The Journey Begins...

07/29/09: Baby Sydney Adair Milsten enters the world at 2 lbs 2 oz and just over 14" long at 27 weeks and 6 days. We never imagined our pregnancy ending this way but this is how God planned it and we trust in his timing and have faith in his promises. We hit our first bump in the road at around 20 weeks during the pregnancy during our first ultrasound. We waited about a week for the results and I received a call from Angela crying on the phone telling me that one of Sydney's kidneys looked to have cysts inside it. I was a little shocked to but thought well if that's all they found then that's not to bad but unfortunately this was just the beginning. Our next ultrasound we had was almost 4 weeks later at Tacoma General fetal medicine clinic. They looked at not only the kidney but other areas and took measurements. The doctor told us it looked like fluid built up in the kidney but no cysts. Good news we thought until we met with the genetic counselor following the ultrasound. During the ultrasound they found two other problem areas. One was the ventrilcles in the brain which were enlarged slightly at 11mm. Normal is 10mm or less. Also echogenic bowel which looks like a bright spot on the ultrasound. This can be associated with many problems like Cystic Fibrosis, infections, diseases, or Down Syndrome. Because of the three markers that were found (the kidney, the ventricles in the brain, echogenic bowel) there is a greater risk for Down Syndrome because these are all soft markers associated with Downs. Of course this was hard to hear coming from such knowledgeable people. We were pretty upset for a couple days but as the days went on it became clear to me that things were going to be just fine. I felt God speaking to me and reassuring me that she was going to be healthy. Of course the real test of our faith started on Saturday July 25th. By now Angela was 27 weeks along. She was starting to feel different than before. Nausea and vomitting after eating, swelling in the legs, hands, and face, and quick weight gain. We decided to check her blood pressure and I'm glad we did. It was very high at 175/95! We checked it a few times and decided it was best for her to go to the hospital. It was even higher there which is expected but it stayed high. Doctors decided to put her on Magnesium sulfate which prevents sezuires. They thought it was possible she was developing Pre-Eclampsia. She was given steroids to help the baby's lungs develop just in case. She was at Good Sam for a couple days and the doctors then decided to take her off the magnesium and send her home even though she had most of the symptoms of Pre Eclampsia. She also had high proteins in her urine which meant her kidneys were not functioning normally. Doctors then decided to send her to Tacoma General where the care is much better suited for high risk pregnancies. They determined she did have Pre Eclampsia and that the only cure is delivery of the baby. For a couple days Angela got continually worse until they woke us up early Wednesday Morning, July 29th and said it was time to do an emergency C-section because her liver enzymes had skyrocketed! What a crazy last few days! It was pretty intimidating going into the the operating room. I just held her hand and continued to reassure her. Pretty soon I heard the wimpering of Sydney as they pulled her from the womb. She had her eyes open and was breathing on her own! Our prayers were answered. I snapped a quick photo and she was taken quickly to the NICU. This is how our journey started and I will continue to update the status of our little Sydney.