Cardiologist appt 5/15/09 & update

Ashlyn had her three month cardiologist appointment last Friday (yea three month appointments instead of monthly!). She now weighs 18 lbs. 5 oz. and is 28.5 inches long. So she gained about a pound and a half and grew an inch and a half if almost two months. There is still a residual hole around her VSD patch and mild pulmonary narrowing. Dr. Huhta wants to see her back in three months. She was 8 months old yesterday.

Developmentally she is doing great. She has two teeth coming in. The first cut Mother's Day weekend and the second last weekend. We finally got eating solids down and started finger foods. Then she decided (just like big sister Brooke at the age) that she only wanted table food and refuses baby food. She eats pretty much anything we give her.

Ashlyn started sitting up unassisted end of March. She is on her way to crawling. This last week she has been reaching for things while sitting and is able to get back upright. If she topples over and lands on her knees, she will rock a bit on her hands and knees. She also is reaching up to things near her, so she should be pulling up soon. These are all good signs that being on the heart lung bypass machine did not do her harm.

We passed the six month mark from surgery April 27th. It’s hard to believe it has been six months and at the same time it is still so fresh in out minds. Ashlyn is doing incredibly well and we are very thankful! It could have been so much worse.

We did have an eventful week last month. Brooke broke her arm falling off the bunk bed and two days later Saphyre ran into another girl at Girl Scouts and needed stitches above her eye. Both girls are doing great now and Brooke will have her cast on for only a couple more weeks.

Pediatrician Appt. 3/19/09

Ashlyn is six months!  It went so quick.  At her appointment she was 16lbs. 15.6 ounces and 27 inches.  She is in the 70th percentile for height and weight.  Which is great considering what she went through.  She sure loves her bottle!  We are struggling with eating solid foods.  Sometimes she eats okay, sometimes she spits it right out.  We keep trying :)

The last few day, Ashlyn has been sitting very well.  She is finally able to hold her weight up and not bend at the waist so much.  Today she was playing with a driving toy while sitting and loved it! She also loves her jumperoo and jumps like crazy!  We also got her ear pierced and she did very good.

Other than that, everything looked great and she seems right on track developmentally.  She is definitely a happy healthy baby!

  

Cardiologist appointment 2/20/09

On Wednesday February 18, Ashlyn weighed 15 lbs. 10 oz at the pediatrician (for RSV vaccine). On Friday February 20th, she weight 15 lbs. 15 oz.! She is gaining quick. She is also 27 inches long, and pretty soon will outweigh Brooke at the same age, if not Brooke at three! I am so happy she is gaining so well though, considering everything. We are working on baby food, she pretty much spits it out and laughs, but hopefully soon she will get the hang of it.

Everything looked good at the cardiologist. She still has a hole, but they will continue to monitor it. Dr. Huhta released her to go to day care, said to come back in three months and to treat her like a normal baby! I want to get her ears pierced but I am nervous and not sure if she needs to be on antibiotics or not, so we will wait. We also decided that the best thing for our family was for me to continue to stay home with the girls. John and I have have been on the fence about this for months, but finally decided this is what we need to do. Brooke will be starting school soon enough and then it will be more affordable.

Ashlyn has starting rolling over, babbling and giggling. The giggles for Brooke are huge, belly giggles, but the giggles foe everyone else are small. She thinks Brooke is the greatest thing ever! She thinks Mommy is pretty special too. I catch her staring at me often and when I look at her she grins so big and wiggles like crazy. It's hard to believe such a short time ago, she was int he hospital. We are over four months out from surgery, and Ashlyn will be six months old in a few weeks. We also were in the newspaper for CHD Awareness week. I will post the article in a different post. Hope everyone is well. Here are some recent pictures:

Pediatrician Appointment 1/19/09 and update

We actually had two visits in the last week. i took Ashlyn because she has been coughing a lot and we were starting to get concerned. The ARNP said she has a cold and maybe a touch of RSV. The only way to test for RSV is in the ER and they give babies breathing treatments that Ashlyn can't have because of her heart. So if it didn't improve, she wanted to do a chest x-ray and go from there.

The cough is better and she isn't as congested. She had her four month immunizations. She weighed in at 14 lbs. 1 oz. and is 24 3/4 inches long. Brooke at this age was 14 lbs. 10 oz. so she really is growing well considering all she has gone through and not eating at all after surgery. She is now eating 6 ounces every 2-4 hours and we have tried cereal. She is not into it, but last night I tried applesauce and she loved it :)

Ashlyn is playing with toys a lot more and reaching for things. She also within the last few days has been pushing up higher on her arms during tummy time. She kicks her legs and ends up scooting herself around a bit. My favorite thing she does is when I hold her she lays her little hand on my shoulder, it so cute!

Other than that, we are all doing okay. Everyone but me has been sick with coughs and fevers, and Ashlyn didn't get the fever part either. It has been cold her the last few days, big difference from wearing shorts and tanks just a few days ago!

Cardiologist Appt, 1/9/09

Chunky butt is up to 13lbs. 14 oz. and in the 70th percentile!!! Her heart is looking good, still a small hole but doesn't seem to be getting larger. She is still off meds but he may put her on lasix next month. She is breathing abdominal breathing when she gets upset and we also think she has a little cold. She had been coughing a lot, so he wants to look at her when she gets over it to see is she needs to go on lasix (diuretic). He also wants to keep her home still, to avoid extra exposure to germs. She has been home for two months already! Surgery was over 2 1/2 month ago too. It has gone quick.

Ashlyn is super alert now and tries to pull herself up to a sitting position when propped up. Still hating tummy time, but holds her head up well when we do it and likes inverted tummy time. She is also grabbing at things and starting to play with toys.We had a few real rough days last week with the coughing and fussiness. She wanted Mommy to hold her a lot. She is trying to laugh too. She will be four months old on the 18th. Here are some recent pictures:

Christmas pictures

The girls had a great Christmas. Ashlyn loved the lights! Here are some pictures:

Three month old on 12/18

Wow! Three months have passed since Ashlyn's birth, and it's been a crazy three months! Ashlyn is doing great. We got the approval for her RSV vaccination, and we went on Thursday for it. She is weighs 12 lbs. 4.9 oz now, so still gaining great! Ashlyn is eating 4 ounces every two hours still, but as of last week she is sleeping 11-12 hours straight at night!!! Mommy loves that. She also has found her hands and feet and stares at them moving, it's so cute. Bath time is a nightmare, she hates it! But hopefully in time she will love it. Such a smiley girl now too and very talkative. Developmentally she is right on track, holding her head awesome and very alert, which is good because I was concerned with the low oxygen saturation she may be delayed or develop cerebral palsy but so far so good :) We go to the cardiologist and pediatrician next month and I will update about those appointments (1/9 and 1/18) and add some Christmas pictures. Last week Ashlyn got to meet her Uncle Tim and Aunt Karen from Connecticut, which was a huge, but great surprise! Brooke and Saphyre loved the visit too, but it was too short :( Happy holidays to everyone and also a big thank you to everyone for their help, love, prayers and thoughts for Ashlyn and our family. We appreciate everything! Merry Christmas!!!

One month after discharge

Yesterday was one month since Ashlyn was discharged. She is doing very well. We don't go back for a check up until next month, but I am sure she is gaining weight. She is now up to 4 ounces every two hours, sometimes a bit longer or more milk. She loves to eat! She is also sleeping longer at night, about two six hour stretches, and then three hours. So Mommy is getting a bit more sleep now! She is also getting really playful and loves her play mat. Here are some recent pictures of her and of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was her first holiday that was not in a hospital.

Thanksgiving: