To Date Information on Natalie

To date, here is what we know about Natalie:

June: Natalie was diagnosed with a 2 vessel cord. Instead of having 2 arteries in it, she just has one. She will be watched closely for any other defects and to make sure she continues growing, as some babies with this defect stop growing in the last months of pregnancy.

Monday, August 13: We had an appointment with our perinatologist. During the sonogram, the Dr. could not find her left kidney. To make an accurate diagnosis, the Dr. asked us to have a fetal MRI done on Thursday, August 16th.

Thursday, August 16: Natalie and I had the MRI done. Natalie hated it and moved the entire time. We were in there for over an hour trying to get a clear photo of her.

Friday, August 17: We met with the perinatologist for the results of the MRI. The Dr. said that Natalie is missing her left kidney, that her bladder has a small cyst on it and her right kidney is showing signs of reflux. They will check her after she is born and see if she will require surgery. If she does, they will have to transport her as they do not do the surgery in town. They will also be checking her via sonogram to make sure that along with growing properly, she has the correct amount of amnio fluid around her. Some babies with only one kidney don't produce enough amnio fluid in the last months of pregnancy and it can become dangerous. At the same appointment the Dr. said that because of her 2 vessel cord and her renal defect, she asked if we wanted to do an amnio because she now has a 40% risk of having a chromosome defect. We first said no, but later changed our minds. She also asked Jeff and I to make sure that we have both of our kidneys via a sonogram with our doctors.

Wednesday, August 22: Jeff had his sonogram on his kidneys. I called my doctor and he could confirm that I had both of mine from a sonogram done a few years ago. We found out that Jeff has both of his kidneys, but has a defect that caused them to grow together forming one large kidney. They call it a horseshoe kidney. This is not genetic and not the reason Natalie only has one kidney. Jeff is following up with his doctor to make sure that he doesn't need to do anything.

Thursday, August 23: We met with our OB/GYN before the amnio. I have gained weight, measure good and Natalie has a good heart rate. We then went for the amnio with the perinatologist. They had to stick me twice, because the first time Natalie got too close to the needle. They got the fluid they needed and Natalie did just fine. I had some mild cramping and was uncomfortable for a few days. We should get preliminary results back in 2-3 days and the official report back in 2 weeks. There are some chromosome defects that can cause the baby to not make it after birth, Trisomy 13 and 18 and of course more common ones like Trisomy 21, which is Downs. Anyway, we are praying hard that Natalie will be just fine.

Monday, August 27th: We got a call from the Dr. today with the preliminary test results. He told us that she was negative so far. He told us to be "Cautiously Optimistic" as the 2 week test can turn the negative results into positive and it is testing for a number of other chromosome defects. I am hoping to hear those results next Friday, September 7th. The Dr. did confirm through her DNA that is 100% girl!

Next Appointments: Our next OB/GYN appointment is Thursday, September 6th at 2:40. Our next perinatologist appointment is on Friday, September 7th at 9:30.