Update

We had an appointment with Dr. Tabor, our specialist on Monday. It was a good appointment so we are very thankful for that. He said that Ella's heart is continuing to look strong and there doesn't seem to be any stress at this point. She is continuing to grow like she should be as well so that is reassuring. He also is measuring her abdomen and the size of the sack holding the organs every time we go to monitor their growth in relation to one another. At this point the abdomen is measuring larger than the sack which is an answer to prayer. This is important as far as surgery goes and getting the organs back inside her abdomen. The organs inside the sack are still the liver, part of the stomach and part of the small intestine, so there is no change there. I am 31 weeks so we will start seeing Dr. Tabor weekly now until delivery to continue to monitor Ella's heart, growth and the growth of the abdomen and omphalocele. C-section is still set for September 8th unless other complications arise.

We are so thankful to have had an uneventful appointment and to hear that Ella is continuing to grow like she should be. As time is flying by and September is getting closer I find myself getting more anxious. Overall, I feel very hopeful about everything but I definitely have my days when I don't know if I can do this. The Lord has been so faithful to us and I sit in amazement every day when I think of all He has done for me. Even though I know everything will be okay because I have the Lord, I am still scared. I am not scared without hope or peace but just scared of the unknown. I want my baby to be okay and it's hard to know what okay means. I find comfort a lot in Psalm 91. I love the whole passage but I really love verse 14 and 15 where it says "Because he loves me, says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." I love that! Sometimes when I pray the only thing I can get out is His name and I know He hears me and knows my heart even when all I can do is whisper His name. So comforting. As I look back on how far we've come I see so many ways He has answered my prayers. The fact that this is the only problem for Ella is a direct answer to prayer and something I am so thankful for. As hard as it is I feel that the Lord has rescued me and continues to deliver me through everyday.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. It really is such a blessing to our family. Please continue to pray for these specific things:
- Ella's heart- that it continues to be strong and that there are no complications
- That the omphalocele is the only defect and there are no other complications
- That her abdomen coninues to grow and that the organs will all fit back in at surgery without any stress
- For our doctors, Dr. Robbins (OB), Dr. Tabor (Specialist) and Dr. Black (Surgeon)
-For peace and comfort for our family

I thought I might add on just a brief history of what all has gone on with this preganancy just to help answer some questions. Not that I mind when people ask about it but I just thought it would be helpful to have a little background. So, here is a shortened version. We found out at 12 weeks that there was something wrong with the baby when Dr. Robbins, my OB saw what she called a large abdominal wall defect during our sonogram. She explained that it looked like some of the baby's organs were in a sack outside the abdomen and that the baby would need surgery following delivery to put the organs back in. She referred us to Dr. Tabor, our specialist, that same day to confirm the problem. He confirmed that it was an omphalocele and told us that there was a 50% chance this was the only problem and there was a 50% chance there could be chromosome abnormalities and other defects as well. This meant that we could be looking at Trisomy 13, 18 and Downs Syndrome being the more life threatening syndromes if there was a chromosome abnormality. The only way we would know for sure if there was a chromosome problem too would be to do an amniocentesis so we had an amnio done at 15 weeks. This would be important in order to know how to really help the baby once she was here. The amnio came back showing there was no chromosome abnormalities which was a HUGE answer to prayer and it just gave us a new sense of hope. This problem is medically unrelated to what happened with Eva and there is no known cause. I did not have a c-section with Eva but will with Ella due to the fact that the omphalocele is moderate to large in size and could possibly rupture during a vaginal delivery.

So, from there we have continued to meet with our doctors and we met with a surgeon to discuss options for surgery. Like I have said before it's hard to say what they will do as far as surgery. Surgery will take place within the first two days after delivery to put the organs back in her abdomen. We don't know if that will be the only surgery or not. Depending on how it goes and how well everything fits back inside her abdomen will determine whether more surgeries will be needed. We are looking at a hospital stay of at least a month. Hopefully that will help explain a little more about what has happened and what we have ahead of us. Again, thank you all for joining in prayer for our family. We are so blessed by all of you!

Okay, so next post I'll try to lighten the mood and share some funny Eva stories and pictures so check back soon!