CHOP-Round 2

Whew! What a day. We spent the entire day down in Philly at appointments. It was an emotional and very busy day for both Bryan and I. We met with a lot of different people, had a few exams, and took a tour.

Meeting the OBs at The Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania
Our first stop of the day was Maternal & Fetal Medicine at HUP to meet my new OBs. It was tough to find through the maze of the hospital and very crowded. We met with two of the doctors to talk and go over my history. The office was very impersonal and it made me realize what a gem Dr. Thind really is. The OBs decided that they do not want to induce me until at least 39 weeks. They said that although my delivery with Anna was very fast, they think making it to Philly to deliver Abby won't be a problem as long as I come at the first signs of labor. I was a bit disappointed not to get an induction date, but I would rather go into labor on my own and avoid the risk of having a c-section.

Getting an Ultrasound
Next, we waited some more, and then got an ultrasound. Fairly uneventful. Abby is measuring just over 3 lbs. and is in the 49th percentile for growth. Just perfect. Met another doctor in the practice and all he wanted to do was gawk at her heart. I definitely felt like we were on display.

Lunch
We had about an hour before our next appointment so we went out for a walk and some fresh air. HUP and CHOP are adjacent to the UPenn Campus which is gorgeous. We wandered around a bit and found a very nice shopping area with some great looking restaurants. We ate a delicious Mexican lunch and made a mental note of what was around for when we are staying in Philly after Abby is born.

Fetal Echo
Our next stop was CHOP to go get another fetal echocardiogram. The woman who did the scan was so nice and personable. A great change after the OBs. We talked with Dr. Cohen, the fetal cardiologist, and everything is status quo. Yay! The right side of her heart is growing beautifully, and no new problems have developed. Definitely the news we were looking for.

Dr. Spray
After we finished up with the echo, our Program Director took us up to the cardiology floor to meet with Dr. Spray who is performing Abby's surgeries. He is world renowned, and has performed more of these types of surgeries than anyone in the country. He had just finished performing a Norwood (the first surgery Abby will have around 2 days old) right before he came up to meet us. It was nice to meet with him and a put a face with the name.

Touring the CICU
Our last stop of the day was a tour of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit where Abby will go directly after birth and where she will stay after her surgery. It was by far the most emotional part of the day for me. The unit was very open and friendly, but it was very hard for me to see the tiny babies and families in there, knowing that will be us with Abby in just 2 short months. However, we were very happy to find out that the CICU is not a closed unit, and that all our family and friends, and Anna will be allowed in to see Abby!

We are home now and exhausted. Our next step is to head back to HUP/CHOP on November 20. It should be a much shorter visit! We'll have an ultrasound to check Abby's growth, and a fetal echo to check on her heart.

Thanks again to everyone for all your love and support. Just knowing you will all take the time to read this makes this difficult journey that much less lonely, and that much less hard. Thank you!