Coping and Adjusting :)

Aiden at home

We've been home for 5 days and I must say.... I'm not sure I knew what tired was before I became a mom ;). Aiden's special nutritional needs are keeping Jeff and I on our feet. He needs to eat every 3 hours (60 mls or 2 ounces) and I have to pump breastmilk at that same interval. So first I pump... then we offer the milk in a bottle to Aiden. He has 20 minutes to get the bottle down before we give it through his feeding tube. He has been taking anywhere from 30 to 50 mls so we're pretty happy with his progress. He is sleepy alot and we have to struggle with him to stay awake to eat. After a diaper change about 1 hour and 15 minutes have gone by and by the time we settle down to sleep there's only 2 and a half hours before we have to do it all over again! Add changing extra diapers, feeding and walking the dog, feeding ourselves, showering, doing chores around the house and answering phone calls and our day is full!

Aiden is getting stronger every day. We went to our first pediatrician appointment and the doctor heard an irregular heartbeat and insisted that we go immediately to Children's.... yes... there was some irregularity to it but nothing to be concerned about. The doctor decided to do a quick echo to check out his heart function and it turns out that his heart almost looks NORMAL! We were so excited. The aortic valve is very minimally dysfunctioning so over time we're hoping that all the medications will be stopped. We started to wean the lasix already. Tomorrow we are adding some extra volume to his feedings to try to get him to gain some weight. We are at 8 pounds. We've lost 3 ounces.

Today I pulled out Aidens feeding tube by accident and had to have the visiting nurse put it back in. I was trained to do it at children's but I just couldn't stand putting Aiden through another procedure. Aiden loves to be held and cuddled but anything out of the ordinary (diaper change, bath, changing clothes) yeilds screams that the neighbors can hear. If nothing else we're happy that his lungs are good. He has a funky diaper rash going on but other than that - normality is setting in. I'm finding myself now stressing over the normal baby stuff and the visiting nurse keeps suggesting that I drink some wine :) I may take her up on it tonight!

Again - thanks to everyone who has supported us through this whole ordeal. Jeff and I felt sick yesterday entering Children's again... but thank God that the hospital exists.... and thanks to all the special people who work there. We will be big advocates for the congenital heart foundation from this point on. If you are interested in supporting this foundation... more information may be found at childrensheartfoundation.com. Jeff and I are planning on sending gifts to the CICU each year for the patients. We received many gifts from other families during our stay there and it was really helpful to keep our spirits up.

We'll update our progress as we go. We want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. This year we are saying an extra prayer of thanks for all of our family and friends who have helped us to pull through this ordeal. Most of all, we are thankful for our little star.... Aiden Michael.

God Bless and Happy Holidays!

Kimberly, Jeff and Aiden

Together as a family

Aiden Day 12 (discharge)

12 days after birth, 10 days after open heart surgery, Aiden, his mom, dad, and Denver are home together as a family. Aiden was discharged from Children's Hospital around 11:30am and ventured out into the cold Pittsburgh outdoors bundled up and fast asleep! His mom and I rode home separately but Aiden didn't make a sound the entire trip home in dad's car (yes, I added that mental note for future reference :). After we brought Aiden into the house, I set him down in the living room and welcomed him home. Kimberly and I then turned to each other and hugged in tears of joy. "We're finally home", we said.

That was immediately followed by a taste of reality involving approximately two hours of screaming and numerous diaper changes!!! Unfortunately, Aiden also decided to not tolerate his feedings as we went through about 4 of our 150 outfits in 2 hours.

It was certainly a tough road to travel. Although, Aiden persevered through one of his toughest challenges in life. We still certainly have concerns about his health (without being able to look at the monitors anymore), wonder if we're taking care of him the right way, etc...but I guess this is what parenthood is about - making sure that your child is ok and has the best chance of success in life that he can have.

Although we knew we had an incredible group of family and friends, this experience has shown us that people are truly caring and generous. We have received so many kind words, gifts/clothes brought to us at the hospital, food delivered to our house, tending to our dog, sitting with us in the waiting rooms, thoughts, prayers, cards, emails....we probably missed something but do understand that we will never forget all of your acts of genuine kindness.

We will continue to post Aiden's progress on this site but on a less frequent basis. We think it's good to remember these times and keep track of Aiden's progression. We also love to read everyone's comments!

Thank you all again, from the bottom of our hearts.

And, thank you God for giving us our healthy little boy, Aiden.

A star has truly risen.

Jeff & Kimberly

So close I can taste it

Aiden Day 11

Hi everyone! I'm doing really well and my mommy and daddy tell me that we're going home tomorrow. I'm not sure what or where home is but they seem excited about it so I'll play along.

They say that I have a big brother and his name is Denver.... I can't wait to meet him.

Today was a really good day for me. I got to leave the unit with my mommy and we walked down to the radiology department to get a chest xray.... I was amazed at all the lights in the ceilings. A strange woman named "transport" went with us but my mommy did all the work. The nurses in the radiology department strapped me down to a big metal table and put my head in a foam box. I didn't like it.... I screamed a lot. They covered my pee pee with lead. My mommy had to wear lead to. The doctor said my xray looked good so I hope they stop clapping on my chest soon.... knowing my mommy though, she'll continue to do it for weeks after we leave the hospital.... she's scared I'll get pneumonia.

Next - I had my final echo. The man warmed up the goop this time so I kept the crying to a minimum. The doctor said my echo looked very good and that my Aortic valve is only leaking very mildly. Hopefully I will get completely better and not have to take that medicine called capoten one day. I'm also off of the oxygen. I just kept taking deep breaths like my mommy told me. It was easy.

I'm kind of fussy today... I just can't get comfortable and I don't want anyone but my mommy and daddy touching me. The nurses poked a hole in my heel for a PKU test. I was really mad and got my heart rate up to 170. Otherwise my vitals are rock solid stable. The doctor told my mommy that he cant wait until I go home becuase he wants mommy to stop watching the monitor. But I watch it too.... in the middle of the night it glows real pretty and I stare at all the waveforms while my mommy plays lullabies.

My daddy came later in the afternoon today. I was so glad. I like it when we're all together. We're all staying in my room tonight. It will be like a sleep over. We're going to watch the Steeler game. This will be my third one. Maybe it will make more sense to me the more I watch it. It must be a big deal because both of my nurses have "steelers' written all over their outfits and my daddy brought me a steeler onsie with footies. My mommy got in trouble for putting me in that brown onsie yesterday... I guess brown is her favorite color... it really didn't have anything to do with the Cleveland Browns. I spit up all over it just in case and she had to change it.

So that's it! I'm signing out. I have to go home with a feeding tube tomorrow which is a bummer. I'm sucking real well but after about 10 minutes I lose interest. There's just so much to look at around the room. I would rather do that.

My mommy is sick now too.... she says she has cabin fever... but none of the doctors are helping her so I guess it's not too serious. She says it will be gone tomorrow.

I'll write more tomorrow when I get "home". Mommy and daddy say I'm gonna love it. We'll see... I bet they are right.

TTYL

Aiden

Home is calling

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 10 album.

I think it goes without saying, but we're all looking forward to going home together as a family. Currently, mom and Aiden are rooming at the hospital, Denver is with his grandparents and dad is at home sick on meds (been a few years for the record!). Interestingly enough though, before I left the hospital last Thursday, I put my hand on Aiden's head and said a prayer. I told God to give him strength and to take some of my strength to get better...funny how he has progressed and, I, regressed since then. ;)

The doctors still tell us that Aiden will be released on Friday. Today, they pulled his pacer, performed a hearing test (he can hear!), got a Hep B vaccine and a bath. He's still on the lowest oxygen setting but the surgeon says he'll be off of it tomorrow. Aiden buddy, you still need to work on your timing though...he still prefers to 'let it all out' whenever he gets a fresh diaper. He also needs to understand that the bottle is a GOOD thing and not an indicator to go asleep! The feeding tube may stay in tact when we go home so thank God for nurse mom who can remove it!

Dad washed a load of his threads tonight so check out his fashion shots throughout the week! Your continued thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated!

Stepping up to step down

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 9 album.

Hi everyone! I stepped up my game and got out of the ICU today and livin' large in the progressive care unit. I have my own crib and finally got to wear some nice threads (a onesie but, come on, don't I look good?!). I'm even sucking on a bottle...I fall asleep though...not sure what I'm supposed to do...have to concentrate...feeding lady says I need some practice. I'm really happy because my mommy doesn't have to leave at night. My sick daddy even stopped by and cuddled me with his funny mask on. Nurses and doc said I can stop carb loading today so my feedings are down to 60mL. I puked on my dad...I think he was ok with it. Pooped for my mom right after she changed my diaper. I gotta work on my timing.

My mom and I are just gonna chill here for a couple of days until I get my sodium regulated and they take me off the oxygen. I have to be able to eat right too. That's really it for today. Going to bed now. Love you all!

What a difference a day makes!

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 8 album.

Just getting home from the hospital and wanted to update everyone. Aiden had a WONDERFUL day today. He's made remarkable strides in almost every aspect of his care. He had his IV in the neck removed and he doesn't have any more tubes except one for feeding. They turned off the Milrinone which was the medication for his heart and also weaned him off the nitric oxide which lowered the pressures in his lungs. They even changed him from a high flow oxygen to a regular oxygen and he's down to 1 little liter. They will probably wean that off tonight.

His breathing is MUCH BETTER. He's breathing about 30-90 times a minute (40-60 is normal). So I can relax. His repeat heart echo shows that his aortic valve is only mildly leaking so that's great news too.

Aiden spent the day sleeping, and sleeping, and sleeping. Occassionally when someone other than his mom touched him - he would squeal and cry like an ambulance siren. He has the most high pitched scream.... Jeff's never going to sleep through it :) He even smiled 3 times... which we realize wasn't purposeful but thought it was perfect for the situation. The pastor came by and said prayers with us and the cardiology service gave Aiden a nice keepsake too. It's a bead journal. Basically a string with his name spelled out in beads. They gave me a cup of all kinds of different beads and a chart that explains what each bead represents. Each different bead represents something that Aiden experienced (a unit of blood, a medication, surgery, ECMO, oxygen, a cardiac cath etc.). I sat today and and put the beads together. It will be a nice keepsake for him to show him everything that he's been through.

The doctors told us that we will be transfered to the step down unit tomorrow. We're officially the healthiest baby in that unit now.... no others are getting out of bed or crying. The babies there are so sick. I tried feeding Aiden breastmilk with a bottle today but he doesn't seem to know what to do with it. The nurses tell me that this is normal after surgery on the little ones. They will consult a feeding team of therapists to work with me upstairs.

So I'll be staying in the hospital with Aiden starting tomorrow until he comes home hopefully by the end of the week. Jeff will have to update the blog. Thank you to everyone who is praying for us or visiting, dropping off food or gifts. We are so blessed by this whole experience. It really puts things into perspective..... the only thing that matters is family and friends and health and happiness.

PS...thanks Mom and Dad for taking care of our other baby... Denver. We miss you buddy and soon you'll be home too! And thanks to Jeff's mom Dona for buying me a robot that sweeps my floors each day while I"m not home. Rumba is keeping my house in order through all of this chaos!

Little, by little...

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 7 album.

Today I had a good day. My mommy and daddy came to visit early and later my Aunt Melissa and Grammy and Pap came too. One of mommy's friends even stopped by. I like to look at all of the faces when I'm not sleeping... but I'm really sleeping a lot. I must have been through something really big because boy am I tired.

I'm still breathing fast but the doctors keep telling my mommy and daddy that I'm not working to breathe. All signs point toward recovery... it may just take a little more time than expected. I'm still breathing in that gas that lowers my lung pressures and tomorrow they may turn it off. My mommy worries about this because she doesn't want me to struggle to breath. She was holding me today and chanting over some strange beads when the doctor came in and told her to relax and enjoy me and to stop worrying about something that will fix itself in due time. I hope she listens to him... he seems smart.

My Aunt Melissa says that I have my mommy's eyes.... I don't think so because hers are all swollen and puffy and my swelling went away a few days ago. I definitely have my daddy's hair and skin tone and long arms and legs.... the nurses say that I already have the ladies in my back pocket... not sure what that means... I haven't even had any clothes on yet.

Today I turned 1 week old. At 4:57 my mommy and daddy sang Happy Birthday to me. It made me go to sleep. I watched my first Steeler game with my dad... he said it was good bonding time. I'm not sure what all the fuss was about.... men ran around on the grass and he cheered... I just slept :)

I'm drinking so much milk that my mommy can't keep up with my caloric needs so they are supplementing my diet with formula.... I'm going to grow to be big and strong. My dad predicts I'll be 6'5''. Maybe I'll play basketball.... have you seen the size of my hands? The doctors took out my chest tube today and another one of my IVs. I"m down to just one more.

Well - I'm going back to sleep now.... I need to get ready for tomorrow. I might come off the funny breathing gas and the Milrinone drip. The doctor even told mommy that there's a chance I may be transferred out of the ICU tomorrow ...this makes my mommy even more nervous and she told me that she will stay with me 24 hours a day. I'd like that. Daddy is going back to work tomorrow so that he can be on vacation when I come home. I'll miss him though... I like how he talks to me. Wish me luck!

Vasodilation

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 6 album.

It's Day 6 and we got moved to a different room...a nice and bigger one for more visitors and room for Kimberly to pump. :) Aiden is eating like his dad and his mom can't keep up with the food supply. We all got to hold him today for the first time even though he's still got wires hooked up to him. He absolutely LOVES laying in his mom's arms and, consequently, his respiratory rate stays within a good range. His dad is feeling a little under the weather today (hence the mask) so it's mommy-bonding day. He was also happy to have some family stop by including his Grandpa Curry and Char. Click on the photos above to see more.

The doctor noticed some increase in his liver size and his AI is still in the moderate range. He's still taking Capoten for the AI but we all hope that this gets better. They added some Nitric Oxide to his oxygen to help vasodilate (i.e. help) his lungs. Normally babies have high pulmonary pressures that drop within a week. But because Aiden's heart was sick, those pressures are still remaining high. Ok, I'm learning more than I wanted to know here. It takes some special people to work with babies in an ICU.

So it looks like we'll be in the CICU for at least a couple more days until his numbers stabilize and charts show improvement. The intensivist even suggested going at a slower pace now. We're ok with letting little Aiden tell all of us when he's ready.

Two steps forward, one step back

Click on the above picture to view the entire Day 5 album.

Ok... we've made it through another day with many good things to report. Aiden had a sleepy day today - probably getting caught up on all the days that he didn't rest comfortably. Jeff and I sat at his bedside the entire time... just staring at him. It's hard to take our eyes off of him... he's so darn cute.

Aiden was started on Capoten today for his aortic valve problem and is tolerating it ok. The nurses are going slowly so that he doesn't drop his blood pressure too much with each dose. His Nipride, calcium, magnesium, and heparin drips were discontinued. His milrinone drip was decreased by half. Once he gets to his full dose of capoten, the milrinone will be turned off too. We also were able to feed him breastmilk through his feeding tube in his nose. He can start using a bottle once he's off oxygen. He's on a every 3 hour feeding schedule. Now I'm worried about keeping up with his caloric needs! If he has a metabolism like Jeff.... I'm in trouble... I might as well buy a hands free breast pump and wear it 24 hours a day :)

Jeff fed Aiden twice and even checked the placement of his feeding tube with a stethescope... he did really well. I changed his diaper, read him a book and we played music for him several times today. It feels good to do some normal parent things. Around 6pm, the surgeon pulled the last 2 drainage tubes from the surgery. Aiden did well. He's such a trooper. The only problem today was that Aiden was having some difficulty breathing after 12 noon. His respiratory rate was up. I knew something was wrong and of course his 6pm chest xray showed a pneumothorax on the right side. This is a collection of air outside of his lungs, compressing them and making it somewhat difficult to breath. Soooooo the doctors had to put in another chest tube to remove the air. Although it's awful for Aiden to endure one more thing... it should fix the breathing problem and help him to wean from the oxygen sooner than later. He'll probably have the tube for a few days.

We're so thankful for everyone's kind words of encouragement. We're even still receiving gifts from friends and family that we are really thankful for. We hope that we will be home by this time next week. Aiden seems to always throw us one curve ball during the day so we'll see how it goes. He's such a beautiful baby and he endures so much. I'm thankful to God every minute for my family. Until tomorrow....

Day 5 and running

Well, I'm still in the same spot...did you think I'd leave? Maybe in a few days the smarty pants at Childrens will move me to a step down unit but I don't wanna go too fast. I'm very temperamental so watch out mommy and daddy! They lowered my meds and I finally got some of ma mommies milk at 10:15am today! YUMMY!!! My daddy played some Baby Einstein for me too - I was in heaven! Now my mommy wants my blood pressure to stabilize since I have some moderate AI. I thought she was talking about me (as in AIden or as in some NBA dude my daddy watches) but, no, the doctor says it's aortic insufficiency. So, I gotta take some drugs to make it work good.

Oh and I wasn't in the mood to pose yesterday for photos but look at me today! They got me all wrapped up in this blanket today but it feels really nice. And they finally put me on my side. Don't want a flat head! Click on the picture to see others.

Aiden Day 5

Oh wait, my daddy wants to say something real quick. Here dad.

Thanks Aiden!

He's so cute today. We're happy the meds came down and we just want that BP to stabilize some. So happy he was able to finally have some milk. I know not everyone is superstitious but I thought I'd share this one with everyone. When we went to bed last night, we noticed something different in our room. When my grandmother passed away a couple years ago, we took a peace lily from her funeral. Since then, it's wilted, come back to life, and continued to do so over time. Although, it has not had a flower on it for about 1-2 years now. Last night, Kimberly said come look at your grandmother's plant. Low and behold, a lily had sprouted! As I posted before, I know that my grandparents and other friends and family are looking over Aiden and keeping him healthy. I have other signs that I could share but I'll leave you with this one for now. Back to you Aiden!

Jeez dad, you're stealing my thunder! I still love you and my mommy though! I hope to have more photos of myself soon so stay posted! I'm so happy to have so many people interested in making me better! My mommy and daddy are lucky to have such good people surrounding them.

I'm back in business

Aiden Day 4 (post surgery)

Hi everyone! I feel like it's only yesterday that I wrote to you all but I'm back and breathing on my own now! I was pretty drugged up this morning but I started to wiggle around and open my eyes after the nice doctors took the tube outta my nose around noon today! I still have a pacer to assist my heart in case it runs too low but my mommy and daddy said it hasn't been needed yet today! I got some O2 running in my nose but it's all good. Off some meds too cuz I'm too strong to need those now. Who knows where I'll be in 48 hours!

Now, I'm jamming out to some Baby Einstein and Jack Johnson while my mommy and daddy massage my hands and head and make weird noises in my ears. My grandma and grandpa stopped by too to see how good I look. Maybe I'll pose some more for my mommy and daddy before I get too tired. I'm going to continue to be a fighter.

A time for healing

Well it was good to sleep in my own bed last night...despite getting up every three hours to pump! But the good news is that Aiden now has milk so today we're going to focus on nutrition to help him get stronger.

I called in throughout the night to see how he's doing. He had a pretty good night. The two labs that we were worried about that indicate tissue damage (troponin and lactate) were both lower. He's still on the ventilator, sedated and paralyzed but resting. Of course there's a but... the catheter that they used for this heart catherization has caused some limited blood flow to his foot. They had to start him on a blood thinner and are using warm compresses to get the pulse in his foot back. They tell us that this is not that uncommon and that it should be OK. So we'll say our prayers for his foot today. :)

It has been interesting recovering from labor in a public place. I tote around a breast pump like it's an appendage. There are two rooms available for me to pump in. Although, you never know when you're going to walk in and see someone else already pumping! I've gotten creative and even pumped in Jeff's new Escape Hybrid with the A/C outlet (nice feature Jeff!). Still taking a couple percosets. If nothing else, they help me to sleep. All things considered, I feel pretty good. I just can't wait to get my little boy home. Today we're taking in some baby books to read to him and some Baby Einstein music for him to listen to on the iPod.

Jeff will keep you updated later. Thanks for all your prayers and warm wishes. Seeing the huge circle of followers gives us strength each day.

Giant steps to baby steps

This morning, Aiden took a big step forward as he was taken off of the ECMO unit. His chest was also sewn back up which, for wimps like me, was visually nice to see. Therefore, his heart and lungs were functioning with the continued assistance of a ventilator and pacer.

Later that morning, the surgeon suggested that we move forward with extubating him (taking him off the ventilator). Although, after we returned from lunch, they weren't happy with some of his vitals, so they decided to keep him intubated and ordered a cardiac catherization (to look at the valves from the inside to see if there are any post-surgery issues).

They determined heart function to be normal with good coronary arteries (big plus). Although, they did find some moderate atrial regurgitation (i.e. the valve going to his aorta doesn't always work properly). Some people live with this condition (in a mild state) and some take medication their entire lives. The plan though is to slow down and let Aiden take baby steps forward to heal. He's had a lot of trauma in the past 3 days and, because this atrial valve was part of the surgical procedure, it could be attributing to this particular problem. He's been poked and prodded enough so we're happy that he's going to take it easy for a couple days.

We enjoyed touching his arms, his legs, grazing his silky white hair, giving him kisses, singing to him and giving him encouragement that his mom, dad and a big following of others are all behind him rooting him on. Again, thank you all. It's all downhill from here...one baby step at a time.

ps: oh and if anyone wants any grave details on cardiology, I would be so happy to share what I've learned in my 2 day crash course. :)

Post surgery update

Yesterday, technically, I had issues accessing the blog, emotionally, it was the toughest day for us so far and, physically, the toughest for Aiden so far.

Around noon yesterday, a physicians assistant informed us that the procedure went as planned but there was an added complication. The surgeon determined that Aiden's BP (blood pressure - sorry, I'm learning and speaking the lingo now) was not high enough to sustain the surgery. Therefore, he was put on a device called ECMO (+ a pacer) to basically let a machine do the work that his lungs and heart would normally do. The doctor's did mention before that the first 48 hours after surgery is the worst even though this device isn't commonly used (nor rare as they put it).

Kimberly and I stayed the night at Children's as one of her friends on another unit was able to provide us with a room equipped with a bed and TV. I'm very happy that we're in the best hands possible for Aiden but hopefully the new facility in 6 months will provide better guest waiting and overnight services. I'm now at home getting refreshed and will be leaving soon to relieve Kimberly for a little while.

This morning, Aiden's vitals were stable (if not a little better) and he was weened off a drug (epinephrine) which is good. The plan is to try taking him off ECMO and to have his lungs and heart do the work. If that doesn't work, the surgeon will attempt another procedure to help get him to where we all want him to be - on the road to recovery and home in our arms.

Needless to say, this was one of, if not the, toughest thing we've ever had to see or deal with so far in our lives. I can't thank everyone enough for your great support by being here in person, adding comments to the blog, texting, voice mails, whatever... Thanks to the AGH girls for stopping by last night and bringing your positive support and sense of humor. And, thank God for looking over Aiden and blessing these wonderful, talented people who are taking care of him. He is a strong boy and with all of this positive strength around him, he will persevere.

As long as I can get to the blog later today at Children's, I'll provide an update later this afternoon or evening.

Jeff

Off to get my heart fixed

From Aiden before surgery

Hey everyone! Although I was sleepy this morning, I got to see my mom, dad and grandparents before they whisked me away to get some drugs before my big surgery. I'm very scared but my parents made me feel good so I can't wait to see them afterward. Wish me luck! My mom or dad will have to probably send the next few updates until I get better.

From Aiden before surgery

Hello World

From Aiden Day 1 (pre surgery)

Although I have a lot of stuff going in and out of me, don't I look good? :)

I'm gonna be just fine whenever the good doctors fix my heart tomorrow morning at 7:30ish. 3 hours later, my heart will be like new and 7-10 days later, I'll finally be home with my mom and dad and Denver! I hope he's not eating too many of my toys before I get there. Bad doggy!

My daddy was so nice to stay with me all night, talk to me and sing me some songs. I really enjoyed his company before my mom came in today around 2pm. I could smell her scent from an ICU away! Can't wait to have some milk too both after they fix me up and my mommy can figure out that funny machine. :)

I'm so thankful for all of the nice people at Children's who have taking care of me so far. I'm also thankful that all of my mommy and daddy's friends and family are being so nice to them while they wait patiently.

Until tomorrow's update, wish me luck!

UPDATE!

Look, I actually do have eyes and can breathe on my own! Well, until they fix my heart of course but I'm so happy now I can sow, scream and cry for my mom!

From Aiden day after delivery

Night 1

Well, Aiden made it through the first night just fine. After a short couple hour nap in the waiting room, I went in and talked to him. He tried holding my finger and was wiggling around quite a bit making strange faces at me. He's a very handsome little guy. One thing they do know is that his digestive tract is definitely working well. :)

Last night, they informed me that they are planning to remove the ventilator from him today as his oxygen intake is at about 70% (equivalent to what it was in utero). Also, early estimates for surgery are mid-week but the surgeon will better be able to give us a more definitive date later today.

Mom still doing fine. Feeling good on percocets while pumping. I know, TMI to you guys sorry. I know that she's very anxious to come see him though.

Pictures to follow sometime later today.

The Delivery

Aiden Michael was born at 4:57pm today. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 21 and 1/4 inches in length. Kimberly is doing fine and baby is in the neonatal ICU at AGH waiting to be transported to Children's Hospital. More information to come.

The beginning

From Aiden delivery day

Well, we're at the hospital and, yes, I'm probably the only soon-to-be dad with a laptop uploading images to our blog. :) It's almost 12:30 and Kimberly's having some contractions but is feeling just fine. ETA for delivery between 3 and 4pm. My guess, 4:15 - right at Steelers kickoff. A star will rise soon.

T-24

Couldn't sleep last night. Kept thinking, wow, I'm going to be a dad tomorrow! I'm not sure how Kimberly has done it so far but she's a strong woman. I'm pretty sure she's ready for this to just be over with already! I believe the quote was "I can't wait until I can actually bend forward again". We spent our last night together, just the two of us, playing our normal game of 500 and watching Kimberly's favorite, murder mystery (plus it was a weak sports night :)).

It's going to be a tough week or two ahead but I'm looking forward to a healthy, energetic boy prevailing (if you didn't already know, Aiden means "little spitfire"). I know that our late grandparents, friends and God will be watching over us throughout this process. Also, the support we have received from everyone is amazing and we can't thank everyone enough.

Until my next update as a dad...
JC

Doctor's Appointment

Today I had my LAST OB appointment. I'm 2 cm's dilated and 80% effaced so unless I pop before Sunday.... I will be induced on 11/9. We're going in at 7:30 am and will hopefully have a baby by mid day.

Wish us luck!

Welcome to Aiden Michael's blog

Dear Family and Friends,
Our big day is approaching and we thought this was the best way to keep you informed of Aiden's progress. We are 39 weeks pregnant and unless Aiden arrives on his own, Kimberly will be induced on Sunday, 11/9. Aiden will be taken to Children's Hospital within a few hours of his birth at Allegheny General Hospital.

We expect that Aiden will have surgery within the first few days after birth. For more information on transposition of the greater arteries, click here. The surgeons tell us that Aiden will probably be in the hospital for 7-10 days after surgery so we hope to be home by Thanksgiving.

We'll provide more updates as we go.

Here's a picture of our nursery:

From 2008-10-12 Aiden's Nursery