Today Chad and I went to have another ultrasound. The purpose was 1) to get an idea of Gabriel's size because of my gestational diabetes and 2) to try to see if the palate is impacted by the bilateral clefts.
So, item number 1. I will be 34 weeks pregnant on Friday. According to my Baby Center updates, the baby should weigh 4 3/4 pounds. The ultrasound today declared that Gabriel is measuring 37 weeks and weighs over 6 1/2 pounds!!! Big baby!! Probably a good thing I am going to have a scheduled C-Section because our doc told us I should plan on carrying Gabriel until 39 or the full 40 weeks. I have a feeling I am not going to be able to walk soon!!! By the way, we had an ultrasound the day I was induced to have Ethan and it declared Ethan to weigh 9 1/2 pounds. As stated in a previous post, he came out around 11 pounds - so I don't hold much stock in what the ultrasound declares!!
That brings us to item number 2 - the reason you are probably reading this right now. Well, let me start by stating that everything else about our son is still as perfect as can be - so we are extremely happy about that. Since we found out at 20 weeks that Gabriel will be born with bilateral cleft lip, we have been hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. Turns out, the worst is pretty much what we are up against.
The two clefts in the lip are complete, meaning they go all the way up and into the nose. It appears that the premaxilla (the part of the upper jawline directly below the nose) is protruding and in line with the end of his nose. This is not terribly uncommon in BLCLP babies, but does make the reconstruction more challenging. It was also determined today that there are two wide openings in the palate. This will present more unique challenges where feeding is concerned.
There are still unknowns though. For instance, the nostrils appear to be well formed, so hopefully nose reconstruction will not be necessary. We still don't know how much of the palate is missing. It could be just the hard palate. It could be the hard and soft palate with a small part still intact down the middle. It could be the entire palate all together. These are things that we will just have to wait until he is born to know for sure.
What I personally know for sure, however, is that our son will have quite a challenging first year, and possibly years beyond that. But more importantly, when I saw him today in the ultrasound, the only thing I could see was love. He is so incredibly beautiful and we are so blessed to have been given him as a gift. I will always wish my Gabriel didn't have to go through all this, but I would never wish him any other way. He is ours. The life and the light inside of me and I can't wait to meet him!
Thank goodness you are able to learn so much ahead of time.
ReplyDelete