28 week ultrasound update
Hi friends! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was a great time spent together, but Friday morning was a mix of positive and not-so-ideal news at my ultrasound appointment. I figured I’d share an update with you all since so many of you offered to send well wishes, prayers and happy placenta moving vibes to me. Thank you so much for all of your love for our family and this little beeb. It makes my heart so warm, and means a lot to us. <3
When the tech first began the ultrasound, she checked the baby’s location (she’s head down instead of transverse now, so that’s awesome!) and the placenta right away to see how it was doing. She said that it looked far enough away that I likely wouldn’t need an internal ultrasound (halle.freakin.llujah), and that everything looked healthy and beautiful. I instantly felt a huge sigh of relief, and couldn’t wait to call or text the Pilot, who was at work for a meeting. I always love getting ultrasounds, and could have watched our baby dance on the screen all day. We checked out her spine, her brain, the chambers of her heart, her heart beat (a strong 141), the blood flow to the umbilical cord, and the tech took a variety of measurements. She was very sweet and gentle, and definitely took her time getting the measurements and letting me see our sweet growing baby.
(She took this amazing 4d image! She was pressed up against me -that’s what the darker spots are- but I was amazed at the detail!)
Then, she went back to the heart.
She took more measurements and a lot of image captures, and of course, didn’t really tell me what was going on. I felt in my intuition that something wasn’t quite right because the tech went from being super chatty to intensely focused and quiet.
The doctor came in to talk to me, and let me know that the placenta looked great and I was cleared to return to full activities and Orangetheory (though, let’s be real, I’m not going to go back after 2 months off and at almost 30 weeks pregnant. I’ll just wait until little miss is here to make my return). He then went on to say that our baby has Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD, which is a mild heart defect. Essentially, the blood between the two lower chambers is supposed to be separated, and a small hole is currently allowing blood to flow from the left to right side. It can cause a heart mumur, but over time, could cause the heart and lungs to work harder and lead to cardiac issues. It’s all dependent on the size of the hole. He said that sometimes this resolves on its own (and could even resolve itself before birth), and sometimes they need to go in and patch the small hole. The doctor assured me that this wasn’t caused by anything I’ve done, and there’s nothing we can really do to fix it. It’s a matter of waiting, monitoring and taking necessary steps from there. I’m no longer a candidate for a birth center birth because the baby’s heart will need to be continuously monitored, but will be able to deliver with a midwife and our doula in labor and delivery. The baby will need an echocardiogram shortly after birth, and it will need to be monitored until it either resolves itself or if they decide they need to patch the hole.
We feel very blessed that the baby is otherwise very healthy and everything seems to be going well so far. At the same time, it was a bit overwhelming and scary to receive this type of news, especially since I was alone at the appointment. I sat in the car and cried in the parking lot until I could call Tom and tell him what was going on. I also texted Katy, because I remembered that her daughter was diagnosed with the same condition and it has thankfully repaired itself. It hit me pretty hard how much I love this little baby already, and while worrying won’t help anything, I couldn’t help myself. Now I’m focused on remaining hopeful that it will resolve itself, researching the condition so I’m familiar with the terminology and potential outcomes, and giving thanks that in the grand scheme of things, it’s something minor and can be fixed if needed. We have a fetal echocardiogram awaiting approval so we can get her heart checked by a specialist to determine the size and next steps we’ll need to take.
Just wanted to share a little update with you all. Thank you again for all of your love and prayers and for being so wonderful.
xoxo
Gina and the familia
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Sending you and the family healing vibes and well wishes!!
thank you, china!
Oh Gina another sweet baby girl! I’m so sorry the murmur has put you into worry mode. I hope and think everything will be Fine though. I will keep my fingers crossed for al three of you. Much love and hugs from Detroit. <3
thank you so much, rachel. xoxo
You are a “good human” example for all of us my friend. Make sure the Pilot spoils you rotten the next 12 weeks!
Prayers for you guys! I have a friend who had twins and the little girlie had this condition. They thought she was going to need surgery, but it closed up on its own 🙂
that’s so wonderful to hear! hoping and praying and hers does the same
xoxo
Our second was diagnosed with VSD right after birth and her’s closed up by the one month check up! Positive thoughts coming your way!
thank you!!! wow, that is great hers healed up!
I’m sending as many prayers and health vibes as I can, dear Gina xo
Sending lots of healthy vibes your way, hope it fixes itself on its own.
thank you. i hope so too!
Positive and healthy thoughts and wishes coming your way! Will be thinking about you as you go through this journey.
thank you, carrie <3
Sending big prayers and good thoughts your way. I’m 34 weeks pregnant, and it’s so hard not to worry all the time. Hang in there and keep the faith that everything will be ok:)
it’s SO hard. thank you <3
I was born with the same thing and it closed up when I was 2 years old. I’m currently 25 and pregnant with my own little girl. I haven’t had any other heart problems aside from a left bundle branch block and, now that I’m pregnant, some palpitations that I need to get checked out. I’m praying that your daughters heart heals on it’s own as well!
that is great to hear. so happy it closed up for you!! hopefully ours will do the same. congratulations on your pregnancy, too <3
Oh Gina, I’m so sorry to hear this. Hunter didn’t have this issue, but he did have some heart issues that we weren’t even aware of until 24 hours after he was born. Scary stuff for sure. I’m so glad that you had this ultrasound so that your doctors and midwives can be proactive and make sure your baby girl is healthy and getting the right treatments. Sending big hugs your way and praying for the best!
thank you, friend. i appreciate it!
Sending love and positive thoughts to you and your family!!
thank you, sam!
Sending a giant hug!!!!! And prayers and positive thoughts – ox! Gina (from Mass)
thank you so much, gina 🙂 xoxo
I’m so sorry to hear the news about the baby. Sending many good thoughts and prayers her way. 🙂
thank you <3
Sending lots of good vibes your way….
thank you, haley
I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now. I will keep you and your little girl on the way in the my thoughts. Sending positive vibes your way!
thank you, amanda
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. – Mark 11:24
All things are possible! Have faith.
<3
Sending prayers and good thoughts to you, your baby girl and your whole family!
thank you, amy!
Thank you for sharing the update and know that all of your readers are keeping you in their thoughts. I was born with a congenital heart defect – an absent pulmonary valve. I lived without one for 23 years and had a completely normal life. I had open heart surgery when I was 23 to put a pig valve in there, and 15 years later, me and my pig valve have run marathons, hiked mountains, skied slopes, etc. It is truly amazing what they can do these days and the field of pediatric cardiology is so incredible. I know your little girl will be in great hands!
Sending big hugs and good luck thoughts your way x
I love this comment. Well done to you and your pig’s valve 🙂 My dad has one too. He stopped eating bacon for a while but its deliciousness seems to have overpowered his gratitude
hahaha!
I REALLY tried to stop eating pork because it seemed a little weird, but turns out, I like bacon too much to worry about the weirdness.
this comment made me so happy. that is amazing, and YOU are amazing 🙂
Prayers going up for you and baby!
thank you, mary
So at 33 weeks over here I am crying for you reading this. Like you said it’s amazing how much love you can feel for someone who you’ve never even met yet! Positive thoughts and vibes to you and your family mama, sounds like you’re in great medical hands in case your little one needs them
thank you, stephanie. congratulations to you, too! exciting your due date is right around the corner
Prayers for you & your family.
thank you <3
Sending lots of love and prayers. Right after my second little man was born we went through many health struggles and tons of different diagnoses. It can be overwhelming yes but just as you said, stay hopeful and do your research. You are the only advocates for that sweet bundle of a blessing.
thank you, melissa. sorry to hear you had to go through so many health struggles with your little guy. hope all is going well now <3
Hi! My heart goes out to you. I have twin 2 year old boys and when I was pregnant with them, I was told that one of them looked like he had too much fluid on his brain and needed additional monitoring. I was so scared, so upset, so overwhelmed, so many pages deeper into my Google searches than any person should ever be. Every day felt like it was lasting an eternity since, like you, all we could do was wait. The turning point for me was when it dawned on me that no matter how this turned out, my job was exactly the same: to love my babies with every fiber of my being and be the best mother I possibly could. What that looked like exactly might vary depending on their needs, but my heart would be in the same place no matter what. For some reason, that soothed me and really helped me to let it go. And thankfully, everything turned out fine and both of my boys are healthy and perfect. I have high hopes for you that you will have a similar outcome and even if you don’t, you will find that bizarro mother strength inside you somewhere to get through it. Sending you love and hugs!
that is so true. that love is so strong and will be the same no matter what. thank you for such a great reminder <3 lots of love to you!
Sending you good vibes! I’m a fellow heart mom, and I hope you things resolve for you and your baby.
thank you <3
I know this is tough. It may be minor, but it’s still scary news. Everyone wants their baby to be perfectly healthy. Hopefully her heart will heal on its own with no surgery! Just try to stay positive!!!! <3
i am 🙂 thank you, friend
Sending hugs and good vibes your way! Hopefully this heals on its own!
thank you. i hope so too!
Hi Gina! I wanted to let you know that I was born (and still have) a ventricular septal defect and a thin atrial wall. Opting for a wait-and-see approach, they thought it would probably close. It never did, but I’m a-ok! At 33 years old, I’m an avid runner/exerciser and the biggest inconvenience was taking antibiotics before the dentist (which isn’t required) and a trip to the cardiologist every few years. I had to have my baby in the hospital instead of a birth center but wasn’t extensively monitored during my pregnancy.
I know that everyone is different, but I just wanted to give you a first hand account and tell you that she will have a wonderful, full and active life.
Feel free to reach out if you want to talk more!
that makes me so happy to hear. thank you- i appreciate it so much <3
Best wishes and love your way! I’m glad it is (somewhat) minor and can be fixed need-be in the future!
me too. thank you!
I’m in tears just thinking about how scary it must have been to receive this news! I found out in my mid-twenties that I not only have this hole but that it never closed (lack of technology in the 80’s) I’ve lived a perfectly active lifestyle and keep it monitored. Prayers are with you all!!
wow, that’s great to know. so happy you are thriving 🙂 thank you for the prayers!
Sending love and prayers <3 I'm currently 29 weeks and we had a fetal echo done at 26 weeks. My husbands brother was born with a hole in his heart and it resolved itself before he was 5. My husband also has a heart condition so we had to get it checked. Now I can't remember all the terminology but there was a hole in the heart that was common in all babies and goes away. I'm hoping your fetal echo can give you more peace of mind with all of this. Can't imagine getting this news while by yourself. Hang in there!
thank you so much – i appreciate it <3
Sending lots of love, well wishes and hugs your way!
thank you!
Sending good thoughts and much love to little miss and your family. Hopefully all of this heals on its own, and we are so lucky to live in a time when amazing doctors and nurses can fix things like this. Hugs!
amen to that! thank you 🙂
Lots of love Gina! I’m sure it will turn out just fine and you will have a healthy & beautiful baby girl.
thanks, girl!
Will say a prayer for you and your family. Sending positive energy your way.
thank you, mari <3
Wish I could hug you.
I will never forget being a brand new mom and having a cardiologist draw me a diagram of a heart and explaining what a VSD is. Then the nurse telling me that if I ever had to bring her into the ER for heart failure, to shout that she has a VSD and they would let me right in.
These words were so hard to hear. But my baby is now 4 and healthy and thriving. It can resolve itself and it usually does, but those are such scary words to hear.
Sending you calm steady vibes for the rest of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My email is up there if you need anything, including a sympathetic ear.
i’m so sorry to hear you’ve been through the same thing and felt the same fear. so happy your baby is healthy and thriving!
lots of love to you and thank you for the comment- i really appreciate it
I work in the PICU (pediatric icu) as an RN, and I’ll tell you this is more common then you’d think! 99.9% of the time it’s like saying “the baby was born in with a lot of hair”- a nonissue! Don’t stress about it, just keep doing everything you’re doing and stay positive!!
that is amazing to hear. thank you!
Hi Gina,
Just wanted to send you positive vibes and well wishes for your baby! Keep your chin up! 🙂
thank you, lovely
I was also born with the same defect. I saw a pediatric cardiologist until I was 9, when the hole closed on its own! I’m now 26 and have no health issues to speak of. I just wanted to reach out and let that you know while everyone is different, it can all turn out okay! My mother still talks about how much she loved my cardiologist!
so happy to hear that it closed for you! happy you’re doing so well now too. thank you for the hope 🙂
Stay positive, Gina! Praying for all of you <3
thank you, tracy <3
Sending you prayers and love, Gina …
thank you, friend <3
First, I really love that 4D pic. Look at her litte lips! I’m so sorry that you didn’t get the best news but really hopefully that it will resolve itself and your daughter will grow up healthy. Sending prayers and positive vibes your way.
awww, thank you, lovely! i love her lips too 🙂
thank you so much for the prayers and good vibes.
Sending prayers your way!
thanks, katie <3
I am sending prayers…..
<3
My daughter was diagnosed with VSD when I was 20 weeks pregnant (also had giant omphalocele) so I know how stressful it can be to know there is nothing you can do but just wait and see. The good news is, her heart issue resolved itself and other than a lot of visits to specialists and a few echocardiograms after she was born, no other action was needed (she still needs surgery on her abdomen….not looking forward to that but trying to stay positive and hope for the best). Hoping that your little one will be the same and no issues once she is born. Like you said, sometimes it repairs itself and also keep in mind that the size of the hole they are looking at is teeny tiny, and ultrasound isn’t the most accurate-so there may not even be anything to worry about. But, just try to stay positive and enjoy the rest of the pregnancy. I’m thinking of you guys!
so so happy to hear that it healed on its own for you! thank you so much <3
My thoughts and prayers are with you and the little one. What a sweet face! I can’t imagine how hard it is to get that news, but at least we live in a time where this is able to be monitored and possibly repaired. As hard as it is, try to just relax and trust in the process.
thank you <3 and you're totally right that we're lucky we have the advancements to monitor and repair as needed.
xoxo
Thinking about you, Pilot, Livi, and Baby Girl. I will keep all of you in my prayers. You are doing the best you can for her. You are a great mom.
<3 thank you so much, cristal
Sending you love and prayers!
thank you laura- we really appreciate it
My heart goes out to you! Sending prayers and serious healing vibes your way!! <3
thank you, lindsay!
Keeping you and baby in my prayers <3
thank you, amber <3
Our now 4 month old has a whole on the top part of his heart so it’s called an atrial septal defect, we found it on ultrasound as well. He’s thriving and perfect in every way. We see a cardiologist but don’t have to worry about surgery until he’s older. Hang in there, the waiting is so hard!
so happy to hear he’s doing so well!!
Gina, I never comment but now I am! You are amazing for sharing this! yBasically, just saying thank you for sharing your journey. In our society we equate a positive pregnancy test with a healthy bAby and that is sadly not always reality.my second baby had an umbilical cord birth defect and calcification on her heart diagnosed at 20 weeks gestation . You never want to get that call from your midwife… ” your 20 week scan was “mostly” good.” I googled constantly and cried for 3 days. I had to go to the mfm specialist every 6 weeks. Sounds like your dr is amazing… Mine wasn’t but ultimately he was right, my baby was born 100% healthy. until they put her in my arms I was searching for Down’s syndrome or any other complication. I will keep you in my prayers. Your baby will be so loved now matter what!
thank you so much for commenting, kelly <3
so so happy to hear your daughter was born healthy after all of the scares. sending lots of love to you