Happy New Year!

Well our laptop did eventually crash so that is one reason for the delay in posts. And we also had some other things going on, like Colt having open heart surgery and finally being able to come home, so I hope you all will forgive me :) I had to go back and read my last post to see where to try and begin.

So, after the last post Colt's health began to deteriorate pretty rapidly. After his bath he had to be put on oxygen due to his oxygen saturation levels dipping lower than they should have. Each day they dipped further and they had to increase his oxygen intake. They also had to give him more medicine for the fluid in his lungs. It was really heartbreaking to watch. Because of this, the doctors decided to move up his surgery to Friday December 16th. We were relieved because we knew he was in need of it, but also extremely worried and anxious. That was probably the longest day of my life. We got to the hospital at 8am and spent the morning holding and talking to him. They came and took him around 1:30 or so. We were told the surgery would last about two hours and someone from the operating room would call a couple times and let us know how things were going. By 4:30 we had not heard from anyone and I was extremely anxious. Finally the nurse practitioner came by the waiting room to let us know they were finishing up and things looked well. She was just at surprised as we were that no one had called us. Oh well. At least everything turned out okay. The surgery involved a band being placed around his pulmonary artery to restrict the flow of blood into the lungs, and a stint in his atrial septum. The surgeon was very happy with the end result. Now, all Colt has to do is eat and grow. The next surgery will be in a few months, just depending on how fast he outgrows the band on his pulmonary artery. The next surgery will be much longer and difficult. They will have to cut out part of his heart completely and re-route some "plumbing" as they call it.

We were originally told we could expect to be in the hospital another 3-4 weeks after the surgery. Boy were we surprised when we were only there 8 days. I tell you Colt is a healing machine! The major thing that enabled us to go home so soon, was how long he was in the hospital before the surgery. This gave him time to learn how to eat, and eat well might I add. I met another Mom in the cardiac unit whose daughter had a very similar condition to Colt. She was born full term and had her surgery within a few days on November 29th. They were still in the ICU when we were able to go home because she was having a hard time being able to feed. So I was worried about how long it was taking for him to have his surgery for nothing. I should have known it was all in God's plan. So, on Christmas Eve we were given the best present ever, going home with Colt. He still has to be on a tiny amount of oxygen due to a partially collapsed lung. The doctor's think he was weaned off it a little too soon after surgery. We go back for his follow up cardiologist check-up Thursday and we are really hoping he will be able to come off of it. We have a huge machine that we have to unplug and move from room to room, and smaller canisters for when we travel. Before leaving the hospital we had to have "Single Ventricle Training" which is pretty self explanatory; for parents with kids with only one ventricle. We had to learn CPR for infants, and we have a machine that we have to hook Colt up to four times a day to check his oxygen levels. We also have to give him medicines three times a day. He takes aspirin once a day, a multivitamin twice a day and a diarrhetic every 8 hours. When we go to our appointment Thursday we will be given a scale and a journal for us to track his weight, how much he eats and his oxygen levels daily.

Last Wednesday was his first pediatrician appointment. We were pretty excited and amazed that he had gained a ton of weight! They last weighed him in the hospital on December 22nd and he was 5 lbs 8 ounces. So, just 5 days later on the 28th he was up to 6 lbs 11 ounces! I'm still pumping and the doctors have me fortifying my milk with formula to give him extra calories. I put 1 teaspoon of formula for every 50 mls of breast milk. I would say it's working. He is eating about 80 mls every 3-4 hours, which is about 2.75 ounces. He does what all babies do, sleeps, eats and poops. Our dogs are adjusting very well. With JJ and Drake being very protective and Macy the curious one. She likes to try to jump in the bouncy seat with him. He seems to like them pretty well too, not minding when they sneak a big lick to the face in. Thankfully I have the best husband and Colt has the best Dad ever. He is so attentive and changes just as many diapers, and feeds him just as much as I do never complaining. When he wakes up at night, Drew feeds him while I pump. We make a pretty good team :)

We are still overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support we have received from our family, friends. co-workers and even strangers. We cannot express in words our gratitude to each and every person that has helped us in one way or another. We have received countless cards, gift cards, checks, gifts, hugs and prayers. We feel so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives and for making this incredibly difficult time for us more bearable. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, before we know it we will be back again for surgery number two. We can only pray that it goes as well as the first one has.