Headed home!

Hey Everyone! 

What a week this has been. We are day 8 post op and we are headed home! Praise The Lord! We spent six days in the pediatric ICU and 2 days on the cardiac floor at Batson. Brent and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house while Nolan was in the PICU. It ended up being the same room we stayed in for the month before Nolan was born! I felt right at home. The surgeons,anesthesiologists, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers and everyone else involved could not have been better to us! We had a few rocky days with Nolan that scared us to death, but he is doing so well now. It's amazing how dramatic of a difference you can see in a sick baby from one day to the next. One week ago,I would have never imagined we would be going home today! I didn't even beg to stay (like I have in the past ha ha) we are going home with 4 meds and some oxygen. That's it! We can handle this for sure. I never imagined at 30 years old I would be sleeping in a crib, but it happened last night. We are all looking forward to home and our own beds tonight. Thanks everyone for praying for Nolan. Please continue to pray for him as he recovers at HOME! 

Joshua 1:9

Some of my friends from the summer on the babies who went home bulletin board at the Ronald McDonald house. Was so heart warming for me to get to see that! 

    Nolan and his daddy holding hands! 

     My first time to hold him in a week! 

His sweet nurse whitney made him an awesome rattle for the PICU where he couldn't have his own toys! We loved her even though he prefers maroon and white! He even slept with this rattle in his hand. 

          Trying to share his bottle! 

Nolan and I going to his room. He loves those wagon rides! So do we! 

             Baby boy headed home! 

Update 12/13/13

Hey everyone! 

Just wanted to do a quick update this morning. Nolan is still in the PICU and recovering. He has been off the ventilator since Tuesday, which is great! This was a major major surgery and it's just taking him a bit longer to bounce back this time. His surgeon assured me this morning that he is on the right path, he just needs more time and some fine tuning of his meds. He is definitely a tough little baby! He has been opening his eyes and watching a little sports center (his favorite) and holding on to my fingers (my favorite). Just wanted you all to keep the prayers flowing for our little man! I know he will continue to improve today! 

Joshua 1:9

                Nolan and Santa! 

Nolan update

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a quick update before I head to see Nolan! The surgery went well Monday! It was so LONG! He is still In the PICU recovering. We were able to take him off the ventilator yesterday afternoon and he is now breathing on his own! He is not sedated anymore but still on a few pain meds. He looks better and better by the hour. Thank you all so much for the support and prayers. I can't stop thanking God for all he has done and is continuing to do for us!

Joshua1:9

 

     Playing with his feet before surgery! 

Second surgery in the morning

Hey everyone! 

We are headed to Jackson right now. Yucky weather but we are thankful that there is no ice! Nolan's pre-op appointment went as perfectly as we could hope for. His vital signs were the best they have EVER been. The picc team got his blood drawn in one stick. He got mad but he got over it really fast. Thank you for praying. I know it is helping. We also got into the Ronald McDonald house this time. Another great blessing. This morning Nolan has been as happy as can be. I know he is strong enough for this. We are ready to have it behind us now. We have to be there at 5:30 in the morning and they should take him back around 7. Handing him over last time was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Please pray for our strength. Another thing that's difficult is not being able to feed him after midnight. Please pray that he sleeps like he did last time. I don't want him going in upset because he is hungry! I'll try to update some way tomorrow. Thank you for praying. 

Joshua 1:9

Swinging while I got ready this morning! He thinks it's fun to hang out like this 

              First la cabana trip 

Big week for Nolan!

Hey everyone! 

We have been so busy. Sorry I haven't updated sooner. I went back to work November 10th. We all handled it much better than I thought we would! We have been decorating for Christmas on my days off. Nolan loves Christmas decorations! He wanted to grab everything at Paul Michaels and all the Christmas decorations in every store we visit ha ha! He is a fun shopping buddy! He also learned to roll completely over the other day. While I was at work! He has been rolling to his side for quite a while but couldn't get over his arm but now he has it down pat. He enjoys reading books now(being read to.) He is just really full of personality these days. We had him baptized at church on December 1st. It was such a special day. Brent was baptized as well. I was so proud of both of them. They honored my mom that day for her retirement from the mothers morning out program. It was just a really sweet day for our family. Afterwards, we had family and friends over for lunch. We are so thankful for each of you who were there for us on such a special day! So now the time has come for Nolan's second surgery this coming Monday, December 9th. This surgery is more complicated than first one was. This one is an actual open heart surgery where they will be rerouting some major vessels. We are very nervous and not looking forward to what he has to go through. But we don't have a choice and it has to be done. We have been praying for Nolan and his surgery team as well as strength for ourselves to support him through this. We have complete faith that God is going to take perfect care of him. I certainly have my moments of break down and cry. Brent never knows if ill be happy or sad from one moment to the next. But The Lord has blessed us time and time again through this experience with Nolan and we know he is with us. We go tomorrow for pre-op. Please pray for Nolan to not have to be in too much pain through this part. Blood work is no fun. We are going to come home for the weekend and then go back to Jackson Sunday afternoon. I'll try to update when we get there Sunday. We have to be at the hospital really early Monday. He is the first case that morning. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you for being there for us this far. It means more than we are able to express!

Joshua 1:9 

                 First walmart trip! 

       

                   Bulldogs won!!!

Appointments and surgery

Hey everyone! 

Nolan is 15 weeks old today! We took him to the pediatrician last week. She said he looked great. We were able to get 3 of his 2 month shots that day. He took it really well! He was talking and smiling at me then she stuck him! It was so sad  but he only cried about 30 seconds! Made me feel better. He never got fussy or had fever that night so that was a blessing. We have one more shot to get, we would have gotten it today but there was a small mix up. We will get it soon. We saw the cardiologist today. Nolan did so good. He fell asleep on the table getting his echo done which was so awesome. They were able to easily get all the images of his heart that they needed. I know the good Lord was with us because Nolan would never let me put him down and just fall asleep ha ha. The cardiologist decided it was time to schedule surgery. He will have the Glenn procedure done on December 9th. His left ventricle hasn't grown enough. I have faith he will handle this one as well as he did the first one. Please keep us in your prayers. I still plan to go back to work this Sunday. Going to be a big deal for us! 

Joshua 1:9

                Superman! 

          First 5k! 

        He is so fun to play with! 

Nolan is 3 months old today!

 Hey everyone! 

Nolan is 3 months today! He is getting so big. Growing and changing everyday! Brent went on a hunting trip to Oklahoma and was gone for four days. He could not believe how much Nolan had changed when he got home! We have great news! We went to the cardiologist last Wednesday and Nolan's blood pressure and oxygen saturations were much better. We did not have to change any medicines this time. The cardiologist also said that we may be able to wait a little longer than we thought to do the second surgery! Which she is thinking more like February now. That's really great! That means we have more time for his left ventricle to grow. In her professional opinion it will not grow although it has a little bit. We believe in miracles and the power of prayer! If it doesn't grow we will have a procedure called the Glenn. As for now, Nolan is doing great! He now weighs 11 pounds 7 ounces and is 24 inches long! He can lay on the floor and reach for his toys and he loves to talk. He has also started teething already! We are still working on a schedule and working on putting him down more! We hold him and love on him all day everyday and he loves it! But I have to go back to work in November. It's going to be a little rough on both of us I believe. He will be in great hands though (with my mom and his daddy) and hopefully we will be sleeping by then!  Also, we can finally get his shots! After the surgery he had a blood transfusion so we had to wait on the shots. But we will be able to get him out and about just in time for flu season ha ha! Our whole family was told to get the flu shot to protect him. I will update after his next appointment! Please pray that his blood pressure and oxygen sats are still good! Also pray that his left ventricle grows! Thanks y'all!

Joshua 1:9 

P.S. I wrote a blog on September 30th and forgot to post it. I posted that one tonight too. 

3 months old today!!! Go Nolan! 

He loves to sit and talk! 

He loves football! 

He tries to sit up on his own! 

He is excited about Halloween! 

He likes watching football with his big brother! 

Follow up appointment

Hey everyone! 

We had Nolan's follow up appointment on Wednesday. It wasn't so great. We were going to follow up on his blood pressure and oxygen saturations. His blood pressure was still high and oxygen sats as well. So disappointed! We had to do blood work to make sure his kidney function was good before we increased his blood pressure medicine. I despise blood work! It has to be done I completely understand that, but watching your baby be stuck just doesn't get easier! He isn't an easy stick so it ends up that Nolan cries, I cry, and brent gets all sweaty. We haven't been through six week shots yet but I'm sure that's just as bad! The good news is his lab work was fine so we increased the dose on his blood pressure medicine and lasix. The reason we needed to do this is most likely due to the fact that he gained so much weight. He gained almost a pound from Friday to Wednesday! He weighed ten pounds 2 ounces so that's really great. We will go back to Batson this Wednesday to follow up again. Please pray that his blood pressure and oxygen saturations are where they need to be. Nolan is definitely a champ so I think this follow up will be better! 

     Today is my 30th birthday! I've been joking about turning 30 with one of my best friends for the last 5 years! Truth is, it feels great. I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I'm thankful for my husband and my baby and our wonderful parents and all of our family. To celebrate, Brent took me to Lilos. It's one of our favorites and its where we celebrated our engagement/Brent's birthday a few years back. Last night was our first night out together since Nolan was born. It was so nice but we really missed him and didn't stay gone too long! When we got home he was in my moms lap acting like we never left! Ill post some pictures but Nolan cracks up. He is such a serious little fella. We get smiles but you have to catch him early or do some super sweet baby talk. Other than that he means business usually. Well, I've been a little long winded this time. Ill be sure to update on our follow up this Wednesday. Praying for a lower blood pressure and oxygen saturation. 

Joshua 1:9

Perfect end to our birthday date! My boys watching football 

This was the serious look I got when we got home 

I got a little smile though! 

Learning how to get his way really quick 

          He means business 

             Sweet sweet baby boy 

Nolan's post surgery follow up appointment

Hey everyone!

I don't have too much to update on so this post will be short and sweet! We took Nolan for his post-surgical follow up Friday morning. They said that he looks great! He really does look very good and of course as cute as he can be. I mentioned in the previous post that his oxygen saturation was not where we wanted it when we left the hospital. It is still not where we want it. The band on his pulmonary artery is right where it should be. They aren't quite sure why his oxygen levels are so high. His blood pressure is also elevated so we started on a blood pressure medicine twice a day. We will follow up with them next week to see if it is working. Great news is I don't believe he is in any pain anymore! I haven't had to give him any Tylenol today. I took him on his first stroll this afternoon. He loved it! it was a beautiful day to go up and down the driveway! Thank you for the prayers. I will update next week! 

Joshua 1:9 

Home and two months old!

Hey everyone! 

Great news! We are home and Nolan is 2 months old. We were discharged yesterday, which happened to be Brent's birthday. Nolan is doing really good. He is one tough cookie. They took his stitches out yesterday and he did not even whimper. The nurses were so impressed. He has his moments with pain but for the most part he is doing really well. Much better than many adults would! We are so thankful to be home with our baby again. We owe it all to God. Please keep us in your prayers as we take care of him at home. Also pray for good results at our follow up Friday. There was one concern with his oxygen saturation being higher post surgery than expected. Please pray that this works out on its own. Thank you all so much for your prayers, calls, and support! 

Joshua 1:9

      Can't believe he is 2 months! 

He loves his new swing from our good friend sarah! 

                Sweet happy boy!

 

Nolan got his own room!

Hey everyone! 

What a week! Thursday was the big day. God answered our prayers for sure. Nolan slept that morning until they put him to sleep. It was such a blessing because i didn't want to see him upset or scared. The surgeon said everything went perfectly. I can't describe the feeling of relief. Nolan did so good they were able to take him off of the ventilator early the next morning. He is so strong it's really impressive. He was still pretty much out of it all day yesterday. Today i was able to hold him! It was the best. I gave him his medicines and he took a bottle. He isn't too interested in eating just yet, but who is when they dont feel that great. He is still in some pain today which is so painful for me too. We are giving him pain  meds every 3 hours and it helps a lot. I'm sure by tomorrow he will feel more like himself! We just got discharged from the ICU and to his own room!!! Please continue to pray for his recovery! I'm so proud of him so far. The Lord is so good to us! 

Joshua 1:9 

  Before surgery in his tiny hospital gown!

   Feeding him and holding him the first time

         Getting to his own room! 

       Staring at mama in the elevator 

Surgery tomorrow

Hey everyone! 

We made it to Jackson. I've been very emotional today. I've been holding Nolan close. The surgery is in the morning. We have to be there between five and five thirty. They will take Nolan back around seven and get started around eight. Please say special prayers for us tonight and in the morning. September 12th 2010 Brent asked me to marry him. It was an awesome special day. September 12th 3 years later we will begin the repair of our baby's heart. It will be so special. We are thankful that this is possible. Thank you for the prayers and I will update as soon as I can. I'm doing this from my phone for the first time so we shall see

Joshua 1:9