23 weeks/ 6 Months!

Hello! Hello! Hello!

Mommy is here to write this blog, seeing as it will be short novel! Here we are, 23 weeks/6 months in. 17 weeks/4 months (if timing goes "normal") to go. It has gone by quite fast really! Both Evan and myself welcome it, because the sooner we can see our little man the better!!  It has been a very overwhelming couple of weeks since our last update and knowing it was a big appointment I held off last weeks update to include it in this one.

Elliott measured 1 lb. at our high risk ultrasound! SO EXCITING! He is right on track with his growth. Go Baby Go! He can be compared to a large mango or papaya! He also is just under 1 ft. long. It is SO crazy to think I have something that big inside of me! Lovin' it. Elliott is moving a TON! We can see and feel him so strongly and its so exciting. He has started a pattern of sleeping during the day while Mommy is working and then being very active at night! Just recently he has been strong enough to wake me up out of a dead sleep.

Elliott's ears are continuing to develop and he can hear muffled noises well. I haven't felt him get startled from Jack barking or me scolding Jack so I am not sure if he is already used to it or it might not be strong enough to get through to him. However, when I was watching/listening to my favorite show Glee, I notice his activity goes up. I think he enjoys music! YAY! He will be another little theatrical kiddo, just like Mommy and Daddy!

Elliott's face also is completely fully formed. We SAW it. The technology they have right now is utterly fascinating. Before we had our trip to Fargo, many clients told me we would be seeing Elliott in 3D vs. just the standard 2D black and white. At first, I didn't realize what I was looking at and Evan looked back at me back and forth a couple of times and then it clicked. That was our little boy. Staring right back at us. It was AMAZING. Here is the first picture and sights we had of him.

Look right at the center of the picture. That is his nose. From there you can see one of his eyes, cheek and the tip of the top lip. He was extremely active during our ultrasound and that is why you see those random other figures. I think that is why it took me so long to realize what I was looking at!

To continue and tell you about our Fargo experience...

At our last normal doctor apt./ 20 week ultrasound, our doctor and ultrasound tech had some concerns about Elliott that they wanted us to have checked our further. Elliott has an Echogenic bowel. This means that when the ultrasound tech is looking over our little guy, his intestines and bowel are "reading" brighter than they should. We are told this is an area of concern. It can resolve itself by the time he comes and commonly it does. In some cases, it does not and Elliott might be whisked away to have surgery right after he is born. We can only wait and see.

What causes and Echogenic bowel? Good question. I am still trying to sift through the huge amounts of information but here is what I can give you so far.
-A blockage/build up of meconium-can be repaired
-A build up caused by Cystic Fibrosis
-Intrauterine Infection by a virus or other pathogen. CMV-cytomegalovirus.
-Chromosomal Disorders-Down Syndrome-Trisomy 18-Trisomy 21

Have no idea what that means? Kinda us too. My blood has been tested to see if I am a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis- a disease that affects the lungs and pancreas. It creates buildup of excess phlegm and mucus and can be a very challenging disease to have. The buildup then goes into the digestive system and affects the intestines. Because they see a blocked bowel, that is why we are being tested as it is a sign of CF.

CMV is a virus that affects me that in turn will affect Elliott. It is respiratory inflammation causing me to have fevers, rashes...other things. I have not had any symptoms but that is the problem. Usually they are so mild they go unnoticed. This is cause for concern because if I do have this, it hurts Elliott a lot. They measured his head to see if it's growth was on track, which it was. If it wasn't it could be an issue of concern. CMV can cause disruption of brain development, deafness, convulsion of the brain, delayed growth...We will continue to monitor this more in ultrasound by measuring his head. We are awaiting the results of this blood work as well.

Lastly, Chromosomal Disorders/ Trisomy 18/ Trisomy 21. In easier terms, Down Syndrome. Elliott's echogenic bowel is a soft marker for Downs. He also is showing signs of "sandal foot" which is a soft marker for Downs. Sandal Foot is a larger gap between the big toe and the smaller four. For those of you who don't really know much about Down Syndrome or what causes it you are not alone. What causes Down Syndrome is simply an extra chromosome at #21. We are all normally given two, and when you have downs you have a third. People that have Down Syndrome has very defined physical characteristics that I am sure you are all aware of already. Furthermore,  Downs causes mental delays. Does the "threat" of Elliott having Down Syndrome scare us? Yes, it does...but not for any reason other than the fear of not being able to provide him with the care he needs. It does not change anything about the love we have for our son.

These are all just things they look for. Does this mean that Elliott has CMV, CF or Downs... We don't know right now. He could, but we are awaiting confirmation from blood work first. If I test positive in my blood work, Evan has to get blood work taken. From there, we will determine if we will go through with having an Amniocentesis. An Amniocentesis is an invasive procedure in which they stick a hollow needle into my abdomen then uterus collecting amniotic fluid. They then test the fluid that has sloughed off cells from Elliott and see if anything comes up. From my understanding, even the results from the Amnio can be wrong. Evan and I have discussed this procedure a lot and we really DO NOT want this. As I already said, it really doesn't change anything for us if he has these issues. The only way that we will go through with this test is if his or my health is in serious need. We do not like the invasive nature of the procedure and risks that can come with it. It just doesn't seem worth it to us.

Lastly, I have been diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. I have started dilating, and have been told I must have well defined periods of rest. In 2 weeks, I will return to Fargo to see if I have continued to dilate and from there we determine if I need to go on bed rest/can continue working/may need to have a "cerlage"...Not very excited about this but it is really serious. We are not too far away from the point where they say a fetus is viable. That happens at 24 weeks. I just don't want him out yet. He needs to stay cooking so I have been resting as much as possible. If you all have been reading since the beginning, you may remember about my Bicornuate uterus. They think that this is causing the issue. We just have to let time pass and see what happens.

So! There we have it people. We have a LOT going on right now. It has totally been playing mind games with us because in most cases...all of the information they throw at you can be thrown right out the window when he is born because he could be completely normal. They have to do their jobs by telling us but it still is overwhelming. Evan and I are each others support right now and have been resting on each other during this time. We are just too excited about having him that nothing that will plague Elliott will change our love for him. We are taking this day by day, week by week, month by month. Please pray that we can continue adding weeks onto his development and that he does not come early. Please pray that I do not have to go on bed rest and that I stop dilating. Please pray for Elliot's health. Please pray for Evan and I. Please just Pray!!

Talk to you all next week. I meet with our regular doctor on Wednesday and we will be further discussing everything that is going on. I then go to Fargo the next week, and then its back to Fargo again in another 2 from then. Many updates to come!!!

Love to you all-

The Hortons

Here are our pictures from our last ultrasound. Some are 3D, some are 2D! They are not 100% clear because he was moving a lot. There seem to be things in the way but that could be his umbilical cord, or moving amniotic fluid creating weird additions.

Belly Pictures to be posted tomorrow or next week!

3rd picture down/1st 3D: Yes, that is his foot by his head :)
6th picture down/ Last of 3D: That is how Elliott was hanging out the whole ultrasound. He is resting in my lower right side completely bent in half. He LOVES it there. Our tech, Laura couldn't get him to spread out at all!
Leading to our last picture. Because he was completely bent in half, he gave us a very good shot of his "boy stuff"!!! He is totally a man because his hand is right by his junk too! Typical Boy! Daddy said, "That's my boy!" when we saw this picture...go figure!