Baby B

Baby B, Bunches, Bambino, Babushka, Baby Cakes...these are just a few of the name we have started to call our little bundle of joy arriving sometime in December 09! As some of you may know, we are facing some challenges with our new bundle of joy, but through prayer, positive thoughts, and the love of our amazing friends and family we know our little Baby B will bring us much more joy and happiness than we can even imagine!



On August 3rd, Adam and I went in for our 19 week ultra sound excited to see Baby B for the first time. Although, we did get to see our baby, we also received some news that we weren't expecting. Our baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. As you can imagine, we were extremely scared, sad, confused and most of all concerned about the health of our baby. We are starting to adjust to the news and trying to read and learn everything we can about our baby's diagnosis. We have a lot of unanswered questions, but are learning more each day.

Spina Bifida is the second most common birth defect and until the early 1950's babies born with spina bifida rarely survived. Thankfully, due to advances in neurosurgery, the majority of infants born with this birth defect will survive into adulthood. Spina Bifida is when a portion of the baby's spine is formed abnormally. Spina Bifida actually means "split spine". There are many different types of spina bifida, some more severe than others, we are still unsure of the severity of our baby, but hope to learn the answer before our baby is born.

Hydrocephalus accompanies the majority of babies born with spina bifida and basically means that our baby has 2 enlarged brain ventricles that will need to be drained when the baby is born. This is done with a device called a shunt, which allows for the continuous drainage of spinal fluid.

We do know that our baby will undergo surgery right away to close the lesion on the spine and to place the shunt. I will deliver via C section at IU Medical Center and the baby will undergo surgery at Riley Children's Hospital.

We will continue to keep everyone posted on any news we receive throughout the pregnancy and updates on our "bunch" as time goes on. Feel free to email or call us with questions. We are hopeful and ask that everyone keeps us in their thoughts and prayers.