On Monday, March 7, we went to PCMC for Alyson's cardiologist appointment. To say the least, it was rather uneventful. First, while Frank and Olivia went to eat breakfast I took Alyson to get her chest x-ray done. She did so good and didn't scream at all. She is turning into such a little girl and knows what is going to happen and that she'll be okay. When the x-ray technician was all done, Alyson said "thank you for your help!" Such a sweet little girl!!
After Alyson and I got a quick bite to eat, we went to get the weight/height/etc. done before we met with the cardiologist. Not sure what her height is because they told me in centimeters which means nothing to me (or anyone else who tracks in inches/feet) but her weight was 11.70 kilos which is a little over 25 1/2 pounds. She is slowly but surely gaining. The cardiologist came in and is happy with everything and said she sounds and looks great and that the x-ray looked really good too.
Our next appointment will be in 6 months and this time they will be doing a sedated echocardiogram. The last time she had an echo done was at her 18 month check-up and that was only because her EKG was showing atrial flutters and so they wanted to do a quick check to make sure everything was okay (which it was). So really...her last real echo that she had was when she was 5ish months old. The tentative plan is for her to have surgery sometime this fall after her 3rd birthday. The only reason they would put it off till a later date is if Alyson was at a good weight and her O2 % was still in a good range. Her cardiologist did say that she doesn't have to be 30 pounds to do the surgery, but the bigger she is the less chances are for her to outgrow it. They will be putting in an 18mm conduit that will extend up to her pulmonary artery and if she is smaller, it may be a 16mm conduit. That means that when she is older and her oxygen needs start increasing again, they will have to go back in and replace it for a larger one.
I am anxious to get this surgery over with, but not really ready for it to happen yet. Where Alyson is older now and can talk, she will be able to verbalize what she is thinking/feeling. With a baby, he/she will cry if in pain but a cry can mean so many things. When Aly has her surgery soon, she will say something like "Ouch, it hurts!" which only means one thing in my book. When I was driving in the car yesterday I got really sad for a minute about what she is going to face again. I wish there was a way that I could take away the pain she will inevitably go through but unfortunately I can't. All I can do for now is just enjoy these moments and not stress over the surgery and spend time with my 2 cute little ladies!
Alyson getting her "picture" taken. They do a front and side view of her chest.
After Alyson and I got a quick bite to eat, we went to get the weight/height/etc. done before we met with the cardiologist. Not sure what her height is because they told me in centimeters which means nothing to me (or anyone else who tracks in inches/feet) but her weight was 11.70 kilos which is a little over 25 1/2 pounds. She is slowly but surely gaining. The cardiologist came in and is happy with everything and said she sounds and looks great and that the x-ray looked really good too.
Getting the EKG done...13 stickers and wires on her little torso!
Our next appointment will be in 6 months and this time they will be doing a sedated echocardiogram. The last time she had an echo done was at her 18 month check-up and that was only because her EKG was showing atrial flutters and so they wanted to do a quick check to make sure everything was okay (which it was). So really...her last real echo that she had was when she was 5ish months old. The tentative plan is for her to have surgery sometime this fall after her 3rd birthday. The only reason they would put it off till a later date is if Alyson was at a good weight and her O2 % was still in a good range. Her cardiologist did say that she doesn't have to be 30 pounds to do the surgery, but the bigger she is the less chances are for her to outgrow it. They will be putting in an 18mm conduit that will extend up to her pulmonary artery and if she is smaller, it may be a 16mm conduit. That means that when she is older and her oxygen needs start increasing again, they will have to go back in and replace it for a larger one.
I am anxious to get this surgery over with, but not really ready for it to happen yet. Where Alyson is older now and can talk, she will be able to verbalize what she is thinking/feeling. With a baby, he/she will cry if in pain but a cry can mean so many things. When Aly has her surgery soon, she will say something like "Ouch, it hurts!" which only means one thing in my book. When I was driving in the car yesterday I got really sad for a minute about what she is going to face again. I wish there was a way that I could take away the pain she will inevitably go through but unfortunately I can't. All I can do for now is just enjoy these moments and not stress over the surgery and spend time with my 2 cute little ladies!
My friend Mollie told me to try Nutella to help Alyson gain weight. Where she didn't like PB&J I thought she wouldn't like it but decided to give it a try. She LOVED it! I literally gave her 7+ spoonfuls of it. I tried some before I gave it to her to see what it was like...it's deadly delicious!
Not my idea of weight gain! She got into the pantry and grabbed this macaroni and cheese box and started chopping away on raw uncooked noodles! Gross! Haha! And she wasted the KRAFT brand...not the no name brand dangit! Good thing she is sure cute to get away with this stuff! :)
1 comment:
A girl after my taste he he. I can't stand the no name brand of mac and cheese. You really can tell a difference. Steph and Sherry just introduced me to Nutella. Evil stuff that is...deliciousness in a bottle.
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