First - we got our amniocentesis results back....NORMAL (well except for what was expected to be abnormal because of the spina bifida) and we are definitely having a boy :) Another requirement for surgery to mark off the list....
Second - I had my fetal MRI (we can check that off the list too) and what a story that is....but it will have to be another post - too tired tonight to do it justice!!
Third - we had another OB appointment today and got to see little guys legs MOVING - (yipee and hopefully a sign of things to come!)
Forth - the doctor we saw today was ever so patient with me and spent nearly 45 minutes trying to get this little stinker to stay still long enough so we could attempt to determine what level the spina bifida is...
After much patience, the doctor felt pretty confident that not only is it a very small defect but also seems that his spine is totally intact through at least L3 and likely L4. As best we could tell the defect is only L4 or L5 down to S1 or S2
Now let me translate that for those of you who I lost....
Vertebra are the bones in your back. You have 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar and 5 sacral. Around each vertebrae are where your spinal cord nerves leave the actual spinal cord and head out to your muscles - which is how you brain gets messages to your muscles about what to do....
The defect is where the vertebrae stopped coming together like they should. The lower the defect, hypothetically the more function that you see because there are fewer nerves involved. So, an L4 or L5 to S1 or S2 defect is just about as far down the spine as it gets meaning very few nerves are likely involved and increased hopes for high function for this little guy!!
Obviously we wont know anything for sure until he gets here because naturally there are exceptions to every rule but generally speaking things are looking very positive!!
Promise to share funny MRI stories in the days to come - but tonight the bed is calling my name!
And as I write this, I just received some AMAZING news from a dear friend of ours - God is so good!! It is not my news to share but a answer to prayer that I have been lifting up for longer than I can remember!! Thank you Lord for answered prayer both in our life and the lives of our dear friends!!
Sidenote - we have lots of people asking if we have a name picked out for this little guy yet and the answer is no....We are working on it but is proving to be a challenge for both of us!! With the boys we did keep the names a secret but I have a feeling we are going to end up cracking long before birth on