The World is Upside Down cont...

I left the office and immediately broke down.  Jake hadn't come with me to the appointment because we assumed it would be routine.  Everything was spinning and I had no answers and only questions.  I didn't sleep that night.  Constantly thinking "will the baby make it through the night?" "What changed from Thursday to Monday?" "I wish my mom was here to guide me".

The next morning I was adamant that the specialist would see me and it would be that day!  Luckily I didn't have to wait long- they called and told me that we would be meeting with a pediatric cardiologist for a fetal echocardiogram to check the baby's heart for defects and other problems that might be causing the low heart rate.  I was glad they were being aggressive but extremely nervous about what they might find.

11:30 took forever to arrive and we arrived at the appointment.  I got onto the table for the echo and was shaking- thinking that the baby wouldn't have a heart rate when they looked.  Thank god I was wrong.  He was in there and his heart was beating, slow, but it was beating and he was wiggling around in there.  The tech actually took forever because he wouldn't sit still and cooperate for her.  I took all that movement as a good sign.  By about 1:30 she had all the images of his heart that she needed and we took a break for lunch and the specialist would review everything and meet with us after lunch.

It was then that we got the news that baby Jake has something called Congenital Complete Heart Block.  It sounded like a death sentence when the specialist first said those words to me.  It felt as though the world and time stood still.  What is that you ask?  Here is the official definition

"Heart block is an abnormal heart rhythm where the heart beats too slowly (bradycardia). In this condition, the electrical signals that tell the heart to contract are partially or totally blocked between the upper chambers (atria) and the lower chambers (ventricles). For this reason, it is also called atrioventricular block (AV block).
Click the image to view an animation on Heart Block
What is Heart Block?
A normal heartbeat begins as an electrical signal that comes from the heart’s master pacemaker, the sinoatrial (SA) node, located in the right atrium. The electrical signal travels through the atria and reaches another natural pacemaker called the atrioventricular (AV node). As the signal continues and crosses to the ventricles, it passes through a bundle of tissue called the AV bundle, also called the bundle of His. The bundle divides into thin, wire-like structures called bundle branches that extend into the right and left ventricles. The electrical signal travels down the bundle branches to thin fibers. Lastly, these fibers send out the signal to the muscles of the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood into the arteries. Heart block occurs when the signal is disrupted or slows down at any point on this electrical path.

Types of Heart Block

• First-degree heart block – The electrical impulses are slowed as they pass through the conduction system, but all of them successfully reach the ventricles. First-degree heart block rarely causes any symptoms or problems. Well-trained athletes may have this. Medications can contribute to the condition. No treatment is generally necessary for first-degree heart block.
• Second-degree heart block (Type I) – The electrical impulses are delayed further and further with each heartbeat until a beat is skipped entirely. It sometimes causes dizziness and/or other symptoms. People normal heart rhythms may sometimes have this when they are sleeping.
• Second-degree heart block (Type II)v– With this condition, some of the electrical impulses are unable to reach the ventricles. This condition is less common than Type I, but is generally more serious. In some cases, a pacemaker is implanted to treat the abnormally slow heartbeat that may result from this condition.
• Third-degree heart block – With this condition, also called complete heart block, none of the electrical impulses can reach the ventricles. When the ventricles (lower chambers) do not receive electrical impulses from the atria (upper chambers), they may generate some impulses on their own, called functional or ventricular escape beats. Ventricular escape beats, natural backup signals, usually are very slow, however, and cannot generate the signals necessary to maintain full functioning of the heart muscle.  
  
  Baby Jake has Complete, or 3rd degree heart block and will require a pacemaker at some point, whether it is a few hours after birth, days, weeks or years we just don't know yet.
  
  Continued....
  
  
  

The World is Upside Down

So we had a prenatal visit on Oct 4 and everything looked great and baby doing well.  So I wasn't concerned Sunday October 7 when I wasn't feeling well.  I thought I had just overexerted myself with all the house cleaning, cooking, and running around of the weekend.  I crashed on the couch complaining of pains and crampiness but again- I wasn't too concerned.  I didn't sleep at all that night because I was so uncomfortable.  I thought I was developing a UTI or some other innocuous condition. 

I decided I should probably call the doctor about it in case I needed an antibiotic or something.  Thankfully they squeezed me in that day, Monday Oct. 8th, a day I would not soon forget.

The appointment seemed to go normally, that is until they used the doppler to check the heartbeat.  I laid back on the table and let them use the doppler like they had at every other appointment.  Only this time, it seemed as though they were having trouble finding the heart beat.  It felt as though I laid there for an eternity anxiously waiting to hear that thump, thump, thump.  Nothing- other than the sound of my own blood rushing through my veins.  The Dr. suggested we take a break and allow the baby to move into a different position while we talked a little and we would give it another shot.  I was trying to not allow the panic to build- thinking "I was just here Thursday and everything was fine- baby is just giving mom a run for her money"

We set out to try again and by now I was starting to feel slightly anxious.  She slid the probe all around looking for his heart beat and still nothing.  After what seemed like forever I heard what sounded like his heart but it was so slow- I was convinced they found my heart rate.  She too looked a little nervous and asked for my wrist so she could take my pulse to confirm.  My heart started to race and I felt I couldn't catch my breath.  She said my pulse was 110- the reading on the doppler was 68 beats a minute- VERY low.  She immediately left the room and said she would be right back.  I sat alone in the room, everything spinning and not sure what was going on.  I couldn't get my thoughts straight and after forever she returned only to tell me that they were ordering an emergency ultrasound to figure out what was going on- what with all the crampiness and low heart rate it was definitely something to investigate and immediately!

They whisked me into the ultrasound room and I was actually afraid of the news I might hear.  I saw the baby on the screen and he was moving all around but when they focused on his heart it was only beating at 69-72 beats a minute- Extremely low considering it should be be between 120-160 beats a minute!   The Dr, and a specialist came into the room with the ultrasound tech and started talking to me in low, soft tones and going thru the signs and symptoms of a miscarriage and what would happen if I lost the baby at 20 weeks.  They also said they would set me up with a specialist but they didn't leave me feeling very hopeful.  As I was leaving the tech gave me one lone picture of the baby and not one person would make eye contact with me.  I was sure they were all thinking what I was thinking- I was losing this baby.....   (continued)

It's a BOY!

         So on 9/25/12 we had our ultrasound to check the baby's anatomy and we are having a BOY!  He was measuring ahead in all the growth categories and his heart rate was in the 150's which is great!  Jake was so excited to have been right all along.  From the moment we found out we were pregnant he had been saying it was a boy all along.  Here he is sucking his thumb :)

Welcome to Baby Skinner's Blog!  This is our first post--

Let me get you up to speed...

Yesterday 7/31 marked exactly 11 weeks!  This pregnancy has been quite the whirlwind.  We got our first positive on 6/11/12 and we were beyond excited!  Then we had a bleeding scare around 10 weeks but all was well with Baby Skinner :)  Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and am now on medication to correct it and our beloved cat Simon passed away.  Needless to say this time has been a roller-coaster.  

We are excited to share this journey with you and will see you at the finish line!