TCH Cardiology Check Up

We had our annual cardiology check-up at Texas Children's Hospital this past Monday morning. We drove up Sunday afternoon and had a fun dinner with sweet Houston friends.  Thank you to those of you that joined us for dinner.  So fun!

College buddies and their babies

The dads

Sweet friends

Yes, he threw his shoe in the fountain. 

Little friends checking out the fountain!

Monday morning came and we checked in at the Heart Center bright and early. We went back to the sedation area and they gave Field his first dose of sedation med so that he would be asleep during the echocardiogram. In typical Field fashion, the after-math of the sedation med was a disaster! Sweet Field was so upset, but so tired at the same time. The sweet nurse kept asking us to rock him to sleep and it just wasn't happening.  Field isn't much of a cuddler and we do not rock him to sleep.  He likes to fall asleep on his own in his crib and he doesn't really ever sleep anywhere other than his crib (i.e., no sleeping in the car, stroller, etc.).  Anyway, after lots of crying, kicking, and thrashing about we got him settled in the echo room in a bed where he watched Baby Einstein videos and slowly nodded off to sleep.  If only it had been that easy the entire time.  The echo tech got all of the pictures she needed of Field's heart and he stayed asleep during the entire echo.  He woke up happy and ready to drink some water an hour later.  Once we were discharged from the echo, we waited in the waiting room to see the cardiologist for 2.5 hours!  Ugh, it was awful and so very frustrating.  

Watching videos while waiting

Sweet boy patiently waiting to see the Dr.

We finally saw the doctor later that afternoon and we got an overall FANTASTIC report!  Field's heart and heart function look great with no major issues or concerns at this point.  His chest x-ray was clear and his EKG looked good.  

Brave boy during the EKG

His sats are still in the low 80's and his blood pressure has come down since the last appointment and is actually normal now.  Praise God!  We were so blessed with this overall amazing report.  TCH does not want to see us for another year when we will come back (Spring of 2013) for a cardiology check-up and catheterization procedure to help us decide when the next surgery will be.  Most likely, we won't be having surgery for another year and a half.  Woo Hoo!

Passed out in the car on the way home from TCH. 

And here is a little video of our little man the morning after a long day at TCH.  He never missed a beat and was active as ever at The Little Gym with his friends.  Love this boy!

Berkeley and Field like to do their own thing at Little Gym.  As you can hear, everyone else is sitting in a circle together and these two are off doing their own thing.  

Hmmm, I am already praying for their teachers.  ;)

A lime a day...

Confession:  Brad and I like to enjoy a margarita most Friday nights to celebrate the weekend.  Field goes nuts over our limes and wants them immediately.  The reaction is the same and it never gets old.  It doesn't get old to him either, he will eat limes all day long if I let him.

This little one cracks.me.up and is so much fun!  

Why Me?

A little encouragement for all mommies and daddies of CHD kiddos...

http://blog.wholehearts.org/?p=18

good times

yep, it's been good times around here.
my mommy and daddy have kept me busy and all i can say is life is good!

riding ponies at the rodeo!

rodeo petting zoo

just wearing my jeans and boots...no big deal.  

checking out the animals

look, mom, no hands!

san antonio zoo on daddy's day off

fun at the zoo with mommy

 sharing a stroller with my cousin at the zoo 
(yep, we like to go to the zoo and yep, we both fit into my single stroller)

we squeezed in tight

good friends and family at the zoo!

sweet hudson teaching me all about the animals at the zoo.  

 yummmm, daddy's ice cream

washin' dishes - somebody's got to do it!  

I take after my daddy - did you know he used to be a drummer?  

my mommy and daddy all dressed up at the junior league wine auction  

at the children's museum with my buddy, cameron.  we are both ALL BOY so it was crazy fun!

Bye Bye to another specialist...

OMG, I have been an awfully neglectful blogger lately.  In my defense, I started working again back in January.  It's VERY part-time (one day a week!), but it has pretty much taken up any and all free time that I used to have...sigh.  But I am really enjoying being a part of the working world again and it's been fun to make my own money too!  Field is doing great and right now he has babysitters at the house (including his sweet BB and Nonnie who have been so helpful!)  We have part-time day school plans in the works for Field so we are excited about that as we know he will LOVE going to school!

So here is the blog post I wrote many weeks ago, but never posted...

After Field was born and we were discharged from the NICU, we were told to follow-up with a local developmental pediatrician.  I was in such a fog at the time and remember asking the nurse over and over again what a developmental pediatrician was and why we would need to see one.  "Honey, a lot of babies that are in the NICU end up with developmental delay and so we recommend seeing a doctor that specializes in developmental milestones and will track their progress over time," replied the nurse.  


We have seen the developmental pediatrician every 5-6 months for the past year and a half and I am more than happy to report that Field has officially been discharged from their care.  He is on or above level in every single developmental area.  We have never been concerned about his developmental progress, but it is so nice to have a professional that specializes in this kind of thing look you straight in the eyes and say, "Mom, he is VERY smart."

Go Field Go!

Eating a leftover cupcake from my Aunt Tara's baby shower.  

Can't wait to meet my new cousin, Sadie, this June!  

 

Pinterest Day with Cousins

I kept my two nieces last week along with Field so I planned several activities to keep us busy.  During my planning, I used Pinterest along with a few other website favs.  I had SO much fun planning out the morning and prepping all of the materials the morning of their visit.  It reminded me so much of my teaching days and preparing for a fun day ahead.  Watching children discover, create, and learn has always been a passion of mine so this was really exciting!  

Prepped and ready

We started out with a mess-free finger painting activity.  Caroline kept asking me how she was going to get the paint onto her paper and I had to explain this wasn't that kind of art.  This was more exploratory with no final product.  Field liked this activity the most, probably because this was more age appropriate for him.

Not but 10 minutes later everyone was on to another activity.  Caroline wanted my phone to play iPhone games and Ellie and Field were in the play kitchen.

Field is still in his PJ's at this point.  :)

Our next activity was a definite HIT!  It kept the attention of all 3 kiddos for over 30 minutes.  That's a winner.  We made discovery bottles.  I have a HUGE craft tub from my teaching days so we used that to fill our discovery bottles (empty water bottles) with interesting things.  Then I added water and hot glue gunned the cap to the bottle and the kids were able to shake them to see all of the fun things inside.  Caroline (the 4 year old) carefully and thoughtfully filled her bottle with only the things that interested her or she thought were "beautiful."  Ellie (the 2.5 year old) did a lot of observing and then wanting to be just like her big sis most of the time. And Field, well, he just put anything and everything he could find into his bottle.  I found a few glue sticks and glitter sticks that he somehow managed to fit into his bottle.  NOTE:  If you do this activity with anyone under the age of 2, please watch them at all times.  There were lots of little trinkets that could certainly end up in the mouth.  I caught Field with a few things in his mouth and had to fish them out immediately.

During snack time, we made "Love You Mix."  I got this idea from my sweet blog friend, Natalie at Johnny in a Dress.  The kids LOVED this!  Ellie and Field mostly ate, but Caroline was so great at putting the cheerios, marshmellows, and cheerios into the jar.  Afterwards, we stirred the ingredients and each child got a baggie with their mixture for snack.  So easy and fun!

 Ellie and Field eating and Caroline working.  

Lastly, we took a long wagon ride around the block for some fresh air.  The garbage truck happened to be working his way around our street so we loved watching him pass by a few times.  Field was very serious about looking for the truck and the girls are just lookin' pretty!

What a fun-filled day.  You'd think Field took a great nap after all of that.

Nope...1 hour...sigh.

The Faces of CHD: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week is under way (Feb. 7-14) and I am jumping in to share and honor my sweet Field and also to help raise awareness of CHD's.

Before Field was born, I had never heard of a congenital heart defect.  I had no idea what the word congenital even meant (naive, I guess?).  Now I can tell you more about Field's heart and how it works than most care to know (or understand!).

After 2 heart surgeries, one heart cath, and more medical check-ups than I can count, we have a healthy, thriving, and very smart toddler.  Field has surpassed all expectations and continues to be a wonderful testimony to God's grace and protection.  We still have one more surgery ahead of us, but God is good and He will carry us through every twist and turn that life has for us.  We are so blessed to be on this journey and so grateful for our precious son, Field.

A handsome face of CHD

Thank you to the wonderful heart mommas who have set up a Pinterest board called The Faces of CHD.   And be on the lookout for Mr. Field being a part of all of these precious heroes.