Aiden's Room and 1 Month

I have been so busy and so behind that I have forgotten to post pics of the nursery.  It has definitely been a work in progress but finally has come together.  For some reason, I knew from the get go that I was having a boy.  So there were a few things that I had picked out from market before I officially found out the sex.  I did delay in ordering it but in my mind I had a picture of how I wanted to nursery to look.  I love elegant nurseries and wanted something just very soothing. Even though babies respond to colors early on I couldn't help myself from leaning toward soothing blues and taupe's.  So here are a few pics. There are still a few things I would like to do eventually but I haven't found the right accessories.  The nursery will just have to develop as he does.

 The bedding was custom made from HauteBaby in Dallas and the glider/recliner by Best chairs (storytime series) is one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in. Up close, it is upholstered in a paisley to match the bumper pads. My personal favorite part of the room is the chandelier. Not exactly masculine but he's a baby. The rug, safari animals and rug were all ordered by my mom.

How adorable is this painting by Rachel of The Peek-A-Bootique? She made it to match my bedding.  I got the hooks from Hobby Lobby and hung them myself underneath the canvas.  I just couldn't resist taking a pic of Aiden to show ya'll how he sleeps (and no I do not lay my child down to sleep in a crib with the pads in.  This was strictly while I took the pics)

The crib is by Bratt for Restoration Hardware and I love this ceramic pacifier holder my aunt gave me.

The dresser was Ben's grandmother's that I had made into a changing table.  And how adorable are these shoes my mom gave me?

On a separate note today Aiden is 1month old! I can hardly believe it.  I guess time really does fly when you are running around like a crazy person trying to get a newborn on a schedule.  Some days, I don't know where my mind goes.  Like yesterday, I was so tired and wanted to make peanut butter brownies for our monthly Supper Club.  I forgot the peanut butter mix that makes the brownies rise.  So I made peanut butter fudge instead (and then I chose to leave it at home)!  I look forward to seeing my baby boy grow.

Weight: 9lbs.

Height: 22 inches

Milestones: On Aug. 17th he actually looked at me and smiled and knew who I was.

Started 1 tsp of rice formula on Aug. 16 to help gain weight.

Feeds every 3-4 hours during the day.

Sleeping 5-6 hours when we put him down at night.

Clothing Size: 0-3 month/Newborn (we haven't grown out of any outfits yet)

And We're Back

I know many of you already know what's been going on with Aiden but I am more or less writing to document our journey over the past week.  After 2 return visits last week to the pediatrician we were admitted into the PICU at St. Francis on Friday afternoon.  When I had arrived at the ped office Friday, my impression was I was just there for a weight check.  I had been on that Thursday and Aiden hadn't gained any weight.  After talks with out pediatric cardiologist we decided to increase his milk intake to 3 oz. and add Neosure, which is a supplement to help babies gain weight.  Therefore, I just knew on Friday when we returned that he would have gained an ounce. 

I arrived at the office and unfortunately Ben couldn't go with me because he had gotten a kidney stone that morning and was in severe pain.  When the nurse weighted Aiden I almost died.  He had lost 2 ounces over a day with the supplements I had been giving him.  When Dr. Slusher came in she immediately called Dr. King.  Over the past several days his breathing had increased and that along with the weight loss are 2 of the vital signs of heart failure.  When she came back in the room, she told me to go to the PICU and be prepared to pack your bags and be airlifted to Oschner in New Orleans for surgery.  As soon as I got in the car I broke down. Ben met me at a gas station, hopped in the car with me, and we headed to Monroe.  Even though it wasn't an emergency, we had our friend who is a CECP coach with Ben and full time sheriff escort us to the Ouachita line so we could get there faster. 

Ben did really well until all the nurses started hooking him up tot he machines and poking at him.  Since he was in heart failure, they couldn't get an IV or any blood to come out of his veins and for the first time since he was born we saw real tears coming down his face.  It was horrible to be that helpless.  Another Xray was done and this time it did show fluid in his lungs. Dr. King was out of town but was constantly checking in on us. I just can't say enough about him.  He was immediately started on Digoxin which is for heart failure as well as Lasik which is a diuretic to help the blood flow out of the heart and away from the lungs.  Because his respirations were so high (over 80 breathes a minute), we could only feed him about an ounce every 3 hours from a bottle so he wouldn't aspirate.  Could you imagine how mad you would be if you could only have like a cracker every 3 hours? 

Saturday came and went and he seemed to be doing better. Early Sunday we had another Xray.  There was still some fluid in the lungs but not as much.  Dr. King got back from out of town and made his way up to St. Francis to check on us.  He then started Aiden on medicine to calm his blood pressure and prevent backflow of the heart.  It typically takes 72-96 hours for the heart failure medicine to work so we knew we weren't going home any time soon.  He informed us that Dr. Lucas from Oschner would actually be in town on Tuesday and he wanted us to meet with him to talk about surgery.  Thankfully we were able to move into a room that had an actual door on Sunday which allowed us to get some sleep instead of a space with just a curtain that you close for privacy. 

Monday we repeated an Echo cardiogram to see if the size of the hole in Aiden's heart was still the same  size and it was.  I didn't really expect it to get any smaller since the 10 days when we first saw it.  By the end of the day Monday, Aiden's blood pressure was so good that he got to come off one of the medicines.  I also learned how to give him his medicine since I would be in charge when we got home. His breathing continued to decline to about 50 respirations a minute.  They have never been that low since he was born and some of the time I wasn't sure if he was breathing because I was so used to hearing him gasp for air and being able to see his chest move up and down. 
Tuesday was a waiting game.  Dr. Lucas got tied up and couldn't make it up here so Dr. King released us and we will meet him on his next visit to Monroe.  Him and Dr. King did talk and came up with the same consensus.  If the hole in the heart starts to close within the next couple months, then we have bought ourselves at least a year from having to do any surgery.  If it doesn't and he put on weight, then we will probably have to do surgery.  He forewarned us that the first year is the toughest.  After that, things get easier and you learn what to look for and how to manage the complication.  Looks like we will be seeing Dr. King alot this year.  In his own words, "we are going to give God a chance to fix it first and if he doesn't then we will."

I want to just take a moment and say how much I appreciate all the support and prayers that we received.  Ben and I were seriously overwhelmed and we can't say thank you enough.  We felt all your prayers and believe they worked.  To have gone from being told to be prepared to have surgery this weekend to maybe getting to wait a year can only be the grace of God.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.  Thanks again.

                    Hooking Aiden upto the monitors and trying to start the IV

                                                       Finally getting to eat more

                    We had to go home and get the Sleep Giraffe. Clearly, it worked!

It's True What They Say

Before becoming a parent, I can't recall how many times someone has said, "They grow up too fast," or "I remember when you were just that small."  Well, they were right.  Today my little man is 15 days old and already he is getting so big.  Last week, he had grown 3/4 of an inch and gained 11oz.  Today (6 days later) he has grown another 1/4 inch but unfortunately lost 4oz.  I can't believe how fast he is growing.  Although, I did read that your child will grow 1/4 inch a week somewhere during the first year of their life.  I guess I just couldn't fathom that thought. 

I've had several inquires about his progress so I will start from the beginning and fill you all in and ask for your prayers that God will heal him on his own.  The Friday after we were discharged from the hospital we had a follow up appointment with the pediatrician to check on his jaundice that was so bad while he was in the hospital.  During that visit, the doctor told us she heard a heart murmur and referred us to see Dr. King, the pediatric cardiologist.  Usually, it can take many months to get into see him but fortunately we were able to get in the following week. We went ahead and got our chest x-rays and last Thursday made our way to his office.  During this time, we had countless people tell us that their child had a heart murmur and that everything was fine.  This is a true statement.  Even Dr. King said all babies have a heart murmur and on top of that there are over 1,000 different kinds of murmurs.  Therefore, you really have to know what you are looking out for.  During his visit, he had an Echo cardiogram and an EKG.  The nurse practitioner came in to listen to his pulses and get our general information and then Dr. King came into see us.  Let me say how impressed I was with him.  I had always heard great things but this man seriously is a genius.  He has invented 9 procedures for children and before the results had even come in from the Echo he had made the diagnosis based off of the x-ray and EKG. 

So here is Aiden's diagnosis.  Basically he has Congenital Heart Disease which means he was born with heart problems.  He has 3 things wrong with his heart.  1. PFO-this is an atrial septic defect in which there is an abnormal opening between the right and left atria. 2. Supervalvar Pulmonary Stenosis-this is a ventricular septal defect where there is a narrowing of the lower ventricle making blood flow difficult.  It is of some concern and they may have to put a balloon in it to open it up later.  We are watching it for now.  3. Ventricular Septal Defect (aka VSD). This is what concerns him the most.  There is a hole in his ventricle causing higher pressure in the left ventricle which causes a shunning of blood from the right side to the left.  Usually, if there is a hole it is okay.  However, his is 6mm which is very large.  A grown human would have a hole around 1.25mm.  So what do we do?  In his own words we give God a chance to fix it first.  Alot of times the hole will close on its own.  We do have 3 years to wait it out.  If it doesn't close then we will go in surgically and repair it.  This affects 1 in 1,000 babies and of these affected 1 in 100 have the ventricular defect rather than the aortic septal defect which is much more serious.

As of today, we had a 2 week appointment with Dr. Slusher and Aiden's breathing really concerned her.  We had a second chest x-ray which thankfully came back normal but he had lost 4 oz.  This is a major concern because babies that have VSD often can go into heart failure if they have trouble breathing and/or are not gaining weight.  When I heard this I became very panicked but heart failure in babies is not the same as in adults.  It is treatable with medication and goes away. We go back to the doctor in the morning and Aiden needs to have gained 1 ounce or we will have to consult with Dr. King about next steps.  We are hopeful for the best!  Please pray for us.

Introducing

Michael Aiden Haddox....

BORN- 9:09pm Monday, July 18, 2011

9lbs. 12 oz., 21 inches

On Monday morning around 4am I woke up having some contractions.  I didn't really think anything of it because over the past week or so I had been having some Braxton Hicks contractions in the middle of the night.  I would usually go downstairs and get on the couch in a different position and they would go away.  Not this time. I even ate something to see if they would stop.  They weren't extremely painful and very erratic. Anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes apart.  Finally at 6am I decided I was going to go take a shower.  I had read if you move around usually they would go away.  I had a sneaky feeling they wouldn't.

When I got out of the shower Ben was awake and wondering what I was doing up so early.  I said, "I think it may be time."  Fortunately, I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 that morning and decided to wait it out and see what the doctor said (We did put our bags in the car because deep down I think we both knew we wouldn't be coming home).  Wouldn't you know she was running behind.  She had another delivery.  When they finally called me back at about 11:45, my contractions were about 6 minutes apart and starting to hurt.  She checked me and after being dilated 1cm for 3weeks I was 3cm!  We decided to go on over to the hospital, check in, and get things rolling.  Boy am I glad I did because by the time I got settled in my contractions were really painful.  I went ahead and got my epidural because she was going to break my water immediately but her schedule didn't allow her to come back until almost 6 o'clock.  By that time I was 7cm dilated. 

In the meantime, my mom had been at market in Atlanta for a week and we had briefly talked that morning.  She was flying back to Monroe but had to change planes in Dallas.  Of course when I called to tell her I was checking in, she was in the air.  Her flight was schedule to land somewhere between 3 and 4pm but of course it was delayed and she arrived around 5:30.  After the doc had come over she said if he had broke my water after lunch like she had planned my mom probably would have missed the delivery.  God was watching out for me.  I never would have let her live that down if she had missed this!

Finally at 8:20pm we were ready to have a baby.  I suppose I thought it would be super easy since the whole labor process thus far had gone so smoothly and quickly.  I really love the epidural! I felt no pain.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy when 20 minutes in he doctor said his head is bigger than I thought it would be.  I replied, "so you think he'll way 8lbs then?" She kinda avoided the subject and I knew he would be a big boy.  Finally, Aiden arrived. But not without drama.  At the time I wasn't sure what was going on but I knew it was bad when everyone was whispering.  Suddenly, 4 people, including the doctor were on the bed with me pushing so hard on my stomach and pulling at Aiden. I heard them call the neonatal team down and I just gave it everything I had.  He had what's called shoulder dystocia which means his shoulders were too wide to fit and he was stuck and they weren't sure if he was breathing.  Things turned out fine but I was balling when they finally placed him on my lap.  The doc went over to make sure his collarbone wasn't broken (which is very common) and all was good. He was so alert and wide awake and of course as every mom thinks just perfect. 

The next couple days were a blur of feedings, trying to sleep, and visitors.  On Wednesday, the pediatrician came and said he had jaundice and we would have to do some more blood work and the end of the day to determine if he could go home or have to stay an extra day.  His bilirubin levels were on the border and they released me but I had to follow up with her on Friday.  Friday came and went and his levels were not in the danger zone but I was to continue supplementing with formula until the jaundice was completely gone.  She also found a heart murmur and had us sent over for some chest x-rays.  This really scared me and I was an emotional basket case all day.  We have an appointment with Dr. King (pediatric cardiologist) tomorrow afternoon just to make sure everything is okay. 

Below are some of my fav pics over the last 8 days.  It's amazing how much he's changed in a week.  Also, thanks to everyone who visited and has helped with food.  Ya'll have been a lifesaver!  I am so blessed.

                                                                      Just born

                                                                      Hospital door sign

                                                                   Sponge Bath Time!

                                                     Thoughts to ponder in the Mommaroo

                                       Aiden hates to be swaddles.  We swaddle and this is how he ends up.

Baby Shower Catch Up

I wanted to post a few pics and recap the showers that I received in honor of baby Aiden.  First may I start out by saying registering and having a baby shower might be more fun than registering for your wedding.  The only part I found stressful was when I walked down the pacifier and bottle isle.  Too many choices.  Other than that, it was a blast!  I am so blessed to have such great friends and family that support not only Ben and I but this new life we are about to have.  I feel so lucky.

The madness started off on May 19th when my colleagues from work threw my a small shower at Portico.  This was a perfect come and go event after work and it was great to catch up with everyone for awhile.  Unfortunately I didn't take many pics. 

            Kristi, a nurse from Oliver Road Medicine Clinic made the cake.  She definitely has a talent.

Next, the ladies from the church choir threw my a baby shower.  Basically we all ate and talked and I opened presents at the front while they all oohed and ahhed over the gifts. 

Can you say diaper overload? the amazing baseball parents surprised us with wipes and diapers at the baseball banquet.  This was huge!!

June 4th was my main baby shower.  It was held at the McIntyre's lovely home in Ruston and I had a great time.  I got so many lovely things.  Aiden officially has way too many clothes after this event and hopefully will be very smart because I received alot of books and games to stimulate his brain and coordination.  Thanks to all the hostesses who are all my dear friends.  It was fabulous.

Finally, on June 14th we had a necessity shower thrown by Ben's close friends.  How hilarious-a shower for a guy!?!  It turned out great and my husband is so lucky to have such a great group of guy friends that want to do things like this for us.  I made Ben open the gifts while I wrote down what we received.  He loved every second of it. 

10 days and counting!!

Fit For a Queen

For some reason I just can't seem to get enough of Kate Middleton lately.  Perhaps it is because her and Prince William are on their North American tour and are in the press so much.  I just find her so classy and LOVE LOVE LOVE all her clothes.  I seriously want her wardrobe-and I'd take her body too. Below are some of my favs that she has worn while in the States and Canada.

On a different note,  I am counting down the days til I can attempt to wear normal clothes again and cannot wait for fall fashion!  By July, I am so over the heat.  Don't get me wrong I love being tan and hanging poolside but am ready for something new and exciting.  I am documenting now-if I can help it, I will not have another Summer baby. But really, almost anytime you get pregnant you are still carrying child through the Summer.  Maybe we will aim for August pregnancy and May birth. However, I realize you cannot control these things and we will see.  I am just miserable.  I was officially 38 weeks Sunday and went to the Dr. today.  I have been 1cm dilated for 3 weeks now and am just preparing myself for baby A to be here for the long haul.  Walking has not seemed to help anything except making my feet swell.  I know it will be worth it in the end but I am waddling around like I might pop.  I also freak out daily because there isn't as much activity going on as there used to be.  I do realize there is nowhere for him to move but ask Ben to reassure me at least 3 times a day. Also, the doc doesn't seem to think he us going to be as big as they originally thought.  I haven't had another ultrasound but my belly hasn't continue to grow as much as it did in the previous weeks.  Whew! That's a relief.  However, we will wait and see.  Everything is officially ready to go and it's comforting knowing I don't have to rush to get everything in order.  I am waiting on a painting by Rachel at The Peek-a-bootique and then I will post pics of the nursery complete.  Have a great week!

38 weeks

What's in a Name?

Many people have asked where we got the name Aiden from.  Is is a family name? Well, the answer is no.  I actually have a husband who is very opinionated and hates a lot of names.  For those of you that may not know, he is a coach.  Therefore, he has seen many names pass by him over the years.  Unfortunately, most of the players leave an impression on a coach making you always associate a certain name with a certain individual.  When we found out we were having a boy, the name game became very difficult for the reason mentioned above.  I have loved the name Aiden for awhile and am lucky there has been no Aiden's come through the CC program over the years.  The full name is Michael Aiden Haddox.  Michael is a family name but we will call him Aiden.

Now for the meaning of Aiden:
Orgin: Celtic/Greek
Meaning: Little Fire
Alternate Spellings: Adan, Aden, Aedan, Aeden, Aiden, Aidyn, Aydan, Ayden, Aydin
Namesake: Aiden Quinn (actor)-think Legends of the Fall
--A variation of Aidan, which is the anglicized form of Aodhan.  It was influenced by fictional character Aidan Shaw, played by actor John Corbett in the hit series Sex and the City, and the fictional little boy in the 2002 horror The Ring. 

Of course to us we will not compare to Aidan Shaw.  He will be ours and have his own personality and look.  I can't wait to meet him.  22 days and counting.  I am hoping for early!