The Verdict Is In!

Today we had our final appointment with our maternal fetal medicine and pediatric cardiologist. We have been anxiously awaiting this visit because there has been some confusion based on our OB visits. Being in a rotation with so many different OBs, who are not planning to deliver our baby, has become very complicated. I am now going twice a week for a biophysical profile and non stress test. At each visit I see a different doctor, and varied opinions about what our family should do. Several doctors felt that we should be down at MUSC a week or two early, while others said we would be fine to stay in the upstate and go down on August 30th. Being more emotional than usual and hearing such a varied pool of advice has really increased anxiety over the past couple of weeks.
Vince and I have been trying to make sense of this situation and figure out what to do with all of this advice. We decided to wait until today and talk with Dr. Greig and Dr. Horne. We decided that whatever they suggested would be the plan we would follow.
During the ultrasound we found out that Mac has FINALLY turned. He was breech as of last week when we had our BPP. I was concerned because if he is breech, then we will automatically have to have a c-section. This is something we are hoping to avoid. We also got a chance to see how he is measuring up. Overall, he is in the 80th percentile for size and has continued to grow consistently. He is already a whopping 7 pounds 3 ounces. Our doctors hope that his size will equate to strength as he recovers from surgery.
Dr. Horne was pleased with the growth of the left side of the heart. He said that he is not seeing any turbulence from the mitral valve which is a good sign that the valve is growing and is big enough. He also said that he is seeing good strong pumping and flow. He said it sounds good too. He told us that he is 75% sure that we are looking at the one time surgery for DORV-TGA. We were not happy to hear that the arteries did look transposed again today. He said that they are side by side which usually means transposition. We are praying that they will be able to patch directly from the aorta to the left ventricle. If they can, then we will not have to do the arterial switch procedure!
After the ultrasound, we proceeded to barrage the doctors with all of our questions. They both told us that our plan to stay in Greenville until the 30th was the best plan for our family. Dr. Horne told us that Mac's defect is not one that would require immediate action at MUSC so we would be fine to stabilize him here in Greenville, and when we BOTH are ready we could be transported TOGETHER to MUSC!!! This relieved so much stress about the possibility of delivering in Greenville.
So the plan is now official. Our bags are packed and we are planning to enjoy the next 2 1/2 weeks here at home with our family, friends, and my fantastic first graders! We will then enjoy one more weekend as a family of 3 in Charleston before Baby Mac makes his appearance on September 3rd.