Family update: Baby #3!! 🥳🥳🥳

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

–– Psalm 139:13-16 ––

Back in February we discovered an unexpected gift— Brittany is pregnant with our third child, a boy, Kaleb. The timing of Brittany's due date (October 9) with our planned move to Boston (mid-August) was a little daunting but we were excited nonetheless for the plan God has for us and our 3 children. 

However at Brittany’s 20 week scan our doctor discovered some concerning aspects of his growth. We were quickly referred to Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) where they told us our boy has a Dandy Walker malformation in his brain, an abnormal shaping of the left side of his heart, and is measuring less than the third percentile in growth. 

Needless to say, this news was a lot to take in. But God was and has continued to be so gracious to us in fortifying our hearts with peace and faith in the midst of so much that is unknown. He has given us an overwhelming amount of care through our local church and so many of you Christian brothers and sisters. We've been excited to experience the numerous opportunities there are to testify to God's faithfulness and goodness to doctors and nurses!  

Pediatric Cardiologist Appointment Update

This past week we met with our pediatric cardiologist for the first time and overall it was an encouraging visit. She said it looks like his heart doesn't have the syndrome the MFM doctor originally suspected (hypoplastic left heart syndrome). Though there are still concerning functions of his heart (valve regurgitation, flow constriction, and disproportionate sizing between the left and right ventricle), it seems at this point that it could not be as serious as they originally thought.

At the same time, it’s also possible these concerns could get worse. If it continues to get worse they would want to get the baby out as soon as possible to be able to provide care for him. At this point the cardiologist wants to monitor our baby boy very closely over the remainder of the pregnancy with appointments every 2 weeks.

The God of Mercy Hears Our Pleas And He Answers

We're praising God for this answer to prayer, as well as other ways we have seen Him working (like making appointments appear out of nowhere so we can meet with the same MFM doctor every time). Overall He is drawing us closer to Himself and we are experiencing the unshakeable joy that we have in the loving embrace of a merciful God.

Another encouragement in all of this has been the unmistakable timing of our move to Boston. We're excited to see how God will use this in the life of the church we are going to. Boston is also home to some of the very best hospitals in the country, including Boston Children's which has been consistently rated one of the best children's hospitals in the country. Given the complexity of our son's case (the doctors have consistently remarked on this), we're grateful to be heading to good medical hands and into yet another strong church family that is eager to care for us. 

Upcoming appointments: 

Monday July 8th 3:00pm, Neurologist. 

Thursday July 11th, MFM.

Friday July 26th, Cardiologist.