Adventure Awaits

All the bags are packed and we are ready to go... 

The plan (and I say that loosely as many things can change) is to go to the hospital late tonight to be induced.  They will start the pitocin as soon as I get there, and I will try to get a little sleep.  We will shoot for a Wednesday afternoon delivery time as best we can.  Joey will be stabilized in the NICU at Huntington Hospital, and then be transported to CHLA.  Jamie will be with the baby as I recover as quickly as humanly possible back in Pasadena.  The septostomy, or balloon procedure will happen once at CHLA (not sure of the exact timing), echos and other tests will be done, but the doctors seem hopeful that after that, he will be a pretty stable boy.  We will be able to hold him, but probably not be able to feed him, as taking milk from a bottle or breast would be too exhausting for him.  Throughout the next few days they will continue to monitor him and make a decision as to which procedure he will have.  It is currently between the Arterial Switch or the Nikaidoh, depending on the severity of his pulmonary stenosis. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for Monday. But we will definitely keep you updated until then!

Yesterday Jamie and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary.  Yes, we ate the cake (some bites) that had been tucked away in the freezer for the last year.  Our first year of marriage was exciting, to say the least.  It had a lot of ups and downs.  At the very beginning I would tell people that being married it didn't seem very different, and because we had been together for 10 years, the only thing that really changed was my last name.  Then August came around... 

Within one week we found out that we were pregnant, told our families the great news, and also got the news that my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Talk about highs and lows.  After the summer ended, Mom had her lumpectomy, which seemed to have removed the cancer, and had plans to do radiation after the new year. Good news. Then November came around... 

That's when Joey's diagnoses started pouring in.  It's hard to enjoy your pregnancy, when you get bad news at every doctor's appointment. But we tried our best to stay positive.  The more we talked about it, shared our story and learned of other's stories, the better we felt.  It's amazing how many people we have met that have had heart issues from birth, survived open heart surgery, or had a baby with a similar diagnosis.  

The new year came, Mom finished her radiation and continues to show no cancer. Jamie and I remained positive and had as much of a plan as we could.  

Now, the time has come.  It still doesn't feel real.  As I sit on the couch, pack our final bags, and drink as much water and raspberry leaf tea and eat as much fresh pineapple as possible, it STILL does not feel like I will be popping out a baby tomorrow!  This has to be the perfect combination of excited, nervous, scared, and happy that I have ever been.  Wish us luck!

Everyone has been asking to see Joey's nursery, and it is finally done!  This boy is so spoiled!  He has the nicest room in the whole house!  A big thanks to my parents, who helped us put it all together!