Update on our family

There has been a lot going on in our little family these last 2 months. I’ve wanted to share some news about our current pregnancy. I think it will help me to journal out what we've been dealing with in these past couple months and this blog can be a good way to keep our family and friends informed of all the new updates on this little babe. First of all, we wanted to share the news that we are having a little baby girl. It was something we needed to find out because of the following complications.
It all started with my first routine ultrasound that was scheduled around 19 weeks in Bonnyville. They found a small cyst on the baby’s back so they scheduled an appointment for me in Edmonton to find out more information.

Our appointment in Edmonton told us news that we were not expecting. Our baby girl has Sacrococcygeal Teratoma, which is a tumor on her tailbone. It is a cystic teratoma which explains the cyst that the Bonnyville clinic found. There are different types of teratomas and our baby has type 4, which grows fully on the inside of the baby. Some of them can grow on the outside or both the outside and inside as well. After they told us the condition they started to let us know what would need to happen. The first thing I had done that day was get an MRI since the doctors needed better pictures of the tumor to see if it was affecting anything. They also set up a Fetal Echo which is an ultrasound for the baby’s heart. This would let us know if there was any extra blood supply going to the tumor and if so, the heart wouldn't be able to keep up.

They also let us know that our baby will need surgery when she is born to remove the tumor. We will have to relocate to Edmonton for probably 1 to 2 months. I will need to be in Edmonton a month early so I don't go into labor in Bonnyville since Liam's labor was so quick. They would like to deliver me naturally and not too early so the baby is developed enough to endure the surgery. Once she is delivered and stabilized, our baby will be transfered to the U of A children's hospital for surgery. We are not exactly sure at this point how long we’ll be in Edmonton after she is born but there are a lot of questions and things still up in the air and we find out more week by week as things can change so easily.

We have been going to Edmonton every 2 weeks for them to monitor the tumor and its growth and to monitor the baby’s heart. Our last few appointments have been very positive as the tumor has not been growing enough to affect anything serious and the heart is still doing well. We have so much support from family and friends and we know a lot of people are praying for us. I truly believe that these prayers have been keeping our little girl healthy and have made the tumor stay the size where it's not affecting anything.
We want to thank all of our family and friends for their support. As I said, we know there are a lot of you praying for us and we really appreciate it. I have truly felt a peace knowing that God is in control of our little girls' life.
We'll make sure to keep you updated on any new information we receive and we'll continue to update you as we are in Edmonton.

Here is a belly picture of our little girl at 28 weeks:

Liam loves to talk to his baby sister and give my belly kisses.