The Power of Prayer!

I have had a heavy heart ever since our gender reveal ultrasound on October 6th. I didn't blog about it, I hardly told anyone actually. The only people who knew were family and a few close friends. I just hated to bring it up, and I tried really hard to not think about it too much.

On October 6th, the ultrasound was going so well. We were so shocked at how big our baby was now! It wasn't a blob anymore, it looked like an actual baby! The sonographer checked the head, the heart, the legs...and then she said those sweet words, "You definitely have a little....boy!" I can't describe the emotion at that moment! Both Matt and I were tearing up, that is our SON we are looking at on the screen! We were on cloud nine. I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about what he will look like. Then the sonographer went back to his head. She zoomed in a lot, then zoomed out. Zoomed in again and made a split screen on the monitor. One side was showing one part of the brain, the other side showing another part. She then said something I was not expecting to hear. She said he has choroid plexus cysts on his brain, but they seem to be resolving. Of course I had no idea what that meant at the time, I just don't like the word 'cyst'. She said they are soft markers for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18, a severe genetic disease. The cysts, however, do not effect personality, development and will never turn into cancer. I think I just went numb. I didn't cry, I was just indifferent. Part of me felt ok because she said it so calmly and also said they seem to be resolving themselves. She also mentioned that you need to have 2-3 soft markers for it to raise real concern. I was also sick as a DOG that day with a horrible cold, so that might have added to the numb feeling.

We ended the ultrasound and then had my normal checkup with the doctor. The first thing she did when she walked in the room was give me a hug. I think at that moment I knew this wasn't a normal situation. But I was still numb. She went onto to say that we need to make an appointment with a specialist to have a level 2 ultrasound. A level 2 ultrasound is a more in-depth look at the baby to measure everything to make sure the baby is growing correctly. She also said in most cases the cyst will resolve or reduce in size by 26-28 weeks. I was 18 weeks at the time.

I remember that car ride being pretty quiet. I didn't call anyone, I just sent texts to my family with pictures we were given of his sweet profile. I knew if I talked on the phone I would just cry and not get a word out.

We went on with the scheduled gender reveal party, and I tried so hard to not show any emotions. That didn't work! Right after the reveal of the blue balloons, I teared up...and it wouldn't stop. Matt led us all in a prayer for Caleb and I lost it again. It was the sweetest prayer and I am so thankful our friends Janie and Ryan were there to film the prayer and take the pictures. This picture is now on our living room wall. Ever since October 6, we have been praying every single day that the cysts be totally gone at the next ultrasound and he will be nothing but a healthy baby boy. I prayed the same exact prayer every time, i'm sure God was like "i've heard this one before!" haha :)

Now the cool part! We had our level 2 ultrasound yesterday, December 1. I was exactly 26 weeks that day. We had the appointment at Children's Medical Hospital in Plano. Ironically, our first apartment was right down the road from this hospital. We watched it being built and I was always so curious to know what the inside looked like haha. It's a really neat looking building! I told Matt as we pulled into the parking lot, "I finally get to see what the inside looks like! But I hate the circumstances that brought us here." He replied with "I'd rather be here for this circumstance than what most of the children are here for." Very true, and I am very thankful.

We quickly got into the ultrasound room and the RN told us what was going to happen. First a sonographer was going to come in and do a thorough scan to see if the cyst have resolved and then measure practically everything on and in his body. After she is done the doctor would come in and pretty much do the same thing.

Soon after the RN left, the sonographer came in and gooped up my belly. The first image that came up on the screen was his sweet face. I was shocked at how big he had gotten! He is definitely starting to run out of room in there! She did a quick glance at his whole body and then went back to his head. This is the part I was most nervous about. I think I closed one eye and stopped breathing. She wasn't saying much and I was trying to figure out what I was looking at (with my one eye!). She finally started talking and said the words I will never forget. "Well this is where the cysts should be.....and they are completely gone." I started tearing up and thanked God in a silent prayer at that exact moment. Those were the exact words I had been praying to hear over and over. How GREAT is our GOD?!

The next thing she checked was his heart. If there are problems with the heart, that also is a soft marker for Down Syndrome. His heart rate was 140bpm and she said his heart looked good. She spent a LOT of time on his heart and towards the end she wasn't saying much. Matt got concerned and asked "so does everything look ok?" And she said "oh yes, sorry, I am just mesmerized at how perfect his heart is." I teared up again! (I'm a mess!) She then said "we dream of having scans like this." Wow. I was back on cloud 9! She then counted all 10 fingers and all 10 toes. We even got to see him breathing in the fluid with this cool colorizing tool. It looked like he was a dragon because apparently exhaling is a red color, and blue is inhaling. So it looked like he was breathing out fire haha!

She then went back to his head and had the cutest profile shot! The screen then went black and the following image popped up on the screen:



I was speechless! I think Matt muttered "oh wow." We had NO CLUE we were going to see him in 4D that day! The tears streamed again and I don't think I blinked at all. We were seeing what our son actually looks like! My first thought was he looks like paw paw (my grandpa)! I think it was the cheeks haha. We then said we think he has my nose, Matt's lips, my mouth shape...and on and on. We think he is the perfect blend of the two of us and we think he is the cutest thing! We got to see him in 4D for quite awhile and even got it on DVD. It felt like Christmas morning! We definitely got an early Christmas present!

Once she was done (45 minutes of looking at Caleb!) the doctor came in. He is an amazing doctor and specializes in high-risk pregnancies. Matt and I think the sonographer told him how great his heart looks because the doctor brought in a med student with him to watch the ultrasound. He kept pointing out to her things and saying "see, this is what it's supposed to look like." And then he said this is great for them. Meaning they were recording the ultrasound to use in classes to show a good heart from a bad heart. Our little Caleb is going to be famous (at least at UT haha). Remember me saying I was exactly 26 weeks that day? Caleb measured exactly 26 weeks to the day, is roughly 2 pounds, and should weigh around 7lb 5oz at birth! Isn't technology amazing that it can pick up on these statistics? I hope that will be his birth weight! :)

The whole appointment lasted an hour and half! We were the last patients there, and I think that was a good thing for them. Every single nurse we talked to said it had been one those days. Since it's an office strictly for high-risk pregnancies, they see a lot of sad things and to end the day off with a good ultrasound made them happy. I am so so SO thankful for our healthy baby.


Thank you everyone (who knew) for praying for Caleb, and I ask for continued prayers for him to come into this world still healthy. The power of prayer is amazing!