Ultrasound Today

We had an ultrasound this morning to check on Elam's growth. They did not do an anomaly screening like last time, so we didn't find out about whether some of his birth defects have gotten any better or worse.

We did learn a few things, however. He is now about 4 weeks behind, instead of 3. He now weighs 15 oz. (almost a pound, yay!). He was not in a good position (again!) so it was difficult to see a lot of things. He was actually in the frank breech position (see drawing). His chin looked smaller to me this time, like maybe its growth hasn't been keeping up with the rest of his body. He still wasn't opening up his hands, so we couldn't rule out webbing between his fingers. One of his feet appears to be a clubfoot. The other foot has some problems-- the heel isn't formed quite right.

It was nice to see Elam again, but the ultrasound was pretty short and difficult for me to see from the bed I was in. I'm looking forward to watching the video. We'll be able to watch it and upload it later tonight.

I had expected that Elam had grown more than the ultrasound showed today. I've been gaining weight, feeling his movements so much more, and feeling pretty crowded inside my body. So I was a little surprised and discouraged to see that he was even more behind than he was at our last 2 ultrasounds. But growth is growth, so I'm sure that's why I've been experiencing all those changes.

The ultrasound today didn't show anything that indicated how much longer he will live.
I have another ultrasound scheduled in four weeks. Please continue to pray for his healing. And please pray for us. I'm feeling discouraged about what we learned today, but I want to remember that God's already doing an amazing work in his life-- He's kept his little heart beating strong for so much longer than anyone expected.