The Birth Defect Miracle, Part 2

Baby C at 16 Weeks

After getting the news that Baby C had an abdominal wall defect, I was surprised that I was not more panicked. Don't get me wrong, every morning when I woke up I felt like a little black cloud was hanging over my head, but we weren't depressed and miserable. I think it's because it was something I knew I truly could not control, and there was freedom in knowing that there was nothing I could do but leave it in Gods' hands. So for the most part, I stayed fairly calm and cheerful.

But as the next ultrasound drew closer I got progressively more nervous. Still, I knew people were praying for us, fasting for us, and sending thousands of positive thoughts to the babies and that gave me strength. Our names and the babies were on numerous temple prayer rolls across the country. My babies were being prayed for in the Nauvoo Temple, even. How cool is that?

On Tuesday, May 7th (16 weeks) we headed in for our follow up ultrasound. I must admit, I was selfishly praying for a miracle, but I had also told Heavenly Father that I trusted Him and would accept whatever we found out and follow His will. I knew that if it was His will, it would all work out. But still, I was really hoping for a miracle.

I think that ultrasound will prove to be the longest one of my life. The tech started off the appointment by telling us she had studied the ultrasound pictures of the defect and felt it would likely be hernia or omphalocele. She didn't sound like it concerned her too much, but I said "What concerns me about that is the high risk of chromosomal defects that go along with it." She agreed, and I tried hard to control my nerves. Only a few more minutes and we would know, right?

Wrong. My high risk team call the babies "A, B, and C." B and C are the twins, and C is the one with the defect.  My ultrasound technician must really love alphabetical order, because she told me she would start with Baby A's ultrasound and go from there. Each baby takes about 20 or so minutes. I was dying inside, I just wanted her to go straight to Baby C and tell me if he was going to be okay!  But I don't want to get the reputation in that office as being the "crazy one", so I acted like I was perfectly fine with that decision.

Baby A Waving

Baby A looked good, 5 ounces. We still couldn't get a good shot of...well you know...to tell us for sure whether it is a boy or girl. The tech is fairly certain it's a boy, but not 100%. Guess we will have to wait for week 18 and hope that baby opens its' legs and gives us a good shot! The baby did give us a little wave that melted my heart - I am a pianist so those five fingers are very dear to me! I also love to think about all of the times I will get to hold that little hand. I would have to say that seeing the babies hands is my favorite part of an ultrasound. It makes everything so real.

Baby B at 16 Weeks

Then she moved on to Baby B. He also looked good, a robust 6 ounces and measuring a few days ahead. We got a shot of him staring straight at us. It is so neat being able to watch the babies develop via biweekly ultrasounds! It definitely make me feel even more bonded with them.

Finally, Baby B was finished and I was ready to see how Baby C was doing. Then the tech stopped and said, "I need to take a break." Her arm was understandably very tired after 45 minutes of not being able to rest it anywhere. I screamed, "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Don't do that to me!!!"....but only in my mind. On the outside I pretended to be calm and collected - again, I don't want to be known as the crazy triplet lady.  As she washed her hands she said, "I probably shouldn't say anything, but I quickly ran over Baby C and I couldn't see anything." She said she would be back shortly and left the room.

I didn't know what to think. I was part scared that maybe she had seen something else and her whole story about having a tired arm was really an excuse to go discuss something serious with the doctor. I was part hopeful that there would really be nothing there. I didn't dare let my mind wander too far, for fear of being disappointed. So my husband and I just sat there and tried our best to patiently wait for her return.

Finally she came back and we proceeded with Baby C's ultrasound. Everything was pretty much a blur, I don't remember anything until she got to the abdominal area. I just remember looking for the strange white blob I had seen on top of the baby's stomach in the previous ultrasound and not seeing it, but not daring to ask if it could really be true.

She searched and searched,  and finally announced that she saw no sign of it. And yet again, just as it had when they told us the baby had a defect at week 14, the earth ceased to spin. I could hardly wrap my brain around it. It was gone? Just like that? Does that even happen?!? And slowly, yet instantaneously, I realized we had just experienced a miracle. Only Heavenly Father can make something like that happen.

She continued on with the ultrasound, and noted that Baby C's umbilical cord did not enter the optimal place on the placenta and said she would show the doctor. He was 4 ounces, the smallest of the three, and measured a few days behind.

She left me to get dressed while she went to discuss the results with the doctor.  JJ and I were amazed, dumbfounded, grateful. We were also cautious, just hoping nothing would burst this bubble. Usually they come and get us after only a few minutes to go have blood pressure and weight checked, but this time we waited, and waited. And that made me nervous. The umbilical cord must be a bigger deal than she made it sound.

Finally they came for us. My blood pressure was good, weight gain was normal. They informed us that the other couple currently pregnant with triplets were also in the office that day, and I asked if we could meet them. We did, at the end of our appointment and they were so wonderful!! I felt an instant kinship with them. They are also LDS and are about 11 weeks ahead of us. They are having all girls and they already have two at home! There is going to be a lot of drama in that household! Probably about the same amount of drama as there will be black eyes, swollen lips, and bruises of every kind in ours!

At last we were called into the doctors' office. I cautiously tried to read him as he walked in, nervous there would be more bad news, but thankfully he didn't keep us waiting long. He reached out, shook our hands and said, "Congratulations!" He then went on to explain that the entire staff had been examining and pouring over our ultrasound pictures, in total shock and surprise, which is what created the long, nerve-wracking wait. He said, "If you had asked me 15 minutes ago if this was possible, I would have said no." This brilliant, high-risk doctor that sees this defect all the time, was shaking his head and saying "I don't know how this happened." (to which I thought, "I do!") and went on to read us some medical jargon on the defect, saying it does not go away after 12 weeks. Here we were at 16 weeks, and it was GONE. He said we were very lucky, that in his practice defects do not disappear, instead they usually find more of them. He apologized for the emotional distress we had been through. For the record, I would NEVER blame him or his staff. They saw what they saw. Even I saw it and I am not medically knowledgeable AT ALL. It was undeniable. He said he had a few theories about how this might have happened, but that was all they were, theories. I told him I didn't care HOW it happened, I was just glad it did, and that was more than good enough for me!!

I asked him about the umbilical cord and he told me not to worry about it at this point. Apparently it's fairly common. We will keep an eye on it, but things should be just fine, he just will likely be small due to the fact that it's placement is not optimal for the baby to receive nutrients as easily.

Making the phone calls to family and friends to tell them this news was just as much fun as surprising them with the triplet news. My mom cried and cried, and her co-workers, who knew she was waiting to see how the baby was, asked her what we had found out. I heard her tell them through her tears, "It's gone." And her poor co-workers thought she meant the BABY, not the defect! So she quickly clarified for them :o)

I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I have no idea how I will ever thank Heavenly Father enough for this amazing gift.

I had a lot of friends waiting for the news, so as I soon as I could, I posted the news on Facebook. I will copy and paste that in the next post.

And to think, we could have missed out on this amazing miracle if we had agreed to selective reduction. I know that no matter what, I would never do that.  Heavenly Father sends these special spirits here, and even if they aren't perfect, they deserve that chance at life. He knows what He's doing and I am so glad He gave us the strength to trust Him!