On Our Way Back Up!

Things are looking up again.  Callan's infection is being treated with antibiotics and his lab numbers are looking good :) As a result of the infection Callan ended up back on oxygen and a feeding tube.  We also discovered that the poor guy was suffering from horrible reflux, which I am told is common in "cardiac kids".  Thankfully due to my 6 month struggle with Rylie's reflux, I noticed the signs right away.  Who says you don't learn from the past ;)  So, today when I walked in to see my little man I was pleased to see that he was off the oxygen and that they are talking about removing the feeding tube this afternoon or evening if his feedings go well today.  If we stay the course, we should be going home in the next 2-3 days.  It is my personal goal to ensure that Callan does not spend is 1 month birthday in a crib at the hospital!  So we have until next Wednesday to bust out of this joint for my goal to be met.  As he gets better and the idea of going home rolls around in my head, I must say that I wonder how I will acclimate back into real life.  I feel like I have been living in a bubble, completely unaware that the world around me continues to go on :)  Thankfully it is summer, so I won't have a million episodes of my favorite shows on DVR to catch up on :)

Infection!

Today was nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster! It started with me packing my adorable going home outfit for Callan in my bag and ended with a new IV, strong antibiotics and several tests. This morning when I went to see Callan I noticed a quarter sized red spot by the bottom of his incision. Initial blood tests showed no elevation in white blood cell count, but as the day went on, the spot grew, a fever emerged and white cell count increased. The doctors took both blood and urine cultures but it will take a couple days to get the results. Thankfully we caught it early, but Matt and I are both very nervous about the infection spreading. These next few days are going to be crucial, so please be praying for healing! We will most likely be here for at least another week while they monitor the infection.

Coming Home Soon!

Yesterday was a big day!!!  Callan got his last chest line out, his pacemaker wires out, his medicine reduced and is off oxygen.  He also got his chest bandage removed.  So, we have officially met all our milestones to go home.  Actually, we got wind today that we might be going home tomorrow :)  We are trying not to get our hopes up, but to say the least we are sooo excited.  For all of you that live close, we will keep you posted about when we are ready for visitors.  Keep your eye on the blog for updates from home and of course lots of picutres.

10 steps forward, 2 steps back

Ok, I know I said on Thursday that I would update on Friday.  Time has a funny way of escaping me here, which is probably a good thing.  Since my last post A LOT has happened.  On Friday Callan's chest was closed, on Saturday his breathing tube was removed, and Sunday and Monday several lines were removed including all of his chest tubes!  He has been taken off all medications but one and the doctor's repeatedly say that they "never have a cardiac case off their meds this quickly".  That's my boy :)  I was hopeful and thinking that we would have him home by the end of the week based on the remaining milestones left to accomplish: all meds by mouth, all feeds by mouth, and off of oxygen.  As of yesterday evening Callan was taking all meds by mouth and all feeds by mouth, but still needed some oxygen.  However, this morning things looked a little different.  Feeding has become the new issue, which we were warned time and time again was the thing that "kept kids here".  While working with the Occupational Therapist this morning we confirmed that Callan is not breathing while he eats, which is causing him to fatigue to quickly and not finish his entire feed as well as aspirate on his milk, which puts him at danger for pneumonia.  Because of this, he had to have a feeding tube placed in his nose so that whatever he doesn't eat via mouth can be given to him to ensure that he gets all the calories he needs.  All in all, his recovery has been miraculous and this is a minor set back.  But, to be honest, I am a little disappointed that this probably means more time here.  I am so ready to bring him home, sleep in my own bed, and get into the new routine of choas that will be my life with an infant and a soon to be 2 year old :)  More updates to come soon, I promise and an updated picture :)

Surgery Success

Today was the longest and most trying day of my life.  At 5:30 this morning Matt & I went to the NICU to hold our precious boy 1 more time before he went into surgery.  At about 6:30 they wheeled him down to the OR where we said goodbye and gave him one last kiss before surgery.  I was quite proud of myself for holding it together until the very end when they wheeled him away.  Then the waiting started.  At 3:00 we got a call from the OR saying that Callan was coming off bypass and that the surgeon would meet with us in 1-2 hours.  At 10 minutes to 5 the surgeon came in to debrief us about the surgery.  The surgery was a success.  They ended up doing the simplest of the 3 options, which is what we were hoping for, which means that they did not have to do a valve replacement.  They still had to do 5-6 different repairs with thousands of stiches and a few patches, but if recovery goes well it means no future surgery!!!  I foolishly thought that the hard part was over, but I was so wrong.  When I saw my baby boy after surgery, I was filled with such an overwhelming mix of emotions: relief, joy, sadness and fear.  I can't explain how hard it is to see your baby with such a multitude of tubes, a breathing tube and his chest still open.  I could literally see his heart beating.  I think it hit me because although his heart is fixed he looks like a very sick baby.  But, we are on our way to recovery.  He is doing very well and will continue to be monitored very closely over the next several days.  Right now, we are hoping that the bleeding in his chest will subside overnight, so the doctor can close his chest tomorrow.  I will keep updating daily.  Please continue to pray for a quick recovery.  We are so ready to bring our little man home, but want to bring home a healthy, happy boy.  Thank you all for all your continued support.

Surgery update

I apologize to all my faithful blog followers for the delay in updates. It has been a crazy couple of days! As most of you know, our baby boy, Callan Matthew, was born Thursday via c-section after a long 40 hours of labor. We were quite surprised to hear he was 11 pounds and 21.5 inches long! Because of his heart complications he was taken to the NICU right away. I didn't even see his face for 18 hours after delivery. Since then he has been doing pretty well. We found out today that the open heart surgery will be Thursday at 7am. It won't be determined exactly what procedure will be done until they open Callan up; we are praying for the simplest. Please be praying for Callan and all those working on him. I will update as soon as I can after the surgery.

This Baby Is Coming One Way or Another!

Well, after much excitement and anticipation, our little man decided that July 4th was not the day to be born.  After almost 48 hours of contractions, everything came to a stop.  I went to the doctor again today and once again the baby looked great.  I had made progress in that I was dilated to like 1/2 a centimeter, but obviously not enough.  So, as it stands we have a c-section scheduled for noon on Thursday.  There is still a change that I might go into real labor on my own between now and then and honestly I am still holding out hope that this will be the case.  But regardless of how it happens, we will finally meet our baby boy on Thursday at the latest.  We have stopped taking bets around the house about when the baby is going to come and have started taking bets about how big he really is.  My bet is 9 pounds, 8 ounces.  I am quickly becoming excited about seeing our little boy and seeing if he will look anything like Rylie.  This journey is soon to be over, only to lead the way into another, more difficult one.  So, everyone stay posted.  We will update the blog as soon as we can and let everyone know the baby stats and how we are all doing.  Thank you all again for all your prayers and please keep them coming!

Can This Be It?

Good news everyone!! I started having regular contractions this morning around 2 am.  They have stayed fairly steady all day, but have not really changed in intensity.  Also, I finally got some antibiotics for what is now a full blown sinus infection.  So, hopefully in the next day or two it will be bye-bye stuffy head, hello BABY!

A True Test of Patience

Yesterday's doctor appointment yielded mixed results.  On the plus side, my amniotic fluid was back up and the baby looked great.  This little man is literally taking up every square inch he can.  It seems like he grows exponentially overnight :)  On the down side, there was no change in my cervix :(  So, the plan is to go back on Tuesday for another check up.  If I have not gone into spontaneous labor by then or my cervix has not changed to be more favorable for induction, then we will have a scheduled c-section on Thursday.  So, we know that by Thursday we will finally have our little boy.  I am still holding out hope that I will go into labor on my own before Tuesday, but we will see.  I may just be one of the 5-10% of women who never go into spontaneous labor before 42 weeks.  My goal still remains to avoid another c-section, but at this point the ultimate goal is for me to be healthy and to give the baby the best start possible.  We have a running joke at the house that they will have to craft a custom incubator in the NICU for this giant baby.  He is going to look huge at 9+ pounds next to all the 2-4 pound premies :)  So, for all of you out there praying for us, for the next 3-4 days, focus your prayers on spontaneous labor ;)