The boys are 6 weeks old now! We charge forward in to the 7th week, laughing about how the boys really should not even be born yet.

I stayed home with Trevor today while Gramma and Bill went to see Brendan. There is not really any news, just lots of pictures today. Since the doctors have decided to wait on the new procedure, Brendan is just hanging out trying to heal and grow. The nurse gave him a nice bath and then dressed him in a new onesie that Gramma bought for him. It completely snaps out on the sides so it makes it possible to dress him and the nurses still have easy access for assessments.

Getting ready for his bath. The forehead monitor was falling off, so it is only temporarily removed for his bath before a new one comes back.

Brendan is not thrilled about being on the scale. But he weighs 6lbs 7oz today. Grow Brendan, grow!

Gramma puts him in new clothes!

He likes his new clothes!

Gramma and Brendan

Trevor has an outfit that his Great-Grandma gave him. At the rate Trevor is growing, he has to wear it now, he might be too big by Christmas time!

Santa pants!

While running errands, we found the perfect lamp for in the boys’ bedroom! It couldn’t match the room any better! Gramma bought it for the boys for Christmas this year, it’s really a special part of their decor now!

I wouldn’t have known it was a Monday if it weren’t for traffic, this week went really fast! Brendan had a good night, and he was very alert and awake when we arrived today, just waiting for his echocardiogram.

He was actually really calm and tolerated the whole test much better than usual.

Any time the tech’s hand got anywhere Brendan’s face, Brendan would root and try to bite! So when the test was all done, we gave him his pacifier. He won’t be able to start to try a bottle until he is able to handle routine tests without losing oxygen saturations. Today was a good day with his numbers, but it will still take some time.

I took this video yesterday of Brendan patiently waiting for some tests to be done. He was just as calm and bright-eyed today.

Brendan looks cuter every day!

Later in the day, the cardiologist called to let us know that the echo showed a “suspicious” atrial septum and mitral valve, but that it was not enough for them to want to do the septostomy right away. He is stable enough that they have decided that the priority is letting him eat and grow.
They are going to repeat the echo again on Monday next week and see if there is any change, and then they will consider again whether or not to do the procedure.

Trevor got to spend the morning with Gramma, so of course he was all dressed up in a super cute coordinated outfit!

He gave himself a pretty good scratch on the cheek today, he is in need of a manicure! Here he is showing off by flexing his biceps and his chunky cheeks!

This couldn’t really be put together with the awesomeness that was the other post for today. This one is the medical update. Brendan had some issues last night with not having adequate urine output. The IV tower had to come back in because they put him back on the Milrinone to help him with his pressures and then he was able to urinate properly.

The cardiologist had mentioned earlier that another procedure might be necessary, and it looks like it will be now. Brendan will get another echocardiogram in the morning and then the team will make the decision as to whether or not to proceed with it.
Part of Brendan’s heart defect is an Atrial Septal Defect, a hole in the septum (wall) between the left and right atrium of his heart. In a normal heart, this hole would create quite a problem and would be surgically repaired. In Brendan’s heart, this hole is necessary for the proper flow of blood and balance of pressure. In Brendan’s case, this hole is not as big as they would like it to be so the atrium that receives blood back from the lungs has a higher pressure than the other, and that can cause the blood flow from the lungs to back up while the blue blood from the body flows more easily in to his single ventricle.
The physical result is that Brendan can be nice and stable and his numbers can look very good until he gets agitated. In a state of stress or exertion when his heart works harder, the blood moves more slowly from the lungs and the oxygen saturation in his system drops.

They will do the procedure called an Atrial Septostomy, where using a heart catheter they will inflate a balloon and stretch/tear the opening between the two atriums to allow better flow and equal pressures. The main ICU doctor feels that the benefits from this procedure will far outweigh the risks. Where this is not an open surgery, recovery should be quicker. When Brendan has his Glenn procedure, they will be opening this further anyway. So this is just an early step they can take to improve his chances to grow heavier and stronger in preparation for the real open heart surgery.
He just is not ready for the full operation, so this will help him along while he grows.

I am hoping that we will know tomorrow when and if they will be doing this! In the meantime, Brendan is doing well and we are really looking forward to having more brother-time!