who do not have the surgery will  have surgery to close the lesion on the back in the 24-48 hours after birth. 

Right now we are pursuing the option of fetal surgery at Vanderbilt. We are still in the holding process to find out if we will be accepted into the program for Fetal Surgery. Wednesday I will be going in to have Amniocentesis as a requirement of the surgery to confirm diagnosis and check for any other problems. We don't think there are any other problems as every else was normal on the ultrasound (heart, kidneys, limbs all developing nicely).

One thing interesting about this baby is I have felt her kick since about 18 weeks. With the other 3 kids it was a few weeks beyond 20 when I felt the first kicks. I consider this a blessing and her telling us she can move her legs and is going to keep fighting to do it. 

What are we doing? Living each moment. That's what I like to think I am doing, hugging my kids a little bit more. Cleaning quite a bit since in the next 3 weeks I could be headed to bed rest for several months. Researching as much as we can about what to be prepared for. Most of all praying. 

Just a few minutes before we heard the news we were laughing and enjoying our kids, I'm trying to hold on to that.

To learn more about Spina Bifida visit