getting close

Brooke's last check-up in St. Louis on the 13th proved uneventful. Yay! Another echo and EKG...no big deal! She takes these tests like a champ. No more narrowing in the shunt. Her sat level is starting to decline a bit sitting in the mid-70's, which we expected it eventually would do. 

So, what's Brooke been up to since the 13th? Lots of play time on her mat and in her bouncy seat. She loves both. Well, "lots" meaning in the three hours a day she gets to be off the feeding pump, she enjoys some mat time. The bouncy seat is easier because she sits at an incline, which is much more conducive to having her tummy constantly filled up. We are making progress on bottle-feeding, too, many thanks to our fantastic speech therapist who comes twice a week. Though Brooke gets all of her required calories through the NG tube during those 21 hours a day, I also get to give her two bottles each day...and she loves them. We are so excited for the day (sometime after her second surgery) that we get rid of this feeding tube. For now, it's the perfect solution to packing on the pounds. She's up to 11lbs 12oz now!

Brooke loves to play with anything within arms reach. She grabs at everything these days. She loves to roll to her left when she's on her activity mat or just laying on a blanket. And she's become quite the little chatter box especially in the last few days. So much fun!

She also spends as much time as possible snuggling with Mommy. :)

And, we had a fun Valentine's Day as a family complete with making valentines for Daddy, making a big heart-shaped cookie cake, decorating cookies, enjoying a heart-shaped pizza and watching a movie. Perfect for this little family of five. Though I'm not sure how Brooklyn felt about it... :D

 

Brooke's next cardiology follow-up is this Thursday. We are anxious to hear what the doctor has to say about how Brooke is doing. I know from checking her sat level a few times a day that her number is continuing to decline, as we expected. She also has a cardiac catheterization coming up in mid-March which will give us a good indication of how ready her little body is for the second stage of reconstructive open-heart surgery, known as the Glenn procedure. We anticipate this happening sometime in April. 

While it seems Brooke is "doing well" these days, and she really is, as her sat level steadily drops and her little hands and feet continue to get bluer, this second surgery is becoming more of a reality. A reality for which we're not quite ready. 

the love of a sister...and a big thank you!

I am so honored to be this girl's mama. This big sister, Abby. So full of love for both of her little sisters...and the rest of her family. I tell her often how proud I am of her for loving her sisters like she does and how much it makes Jesus smile. She gives me that sweet little grin and hugs me tightly. Like any child, she enjoys the praise of her mommy. Someday I pray she knows the real magnitude of the effect of her love for her siblings. Sure, we have our typical sibling moments of frustrations with each other. But this girl adores her sisters. 

Before Brooklyn was born as we discussed how all of this might affect our family I expressed to John that I was quite concerned about the overall impact on our big girls. It really has turned their world upside down in some ways. So much so that, in recent weeks, Abby has expressed that she just wishes "Brooklyn was a normal baby." Rightfully so. This being a sibling of a heart baby. In many ways, it's not easy. 

Recently at school, Abby's class, like many, did lots of "100 days" activities to celebrate the 100th day of school. One of them was an activity, pictured here, in which students were tasked with writing what they would do if they had $100. I got pretty teary reading this and studying the corresponding artwork. This girl has had an adjustment like most can't imagine in the past few months. She has learned sacrifice she never would have known otherwise. But she has also learned and expressed a love and a selflessness she may never have known otherwise. Though these things aren't easy for most of us to learn, much less a seven-year-old, I am ultimately grateful for these opportunities for Abby to learn a deeper level of sacrifice and love and selflessness. And I'm so grateful for Abby's sweet, compassionate heart, and the ways she expresses it. 

For her seventh birthday party last month I asked Abby if, instead of gifts from her friends, she'd like to consider collecting items for someone in need or an organization. She was a little hesitant at first. Like most any seven-year-old, she first balked at the idea of not receiving gifts. I wasn't going to push it, as I wanted her to take ownership of it and really want to do it. Figured it'd have more impact if she was really on-board with the idea. I asked her if she could think of anyone for whom to collect donations. She thought for a minute and excitedly said "the kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital!" :) So, after some discussion with our contacts there, we decided to collect gift cards for food, gas, etc., for the families of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, where Brooklyn spent several weeks after she was born. 

Oh, do we have some generous friends! I helped Abby write a personal note to attach to each of the gift cards, and she signed each one and included a little artwork. I had the privilege of praying over the stack of cards with Abby for each of the families who would receive a card. What an honor. We delivered them to our friend, Kym, of the Fetal Heart Center during our last check-up for Brooke. She was quite excited as were our doctor and her staff. And John and I are excited about the lasting impact the experience will have on Abby as well as the potential to connect with other heart families and hear how God's working through Abby's and her friends' generosity! Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear friends!