Owen...Also known as Baby A...has always been the smaller of the boys. He was on my left side, and I could feel his specific movements early on -a hand, a foot, hiccups from time to time. He was pulled out first and is a whole 4 minutes older than his brother! Owen has always seemed to be a serious guy...with a pensive look about him. He's sensitive, too...as his brother's cries often alert him to worry. He was very quiet and easy-going early on, but when upset, was not shy about letting us know!
From birth, Owen had the usual spit-ups of most babies...but in time these became progressively worse. He started to throw up on average once a day in the beginning. He was slowly losing interest in eating, and it was clear he was not feeling good. He was still seeing his pediatrician once a week for weigh-ins, and eventually a heart murmur was heard. We took him to a CHOP cardiologist who discovered he also had a VSD, which is a hole in between the lower chambers of the heart. Owen's hole measures 7 - 8mm, and is keeping him from gaining weight. His heart is working so hard and inefficiently. it's as if he's doing a constant cardio workout. His little body is burning off more calories than he can take in. He also has reflux, which causes him to spit up more than the average baby, which is also working against him. He is now being fed through a feeding tube at CHOP, and we are hoping to see a trend toward gaining weight soon. He will probably be here through the week...The cardiologist here is considering moving his heart surgery up if his status does not start to improve. We are confident that he will be better than ever once this is all behind him....He is a strong little boy and will get through this! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!!
From birth, Owen had the usual spit-ups of most babies...but in time these became progressively worse. He started to throw up on average once a day in the beginning. He was slowly losing interest in eating, and it was clear he was not feeling good. He was still seeing his pediatrician once a week for weigh-ins, and eventually a heart murmur was heard. We took him to a CHOP cardiologist who discovered he also had a VSD, which is a hole in between the lower chambers of the heart. Owen's hole measures 7 - 8mm, and is keeping him from gaining weight. His heart is working so hard and inefficiently. it's as if he's doing a constant cardio workout. His little body is burning off more calories than he can take in. He also has reflux, which causes him to spit up more than the average baby, which is also working against him. He is now being fed through a feeding tube at CHOP, and we are hoping to see a trend toward gaining weight soon. He will probably be here through the week...The cardiologist here is considering moving his heart surgery up if his status does not start to improve. We are confident that he will be better than ever once this is all behind him....He is a strong little boy and will get through this! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!!
No comments:
Post a Comment