2 months...and a hospital stay

This little guy started smiling around 5 weeks, but by 6 weeks he had it perfected.  Now at 2 months you don't even have to tell him to smile before he's grinning like this.  We put in our time and now we're reaping the benefits with this frequent face.  Colin's nicknames are Big Boy, Chub-a-Lub, Baby Boo, Buddy Boo, Chunky Monkey, and Hubba-Hubba Ding Dong.

Colin's baby acne started at 5 weeks but it's gone away now.  At 5 weeks we were giving him a bottle every other night so he doesn't forget how to take one.  At about a month he stopped taking a pacifier.

When Colin was 6 weeks and 3 days old I woke up with a wet shirt and realized he must have slept longer than normal.  He'd been waking up twice around 3:00 and 6:30.  I crossed my fingers that it was at least 4:00 before I opened my eyes and looked at the clock.  It was 5:12!  I said a prayer of gratitude, so happy to have gotten just over 6 hours of sleep.  Then I was wide awake so I figured I might as well wake him up and make myself feel better. 

At 7 weeks we wondered if Colin just needed a little more milk before bed.  We started supplementing him with a couple ounces of breast milk (thanks again Heather!) in hopes that he would sleep longer.  A couple times he made it until 5:30 but it wasn't consistent.  Brooke and Brady both slept through the night at 6 or 7 weeks, so we figured this boy, with an extra pound at birth, should fall in line.

At his two-month check-up Colin weighed 14 lbs. 4 oz. What? I figured he'd be at least 13 lbs, but he's huge!  That's 87th percentile.  His length is 23 1/4 inches (61%).  The doctor then checked his heart rate and discovered it was so high he couldn't count it.  He said we would have to do his immunizations later because he needed to strap him to an EKG machine.  It was then that I realized this was serious.  His heart rate was almost 300 (normal heart rate for babies is around 140).  They put him on oxygen as well and determined to send him to Children's Hospital in Aurora via ambulance.  Brooke got a partial physical for her 3-year check-up while Colin was hooked up to the EKG.  Then she rode with me as we followed the ambulance.  Cory's partner covered for him and Brady was at school.  Cory met us at the hospital and I couldn't prepare him for what he'd see.  Colin was screaming, as he had been at the pediatrician's office.  They poked him so many times.  The first IV was put in his foot after trying to find a vein three times.  The half-life of the medicine was so short it wasn't reaching his heart.  Then they put an IV in his scalp.  That wasn't effective either.  Finally, they settled on his arm (not sure why that was a last resort) and the 4th round of medication did the trick.  

The whole time he was screaming I just kept wishing I could comfort him.  The doctors were great at putting us at ease, making sure we knew this wasn't a life-threatening condition.  So the hardest thing for me was to not be able to pick him up and make him feel better.  (He hadn't had a good feeding for almost 5 hours!)  Those motherly instincts to comfort him were pretty overwhelming.  Fortunately there was a nurse there to do the job for me.  He stroked his cheek, shushed him, sang to him, and eventually got him to take the pacifier (he requires sugar water from now on).  I couldn't hold back the tears as I saw how sweet this guy was being.  After a while I couldn't take it anymore, so I took Brooke to the cafeteria to get lunch.

Finally they had a room ready for us on the cardiology and electrophysiology floor.  Here's our poor little guy with all the leads for the EKG machine and his three IV's.  I stayed with him the whole time since I'm breastfeeding.  (I told one nurse I was not going to lose my milk over this.  "Of course not. Breast milk is gold," she said.)  I've always been the one in the hospital bed, so now I have sympathy for Cory having to sleep on that awful futon "bed".  It's good I had my iPad and the book Cory brought me.  He came down later Thursday night to drop off some essentials, and again Friday with another pair of clothes.  We left home for a quick check-up and didn't return for two days.

As for Colin's heart, he is taking medicine twice a day.  They sent us home with a stethoscope for us to listen a couple times a day.  The cardiologist doesn't know why this happens sometimes, but he said there's a good chance he'll grow out of it around a year old.  If not, he's still got a 20% - 30% chance he'll outgrow it by the time he's 2.  If not by then he'll need an oblation once he's 30 pounds.  At that weight it's a very minor, non-invasive procedure.

What were his symptoms?  Obviously we didn't notice any.  He was a little more sweaty a couple days before his appointment.  They concluded this must have developed gradually and recently.  What a blessing that he was in the high rhythm when the doctor examined him.  It's also a blessing that I got him in for his 2-month check-up 2 months to the day.  Lastly, Cory had the entire weekend off, which rarely happens, so we didn't have to make lots of arrangements for the kids.

When I was pregnant I feared we would have a child with health problems.  I figured so many people do and we had been blessed so far.  (That was one of Cory's many arguments for not having more kids.  Why risk it?)  So if this heart rhythm is the only health problem this boy has, we'll take it.  I was especially grateful as I walked around the hospital and saw those poor children suffering with so many diseases.  We were blessed to only be there for two days.  A couple women from United Airlines were going from room to room giving each patient a teddy bear.  So here's our happy little boy and his new bear (that Brooke is now trying to claim as her own).  You wouldn't know there was anything wrong by looking at him.

Since we've been home Colin has slept a LOT.  We're not sure if it's because of the medication or if he's just making up for his lack of sleep in the hospital.  Last night, for the first time (drum roll please)...he slept 10 hours straight, 10pm to 8am.  Would he have slept longer sooner if not for his high heart rate?  Probably.  I'm not so familiar with this super happy, chill, sleepy baby, but I'm already in love with him and hope this is the new normal.  I told Cory that our lives are about to get so much easier.  I've really got my hopes up for another restful night, so I hope he doesn't disappoint.