Perinatal Specialist

We had our consultation with the perinatal specialist yesterday.  It went pretty much exactly as I expected that it would, although it would've been nice if he would've said "No, everything looks good.  Must've been a mistake."  He was surprisingly personable and had one of the best bedside manners I have ever encountered; he truly seems to be living his calling and that was something of a blessing.

They tried and tried again to find out gender, but baby just refused to cooperate (stubborn like the girls, I suppose!).  He or she was sitting cross-legged and despite the doctor's best efforts to jiggle those little legs out of place for a glimpse, it just wasn't happening. 

We discussed our options, but Chris and I had already decided that the only option for us to carry this baby to term and cherish whatever time we are given with him or her.  We also discussed organ donation and he said that he would look into and would also contact our regular OB to discuss what the current stance is...he wasn't sure because it has apparently changed several times.

We also found out that baby's left kidney had quite a bit of fluid in it and that the bladder wasn't functioning, but that's pretty common in anencephalic babies.  They aren't able to drink and eliminate the amniotic fluid like other babies, so one of the few risks to the mother is the chance that fluid will build up and I'll end up with an extra huge belly.  That's doable unless it gets to the point where it becomes difficult for me to breathe.  Of course, all of the other normal pregnancy risks apply but otherwise, there really shouldn't be a reason that we won't be able to have a relatively normal, vaginal delivery.  There will, however, probably have to be an induction done since most of the time labor doesn't start spontaneously.  (They think part of the reason is because labor may be triggered by one or more of the structures in the brain.)

It was nice to be able to get some clear ultrasound pictures of baby and the whole session is on DVD for us.  It was also neat to see baby's hiccups and to find out that he or she seems to be just as stubborn as the two girls we already have!  :)