update on baby #2

here is an update on the babe in my belly.

we went back for another ultrasound. i was just shy of 23 weeks. the baby's ventricle in his brain has gotten bigger. i was in shock. for the whole 2 weeks between ultrasounds i really thought everything was going to be fine. our appointment went something like this... they called us back 40 minutes after our scheduled time.  ultrasound tech and student had to do the whole ultrasound over again and take new measurements of the baby. the tech said "oh, it looks good" right around the time she was looking at the baby's brain. the dr came in. talked to us for 2 hours about what could be causing the enlarged ventricle. i tried so so hard not to have a meltdown. and failed. the dr then did the ultrasound all over again. we discussed what tests to do. went upstairs to do testing. after what seemed like all day, we have no for sure answers. now we wait 5-10 business days.

what could be causing the enlarged ventricle.
-NOTHING, the left side could just be bigger and it will heal itself.
-the ventricle may just not be draining properly. if it continues to get bigger they would need to place a shunt in his brain to drain the fluid. the surgery would take place in utero. the shunt would then stay in the rest of his life, maybe needing to be replaced as he grows maybe not.
-an INFECTION. the baby may have gotten an infection that i had. the infection being one that i didn't even know about. the infection could have been in my body before i was pregnant or i could have had it at any time while i have been preg.
-a SPINAL DEFECT. i don't have a ton of info on what this could be. when they look at his spine in the ultrasound, it looks good.
-TRISOMY 21 aka down syndrome.
-TRISOMY 13: severe intellectual disability and physical abnormalities. most babies don't make it past their 1st birthday.
-TRISOMY 18: due to the presence of several life threatening medical issues most babies die before birth or within their first month. 10% make it past their first birthday, these children usually have severe intellectual disability.

the tests we took will tell us IF he has an infection or IF he has a chromosomal disorder (13-21). the tests will not tell us which chromosomal disorder he has if that test comes back positive. if positive we would have to do an amnio to find out exact disorder. i am unsure what the treatment is if he has an infection.  regardless of what the tests show he may or may not need a shunt. depends solely on how big the ventricle gets. if i understood correctly there is not a test to show a spinal defect.

i have been a pretty big mess since i was told what the possibilities are. i am hoping to get the results back this week. i can't believe how drastic the causes are, from nothing to something so serious. i am ready for some answers, as you can imagine.