Long Day in Baltimore

Addy had to be put under anesthesia today in order to have a 3D echocardiogram and an MRI. Unfortunately Matt and I were unable to be with her during the procedures, but she did very well.

Adriana is now 11 pounds, 10 ounces and her oxygen saturations are still around 90%.

The 3D echo and MRI were in preparation for surgery--basically so Dr. Kaushal (Addy's pediatric heart surgeon) has better measurements. It ensures that he will know exactly what he is dealing with beforehand. The cardiology team at UMMC will meet on Monday to go over the pictures and videos of her heart and discuss her case. They will then determine a game plan. Dr. Baker-Smith will call us back in a week or two when they have all made a decision on exactly what the operational procedures will entail.  Surgery is still planned for sometime between January and March... Though Matt and I will never be ready for it :-(

Halloween!

Halloween was cold but it was also a blast!  Here are my butterflies and me!

Getting So Big...

Any minute now Adriana will be rolling over! It's crazy that she is already almost 3 months old, smiling, coo'ing, and playing. Addy has never once acted like she was anything other than a normal, healthy baby. A passerby would never know she has congenital heart defects. She really is amazing and not to mention a VERY happy baby! I am excited for many more milestones in her life!<3<3<3<3

Hooray for Fall!

We all went to the pumpkin patch on Friday! After a quick tractor ride and a romp through a corn maze, Tateum and Cameron picked out their pumpkins for carving/painting!

I was also able to snap & edit a few fall photos of Adriana being cute as usual ;)

Finally.

While Tateum and Cameron were with Daddy in California this past week, I've been able to cuddle Addy a little more and get some things done around the house! Finally, I can claim victory over Tate & Cam's room. It's all painted, organized, and clean! I was also able to clean out the walk-in closet in their room, paint it, and turn it into additional toy/play space.

Party Hardy!

Tateum's 4th Birthday Party was this past Saturday.  She and her friends had a blast:

Growing Baby Girl

Addy is now 9 pounds, 10 ounces and her oxygen saturations are still around 90%!  She has also grown to 23" long! Things continue to look hopeful--our plan is still to wait until 4-6 months of age to do heart surgery.

Happy 4th Birthday, Tateum!

Good News...

Adriana's oxygen saturations went up again!  She has gone from 85 to 90 to 93!  We are very excited, especially because this past week she has had a cold.  It's encouraging to know that it did not affect her in the least!  Addy is now 8 pounds, 13 ounces and eating "like it's going out of style", as my mom would say ;)

This past weekend we also attended the Air Show where Daddy works at Martinsburg Air National Guard Base:

A Visual of Adriana's Heart

Matt, the kids and I attended Addy's cardiology appointment today.  Good news--on top of steadily gaining weight (she is 8 pounds 2 ounces now), her oxygen saturations went up!  She is now back up to 90!  Anything under 95% is still described as a "blue baby", but her body will cope well until saturations drop below 80.  When it drops (later down the road) we will consider beta blockers, and then the plan is surgery between the age of 4 and 6 month--as long as her tissue obstruction in her pulmonary artery does not call for  an earlier intervention.

I have attached a drawing of Addy's heart that I copied from Dr. Baker-Smith.  She is almost 100% convinced that both VSDs will need to be closed, but the ASD should not affect her.  She predicts that the obstruction, if it does not worsen, should only need "patchwork" for the pulmonary artery to function properly.  A shunt is most likely unneeded (cross your fingers), since the annulus of the pulmonary artery is of sufficient size for blood flow.  Again, that would mean the one surgery would suffice, and Adriana could move on with her life as a normal child, save for a few routine cardiology check-ups throughout her years.

VSD = Ventricular Septal Defect
ASD= Atrial Septal Defect
Purple Arrows = mixing of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood