Encouraging Day

We had a great day today! We left our house early, 6am, and arrived in Cincy in plenty of time for our 9:30 U/S. The girls both looked wonderful! It was immediately apparent that they both had good fluid levels and the tech confirmed that. Normal fluid ranges from 2-8cm. Anne-Claire's was 7.7cm last Thursday, was taken down to 4.6cm on Monday with the amnioreduction, and was 5.1cm this morning. Elise's was 3.3cm last week, went down to 2.1 on Monday, but was up to 2.9cm today. Both girls also had nice big visible bladders, which is a good sign that Elise is getting nutrition and producing urine. The one negative was that Elise's cord still shows absent diastolic flow, which is a sign of placental insufficiency. The best way of dealing with this is through strict bedrest and good nutrition for me. The doctor came in after the ultrasound was over and told us he thought both girls looked very good. He said he was, "cautiously optimistic," which is a lot coming from a doctor that rarely offers positive news without good reason.

We left feeling good but cautious because we knew there was a lot riding on the ECHO. The ECHO went well but we didn't immediately get to speak to a doctor about the results. We were able to rest in one of the nesting rooms in the Fetal Care Center before Dr. Lim, one of the fetal surgeons, came to talk to us. He came early so we didn't have to wait until 5pm, which was a blessing from God. He told us that he too felt the ultrasounds looked good except for the absent flow in Elise's cord. He reiterated the importance of bedrest to improve Elise's bloodflow and nutritional intake. The big news was that the ECHOs on both girls looked very good. The only noticeable change was in Anne-Claire's right ventricle. I'm not sure what the measurement is of but normal range goes to 4.8 and hers was 4.9. He didn't feel this was a significant enough amount to consider a progression of TTTS. In other words, our girls' TTTS has not progressed and has in fact improved to some degree by the improved fluid levels.

We won't consider this a successful response to the amnioreduction until we get another positive report on Tuesday when we return to Cincinnati, but for now we're very encouraged. Dr. Lim thinks that we are safe to rely on weekly ultrsounds and ECHOs for the time being until they see some significant change that warrants further action. We'll be watching Anne-Claire's heart carefully for any signs of progression of TTTS and Elise's growth closely. Our goal is to make it to 32 weeks, when both girls have a good chance of survival without medical complications. We're going to concentrate on proper nutrition for me and good bedrest and to pray that God will continue to strengthen Anne-Claire and Elise and to keep them healthy.

We give God all of the glory for today. We've been asking Him to work in a mighty way so to astonish the doctors who were not at all encouraging last week. I do believe He has answered our petitions. I continue to pray that my hope will rest in the Father and not in the doctors or procedures. God was pleased to use the amnioreduction to help our girls, but His hand did all the work. Thank you, Father.

Please pray:1) for continued faith and His glorification;

2) for Anne-Claire's heart and Elise's growth;

3) for strength as we face weekly trips to Cincinnati;

4) that the girls stay put in my womb until it is safe for them to come out;

5) that Emma and Charlotte would continue to handle separation from us as well as they have so far.

Thank you to all who have been fasting, praying, and otherwise laying down their lives for us. We love you all very much.