Starting a blog about Bogrand baby #2. THE JOURNEY BEGINS

June 13, 2012

Hello friends and family
I am starting a blog for all our friends and family and loved ones about our journey we are embarking on as we get ready for baby #2. This first blog will probably be a long one bc there is much backgroup to go over, but my hope in creating this blog is to reach all our friends and family with the love of Christ and explain how he gets us through the tough times. Jesus does not promise us an easy life, He promises us that if we live for Him, it will all be worth it.
So... With that being said I will get in to the details of our little one we expect by the end of the year. I am Rh negative and Karl is Rh positive. Back in the day, this used to mean trouble when having children. But with the modern age of technology this is no longer a problem... USUALLY. However, when I gave birth to Isaac there was crossing of blood from him to me and since then my body has been creating antibodies against any other babies that I may carry. USUALLY, a woman would just take Rhogam at 28 weeks and after the birth of her first baby, which I did, and then her body would not create antibodies. BUT, my body aparently rejected this Rhogam or needed more. Whatever the case, I apparently had a 0.03% of becoming "sensitized." which I did. To me, this tells me God has a very specific plan for this pregnancy and baby.
So what does all this mean for our baby? Well, my body has created antibodies C and D which are the two worst. This means the antibodies are going through the placenta, into the baby and lysing (or killing) its red blood cells, causing it to be anemic, or not have enough blood. The technical term is Hemolytic Disease of the newborn or HDN. This means there is a very high chance that at some point in the next 28 weeks, our baby will get sick. The closer to 40 weeks I get the more likely the baby will get more anemic and more anemic. It could lose its life at any point spontaneously, or it could slowly get sick. This means starting at 16 weeks (in a month) I will begin weekly ultrasounds. At these ultrasounds the drs will be checking the blood flow in the baby's head and if it becomes to fast, this means the baby is getting sick. At this point the baby and I will need to under go an intrauterine blood transfusion. This takes place in an OR at UW hospital and I will be put under so I don't move. With technology advancements, the risk is 1% for me and the baby at UW. If the baby responds well to this, then we continue to wait.
The ultimate hope is that the baby will make it in the womb until about 34 weeks with few complications. The dr informed me that with my high antibody D number, this is not likely, but it is possible. The baby will not stay in my "hostile environment" til 40 weeks like most women, but will probably be early, at thlatest and latest, 36 weeks. I will have to have a c section bc the baby will already be sick and cannot handle a vaginal birth. This makes me very sad. But I understand.
Once the baby is delivered, he or she will be in the NICU for quite some time. He or she will need to have many blood transfusions slowly in order to give it new blood and get my antibodies out of his blood. And bc of all the lysing and lysed red blood cells, he will have hyperbilirubinemia, or severe jaundice.
And as if this weren't enough, I apparently also have some indicators that this baby may have Downs syndrome or Turners disease. But, you know what? I am already preparing myself for the worst case scenario so there is no point in me focusing on all the dozens of other things that could happen. God has a plan, and I have no idea what it is, but I trust Him. No matter what may be wrong with this baby, we will love it for every second we have it. No matter if that is one second or a lifetime.
So, I am telling all of you this for many reasons. The first is bc i know you all care and would like to keep updated. The second is because I ask for your prayers. The third is that i dont want to have to explain this confusing and complicated disease over and over. The fourth is because I hope to share my faith in God with you and tell you how he gets Karl and I through this, not ONLY gets us through it but grows us together and closer to Him. He has a plan for this baby. Even if his plan is to teach me, stretch me, grow me and then take this baby from my womb straight in to His arms, I am ok with this. It does not scare me, or stress me, or make me worry. At times, it makes me sad, but in my sadness I do not doubt God or feel angry with Him. Now this may change as these actual events occur, I am not perfect. However, I will rely on Him and ask for your prayers. He is my strength and my song. My rock and my strong tower. He gives and takes away, but my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name.