Patch Editor Welcomes Baby Girl

Twelve weeks ago I met the love of my life.

On November 26, 2011, after 12 hours of labor and a fairly traumatic delivery, I was handed my perfect baby girl. For nine months prior to her birth, I imagined what that moment would feel like. Would she look like my husband? Would she know I was her mom? I never knew a love so deep existed until I was introduced to my daughter.

My pregnancy was eventful to say the least. We didn’t know what to expect when Hannah was born. During week 20 of my pregnancy, doctors discovered she had ventriculomegaly, which is an enlargement of the brain ventricles. I immediately had an amniocentesis to determine if the enlargement was caused by a chromosome abnormality like Down Syndrome. We waited only 24 hours for those results to come in, but they were the longest 24 hours of my life. They were filled with tears and “what ifs” and thoughts of what our daughters future would hold. My husband and I cried tears of joy when we got the call that she was chromosomally normal.

Although she didn’t have anything genetically wrong with her, the problem with her brain still existed. Over the next 17 weeks, I had neurosurgeon consults, numerous ultrasounds and a fetal MRI. The main concern was that the small ventricle enlargement could turn into hydrocephalus, which would require surgery and a host of other complications at birth.

There wasn’t much that could be done about her condition during my pregnancy. All we could do was watch and wait. The wait was agonizing, but I knew in my heart that she would be fine. I don’t know why, but as her mom, I knew she would be healthy.

Days after her birth, Hannah’s head ultrasound revealed that while her brain ventricles were asymmetrical, they were within the normal range for size. An MRI two months later confirmed this news. Our girl was not only happy and thriving, but her ventricle enlargement had resolved itself. Words can’t describe our joy.

We chose "Hannah" as her name because it means “God has favored me.” Given the circumstances, we know that’s true.  

Some of you may not have noticed my absence, but I’ve taken the last 12 weeks off from being your Barrington Patch Editor while I got acquainted with my new job as “mom”.  I’ve returned to work and hope to jump right back into the world of Barrington news, events and information.  As always, please feel free to contact me with any news tips or ideas. I always enjoy hearing from my readers!