Hi everyone! Sorry for the radio silence over here, but we were getting some of that on our end, too. We've just returned from a quick and breezy visit to Coley's cardiologist at Children's. He's weighing in at about 16 lbs, and is about 26 inches long... or should I say tall; he's now standing up (with a little support)!
He's as pink as ever; his oxygen saturation level was up to 85% this morning. Pretty amazing! No wonder he's growing so well! However, it could mean that the pulmonary stenosis is widening, allowing more flow to the lungs. That is fine to a point; we just don't want it to open up too much and allow too much blood to the lungs - they could flood. We still have a nurse coming to the house once a week, though, keeping a good eye (ear) on his lungs.
Here's the big news: Coley is on the surgery schedule for March 2nd. Prior to that, he will have a cardiac catheterization to measure the pressure in the heart and the vessels around it, particularly on the way to the lungs. That will be on Friday, February 27th. He'll stay one night in the hospital, then return Monday morning for the real deal.
Needless to say we are quite nervous about all that is to come. However, first of all, it's not for another 4 weeks. Furthermore, it must be said that all the cards are in the right place. He is going into this procedure in the best condition possible - healthy, big, and strong. We have the best cardiologist and the best pediatric cardiac surgeon, possibly in the world. Coley's main cardiologist this morning compared his surgeon to that pilot who made the emergency landing in the Hudson a couple weeks ago. If something like this is going to happen, he's the guy you want at the helm.
All of the cardiac complications aside, Coley is a stellar baby! As I said, he is standing up with help from Mom or Dad or Gaga (my mom), and loving it. That's all he wants to do - forget lying down or sitting. But we're working on sitting, too. He can pretty much do it with hands on knees. Until he starts to topple over, then forget about it - he doesn't yet have the reflex to reach out and catch himself. So he's on his face, screaming if you don't catch him. We try not to let that happen too often, but the comic relief is nice occasionally. We're also working on sleeping. He's teaching me what works for him... and what doesn't. We're down to about 2 times waking up per night. We're getting there!
Thanks for checking in and reading this far. We are so grateful for everyone's love and support. You have been amazing. Thank you. Please enjoy these pictures from the month of January. (I'm a bit trigger happy. Can you tell?)
