A baby boy...and a little thing called gastroschisis

The past 3 weeks have really been a whirlwind around our neck of the woods. We got all moved in to our new apartment in Orem, and we've absolutely loved it. 

Things it has that our old apartment did not: 

1. Luscious carpet that my feet adore

2. A storage room (or more like 3 of them) that fit a TON of extra things

3. Washer and dryer 

4. Satellite TV

5. 2 bedrooms instead of one

6. Lots of windows and space, making it feel so homey and nice 

7. 2 minutes away from Jan and Judson, which is very handy and awesome 

We will probably live here until Taylor finishes PT school, so we wanted somewhere that had some room and that we'd actually WANT to live in for 3 years. I think we picked well.

Taylor started PT school on Monday, and so far he is loving it. I am not loving how much time it already takes up, but I can't really complain. It's fantastic that he's gotten in and enjoying it, and I'm grateful he is working so hard so we can have a bright and stable future. 

 Of course I had to snap a first day picture...

What a cutie! He is all dressed up for class pictures. 

Here are a few pictures of BYU graduation that we attended 3 weeks ago. My parents and his parents were able to make it down and I was so proud of him. 

About 3 hours before this picture was taken, we went in for our ultrasound. I was very excited, but also nervous. I'd felt nervous for weeks about it, which maybe is weird, I don't know. It seems like most people are just pumped to find out the gender, but for some reason I was quite concerned about how the baby was developing and wanted to hear that everything was okay.

The ultrasound tech went through all the structures and took measurements and everything, and it was so cool to see our baby in there! She told us early on that it was a BOY (thrilled by this) and said he was growing properly and right on track with my due date. At the very end though, she said, "I do have one concern..." at which point my stomach dropped and I waited for the worst. 

"It looks like your baby's abdominal wall did not close correctly, and his intestines are outside of his stomach, meaning he will probably need surgery right after he's born. I'm going to go grab the doctor, and she will come in and answer all your questions." 

And she left the room.

And I started sobbing. 

Taylor and I were alone in the room for about 5 minutes before the doctor came in, and I was trying to control myself but I was extremely nervous. 

The doctor came in and looked at our ultrasound, and told us she believed our baby has gastroschisis.

It's basically a birth defect hernia where the intestines are outside the body, and there is no known cause for why it happens, it just happens. About 1 in 5,000 babies a year are born with it. The doctor told me I would probably need to deliver at U of U, and the baby would have surgery at Primary Children's soon after. They wanted this diagnosis confirmed by a specialist though, so they set us up an appointment and we had to wait 3 WEEKS to get in. Friday (2 days ago) was the big day. 

The doctor confirmed the diagnosis and the appointment was very helpful. Basically, it is a completely repairable birth defect. It often takes more than one surgery to get the intestines back inside the body, so our boy will be in the NICU anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, depending on if there are complications. The UVRMC hospital we go to just got a surgeon on staff who has performed many gastroschisis surgeries, so there is a good chance I can deliver in Provo instead of Salt Lake, which would be so much handier for us. We will be meeting with the surgeon in a week or two and then we'll know where we'll need to deliver though. LOTS of doctors visit coming up. The doctor said there is a higher chance of stillbirth and bladder problems with a gastro baby, but those are still uncommon. Usually the baby just has a scar, but otherwise there are no long term effects.

Taylor and I feel very optimistic that everything will work out alright. Sometimes I still have moments of panic and worry about all the things that can go wrong, money, how we will make it all work, and if our baby is going to be okay... but I imagine everyone has some of those concerns with any baby.We have felt overwhelmed by the love and support we've received though. Both our families have fasted, I've received so many texts and letters and words of encouragement and it really does help calm our fears. I didn't want to say too much about it until we could meet with the specialist and learn more, but I feel a lot better now.

I cannot WAIT to meet my little guy and love him and hold him. I know the first little bit is going to be so hard, watching him go through surgery and struggle through the first bit of life, but I know that we'll get through it and it will just be an interesting entry into existence. I am extremely thankful it's not something more serious involving his heart/brain/lungs/etc.

So besides that, which kind of consumed our past 3 weeks, life has been great. We were able to go to Ogden this weekend and watch Taylor's dad run in the Ogden Half Marathon, and he did awesome! 1:55! It was beautiful and such a fun atmosphere, I am all pumped up to do it next year hopefully.

And now I am going to go enjoy the rest of my Sunday evening. Happy Sabbath!