I’m am now 21 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We are getting so close to viability! Of course, just because a baby is viable (could possibly survive outside of the womb) it doesn’t mean he will survive if born, but at least there is a chance. One of the hardest things about losing Lucy was knowing exactly what the problem was (my antibodies were attacking her and she was extremely anemic) and knowing that if we could just get her away from my body she would be ok, but she was still too young to survive outside of the womb by a few short weeks. So we watched her die and the doctors just stood there. Once I get to viability with this baby boy I will feel a huge weight lifted just knowing that he COULD possibly survive if the same scenario happened. I think 21 weeks is the earliest a baby has ever survived outside of the womb. Different hospitals and different states have their own viability cut offs when it comes to gestational age. Surprisingly, at the hospital in Houston where Nora was treated and born (Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital) they don’t consider a baby viable until 24 weeks, even though many babies have survived earlier than 24 weeks. At Northside Hospital in Atlanta, where this baby will probably be born, they consider a baby viable at 22 weeks and older. This means that this baby will be considered viable by the time he needs his first intrauterine transfusion, which is what I’ve been praying and hoping for.

Speaking of this baby, he is still doing well! I completed the extra rounds of treatments and baby boy looked great at his ultrasound last week after all of my treatments were done. His MoM at 20 weeks was 1.19 and Nora’s MoM at 20 weeks was 1.47 so it seems like this boy is doing even better than Nora was at this stage. Apparently the extra plasmapheresis and IVIG has helped keep his anemia down. He is still super active at every ultrasound and there are no signs of hydrops or distress. Heart function is beautiful, no excess fluid, etc. Here is a quick video of him stretching out and breathing/swallowing at his ultrasound last week:

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Yesterday I had my 21 week scan and baby still looked good but his numbers were up just a little bit. His MoM was 1.25 which is still in the good zone but getting closer to that 1.5 cut off. He showed no signs of anemia so hopefully next week his numbers will still be low. This week’s higher number could just be normal fluctuation or it could be the beginning of an upward trend. Baby boy now weighs one pound and two ounces so he’s measuring a little bit ahead, which is great! The bigger the baby, the easier an intrauterine blood transfusion is for the doctors to perform. Please continue to pray for our sweet boy. Even though he is doing great at the moment he still has a long road ahead of him to survive. He is being attacked by my antibodies and will eventually need blood tranfusions before birth, which are dangerous. Please pray that he can hold off a few more weeks before needing a transfusion. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks:

Me and baby at 19 and a half weeks, the same gestation that I lost my baby Lucy. I was at the hematologist in this picture waiting for a check up. My normal doctor wasn’t in town so I had a different doctor that day. He said the night before, he had researched and studied my condition for four hours because he didn’t know much about it and wanted to be prepared. Just a reminder of how rare this disorder is (and how awesome my doctors are!)

Tiny fist pump

Nora Juliet is ready to be a big sister!