Another big milestone!

After everything we have been through with this pregnancy and my understanding of Molly’s prognosis, especially in recent weeks, I am actually pretty surprised to have made it to this milestone of 28 weeks gestation! I am now officially in my third trimester and Molly has made it as far as any baby that Dr. Cuneo (our perinatal cardiologist) was aware of with her diagnosis that presented as early as hers did (between 12 – 14 weeks). Granted Dr. Cuneo was only able to find amongst her colleagues’, across the US, experiences with about 3 or 4 other cases similar to Molly’s, however I do find a small bit of hope in knowing that, though 3 or 4 other babies don’t make for very reliable statistics, it appears our baby girl is starting to beat the odds.

So I am trying not to get my hopes up too much. I still understand that Molly’s heart is failing and more likely than not she will die sometime soon and be born into Heaven. However, as I have said before, the longer she survives and I feel her move inside of me, the more I start to believe again that she just might somehow have a chance. Time will tell and if she/we make it to our MFM (perinatal consultation) and Level II ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday, it should help us to better understand how she is doing and maybe get some idea of her most up-to-date prognosis.

You may have noticed from the picture I posted above that we decided on a middle name for our daughter. We chose the name Marie. So our baby girl’s name is Molly Marie Benson. Marie is my middle name and also Bob’s paternal grandmother’s first name (who died two years ago this month). Sean’s middle name is Owen. Owen is Bob’s middle name and also his deceased paternal grandfather’s first name. So we like the symmetry of our children’s middle names. Another funny thing about Sean and Molly’s names are that Sean and Owen are both derivatives of “John” and Molly and Marie are both derivatives of “Mary.” So not that we were looking to name our son John John or our daughter Mary Mary, however do think it is interesting. In the beginning when we decided to name Molly weren’t sure if it was “necessary” for her to have a middle name, however the longer she has survived, the more I really wanted her to have one, like most babies/children do. So I am glad that we chose one for our baby girl and I am proud to share her full name with you today!

This afternoon I went to our hospital’s outpatient center to have my blood drawn to confirm that I am Rh negative. This was in preparation for me to return on Monday morning and receive a Rhogam shot. I was thinking about my online friend Katie and the title of her blog “Taking the Statistical Bullet” and in retrospect I really do feel like I too have taken a good amount of statistical bullets, at least when it comes to pregnancy. When you consider the odds of my ending up with c-sections, gestational diabetes, being Rh negative, having had two miscarriages and of course the two biggies, which we have been told are extremely rare, our interstitial ectopic pregnancy and now Molly’s CHD diagnosis including Left Atrial Isomerism, single ventricle, single valve and complete AV block, it seems pretty unlikely for any one woman to experience. However, I do honestly believe that I have grown a lot with each of these trials and good things have come from my making the best of and living through them.

So Molly continues to move, I have felt her a lot today, and thus our journey with her continues. I am so curious what we may find out on Wednesday, if we make it that far, and am trying to take this one day at a time. Thank you so much for your continued comments, emails, phone calls, positive thoughts and prayers. Your support and encouragement mean so much to us. I know that many of you have not given up on the possibility of a miracle for Molly and our family, one that would include her surviving, and though if you said that to me 2 1/2 weeks ago I would not have thought it possible… with each day our daughter lives on, that outcome gains more ground in my mind and heart. So we will see…

On a side note, I am in a number of NCAA March Madness Tournament pools and if UCLA wins the tourney this year, I will win at least two of the pools. So on that note, GO BRUINS!!! 🙂

Finally, I have a prayer request, my cousin (one of my dad’s sister’s sons) and his fiance are getting married this afternoon in South Carolina. My parents are there representing our family. We wanted to be there to witness their marriage and celebrate this awesome day in their life with them, but realized awhile back that it might not be the best time for Bob, Sean and me to travel. Anyway, I look forward to hearing all about and seeing pictures from their special day and I ask that you please join me in praying for my cousin and his wife as they begin their new life together.

Thank you, as always, for reading and walking this journey with me and my family. Take care and may God bless you and your loved ones.