Smiling Baby!

We had our second appointment with Dr. R., our perinatologist. Stop holding your breath...it went wonderful! We were so happy/relieved that Baby W was still doing so well. His arms and legs are still short, but we don't care! We just want his torso to continue growing properly, and it is going down the right course now. In the picture above he was opening and closing his mouth! So funny! (His arms are across his chest, the little thing that looks like an arm isn't...don't worry, it's not quite that small!)

Okay, seriously, how cute is he?! (I know, I know, I am the mommy!) When the tech rolled over his face, both she and Dr. R. began laughing because of how big Baby W was smiling at us! I felt such a calming feeling, like he was saying, "Mom, Dad! STOP worrying about me!!!" It was so fun to see his handsome little smile.

I had all sorts of questions for Dr. R., and he was so patient with us. Here are some of the questions I asked, because I am sure that some of you have the same ones...

-Is there an increased chance of hydrocephalus(water on the brain) because of his skeletal dysplasia? No, he has just as much of a chance of this as any AH(average height) person.

-Will Baby W need any surgeries immediately after birth? As of right now, no. He is just achondroplasic, and will only require LOTS of testing when he is born. At his birth, there will be a Genetic Doctor who will assess him to all ends. Then we will go from there! Anyway, if it turns out that he is just achondroplasic, no surgeries right after birth! Woo-hoo!

-How do his arms and legs look? Very normal for achondroplasic babies, small but healthy. I was worried from his last ultrasound that he only had a femur bone, and was missing his tibia and fibia. (I know this sounds crazy, but it does happen in LP's. They simply have a femur bone with a foot.) Today we were able to see the femur, tibia and fibia bones and they look great! Also, at the last US, Baby W had his hands all curled up in a ball. Dr. R. had said that he really wanted to see his fingers stretch out in the next few visits to see him. Today the little man had his fingers intertwined across his chest...Good Job Buddy! He did just what the doctor wanted...spread those fingers out. We were especially excited for this because even Little People can play golf...and we are really counting on him to be the first LP in the PGA!

-Genetic testing...dun, dun, dun...do we need to do it? Now or after Baby W's arrival? Well, we CAN do it if we want after Baby W is born; but it does seem, um, silly. It is scientifically proven that Baby W's achondroplasia simply comes from a gene mutation, not from us. For more info on this, you can refer to this post.

-Will I go full term? Yes, as of now, I can plan on a full, 40 week delivery. That puts us still on June 23, Cody and I's 3rd anny!

-When will I feel him move? We are not sure. Dr. R. said that he would want me to feel him start rolling over in the next few weeks, but that is not a definite. I won't feel him kick or punch me like an AH(Average Height) baby, just the rolling and squirming, so this makes it take a little while longer.

-Should we be speaking with Pediatricians, etc? At our next visit we will get the names of a few pediatricians in the area who are familiar with skeletal dysplasia. I would like to meet with one soon after that so I can learn a little better how to prepare for any of Baby W's special needs. He will pretty much be treated like an AH baby, from what I can understand, but will need extra support of his head/back. From the little research that I have done it seems that some things can be damaging to his spine developing correctly, such as canvas seats with no real support and carrying backpacks and slings. I want to make sure that I am not buying things that will be harmful to my little dude!

Overall, Baby W looks wonderful. Right now his ribs are growing along with his organs and torso, so that indicates that Baby W's form of skeletal dysplasia is not lethal. We hope and pray that he continues down this path but know that whatever our Heavenly Father has in store for us is what we will take! We are so in love with this little guy. We can't thank you enough for all of your prayers on our behalf, by all means, keep them coming!