The Lowe clan

Hey loved ones and happy St Patrick’s Day!

You should all have a solid grasp of what has happened to our little family unit since Wednesday, March 16th. Today we started off optimistic that the babies were recovering from the amniocentesis from yesterday and that things may stabilize. Analia received an ultrasound around 9 am and the tech wasn’t feeling to pleased. The brought in a new-to-us doctor who had a look and explained the concerns. Common practice is to go over some of the more unpleasant scenarios such as the death of one or both babies. The concern was mostly around the recipient, Baby A. Since he has been getting so much blood supply and has had an excess of amniotic fluid his little body has been working in overdrive. His heart is getting tired, and there is potential for failure. We talked about doing another amniocentesis and the possibility of a cesarian delivery.

The doc consulted with our OB and they decided to drain more fluid and see how the babies react. Remarkably, they drained an additional 1,400 ml of fluid from around Baby A, for a two day total of 3,700 ml. We were precautioned that things may go south quickly and they prepared for the option that they’s have to wheel Analia off to an OR rapidly for cesarian. The amniocentesis went smoothly and we were returned to our room for observation.

After a few hours of observation the nurses and docs weren’t entirely pleased with the babies reaction and decided to move us to the birthing floor (3rd floor) where we could get more dedicated attention. They are also better prepared for a turn of events. We’ve been here since 2:30, currently 6:00. We’ve spoken to a few doctors and a NICU doctor about the more definite possibility of delivery and how that looks for Analia and the boys. Nothing is set in stone and things could go in any direction, but the realistic outlook is delivery within the next 24 hrs. Analia would be hospitalized for a minimum of three days and the boys would be in NICU for 10–12 weeks. This is a situation nobody wants to be in, and there are serious risks, but we are optimistic and incredibly confident in the care here. As our friend Maria reminded me earlier babies are much tougher and resilient than we give them credit for, and there have been cases of babies overcoming worse situations.

We appreciate every email, text message, phone call, prayer and thought. So, thank you all for the support and I will keep you updated.

Lots of love from Analia, Chris and the boys