37 Weeks...

Thursday was a whirlwind of a day. I met with my OB who also did my ultrasound. Everything looked good as far as Elijah's growth, fluids, and heart rate. At my next appointment she will check me more thoroughly and she will set our official induction date. She did make a point to let me know that he could come at any time now. However, we are all hoping that he waits until induction. Although induction is frightening, it will set Elijah up for the best possible outcome.

I then met with a neonatologist. She will be the doctor in the delivery room who will be there to take charge of Elijah's care. She said much of what we already knew. She encouraged us, and anyone who would be a constant in Elijah's life, to get the whooping cough and chicken pox vaccine. I hadn't really thought of that.  She also said that if Elijah is born stable, she will allow me to hold him for a couple of minutes before taking him to the NICU. The was new news. Up until this point, I had been told that they would show him to me but now let me hold him.  I have really struggled with this. One of the most significant moments in my life was when I delivered Noah and they placed him on my chest. This was also the moment I bonded with Noah. I had yet to resolve myself to the fact that I would not have this moment with Elijah.

After she takes him to the NICU, they will set him up on a central line that will deliver the medicine that will keep him alive and stable for a few days to allow his pressures to drop.  Ideally they would like to perform his first open heart surgery a few days later. We will be able to stay will him and hold him while he is in the NICU and the CTICU.

After this, we met with two cardiologists who performed our last fetal echo. It was a little harder to see all of the structures of Elijah's heart because he has gotten bigger and because his bones have hardened. The diagnosis has not changed and continues to be HLHS. This was the first time I was actually able to see what the doctor was talking about. The left side of his heart is virtually nonexistent. He then sat with us and explained the function of the heart. He was very kind and very patient. Both of the doctors seem to think that for what it is, Elijah is looking really good. He looks to be a great candidate for the Norwood procedure and he will probably receive the Shano Shunt during the surgery.  He said to plan on around a two week stay in the CTICU and then two more weeks in the step down unit. The average stay is a month but it could be less or more depending how how things go. He asked if I had gotten an MRI yet. Because of insurance problems, I hadn't. However, I now have one scheduled for next week. Hopefully we will get the results in time. All in all, it seemed like an encouraging day. The doctors were all positive and incredibly kind.