Not exactly sure where to begin. As some of you know, we are expecting our fourth child who is due June 19th or June 15th, if you ask me. We're expecting a baby boy! He will even things out in the Bradley household. No longer can the girls claim to outnumber the boys. ;) Owen will have his own little buddy. We decided to name our baby boy, Knox Reid Bradley. Knox as a sentimental tribute to Knoxville, the Tennessee city where Brent and I first met and were married. We picked his middle name to go along with his siblings and their middle names also beginning with "R."
From the beginning of this pregnancy, I've been a bit more worrisome as to whether everything was alright. I heard of more pregnancies ending in miscarriage than I had at any other point in my life. I also saw a statistic of 1 in 4 conceived babies end in miscarriage. (Not sure if it was accurate or where I saw it, but it scared me as we have 3 healthy babies and expecting the fourth.) Once we finally got in to see a doctor and had our ultrasound, his beating heart on the screen helped ease my mind tremendously.
Fast forward to the anatomy scan around 21 weeks in February. Brent and the two younger ones came while Ella was at school. The tech had a hard time seeing his face, his kidneys, and his stomach. At the time, we were told it was the way he was positioned causing difficulty, and I would need to come back in for another ultrasound so they could try again.
At my next appointment on March 10th, I went by myself and did my glucose test along with the ultrasound. Knox was active, but she still had some difficulty seeing everything. I was in the ultrasound for a while and she finally was able to see the things she needed after doing 3D imaging. Again, I felt relief. When I went to see my doctor directly after, she informed me that One of Knox's kidneys were dilated and his stomach was too small. She seemed hopeful as she said the tech was unable to locate the stomach previously. My eyes filled with tears and my doctor reassured me. She let me know that kidney dilation was common in boys and often resolved itself. Then she told me she was scheduling an appointment with a specialist so they could also take a look. That appointment was another 4 weeks away.
Those four weeks went by so slowly. We had our appt with the specialist this past week. That ultrasound lasted a couple hours, I think. Even after the tech was finished, the specialist Doctor came in and took a look as well. We found out that his kidney was better, but they were still concerned about his stomach as they were having a hard time seeing it as well. Everything is a blur and I'm not positive if they said they could or could not see it. Regardless, the stomach is small enough for the doctor to talk to us about the possibility of birth defects. The one he mentioned is EA/TEF which stands for Esophageal Atresia/Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula. Basically, it means there could be a problem with Knox's esophagus connecting to his stomach. If this were the case, he would need surgery after he is born and end up in the NICU.
Of course, we have done our research as well and found the varying issues coinciding with a small stomach, and the EA/TEF looks to be the best case scenario. And with it comes many possible complications.
I have another appointment with the specialist on April 28th. He will look at Knox's stomach again and check my amniotic fluid levels at that time. I'm not sure if this will bring more questions or answers.
We don't know anything for certain at this point and that is causing lots of anxiety. I'm not sure if it is better to know these possibilities and prepare or if it is better to not know at all. Some days, I almost wish I didn't know.
I'm asking you to join us in praying for our baby Knox. I believe God can heal and I know He can provide protection for our son. Please pray for Knox's developing body, pray for it to be restored, and pray for it to function properly. Please pray that our boy is healthy when he is born and that he doesn't need emergency surgery.
Also, please pray for our family. We are scared. I don't want to have to give our boy to doctors after he is born. I just want to snuggle him and hold him and celebrate his new life.
From the beginning of this pregnancy, I've been a bit more worrisome as to whether everything was alright. I heard of more pregnancies ending in miscarriage than I had at any other point in my life. I also saw a statistic of 1 in 4 conceived babies end in miscarriage. (Not sure if it was accurate or where I saw it, but it scared me as we have 3 healthy babies and expecting the fourth.) Once we finally got in to see a doctor and had our ultrasound, his beating heart on the screen helped ease my mind tremendously.
Fast forward to the anatomy scan around 21 weeks in February. Brent and the two younger ones came while Ella was at school. The tech had a hard time seeing his face, his kidneys, and his stomach. At the time, we were told it was the way he was positioned causing difficulty, and I would need to come back in for another ultrasound so they could try again.
At my next appointment on March 10th, I went by myself and did my glucose test along with the ultrasound. Knox was active, but she still had some difficulty seeing everything. I was in the ultrasound for a while and she finally was able to see the things she needed after doing 3D imaging. Again, I felt relief. When I went to see my doctor directly after, she informed me that One of Knox's kidneys were dilated and his stomach was too small. She seemed hopeful as she said the tech was unable to locate the stomach previously. My eyes filled with tears and my doctor reassured me. She let me know that kidney dilation was common in boys and often resolved itself. Then she told me she was scheduling an appointment with a specialist so they could also take a look. That appointment was another 4 weeks away.
Those four weeks went by so slowly. We had our appt with the specialist this past week. That ultrasound lasted a couple hours, I think. Even after the tech was finished, the specialist Doctor came in and took a look as well. We found out that his kidney was better, but they were still concerned about his stomach as they were having a hard time seeing it as well. Everything is a blur and I'm not positive if they said they could or could not see it. Regardless, the stomach is small enough for the doctor to talk to us about the possibility of birth defects. The one he mentioned is EA/TEF which stands for Esophageal Atresia/Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula. Basically, it means there could be a problem with Knox's esophagus connecting to his stomach. If this were the case, he would need surgery after he is born and end up in the NICU.
Of course, we have done our research as well and found the varying issues coinciding with a small stomach, and the EA/TEF looks to be the best case scenario. And with it comes many possible complications.
I have another appointment with the specialist on April 28th. He will look at Knox's stomach again and check my amniotic fluid levels at that time. I'm not sure if this will bring more questions or answers.
We don't know anything for certain at this point and that is causing lots of anxiety. I'm not sure if it is better to know these possibilities and prepare or if it is better to not know at all. Some days, I almost wish I didn't know.
I'm asking you to join us in praying for our baby Knox. I believe God can heal and I know He can provide protection for our son. Please pray for Knox's developing body, pray for it to be restored, and pray for it to function properly. Please pray that our boy is healthy when he is born and that he doesn't need emergency surgery.
Also, please pray for our family. We are scared. I don't want to have to give our boy to doctors after he is born. I just want to snuggle him and hold him and celebrate his new life.
Brad and Brittany-How my heart goes out to you and my prayers go up for you. We have just faced a similar thing with dear friends and their 5th pregnancy and child. It seems that so many of our "childbearing" friends are facing these things and I often ask God "why?". But I keep getting the answer "Why not?" So as I pray diligently for Knox's healthy development and eventual safe delivery, I am reminded that God does not promise us a pain-free life, but a life that He can be honored in, that His glory can shine forth in and that we can be His humble servants in. So no matter what God's answer is to my prayers, my biggest prayer is that you will both remain His humble and honoring servants, glorifying Him in the answer that we want or the answer we do not wish for. I love you both very much and I am very excited for Knox's arrival. I will keep praying for God to do what HE knows is BEST. Hugs and snuggles to you and your sweet kiddoes!!
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