Smooth(er) Sailing

Weeks 20-22

We continued to watch Taylor's progress (Baby B) and prayers were heard, the bleeding stopped!  We felt a peace in our decision and Taylor continued to stay on a path to better health.

Now, Charlotte (Baby A) could not be out done by her sister and continue to sit in the back of the worry your parents to death train.  She now had an issue herself, a term we would need to come to research and plan for, amniotic band syndrome.

Amniotic Band Syndrome occurs when the unborn baby (fetus) becomes entangled in fibrous string-like amniotic bands in the womb, restricting blood flow and affecting the baby’s development.  Amniotic Band Syndrome can cause a number of different birth defects depending on which body part(s) is affected. If a band wraps tightly around a limb, the limb can actually be completely amputated. The baby may be born missing fingers, toes, part of an arm or leg. If the band is across the baby’s face it can cause cleft lip and palate. In a large number of cases the baby is also born with clubfeet. ABS is also the cause of numerous miscarriages, such as when a band becomes wrapped around the umbilical cord.  ABS occurs randomly. It’s not genetic, nor is it caused by anything a pregnant Mom did or didn’t do during pregnancy. To date, no prenatal factors have been associated with ABS. It is extremely unlikely that ABS will affect a future pregnancy. (https://amnioticbandsyndrome.com/) 

When the doctor presented this information to us we were told that where her bands were should not be life threatening but we would keep an eye on blood flow.  There was no way of knowing how deep these bands were on her skin until birth and all there was to do was wait.

As if our ticket to deliver an hour and a half away from home wasn't already punched it was double punched with this new development.  It was highly likely that Baby A would lose fingers before birth and would possibly need part of her left lower arm amputated.  We would need highly skilled surgeons to assess the situation and be prepared for what she might need to have done.

I started researching and joining support groups for this syndrome and trying to get an idea of what life might look like with one child who may or may not be delayed and another who may or may not have part of her arm.  Would I still be able to work between therapies and doctor appointments and surgeries and recoveries?  Would the house (still a work in progress) be conducive to their needs and abilities?  There were still more questions than answers but we knew God had this and we just had to put our ship on cruise control and hope that the waters were starting to calm down.