Lots to update

I will warn you that I'm all over the place in this post. Just trying to get everything in. :)

I know it's been awhile since I updated. We are doing our normal weekly routine. Monday and Tuesdays we watch baby Brendon, Wednesday is speech therapy and every other week is my OB appointments, Thursdays and Fridays are filled with shopping, doctor appointments, and any errands we need to do. It is really nice to be able to do all of this stuff and not be on bed rest. (Sorry Megan I know it's been rough for you). I was on bed rest by 21 weeks with Arianna so I was really concerned about how I would do this time around. I'm still taking the progesterone shots, which are making me one crazy, hormonal woman. I just keep telling myself it's temporary and all worth it to keep this little guy inside and growing. Oh yeah...we're having a BOY! We had the baby's echo a few weeks ago and the cardiologist said his heart looked great! We have another echo at 32 weeks to confirm nothing has changed. Here are his latest pics..

This weekend we had our Mended Little Hearts meeting. We had a pizza party to celebrate CHD Awareness Week and Beads of Courage came and did strength beads with us. Here are some pictures from that day.

Getting ready to load up the car.

Arianna & Brendon

(This is the little guy we watch. He is adorable!)

Bepa helping Arianna make her strength bracelet

Speaking of the heart...yesterday was Arianna's cardiology check-up. It had been a year since her last echo so I already prepared her for that. Unfortunatly, they got a new machine that does an EKG at the same time so she was upset about the stickies they put on her. I think it also made a difference since the normal echo tech was not there.

If we talk on Facebook you already read about the results but I'm going to post it again anyways

The right ventricle pressures are rising, as we knew they would. Of course they will never give us a timeline for when the next surgery will be but I was warned it might be sooner than we anticipated. Her RV pressure was 21 back in Aug. 08' and today it was 24. If I remember correctly we don't want that number higher than 27. So if she continues with this pattern that would put as at needing surgery in about a year and a half. If the pressures get worse before then we will do a cardiac MRI and depending on what that information gives us will determine when surgery is needed. We go back in 6 months for a check up. Not sure if they will do another echo at that time. In the meantime we are just going to enjoy every day with her. Physically you would have no idea her heart is getting worse.

So last night Arianna's cough got a little worse. I checked her sats and she was borderline needing oxygen so we pulled out the nebulizer. Sometimes I think it works better than the inhaler.

I made her sleep in our room last night so I could keep an eye on her. Her sats stayed just high enough to not need oxygen. :) She is doing so much better today and not even needing her nebulizer!

Well I think that about covers everything. I'll try to update more freqently so I don't have to cram everything into one post. I appreciate everyone that checks in on us! :)

The beginning of new things

Arianna started speech therapy last week at the public school. I was really nervous about exposing her to germs but she it's only one other little girl. She had a really good time last week and already picked up some good speech skills. The reason she is there is for her articulation which has alot to do with her weak muscles. We just need to train her to say words the right way and hopefully she won't have long term issues. :)

I'm still without a camera but was able to snap this picture of her outside her class. This is such a HUGE step for us! I know many people think I'm crazy or over paranoid but I was told by her doctors to not let her do this and I'm making a mom decision and overriding them. It's not like I have her in a classroom full of 15 children. We'll work towards that one day but in the meantime it's nice to start having more normal days.

Another new thing for Arianna is going to Sunday school. I have found a nice small church that is just starting up and Arianna is actually the only child her age that attends. She has had a few guests attend so it's been nice for her to have some time away from mommy in her own class. She loves her teacher and talks about her all week. It's really cute!

We can't forget about our new heart baby we are watching on Mondays and Tuesdays. Arianna is having alot of fun having Brendon around and it's good practice for when her baby is born.

I can't end without showing you the cutest picture. Miss Arianna making cookies!! Let's just say I should not be allowed to have sugar cookies in my house. I'm pregnant and they are WAY too good. :)

Christmas 2009

Well my camera broke on Christmas Eve so I don't have any pictures. Luckily my mom had a few pictures I could share. I do have a video of Arianna getting her swing set but I'm waiting for Robert to upload it.

3 Year Old Pictures

I am so happy with how Arianna's pictures came out. Check her out!

Test Result

The genetic counselor called with our Ultra Screen results and it was perfect. Less than 1% out of 10,000. This was a huge relief. I know we're still not out of the woods but it brings me a little peace. Next step is getting the fetal echo to check on the heart. Hopefully we will get that scheduled in January.

Someone is going to be a....

BIG SISTER!!!!

We are expecting our bundle of joy on June 20th.

Baby - 12 weeks

The first 2 months were really hard and I spent most of my time battling morning sickness ALL day. I've feeling better but still not 100%.

We did the Ultra Screen this week and are waiting to get the results. Many people know the Ultra Screen as the "Down Syndrome Test." It take the amount of fluid in the neck along with blood work and gives you a percentage of having a child with Down's Syndrome but many people don't realize it can check for Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 as well. I was shocked when the stenographer told me it can also detect if you are at risk of having a baby with a heart defect. I know all this doesn't change the fact that we will have whatever God blesses us with but I was never given this option before so I decided to do the test. Plus I got to see my baby in the process!

We will definintly have a fetal echo done in the next month or so. I'm extremely nervous about this pregnancy. I had such a hard pregnancy last time that I don't know what to expect. So right now I'm asking for prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Another thing to add to our DiGeorge list

After having so many problems with our dentist I took Arianna to a new one today. He was really nice and way more thorough. Unfortunatly, she has gone from 1 cavity 2 months ago to 6 cavities.

I have been brushing those teeth like crazy so I know this is just a DiGeorge thing. Many DiGeorge kids have a lack of enamel causing cavities and other problems.

This is a really serious issue since she is a heart patient. She will need to undergo anesthesia and have her teeth x-rayed, cleaned, cavities filled, and hopefully nothing more. Hopefully, once this is done we can keep up on it and prevent future issues. We are now brushing more often, flossing and using floride. I didn't realize I could give a 3 year old floride so thats good to know.

Now we wait for the cardiologist to decide if this can done in-house or if it has to be done at the hospital. I have a feeling she needs to be at the hospital which means we might have a problem getting her scheduled. Apparently, the dentist only goes every few months and he is booked for December. Grrr! Hopefully, he will see the concern and make an exception. I have already told him the issues I've had with our last dentist and he reassured me we shouldn't have those issues and if I do to let him know personally. Nice to have a caring dentist!