Stressed mama

The day after I had my 20 week scan my obgyn called and told me that my daughter had an EIF on her heart which is commonly associated with Down syndrome and trisomy 18. I had genetic testing done and a series of ultrasounds to rule out chromosomal abnormalities and heart defects. My doctor was confident with the blood work but could not definitively say whether or not my daughter’s heart had developed entirely/properly.

At her first appointment with our pediatrician we were told she passed the heart screening but he was concerned about how jaundice she still was so he sent me to a lab to have her levels checked again. And thankfully, it has improved over time.

Then around her 2 week check up, she had developed this streak on her forehead just above her brow that almost resembled a blood blister. My pediatrician was honest with me and said ya know I’m really not 100% sure what this is - it looks like the start of an infantile hemangioma, if it’s not, it should start to fade and heal over the next few days, but if it doesn’t - we’ll need to monitor it especially being so close to her eye.

So in the gist of the two week wait until her 1 month check up - the streak turned into a blob and in addition to that my fiancé noticed that my daughters belly button would protrude and was really firm to the touch when she’d cry or strain her abdomen in any way & told me he was pretty sure she has an umbilical hernia.

So finally today’s the day. Her 1 month check up! But to my horror - she does indeed have both.

The hernia shouldn’t be painful - it doesn’t seem like there’s any discomfort associated with it. It should heal on its own - hopefully before her first birthday, but it could take several years or it could not heal at all, and in which case surgery would be necessary.

As for the hemangioma. Same deal essentially. It typically resolves on its own but could take up to 5-10 years & even then there still may be traces of the tumor - it’s generally harmless but because hers is so close to her eye, we were referred to a dermatologist to start treating it in hopes that it won’t continue to grow and damage her eyesight. I immediately scheduled that appointment when I got in the car and we meet with the specialist Sept 1.

I can’t help but to feel kind of defeated because man - I did everything right. I didn’t smoke or drink. I took my prenatals everyday. I nourished my body properly. I stayed active. I did everything in my power to have a healthy baby and to be fair - overall, she is. And I’m not blaming myself. I know that some things just happen and it’s not necessarily anything I did or didn’t do to cause these things. But I’m frustrated nonetheless. And I’m sad for her because people are cruel. Especially kids. So I pray the hemangioma is gone by the time she hits school age. Of course her eyesight is WAY more important to me than the appearance of it but I’d be lying if I said I’m not also worried about her being teased 😔