About 9 months ago Tyler and I sat in the office of a maternal fetal specialist and he informed us that our 13 week old baby was developing differently than the norm. The doctor pointed to areas on little printed out ultrasound pictures of extra fluid and other concerns. He said our baby was likely to have a chromosomal abnormality (such as Down Syndrome) or a congenital heart defect. He offered us tissues and waited for us to cry but the tears didn’t come. I felt calm. Worried for the safety of our child, but still calm.
We prayed. We asked God to make us good parents to this little miracle. We asked for peace and for the baby to be healthy. We asked for the character to be good examples to all the people around us. We asked that the doctors and nurses would see Christ, and not us.
In the coming months we visited the specialist over and over again. We could make a flip book with the ultrasound pictures we have. At each visit they found more reason for concern. Extra fluid in the kidneys, extra fluid surrounding the brain. I spent hours researching about chromosomal abnormalities. I watched videos of amazing kids with Down Syndrome and fell in love with their attitudes toward life. We continued to pray for calmness and for the fear of the unknown not to overwhelm us.
At 28 weeks we went in for a full anatomy scan of the baby. I remember watching the ultrasound so closely trying to see if anything looked different or concerning. The baby was especially hyper that day and it took forever just to get a heartbeat. Tyler said he was clearly going to take after me. :) After the ultrasound the doctor came in to discuss the results with us. He was smiling. He said that he couldn’t believe it but that all the problems we had been seeing had resolved themselves. Straight up disappeared. He said we must have been praying because this was a miracle. We laughed and cried and thanked God over and over again.
I don’t know why we went through what we did. I don’t know why our baby boy developed so differently and then was just fine. I don’t know if I’ll ever know. What I do know is that I’m so thankful for the doctors who really, truly cared. I’m thankful for our friends and family who prayed constantly. I’m thankful for the knowledge I gained through researching about chromosomal abnormalities. I’m thankful for my amazing husband who is so incredibly strong. And I am forever grateful for the grace of God not only in giving us a healthy baby, but also for holding us and comforting us through the hard times.
On March 12th I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. I am so excited to introduce little baby Hudson. We are so in love with this little guy. :)
