Some good news.

Today we went for another ultrasound and to check if Logan has a spleen. As I mentioned before, lacking a spleen is sometimes associated with dextrocardia.  As the tech took her measurements and labeled everything she never mentioned finding or seeing the spleen, but after, when we sat down with the doctors sure enough, in the notes, he has a spleen. We are so relieved. His defects are isolated to his heart only. Everything else looks great, it's all in the right spot and the right size. They estimate he weighs 6.11 right now, which, from what I've read, the estimates aren't very accurate, but we're hoping it's right. We want him to be as big as he can be before he makes his debut into this world. The bigger he is the better his chances if he needs surgery immediately after birth.

We then had our tour of the NICU. It really started to sink in that that is going to be our lives for an undetermined amount of time. It is scary. I am scared. Not because I don't have faith in the doctors, but because we have no idea what's going to happen. All of our questions can only be answered hypothetically. Which leads to more questions, and more possible scenarios. The worse part about all of this is knowing he has a serious health issue and having absolutely no idea what he is going to have to endure after he's born. People tell us we're lucky to know ahead of time, and sure, we are, but just because we are aware doesn't mean we can prepare. We have no idea how long it will be before he needs surgery, no idea how long he will be in the NICU. We can't plan for babysitters for Corbin because we have no idea when he will need to be watched. We will have to throw everything together after Logan is born, almost as if we never knew ahead of time.

Anyway,  the NICU was nice, the people we met were great. There are so many faces and names it's overwhelming, but it's all for the best. My appointments are weekly now for the last 4 weeks. I don't believe we will have any more ultrasounds. We haven't scheduled our induction yet, the nurse said we would solidify a date in about 3 weeks. We're planning on the morning of July 17th. We shall see.

I'm not sure if I'll have anymore updates after this one until he is born. My appointments are going to be pretty routine and I don't think we will get any new information. Now we just wait. We can't wait to meet him!

Follow up - Echocardiogram

I'm not sure if anyone is following us quite yet, but here is an update if you are. Not much of an update, which is good, actually. We had an echo today, with no new findings. Unfortunately, nothing has improved either, but nothing has worsened. We sat with the cardiologists, and asked about possible scenarios after the baby is born. It's all unknown. It is completely dependent on how Logan's heart works on it's own. We may get to hold him for a half hour after he is born before they take him away to monitor him, we may only be able to see him for a few minutes before they whisk him away. They don't know if he will need immediate surgery, or any procedures immediately, or if they will be able to wait because he can stabilize himself. All of these unknown factors kill me and make my mind constantly run, and wonder, and worry. I know he will be in good hands, and I know we are lucky that we get to know there is something wrong ahead of time, but it doesn't change the fact that it WILL be happening, and we have NO idea how he is going to manage on his own, before interventions.
After our echo appointment, we had an appointment with our prenatal care providers. After researching the most current diagnosis of Dextrocardia, I found that it is common for children with this defect to also have a missing spleen. I asked if it was seen in any other ultrasounds, and the doctor was unable to see if anything was said about it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. In fact, it gave me hope that it IS there, because you'd think they'd notice it missing. We will have an ultrasound on the 19th, and the doctor made a note to specifically check for the spleen. That is one piece of the puzzle I am really hoping is in place. If not, it opens a whole new world of problems for our little guy, and a harder road. Fingers crossed.
All in all, it was a good appointment. Long, but good, no news is good news.
Our next appointment is on the 19th for an ultrasound, a tour of the NICU and to meet with the neonatal team. We will also schedule our induction date. Can't wait to meet this little trouble maker of ours.