Bismarck, ND

A slightly bigger Minot... :D

Yesterday we made the 2 hour trek to Bismarck, ND to see a pediatric cardiologist. We left right about nap time and our good little boy took a decent nap on the drive down there! (Only 1.5 hrs instead of the normal 2, but still good!) We got there just in time to eat at SCHLOTZSKY's (which alone makes Bismarck better than Minot!), feed the bit, and head over the doctors.

We got comments all day long about how cute, precious, adorable, and friendly he was! Jarvis is quite the people person and does not mind smiling and flirting at all!

We started off the appointments with an Echocardiogram (ECG) and Jarvis did very well, he enjoyed watching the ultrasound pictures of his heart up on the screen. He was trying to grab the wand sometimes, and he did push out his belly like a little horse when she was trying to lightly press on it to get a better picture! She was thoroughly amused by him.

Then came the part I was most concerned by- the chest x-ray. I have a good friend who is a x-ray tech, and she warned me that they often need little babies to be crying in order to get them to take a deep enough breath. I wasn't too excited about that!! I, obviously, could not go back with them, so J took Jarvis back. He said they actually had Jarvis sitting up against a plate rather than lying down, and just had to hold him arms out. They snapped a few quick pictures and he was done! No fussing, no crying, no nothing. Looks like I worried for nothing, haha! And the entire Radiology waiting room was entertained by Jarvis' attempts at walking!

We then headed up to the cardiologist's office. The wait was rather long, but be did get to weigh and measure Jarvis! He now weighs in at a whopping 19lbs, 9oz and was 27inches long. (I could have sworn he was over 20, he's getting so heavy!!)

We had an Electrocardiogram (EKG) done while waiting in the room, so Jarvis got to have lots of little stickers and probes hanging all over him. This one proved a little more difficult, because we couldn't hold his arms and legs down or else it would interfere with the machine. After a busted attempt with bubbles, Mommy sang 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' and kept him distracted long enough to get the test done.

By this point in time, he was already an hour late for his afternoon nap, and starting to show it. But a little music from Mommy's Iphone and he chilled out for the long wait for the doctor.

First off- the condition the geneticist was concerned about displays the triphalangeal thumbs, some deformation of the radius', and a large hole in the septum of a baby's heart. We had already confirmed that his radii (? each radius? whatever!) were not deformed, so we were feeling pretty certain that the testing was just a precaution. Plus, babies with big holes in their hearts don't grow and develop like he has been!

The doctor confirmed that he does not have a big hole. HOWEVER, he does have a small hole, called Patent Foramen Ovale. When babies are the womb, since they rely only on Mommy's blood for oxygen, they have a small hole in their heart that allows blood to flow back and forth and skip the lungs. In normal babies, this closes up at birth, when the change in blood pressure forces it shut. In about 25% of babies, it does not close right away. Most of them (about 90%) it closes on it's own within the first 2 years of life.

There really are no implications or concerns with this condition, it is a fairly common abnormality. Older patients are at risk for strokes since it allows blood clots through, but that is not a concern until he is much, much older. We will have it checked when he is 5 years old, just to make sure it has closed on it's own. You can find more information here: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/congenital/pfo.aspx

Basically, it was a good day. We have determined that Jarvis does not have the condition we were most concerned about, although he does have another minor heart issue. He held up pretty well, and was a good little trooper despite missing naps and being poked and prodded or stuck in a car seat all day long. He is back to his happy smiling self today, climbing all over the puppy!

For now, at least, the testing is all done on Jarvis, and we can determine that he just has special thumbs, and that they are unrelated to any other issues. Which is such a blessing! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and concerns during this time. We are very thankful to our Lord for the blessings he has given us, and for our sweet, healthy baby boy!

Duckie's ultrasound is Thursday afternoon, I will try to get the pictures up as soon as possible!

Much love,

J, C, J &D