Jack wants a laser tag gun for Christmas next year

Christmas

We have had such a good Christmas. Jack finally got to meet the rest of his cousins who live out of state, many of them braving nasty weather and very long drives to make it to Utah for the holidays. We've had parties and gatherings every single day and it has been so much fun.

Thankfully everyone has been healthy so we didn't have to stay away from anyone, we just had to be careful and not pass him around too much. The only repercusion is that Jack is pooped. He's used to being cooped up with me all day and suddenly he's turned into a party animal. I think he finally got into the partying mood today though because I swear he talked and babbled happily non-stop, beginning at 4:00 this morning. Silly boy.

Jack got some awesome toys, but his favorite Christmas present was from me to both he and his dad. Hardy adores bulldogs and plans to get one for our family someday. Since we're not quite ready for that, I found a stuffed one that's bigger than Jack to tide the boys over hopefully for a few years.

All I want for Christmas is...

A tooth!

I think Jack is getting his first tooth. He's been a little whiny, drooly, and sucking on everything and when he started gnawing on my finger this morning I felt a tiny bump on the top.

Such busy little fingers

I don't know why we even have that large, expensive, noisy oxygen concentrator in our living room that we spend all day tripping over. Everytime I go in to get Jack up from a nap, or at night, or set him down for more than 3 seconds he manages to either yank his tubes off his face, or at the very least pull the canula out of his nose. It's his favorite game and the best way he knows to get mom and dads attention. Thank goodness his sats are still high enough that it's not an emergency without it or we'd be in real trouble. Little stinker.

What's a mom to do but take a picture of a cute tubeless face and tape it back on?

Ya, laugh it up, chuckles.

Solids...kind of

I've been debating whether or not to start Jack on solids since the "experts" say he's big enough now, but I don't want him to get too used to them before his surgery. But lately he loves to watch us eat, so I bought some rice cereal and have let him play with it a little a couple of times. He's not very good at it, but he thinks eating is great fun and usually smiles so much that it all dribbles back out. He is also a big fan of his cute new high chair (thank you Strong aunts and uncles!)

Echo

Christmas came early for me and Hardy.

Jack had a sedated echo this morning. Last time we did this we had to spend the entire day sitting around in the recovery room and it was awful. This time we came prepared with toys for Jack, treats for us, and a plan to take the day in shifts. Instead we were oh so happily informed that he's now big enough that we didn't have to do the 12 hour stay and could go home as soon as he woke up and ate. Happy day! It took a little while, but he finally came around and we were able to meet with Dr. Mennan and get out of there 8 hours earlier than anticipated. It was great.

Even better was the good news that Jack's heart is still looking good. His sats were in the mid 80's and he's getting quite chunky. We are scheduled for an MRI on January 14 and will do his surgery the following week.

As an added bonus we got to see Jack's heart buddy Daxton who was in for an appointment as well. It was great to see you Hilary!

We feel so blessed that Jack is doing so well and can't wait to spend some time with his cousin's over Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Jack's Mom is 30! Almost

As Jack’s mother prepares to turn 30 I thought it would be appropriate to give tribute to her. I can’t wait to talk to Jack about his mother, to tell him how special she is and how much she loves him. Here are some things I know Jack will love about his mother.

She loves Jack with all of her heart. I don’t think Aimee has got a good night sleep in six months. Whether it is getting up to feed Jack, or pump, or worry she has sacrificed sleep every night on his behalf. She never complains about taking care of her child. She truly understands what it means to be a mother. I love watching her interact with Jack.

She is in her own words “Damn Smart.” One of Aimee’s greatest gifts is her mind. She has always excelled in anything she has done. She was a high achiever scholastically and enjoyed a very successful professional career in different capacities before she decided to stay home with Jack. This success has helped her develop a confidence which I love and admire.

Aimee has never once complained about the burdens of being a “Heart Mom.” From the day of Jack’s diagnosis she sought to educate herself on what we would be facing and making preparations for the challenges that were ahead. She found other families that had been through the same thing and has become very active in this community. She gives freely of her time to help others who are in the same situation.

Aimee is the most patient wife ever!!!! She let’s me coach basketball despite the added burden that it puts on her. This is a total indulgence on my part but something that I love so much. Not only does she allow me to be gone several hours a week she puts up with me telling her a thousand things related to basketball that she probably cares nothing about. She also does not complain when she is trying to sleep and I am on the phone to Barnes talking about basketball all the time. I hope she knows that I recognize this sacrifice!

Aimee is the most trustworthy person I have ever known. I have never once doubted anything she has told me. I have never seen her take a short-cut in anything be it work, a church calling, or any other assignment she has been given.

I could go on all day. I consider myself so lucky that I get to spend the next 30 years with her. I know that Jack already adores his mother. He is so fortunate to have her and she will help him so much throughout his life. Happy Birthday Aimee!!!

4 month Dr Visit

Yesterday was Jack's 4 month pediatrician visit. He's in the 50% for height and weight. What a perfect baby. He was cute and giggly for Dr. M and she said he looks really good. His sats were even in the mid 80's, so we like to see that. He had to get some vaccinations and got his RSV shot. I don't know who was more upset about it, Jack or Hardy. Good thing mom's a tough cookie.

A few random fun facts about Jack:

1. His favorite sounds are a) snorting, and b) spitting/farting. He thinks they are hilarious. i guess our friend Travis is right - they are innately funny.
2. When Jack gets excited he loves to slam his little feet down on the changing table and wiggle all over.
3. He is a major Mommas boy. He watches me all the time. No matter how entertaining the other person who is holding him, he always keeps his eye on me. It makes dad a little jealous until I remind him that he is also a mommas boy so he's just taking after his father.
4. His hair is starting to grow in and he's no longer a red head. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Now he's just a dirty blond like his mom and dad.
5. Jack is going to be spoiled at Christmas. I'm trying not to go too crazy, but there is so much fun stuff out there. Hardy's just lucky I can't leave the house very often or I might really go overboard.

4 Months Old

Today is Jack's 4 month birthday. I can't believe it. What a miracle and blessing he is to our lives.

Jack can't wait to see what Santa is going to put in his stocking. :)

All I want for Christmas is right here under my tree.

Tummy Time and a Cat Fight

Jack HATE'S tummy time. Every time I flip him over he just scowls at me and works his way up to a wail, but he is getting stronger. Too bad just around the time he should really start to think about scooting and needs to practice being on his tummy they are going to cut him open again and we won't be able to do tummy time again for a while. Oh well, we'll take whatever milestones we can whenever we can get them.


Jack looks like he's been playing with a kitty this week, but no, they are self inflicted wounds on his cute face. Darn sharp baby fingernails. I swear I file them down every morning and by night they are razor sharp.

A small scare

Last night Jack had another little episode similar to the one that took us to the ER a few weeks ago, only this time he did it while being watched by Grandma and Grandpa. Hardy is out of town for work and I had a Christmas party with some friends so my parents had agreed to watch him for a few hours. He was doing great until suddenly he wasn't, and he cried until he went limp, glassy eyed and was gasping for air. That's when my dad finally decided thay had better call me. I freaked out, threw my fondue pots in the car and rushed to their house.

I called cardiology and like last time was again advised to bring him in if he didn't calm down within the next little while. He finally started breathing normally so I decided to take him home, but I was really nervous to have him in the back seat alone. Thankfully my mother offered to come stay the night and ride in the back with him. I was extra glad she came with me after he started throwing up when we got home, but ultimately I think that helped him clear out some of the fluid that was building up and he wound up having a pretty good night. So far he hasn't developed any symptoms of being sick today. He's just been extra tired, but still cute and smiley.

I've heard things get easier after the next surgery, so let's hope that's true. I think he'll be getting his Glenn in about 6 weeks or so, so hopefully that will help and major crying fits won't be quite so awful in the future.

Jack now Giggles :)

Cardiology

Jack had his cardiology appointment this morning and it went great. He cried for his xrays, like usual, but I might cry too if they stripped me naked and held me on a cold, hard table. Other that that he was very well behaved.

The little fella is getting to be not so little, weighing in at 12 lbs 9 oz. Dr. P was very pleased with his size and how well he's eating. His sats were in the low 80's on his 1/4 liter, and his EKG and xrays looked good so we are on track for his Glen in January which they are going to try to schedule this week. Next steps are another sedated echo in three weeks, then an MRI a week or two before his next surgery, depending on when they schedule that. Dr. P said that in his experience kids who start out doing well continue to do well, so that was really good to hear as Jack has done great so far. We hope it continues to be true.

We sure do have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. In particular we are grateful to all of you for your prayers and well wishes for Jack. We feel the power of those prayers every day as they strengthen us and help us through each situation as they come. Our sweet baby who we weren't sure would come home from the hospital is now thriving and growing and getting trickier by the day. It is such a blessing.

Hooray! Go Utes!

He was a little worried at first...

But Jackson is very happy about the Utah victory over BYU. Daddy will be so much easier to live with than if things had gone the other way. Whew!

Good Things Come in Small Packages

I was changing his canula to get rid of all the sick germs and snapped a few pics of his cute, tube free face. You'll have to wait for the Christmas card to see the ones I got with his Santa hat. :)

On the Mend

Jack sounds a LOT better today than he has the past few days, so I think we're on the mend. He still has a cough, but he's upgraded from sounding like a chain smoker to wheezing like he has asthma, so much improved. Our only problem now is that he just decided to wake up from his long afternoon nap that he's supposed to be taking after just 20 minutes. :) Mom to the rescue.

Doing Okay

Not much to report on Jack, thankfully. He still coughs like a chain smoker, but he's not coughing a ton and he is still fairly chipper. He's not eating quite as much as normal, but he is eating and we're getting wet diapers so basically we're just waiting it out, hoping he gets better soon.

Unless things get worse I'm going to avoid taking him to the doctor since there isn't really much they can do for him anyway. He's too young to take any medicine so I'm just loading up on the vitamins and healthy food, hoping they'll pass through my breast milk into his system to help him out. It's worth a try.

Thanks to all those praying for him and wishing him well. Hopefully we'll have healthy news to report in a day or two.

The good news is that I finally got them to schedule us for a cardiology appointment. We go in to see Dr. Pulchaski next Monday. Too bad it took a trip to the ER to get them to schedule it.

A trip to the ER

Well, we tried to avoid it as long as possible, but Jack is sick. He has caught a small cold or virus so we spent about 5 hours in the ER yesterday at PCMC.

Saturday night as I was putting Jack to bed he choked a little on some phlegm which set him off crying for nearly 2 hours and left him limp and breathing heavily. He looked awful so I called cardiology and they said to bring him in if he didn't recover within 30 minutes. Hardy gave him a priesthood blessing and a few minutes later his breathing calmed down significantly, but by morning he had developed a raspy cough. He also had very little to eat during the night and hardly peed at all - all bad signs. When I called cardiology in the morning to see when I should get nervous since any little bug can be a big deal for babies in the Norwood Stage, he said we should bring him in.

We got to the ER around 10AM and thankfully it was pretty empty so they got us in fairly quickly for a chest xray and EKG. The results showed that his heart is slightly enlarged which concerned the ER doc that he might be in heart failure. Eventually a cardiologist showed up and determined that everything was okay and he's just a little bit sick - not heart failure. Whew! They considered keeping him over night for observation and then decided that Hardy and I could handle it. Since then he is still not eating or peeing great, but he's doing better. They also sucked out some of his boogers and are testing for a virus so they can determine if it is a strain we should be worried about. We are still waiting on those results. We were finally able to bring him home around 2:30 p.m.

Thankfully Jack was a trooper the whole time. Despite not feeling well, he managed to grin at several of the docs and the radioloists who were poking at him. He barely even flinched as they put on and pulled off all the EKG probes. He's now sleeping pretty soundly, as are mom and dad. Trips to the ER are exhausting. The only perk is that they have really good coke at the Rainbow Cafe.

He's a cutie

Jack is still just growing, learning and doing well. He loves sucking on his fingers, even when he's also sucking on his binky which, as you can guess, causes complications. He still thinks I'm hilarious and loves to come in the kitchen and cook with me. I put him in his bouncer and sing Christmas Carols to him as I make dinner and he has a riot. Hardy laughs at me too, but for different reasons than Jack.

We still don't know when his next cardiology appointment will be. It was supposed to be next week but they still haven't scheduled anything despite my phone calls. Hopefully we'll get in before Thanksgiving.

Serously, is there anything cuter than a grinning baby in tiny overalls?

Jack Talkin' (Kind of)

Cute Jack

Cute Jack continues to do well this week. In fact, at the moment we are doctor appointment free. Of course that's only because we are waiting for cardiology to call and set up his follow up appointment and the pediatrician to call an schedule his RSV shot, both of which should happen within the next 2 weeks, but for today we feel kind of normal.

Jack's latest tricks include spitting bubbles (and sometimes his medicine), and he's getting better every day at grasping his toys. He's also discovered his voice and loves to chat in his cute little boy voice for a very long time. I keep trying to record it, but he gets distracted by the camera. You'd think he wouldn't even notice the camera anymore and would just assume it is an extension of his mom since I take so many pictures, but no, it mesmerizes him.

Happy 3 Month Birthday!

Jack is offically three months old today.

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. He is so sweet and doing better than I ever could have hoped. We pray every day in gratitude for Jack and how well he is doing and hope he keeps up the good work.

Go Utes!

I'll give you one guess who dressed Jack this morning :)

Jack also got to go to his cousin Abby's baptism today. He loved meeting his cousins Abby and Rylie for the first time. I just wish I would have remembered my camera. Congratulations Abby!

Happy Halloween!

Cousins and Faces

Jack got to meet his Aunt Janie and cousins Ally and Jeff this past weekend. He thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think they did too. We're glad they came to town.

Here are a few of Jack's many funny faces. He is a tad dramatic (he gets that from his father ;).

P.S. We saw our pediatrician again today and she thinks that Jack's bloody stools may be from his asprin irritating his stomach, so we are now back on zantac to help coat his stomach plus we have to make sure he has a full tummy before we give him the asprin. We're going to try that for a few days and see how it goes. They've ruled out everything else so I hope that's all it is.

Bloody Poop Mystery

Jack and I got to spend another afternoon at the hospital today. We went to see his pediatrician regarding the bloody poop and she was concerned so she ordered a bunch of tests and sent us over to Jordan Valley Hospital.

The pediatrician called a little while ago and said his xrays showed a lot of gas, but he had also been crying quite a bit from all the tests and torture and she didn't think that was the cause. She looked to see if he had any fissures on his bum causing the blood, but the tiny one she saw didn't seem big enough to create the amount of blood we're seeing. His blood work looked normal and didn't seem to indicate either an infection or an allergy, so now we just have to wait for the results of the stool sample to see if we can get more answers. Actually, first we have to wait to get more poop that we can take out for them to test. They needed more than he was able to provide at the time so we have to collect a bit more. Ah, the beauty of motherhood. Collecting stool samples and trying to comfort during painful proceedures.

As we were waiting for the lab technician to take his blood I kind of hit the wall and was just feeling a bit sad and exhausted and I looked down to see my sweet baby just grinning at me. What a trooper.

Stuff

Dads post facts. Moms post pictures. :)

As Hardy mentioned yesterday, Jack's echo went well. I swear it was one of the longest days of our life though. We had to be there by 7am, and the echo was done by 9:30, but then we had to sit there for 12 hours because babies his age can have adverse reactions to the sedation for up to 12 hours. As we drove home last night at 9:00 we decided it felt like we had just flown to Japan as we had been cooped up in a tiny uncomfortable room all day. Its one thing to be up there and know you're staying the night. It the sitting there counting down the hours that was horrendous.

They decided to put in an IV to sedate Jack, but wound up using just a tiny bit of versed and it knocked him right out so he just happily sucked on his binky through the entire echo. The guy who sedated him said he used so little Jack would probably wake up pretty quickly. Instead he took about 5 hours to really snap out of it. Apparently he has a high sensitivity to it. He did really great though and was pretty happy most of the day. Once he finally woke up he was very perky since he'd just had a doosey of a nap so we had a great time. I was worried he wouldn't want to sleep once we got home, but the three of us all slept really well, only getting up twice, and the boys are still alseep and it's 8:45 am as I'm posting this.

Our next fun development is that starting Thursday night, Jack has blood in his poop. They were a little concerned that it could mean his intestines were compromised and dying, but thankfully the anesthesiologist was pretty sure that was not the case. Since we were at the hospital all day yesterday we couldn't go see our pediatrician so instead we have to run over there today so they can do some tests to figure out what's causing it. Hopefully it's just an allergy to something I'm eating rather than an infection. *sigh* One thing at a time. It's a good thing he's so darn cute.

Echo Results

Jackson passed his echo with flying colors today. We just got done visiting with Dr. Mennon who said he looked really good. His pulmonary arteries are a little narrow but nothing unusual. The next step will be an MRI in a few weeks. After they do that they should be able to get his surgery scheduled. He said there is a chance that he can make it to the New Year without getting the Glen done but we will have to wait and see. We liked Dr. Mennon much more this time. Jackson was sure giving him a dirty look though. We got him here at 7:00 this morning and can not go home until 8:00 tonight. It has been a loooooooong day but it will be over soon.

More pics

Jack tried out his bumbo for the first time today so he could help me sort the laundry. He's still a little tippy, but had a pretty good time.

We took some handsome photos this morning in his snuggly Halloween outfit (thanks Hymas's!).

Last night Jack got to hang out with his future girl friend Paisley.

Jack taking a good long nap with his grandpa. Both seem pretty content.

Jack and Aimee at Gardner Village. He mostly slept in his stroller, but mom had fun.

No News is Good News

Jack is having a good week. Well, the last few nights have been a little rough, but only because he's started this thing where he whimpers in his sleep at night if his binky falls outs so I have to trudge into his room and pop it back in before he wakes up because if eh does wake up he gets perky and wants to stay up. Last night in my sleepy stupor I kept thinking his whimpering meant he was hungry and I would get a bottle ready and try to feed him, but he wasn't hungry so he kept fighting it until I'd just put in his binky and he'd fall right to sleep. Crazy kid. It's hard to be too unhappy with snuggles, even in the middle of the night.

Last Thursday Jack and I met my mom and sister and her kids at Gardner Village to see the witches. It was "Wee Witches Weekend" so there were lots of kids in their Halloween Costumes running around. Very cute. Luckily I had Jack dressed up in a cute halloween outfit so we blended nicely. Of course he slept most of the time in his stroller, but when he did wake up he was so good and just looked around at all the sights. It was so nice for me to get out of the house. And my niece and nephew thought it was pretty cool to have Jack there with them. We then took Jack on his first picnic to the park. He did great and was so nice up until the last 5 minutes, but by that time he was ready for a nap so who can blame him.

Jack's poor little bloody nose is doing a little better these days. Thanks to a heart mom I discovered that they have humidifiers that can attach to the oxygen. I had to call my pediatrician and get a perscription, which seems kind of lame to me, but the humidifier finally arrived and ever since we started using it he hasn't been waking up quite as stuffy or as bloody.

Friday is Jack's first echo since his surgery. I'm trying not to be nervous, but I can't help but worry that they are going to come out and tell us that things aren't looking as good as I like to think they are. We'll deal with whatever comes though. This is where faith and prayers keep me thinking positively. I know Heavenly Father has a plan for Jack, even if I don't uderstand it at times.

Football with my Son

Since I have not posted for a while (this is Hardy) I thought I would share with everyone my glimpse tonight of what fatherhood will be like. Jackson and I were watching the BYU-TCU game and I was thinking about how many times we would do this in the future. I thought about some of the questions he would probably ask me and some of the answers I would give. Here is what I imagine.

Question: Dad, when we go to church every week, all anyone does is talk about how good BYU is and how they should be ranked higher than they are. Does this mean they are not as good as everyone thinks they are?

Answer: Jackson that is a great observation. Yes, people at church school and other places will tell you BYU is always getting the short end of the stick on something but they usually end up looking kind of foolish. In 2000, before you were born all of the BYU fans were screaming about BYU not getting into a BCS game. Then they gave up 72 points to an unranked Hawaii team. They also lost their bowl game that year. In 2008 right after you were born all I heard about was how good BYU was. People at work were saying they should play in the National Championship game and that Max Hall would win the Heisman trophy.

Question: Who is Max Hall?

Answer: Someone who got exposed for not being very good on a Thursday night game against TCU and later that year against UTAH. Anyway, as I was saying, a lot of time we hear how good BYU is but they turn out to not be very good. Sometimes people just like to think their team is better than they are.

Question: How do you keep such reasonable opinions about the UTES?

Answer: It is easy son. I have watched the UTES go to multiple BCS games over the last few years so I don’t have that inferiority complex some of our BYU friends do.

Question: Doesn’t your friend Tyson epitomize every BYU fan stereotype you just mentioned?

Answer: Yes, but that is part of his charm

Question: He says the same things about the Cowboys as well, doesn’t he?

Answer: Yes.

Question: So what about those people who claim that BYU does the right thing on and off the field so they are blessed by winning football games?

Answer: This is one of the reasons people don’t like BYU very much. Sometimes they say dumb things. Your Dad even emailed the BYU athletic director about this once since it bothered him so much.
Question: Dad what do you do then when you hear people saying all of these things about BYU and you know they are not true?

Answer: It depends on your circumstances. Sometimes you have to take the high road other times you have to set them straight.

Question: Will BYU lose to Utah again this year Dad?

Answer: Of course!

Question: Can we call your friend Tyson after the game?

Answer: We will see. The Cowboys are not doing very well this year either so it might be a little tough for him.

Question: Does he really think they are better than the Redskins?

Answer: (Chuckling) Yeah, he really does believe it.

I can’t wait to spend time with Jack watching games and cheering on the UTES!!!

Bath Time

What's not to love about a baby in a bath tub admiring his own reflection?

What a nice baby

After a busy night of visiting grandparents last night, Jack decided he was wiped out and slept in until almost 9:00 this morning, only waking up twice in the night. It was so nice! Too bad he didn't notifty me in advance so I could sleep in myself rather than get up at 6:00. Oh well. I hope it is a trend he continues. He wakes up a very happy baby when he gets so much sleep and has been talking all day.

The sad thing is that his cannula (the tube in his nose) is very irritating and makes his nose dry and he always tries to get it out by violently wiping his face on my shoulder. The result is that the inside of his nose is sore. I was trying to suck out a booger last night so he could breathe better before bedtime and it started to bleed. It was so sad. I don't mind his screams when he's trying to avoid getting boogers sucked out - babies do that. But sore bleeding noses that you then have to stick a big plastic tube back into is not fun at all. Darn oxygen. Oh, how I hope his next surgery makes it so he doesn't need it anymore.

A good day

Another visit to the pediatrician today. We are getting to know them way too well. Jack is now 9 lbs 14 oz, so chunking right up, and that's even with me switching to plain breastmilk (no added calories) for about half his feeds. Hopefully he'll keep it up so we can stop using the pricey and smelly progestimil. His oxygen was at 85 which is perfect, and the cardiologist asked them to check his hemoglobin levels which he said would indicate if there really was a problem with Jack not getting enough oxygen and his levels were right where they need to be - thank goodness.

Jack is starting to coo and vocalize at lot more these days, and his smile comes around a lot more often and easily. It makes being a mom all the more fun to look down and find a silly grin.

October

Since it's finally October I got to dress Jack in his Halloween outfit today. He even has matching socks and a hat, but he hates the hat.

He is also enjoying toys more and more. Jack really digs his fish moblie.

Jack and mom.

This was Hardy getting a few extra snuggles with Jack before he left town on Sunday. Jack and I miss him very much (especially at 3AM).

We went to the pediatrician again today to check Jack's oxygen. It seems he just hates cardiology because he was back at 84 again. I don't know why he gets so low when we go to Primary's, but I'm relieved he's back in a normal range. It makes me less worried. We did get a pulse-ox machine at home though thanks to our friends Charity and Dean (Thank you!) so we can keep an eye on him. We also had a fun surprise on our way out of the dr office when we ran into Brynn, another heart mom, and her cute kids Rylie and Alex. They were there for their shots and check up. Brynn is the cutest mom and a great inspiration for staying positive.

Bummer

Well, so much for wishful thinking that we might come off the oxygen. Instead we are now officially turned up to a 1/2 liter. We took every precaution this time to make sure he was happy and feeling good for his appointment, and he was. He slept the whole way there and then kicked and wiggled happily while the nurse checked him. Unfortunately his sats were at 72 on 1/4 liter and 70 on room air. Not good enough. I now have to take him to the pediatrician twice a week to check his oxygen levels. I think I might check with Dr. M and see if we can just get a pulse ox machine at home. That would be so much easier than dragging him to the dr all the time.

The cardiologist didn't seem overly worried since he hasn't gone down since last time, but he did warn us to keep an eye out in case he suddenly turns really blue which could mean a blockage in his shunt and we should call 911. That's always what you like to hear when you go to the doctor. He's hoping we won't need to do a cath before his next surgery to open things up, but we'll see. We are also scheduled for a sedated echo in 3 weeks to check on the function of his heart which means a 12 hour stay at the hospital, but hopefully we should be home by bed time. Dr. Manon also thought that since his sats are so low he most likely wil have his Glenn sooner rather than later, so probably in December. I was kind of hoping it would be after the holidays, but we'll do what we gotta do.

Our cardiology visits are always such a reality check for me. Jack is growing and learning and getting cuter every day so I sometimes forget that he's got major medical issues that are only going to get worse in the next little while before they get better. I just have to remind myself that all these heart babies have their own issues. Jack is a great eater and sailed through his first surgery so I guess if we have to pick a challenge we can deal with needing extra oxygen. I'm even working on not getting so frustrated when I trip over his tubes (which I do ALL the time) or have to continually fight the battle with his busy fingers to keep it attached to his head.

I'm so glad this weekend is LDS General Conference. I need a little inspiration to keep me going right now. I'm sure that will do just the trick.

A few pics from yesterday

My niece Brienna thinks it's funny when Jack sticks his tounge out, so Brie, this one's for you :)

Big Trouble, Young Man :)

Who would think that such a sweet little face could scream for so long?

I was so excited to go to cardiology this morning and report that Jack had not had a single incidence of going blue since our last visit. Yesterday he decided that he didn't want me to share that kind of news and had two, yes two, blue spells. The first happened as I was driving Jack to my sisters so she could watch him while we went to sweet Brooklyn Bailey's (another heart baby we met at PCMC) funeral. I got him calmed down fairly quickly and he bounced back just fine so I wasn't too worried about it, and thankfully my sister wasn't too worried to watch him then either. But then last night he threw a mega fit and screamed for a really long time. His tummy hurt and no matter what I tried he was just miserable. I kind of think his misery may be linked to his shots from Wednesday, but it's hard to say. I was minutes away from whipping out the big guns and asking my dad to give him a priesthood blessing (Hardy was at the Utah football game or of course I would have asked him to do it. Go Utes!), but then he finally calmed down and went to sleep for a long time. When he woke up he chugged a great big bottle and slept quite well last night so hopefully he'll behave today at cardiology. We would really love it if they would let him come off his oxygen, or maybe just have him wear it at night. He gets so agitated by it lately and I spend half my day and several times at night putting it back on after he's ripped it completely off. (That's his new trick, getting it all the way detatched from his face). At least we know he's got strong lungs though. He's definitely taking more and more after his father with his big loud voice these days.

2 Month Check Up

Jack had his 2 month check up with the pediatrician this morning. He's now 9 lbs 7 oz which puts him in the 10th percentile, and 23.5 inches, which is the 55 percentile. The dr sais he looks great and she's really pleased with his progress. He also got three shots. He cried for a second because he was so surprised, but then he quickly calmed down and gave a look that pretty much said, "Is that all?" What a tough guy. The ped said that other than to get his RSV shots she doesn't really need to see him until his 4 month check up unless something comes up. Such good news.

The other good news is that he actually slept for a 6 hour stretch last night. It was so awesome. By the time he woke up at 3:00 to eat I had porn star boobs (too much info, I know) and was dying to pump anyway so it was terrific. I could really get used to only waking up once in the middle of the night. Already I feel so much more rested today than I have in a long time.

Friday we have his cardiology appointment. I'm making Hardy come with us this time so someone can sit in the back and keep the little guy happy. I don't want him to arrive blue this time so hopefullly (fingers crossed) they will take him off his oxygen.

Mom's Happy Boy

Ped visit and Diaper Rash

Here's Jack smiling while asleep in his car seat which is what he's doing at this very moment and the reason I'm able to take a minute to post. He really does smile when he's awake, I just always hate to waste the moment by running to grab my camera and instead enjoy every coo and grin all to myself. I had him propped in his boppy yesterday and read him a story (thanks for the books Watkins!) and he smiled so much that he practically giggled. Ok - not quite, but I think we've definitely got a reader on our hands judging by his reaction to The Quiet Cricket.

Today we had a weight check with the pediatrician and Jack is now 9 lbs. 1 oz. which is perfect. I keep adding a little more volume here and there to his bottles. I don't want to overwhelm him so I always keep a close watch in case he starts sweating from over exhertion, but he now eats around 2.25 ounces of breastmilk fortified with high calorie formula every 2.5 to 3 hours. I even slip in a straight breastmilk bottle once in a while just as a special treat which he really enjoys. Next week he has his 2 month check up with the pediatrician and a visit to cardiology so hopefully they will both go well. He is just growing and getting cuter by the day, doing normal baby things, which is why I don't have too much to post lately.

Our biggest issue at the moment is that yesterday he got his first diaper rash so his poor little bum is a tad sore. I keep trying to let him air dry a bit when I change him to help let it heal and I keep getting peed on, but maybe he just wants to make sure he wears all his newborn outfits one more time before they don't fit any more.

A big thank you to my dad and Hardy's mom who have come to help me in the evenings the past few days while Hardy had been out of town. My sister also came and helped during the day Monday, and some of my co-workers came over for lunch yesterday so I have been very blessed to have adults to talk with and a chance to get a few things done while someone else held Jack. We have survived surprisingly well while dad has been gone, but we sure are excited to get him back tonight. I'm sure they can't wait to spend a little quality time getting reaquainted during one of his middle of the night feedings. :)

Taking care of Mom

Jack is such a nice baby. So far he has been very good at following his daddy's directions before he left town instructing him to be good and take care of his mom. Last night he was alert and happy all evening and had a great time with his grandpa and my aunt and uncle who came over to visit. He slept really well last night and has taken several good naps today. Hard to argue with that. Of course it always makes me nervous that he sleeping too much and I start to worry that he's in heart failure or that he's not getting enough calories because he missed a meal rather than just enjoy the fact that he's sleeping really well. But I guess those worries come with the territory of having a heart baby. As long as I don't freak out too much I guess it's normal. Hopefully we'll have another good night again tonight.

Cute Wiggly Jack

Growing like a weed

Last night Jack had a mega poop, right up the back and out the diaper. After changing his diaper I grabbed some clean jammies that he had worn just a few days ago, and suddenly they were snug and barely fit. He's getting too tall. I can't believe he might soon outgrow his newborn clothes. It seems like just yesterday it was all too big for him. Where does the time go?

Just chugging along

Jack continues to do well and gets more alert every day. We spend most mornings playing, then take really long naps in the afternoon.

Hardy is leaving town for work this next week so it's just going to be me and Jack. I normally would have my mom come stay with me, but she's going to be out of town as well. I'm a little bit nervous to go it alone, but I think we're going to be ok. My dad is on high alert in case anything comes up and I need help. He and Hardy's mom are scheduled to come over in the evenings, and my sister is coming over during the day on Monday for a while. Knowing a few people will be popping in will help me keep my sanity and make sure I get at least some sleep in case the little guy decides not to. I just pray that things are nice and quiet and we don't have any problems while I'm here by myself.

Starting to get a few creases and big strong muscles.

Pics w/o his oxygen

I had to change Jack's oxygen cannula today (it was a tad boogery) so I took advantage of his tube free face and took photos. One of these days we hope to get off the oxygen so he can look like this all of the time.

I haven't managed to catch a grin on film yet, but oh, they are sweet. I can't believe he'll be 6 weeks old tomorrow. It seems like just yesterday that we were worried with anticipation and getting ready for his arrival. Now he's home and getting bigger by the day.

Jack had another appointment with his pediatrician this afternoon. He's now 8 lbs 8 oz and getting little baby creases. Got to love it. Everyone is very pelased with his eating and weight gain. His sats were 85 so that's right where we want it.