We have a 'normal' baby boy on our hands!

The last week the Degan household was non-stop!  Olivia continues to love her baby brother, she has not asked us when he is leaving yet.

February is Heart Health month and along with that, Feb 7-14 is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness week.  Did you know every 1 in 100 babies is born with a heart defect?  Isn't Finn's scar looking quite nice?

Finn met his the cardiologist that will be his lifelong doc this week, on Valentines day actually.  It was a great visit, more on that in a bit....
This week was not only a celebration of those we LOVE, but also Finn's big sis, Olivia's 3rd Birthday!  We had a super fun celebration at her school, with all of her school friends.  Mark and I brought a treat to school and Mark read a book to the class.

Then Olivia's Auntie Cindy, threw a "surprise'" birthday for Olivia at her house.  Since we have been restricting visitors at our house, we got a sitter for Finn and we celebrated with family and one very close family friend at Cindy's house.  Olivia felt very special with lots of pink and purple balloons, her favorite meal of cheese burgers and mac and cheese (with veggies of course), kids bop dance party music and lots of gifts.

Olivia enjoyed her special crafting time with Papa Ron making valentines for her classmates for their school party this week.

We made a special trip to MegArt, a pottery shop, to get a special plate made with Olivia and Finn's feet and hand prints.  Olivia was a pro and knew just what to do, she said she had lots of practice at school.  Finn on the other hand... he did not enjoy the paint on his hand and would not unclench his fist to get a hand print.  Talk about stubborn already!!!  We went back later in the week and got one when he was sleeping!

Last but not least, Finn's amazing doctor visit.  Honestly I was super nervous to come to this visit.  We had mostly transitioned Finn to 100% breast feeding versus bottle feeding (exceot when Mark feeds him) and it's just so hard to know if he is getting adequate calorie intake, especially since he always falls asleep mid-way.  If anyone has advice on how to keep a newborn awake through a feeding... I'll give you $20!  The first thing they did was check his oxygen saturation, a test that measures the amount of oxygen being carried by red blood cells.  Most commonly they use a device that shines light, usually strapped on his foot or wrist.  The device measures the amount of oxygen in the blood based on the way red blood cells carrying oxygen absorb and reflect light. This always makes me super nervous, since this was one of Finn's main problems that they had to fix in the pulmonary valve output of the heart.  BUT Finn continues to show us how awesome he and the AMAZING surgeons skills that fixed him and his level was 99.  Really cannot get better than that (unless he was at 100)!
Next was his weight.  Two weeks prior Finn had weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce, not even to his birth weight yet of 7 pounds 4 ounces and he was almost 1 month old.  She weighed him and I had anticipated maybe a 1/2 pound gain.  Then she said, 8 pounds 10 ounces.  WHAT???  I said "Are you sure? That cannot be right."  The nurse said "Yup, he's a big boy! He gained 1 1/2 pounds over the last two weeks!  Keep doing what you are doing!"  What I was doing, was getting lazy and not wanting to pump, so I had just been breast feeding whenever Finn cued that he was hungry. YAY!  Go Finn! And YAY, I don't have to pump anymore!
Last, we had a mini echocardiogram done, an ultrasound of his heart.  They had done one right before he was discharged from the hospital to have as a baseline for comparison sake.  They were looking for fluid around his heart, and another win... it was not there!  Yay again!  We had continued on lasix medication (a diuretic) since leaving the hospital and since there was not any fluid, we were able to stop that medication altogether!  Now he really is a NORMAL baby!  No meds, able to gain weight and breastfeed as he requests and of course waking every three hours (to a T) through the night.  Some people may get upset and exhausted when they hear that cry in the middle of the night (and I do as well at times), but I was told by a very wise mother of 2 grown boys, that I should soak it all in, enjoy the middle of the night feedings when it is just Finn and I.  Is is so quiet and I love to hear his baby coos, it really melts my heart.  Also when life feels overwhelming and crazy, stop and love the madness because I will blink and they will be grown.  That is such truth and it is really such a blessing to be reminded of this every once in a while!

Grandma Rita and Papa Ron have been at the house helping since Finn was born!  Life savers!

We experimented with allergy friendly baked goods this week, egg free cookies!  Perfect for eating raw cookie dough! 

We love to embrace Olivia's curly locks, which we think Finn might also have some curly hair too, I swear I've seen some 'wings' when I give him a bath and wash his head :)  Here Olivia was fluffing her hair.  Cindy is convinced that she will be the perfect stand-in for the musical Annie one day with those fluffy curls!

We continue to thank God that he placed us exactly where we are with the exact little family that we have.  Olivia, though we fully see the 'terrible 3s' from day to day, makes us laugh - like deep belly laughs- daily and Finn, well he is just perfect and has so many more lives to influence with the journey he has already been through! It is so easy to go through the motions and take life and all that we have for granted.  I hope that this is a small reminder to hug those sweet babies (yours, your grandchildren or nieces/nephews) that are in your life.  Life is too short to take these little shining lights for granted.

xo-
Dana

Getting check-ups and breezin' through!

Today was check up #2 since we have been home.  Last Friday, we went to see Finley's pediatrician, she mentioned that she was thoroughly impressed with his progress and when she listened to his heart, she could *barely* hear a murmur, really only knew it was there because she knew to listen for it.  He has gained weight since leaving the hospital **SCORE**!!!  She emphasized limiting Finley's exposure to large crowds, no kids at our house until mid-March and if anyone has any cold symptoms to stay away.  She said even the slightest cough, creating airborne droplet germs, could land Finn in the hospital and on breathing treatments.  We have been overly cautious, especially mama-bear, but after cold and flu season, game on!  We want everyone to meet Mr. Finnster

Today was our surgical consult, to check on his incision.  We got the go ahead to fully bathe him, I'm so excited ... it's the little things.  Our Nurse Practitioner also told us that we need to treat him like a normal baby, no restrictions -- tummy time, normal pick-ups (we were not able to pick him up under his arms or pull his arms overhead when dressing), breast feed as much as I would like because he continues to gain weight (we were limiting to 1-2 times per day and the rest bottle feeds).  The best music to my ears today was "And when he gets older if he wants to play football or soccer, or any sport, let him.  He is in no way restricted.  If he tires quicker than other kids, that is just Finley."  He's a normal boy and that just makes me so very happy!
While I was at the hospital, I dropped off a little treat basket for the nurses that gave us outstanding commitment and care while in the NICU at Levines Children Hospital in Charlotte.  We had thought to bring doughnuts or other unhealthy treats, but with nurses working 12+ hour days, they need healthy foods to fuel their bodies.  Sometimes they rarely even get a second to grab a decent meal, so we stocked them with some healthy Shaklee treats and healthy energy boosters (versus turning to coffee for a caffeine boost).  Of course we had to throw in some dark chocolate treats too!  I hope they enjoy it!

On the home front we are adjusting to everyday life. My mom and dad (Ron and Rita) are still here helping out with the kiddos.  Dad has been taking Olivia to school and picking her up, Thank goodness because I am barely out of bed by the time they leave for school since Finely is very diligent about waking up to eat every three hours day and night.  Olivia enjoys helping from time to time.  We are working on being gentle and Lana is very protective of the newest Degan...

Finn's cousin are so excited to meet him, but we are holding out just a little bit longer to be sure we are not introducing any extra germs.  Kipton made Finn his very first valentine.  So sweet :)

We are anticipating Finn to be a BIG boy when he grows up.  You should see the feet and hands on that boy!  Take a peek at these fingers....

All in all, life is good, life is grand, life is great!  We have our little family of four at home and loving every second of the chaos, crazy, sleepless nights.  God is so good and we are so very thankful for the unending support from family and friends.
Until next time.
xo
Dana