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.