Baby Braddock

Well... I don't really want to write this post, to be honest.  I've been procrastinating on writing it for awhile.  I've got new information and prayer requests for our sweet baby girl Braddock.  

We have seen two specialists in Birmingham this week who have confirmed that our baby has an AV canal defect - or large hole in the middle of her heart.  She is doing fine now and will continue to be fine until delivery.  Without a miracle, she'll need open heart surgery to heal the hole when she is 1-4 months old.  The defect is correctable and with the surgery, she should grow and develop without any further issues.  

On the other hand, the heart abnormality is another marker for Down's syndrome.  We have chosen not to have the amnio test that would tell us with certainty this diagnosis.  So far she has checks in both columns - the quad blood screen and all other measurements were normal, a check in the "not Down's" box but the heart defect and nucol skin fold are big checks in the "looks definitely like Down's" box.  Scott and I have taken a position of hope for the best, expect the worst and pray for a miracle.  

We know that our faithful and loving Lord is completely capable of healing our sweet baby, if he desires.  We continue to pray (beg) for healing and wholeness but know that regardless of her physical and mental condition, she is perfectly and wonderfully made and the perfect addition to our family.  We are aware that though these diagnoses would not have been our choice for our sweet baby, we are grateful that it wasn't so much worse.  Many other families would pray for our set of possibilities, instead of the reality that they're facing for their own children.  Our baby is a precious gift from the Lord regardless of her chromosome makeup and we are grateful. 

If you would continue to pray for us and our sweet baby, we would be incredibly grateful.