Christopher, you are seriously the sweetest little guy in the world. You observe your surroundings and take it all in...watching, and waiting until you are big enough to join in the chaos. I love that about you, how inquisitive you are. You're on the go when we lay you on the floor....rolling all the way across the room, far away from where you were left. You have the cutest, most hearty giggle that it is contagious. We haven't tried any food yet, you seem to be super content with just nursing. Haven't spotted any teeth, but you're chewing on every thing, and every one, so they may be coming soon! You just started using your jumperoo and are loving it...in fact, you try to jump all the time now...even in your bouncy seat. You have given up the swaddle!!...MUCH earlier than your other siblings! Your eyes light up when we talk to you, and you babble right back. You've started to protest car rides...but hopefully you will give up on that soon, especially since we have your first vacation coming up with a long road trip to get there. You grab every thing in your path, nothing is safe. Now to teach your little big brother that you can't have every thing that he can!
We absolutely adore you, Christopher. Happy FIVE MONTHS.
Now for the medical report. I haven't mentioned the heart issue here previously because I wanted more information and needed to understand it a little better. AND OUR BABY IS PERFECTLY HEALTHY AND THRIVING....please, look at him.haha.
Christopher was born with 2 congenital heart defects, a small sized ASD (Atrial Septal Defect), and a moderate sized VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), and also a heart murmur.
The murmur is nothing to be concerned with, it is basically just an abnormal sound that can be heard with a stethoscope and affects 45% of children.
The ASD is a hole in the wall that separates the top two chambers of the heart, but it is very common in infants and it turns out that it closed up between the time we left the hospital and his first cardiologist appointment at 3 weeks.
Now, the VSD is a hole in the wall separating the two lower chambers of the heart, it happens to be one of the more common congenital heart defects, thank God. This is the one that seems to want to stick around though. He can still thrive in life with this....the Cardiologist always jokes with me that I can let him cry. I reply, "I wouldn't let my baby cry even if he didn't have a heart defect!". She is an amazing Dr. and I feel that he is in the best hands possible.
Our most recent appointment was on Tuesday. This one proved to be a little more difficult than the previous ones because now Christopher is completely aware that he must be still, therefore held down, for the hour it takes to get an echocardiogram. We had a different technician (not as experienced as the previous) this time around and she insisted on swaddling (in this weird way that puts the baby's arms behind their back and they basically sit on them), well he decided a week or so prior to this that he was done being swaddled, let alone be put in this behind the back mess. So, it was up to me to occupy, yet keep him still. Me, and what they call "sweeties"(sugar water) to dip his Nuk in. Talk about a long hour. I sang, played peek-a-boo, made a swishing sound machine noise in his ear, put Elmo on (it's a pediatric cardiologist, so there's tvs in all rooms) so there would be a different sound in the room, I nursed (that's another blog, this new chick was not comfortable with that), everything I could do to keep him still. He was such a good boy though...he didn't cry, just let out grunts, squirmed around, and protested this whole holding still thing.
So, after the echo, we learned it didn't shrink or close, and there is still a moderate sized VSD in Christopher's heart. We will go back to check again in a few months to evaluate it again and pray it gets smaller or closes!!!. This is something he can live, grow, thrive with, so it is not supposed to be concerning (tell that to a mother!!!). We just have to keep a close eye on him....if he starts losing weight, becoming lethargic, breathing heavily, etc., then it would be of concern. But, right now, at 15 lbs. he is developing just fine. This sweet little boy of ours.
Here he is, checking his own heart.HAHA.
