Ultrasound Today

This morning at 10:00 we have our ultrasound with the perinatologist. Please pray that we get some encouraging news and mostly that we can just enjoy seeing the images of Nathaniel.

**Update**
Seeing Nathaniel today on the ultrasound was such a blessing. He's about 2 1/2 lbs. He has big feet and big hands (in comparison to his legs and arms which as we know are very short) and he has the most beautiful face- perfectly formed. Mel and I can't get over how much he looks like Jacob and Kyle, especially Kyle as a newborn. His heart looks great and is strong. His organs are all present and whole. Ultrasound isn't a good test for viewing and measuring lung size so that is still unknown and the chest cavity is still very small so that is still our biggest concern.
We saw a new doctor today- the perinatologists rotate within the practice so we see whoever is available that day. She walked into the room and I immediately thought she seemed uncomfortable. I thought maybe it was the situation- talking to a couple who is carrying a baby not expected to live wouldn't be easy to do. We continue to talk and ask questions and the whole time I'm trying to figure out what it is that I'm sensing from her. At one point I ask her about organ donation if Nathaniel is born alive, but then begins suffering from respiratory distress. Mel then comments that "we want to do everything we can to give Nathaniel a chance to live whether it's two minutes, two hours or fifty years." He said, "from the beginning I've had a sense of peace about everything. We'll take what God gives us." Then he says, "we know this child has already touched many lives and we believe something good will come from his life." At this point, the doctor looks like she's tearing up. She says she's "in awe" and something about "not everything is lining up." I can tell she's choosing her words carefully and I can also tell that something's nagging at her heart or her mind. When she said the word awe I immediately felt God's presence in that room. She then looks at the 3D image of his face on the ultrasound monitor and comments on how cute his face is and that she's the doctor and she's suppose to have all the answers, but she doesn't. She looks at Mel and said she too feels a sense of peace. She said she is still concerned about the shape and length of his ribs and the size of his chest cavity. She's also concerned about the ossification in his spine, but that he doesn't have some of the characteristics typical with most lethal skeletal dysplasias. The whole time she's talking, both Mel and I feel that she's holding something back, like she wants to say something more, but doesn't. We can't describe it, but Mel and I both agree that this doctor saw or felt something that was beyond medical explanations. I'm not saying that we think that Nathaniel has been healed, that he will be healed or even that he will survive beyond his birth- only that Nathaniel touched this woman's life in some way. We felt it and we saw it. I wish I knew exactly what God was up to this morning in that ultrasound room. I believe that's where faith and trust come in. I don't know His plan but I trust that it is good and that His glory will be revealed.
On another encouraging note, the doctor says that Nathaniel's heart is very strong. She doesn't see any abnormalities with it (heart defects are common with lethal skeletal dysplasias) his face shows no signs of cleft lip or palate (very common with skeletal dysplasias) his feet are not clubbed (another common characteristic) and she strongly feels he will continue to thrive until and through delivery. The previous doctor we saw told us he may not survive the stress of a vaginal delivery, but this doctor seemed to think otherwise. This is very encouraging as recovering and spending time with Nathaniel right after delivery will be better if we avoid a c-section.
Obviously, preterm labor is a concern with all the additional amniotic fluid I have so we talked about amniotic fluid reduction (basically doing a amniocentesis procedure and extracting enough amniotic fluid so that my uterus is at a more normal level.) She doesn't feel we need to do anything at this time, but maybe in a few weeks. It surprised me that she was in favor of this, but I see it as a sign that she isn't 100% convinced that Nathaniel's situation is lethal. Even if she's 99.9% I'll take the shadow of doubt.

Please continue to pray for Nathaniel. I'll try to post a picture of his sweet face when I get the ultrasound image scanned.