Update on Baby Caiden

I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but I wanted to give everyone an update on Baby Caiden.

Mike and I have been in a whirlwind this past week. We went for our 36 week checkup last Thursday and were told he may have something wrong with his heart after they did the sonogram. Our OB scheduled a Level 2 sonogram for Monday and the wait over the weekend was stressful to say the least. On Monday, we met with a Perinatal OB who unfortunetly confirmed that the left side of Caiden's heart did not develop properly. I was now at 36w5d, so we were immedietly sent to meet with a pediatric cardiologist in Dallas.

After arriving at the cardiologist's office, we did an echocardiogram which again confirmed the problem. The cardiologist is hopeful that the problem is an issue with his aorta being too small and if they can correct that, she hopes that the left side of his heart will be usable and will repair itself. If so, there should be no other surgeries or restrictions on him. There is a possibility it is not that and is a condition called HLHS (our original diagnosis), but she is optomistic that it is not HLHS. HLHS would require multiple surgeries and he would have restrictions placed on him for the rest of his life. She said we will know for sure after he is born.

So from here, Mike and I have been admitted into the FACT program at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas. We have an RN who is our program coordinator and will help us coordinate everything. She has setup a hospital tour for us, gotten me a new OB, scheduled a meeting with the surgeon, etc. We are VERY thankful for her! She basically tells us where to show up and when and does everything else.

Tomorrow we will be meeting the head of the OB department at the hospital, touring the NICU and labor and delivery and learning more about what will happen after Caiden is born. He is tenitively scheduled to arrive between 12/28 and 1/5 by induction. After birth, we will be able to hold him for a few minutes before he will be taken to the NICU. He will stay there until he is stable enough for surgery, which will most likely be 3-7 days after birth. His total stay in the NICU will probably be 3-4 weeks.

We are very thankful for everyone's prayers for Caiden. I am continuing to pray for a full healing of his heart before birth, but if that is not the outcome, we will pray for a full healing through surgery. We consider ourselves lucky that our sonographer found this issue before he was born and that it also may not be as sever as originally anticipated. We will keep you all updated...