Today we had an Ultrasound to check on Riley. The Cystic Hygroma is the same size. This is good news. We don't want to see it getting any larger. Of course we'd love to see it get smaller but we're also okay with it remaining the same.
The Hygroma sits more on her shoulder towards the back of her neck. That is better then sitting right on the back of her neck. They did not see any other "bad" fluid anywhere such as the heart, brain, kidneys, etc. That's a great sign and something we need to see at each Ultrasound. If fluid becomes present in other parts of her body it's called Hydrops which can become fatal.
We are scheduled for a Fetal Echo Cardiogram on February 7th. As far as they can tell her heart looks good and don't expect the Fetal Cardiologist to see anything different. It doesn't hurt to double check though.
So what does this all mean? It means it's going to be a long five months. We'll have Ultrasounds every three to four weeks where they'll check the Hygroma, her heart, kidney's and monitor her growth. At each visit we want to see the Hygroma either staying the same size or decreasing in size. We also want to make sure there is no other fluid appearing near any major organs. She also needs to growing and her heart to stay strong.
When we started this journey, just two weeks ago, they gave us about a 10% chance of Riley surviving the pregnancy. Now she's at at least 80% which is wonderful. A normal pregnancy is 97%. So things are looking up. We should continue to move forward with guarded optimism but we definitely have more hope.
We asked them how often they, Maternal Fetal Medicine, see a Cystic Hygroma. Believe it or not it's once a month! Most cases are chromosomal and result in a terminated pregnancy or fetal demise. Luckily we're in the other category of non-chromosomal. It was amazing that they see it that often.
Finally, Riley continues to be feisty. Again, she didn't want to cooperate. She likes to hug the placenta or uterine wall. She does not like posing for pictures at all. I'm sure it's just an indicator of what's to come. And we can't wait!
Friday, January 12, 2007
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Our Conception Story
After eight years together we were pretty sure we'd spend our life with our four legged kids, doing lots of camping, and traveling the world. On August 12, 2004 that all changed with the birth of our God Daughter Tate. We immediately fell completely in love with her and soon began to re-think our decision of not having kids.
In October 2005 we began the process of trying to conceive. As soon as we started trying Shelly began having very erratic cycles which made the process that more complicated. After four tries over six months we decided to schedule a consultation with the a Reproductive Specialist. We were desperate to conceive and on a limited time frame since Shelly had just turned 41. Dee was 35 at the time but not able to conceive due to a medical procedure.
Our first appointment with the Repro Man was May 2006. He suggested we try IVF using Dee's eggs and Shelly as the gestational mother. He felt this scenario would give us the highest chance for success of a healthy pregnancy. We spent a short amount of time weighing our options and decided this was the best choice. We began our first IVF cycle in August. They did the Egg Retrieval and Fertilization on 8/31. Three days later, 9/3, they transferred three embryos into Shelly. Then the wait began.
Shelly promised not to begin the home pregnancy test too soon. Dee had to travel out of state for business a week after the transfer and asked Shelly to please wait to test. BUT, the wait was too much for her and she started testing after a week. At first there was no line. But after a couple of days testing a faint line started to appear. When Dee came home from her trip Shelly told her, "I know I'm pregnant." Dee didn't believe her and insisted the line wasn't dark enough so she tested herself to compare. There was absolutely no line. She began to believe Shelly was pregnant but still had doubt. Dee went to the store and bought another brand of testing strips. After five home tests, we were convinced we we're pregnant due to all positive results. A blood test at two weeks confirmed it; we were going to have a baby!
In October 2005 we began the process of trying to conceive. As soon as we started trying Shelly began having very erratic cycles which made the process that more complicated. After four tries over six months we decided to schedule a consultation with the a Reproductive Specialist. We were desperate to conceive and on a limited time frame since Shelly had just turned 41. Dee was 35 at the time but not able to conceive due to a medical procedure.
Our first appointment with the Repro Man was May 2006. He suggested we try IVF using Dee's eggs and Shelly as the gestational mother. He felt this scenario would give us the highest chance for success of a healthy pregnancy. We spent a short amount of time weighing our options and decided this was the best choice. We began our first IVF cycle in August. They did the Egg Retrieval and Fertilization on 8/31. Three days later, 9/3, they transferred three embryos into Shelly. Then the wait began.
Shelly promised not to begin the home pregnancy test too soon. Dee had to travel out of state for business a week after the transfer and asked Shelly to please wait to test. BUT, the wait was too much for her and she started testing after a week. At first there was no line. But after a couple of days testing a faint line started to appear. When Dee came home from her trip Shelly told her, "I know I'm pregnant." Dee didn't believe her and insisted the line wasn't dark enough so she tested herself to compare. There was absolutely no line. She began to believe Shelly was pregnant but still had doubt. Dee went to the store and bought another brand of testing strips. After five home tests, we were convinced we we're pregnant due to all positive results. A blood test at two weeks confirmed it; we were going to have a baby!
7 comments:
Glad to hear the good news. Thanks for keeping us updated. We are thinking about you guys.
Yay! So glad to hear that it hasn't increased in size! And no fluid or problems anywhere else! Wow, 80%? That's great! I hope the odds continue to improve! I mean, that's a 70% improvement already!!! We are still thinking of little Riley and we all know she's a littel fighter. Who doesn't like to pose for pictures. ;)
I'm so glad to hear the news!!!! Hang in there. Riley is a strong cookie.
great news!! keep up the good work Riley.
Great news! We're so relieved for you. We're praying for a reduced size at each appointment. Hang in there!
It sounds like such good news. I know how much you will worry throughout the rest of this pregnancy but hang onto that 80% - look how far you've made it!
Great news! Hope everything continues to go well and little Riley hangs in there!
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