Celebrating 32 Weeks!!

Today we are celebrating getting to 32 weeks! When Max was diagnosed with heart block at 28 weeks, I didn't know if we were even going to make it to 32 weeks. It seemed so far off and we were very scared. It was very obvious to us that our doctors were very nervous too. I cannot believe it's been a month and we've made it to our first goal. Why is getting to 32 weeks important? This is a critical point to get to because most of the organs and systems are pretty mature at this time and he has a great chance at survival. Prior to this point, it can be a little trickier. While Max still has a lot of growing to do, he will spend this last several weeks gaining weight and growing. His lungs are also mature due to the steroids. So, needless to say, we are thrilled to get to this point!

As far as appointments this week, we had 2 BPPS and also met with the cardiologist at Vandy. The BPP on Monday went very well (we discussed it in our previous post). Then we met with Dr. Vera, Max's pediatric cardiologist, on Wednesday. The photos are of the tech that usually does our ultrasound and echo and of Dr. Vera. The tech does his thing first, and then she always comes in and takes some additional pictures. It was a great appointment and Dr. Vera said she is VERY pleased with his progress. We asked her about 2nd degree versus complete heart block, and she feels strongly that Max has complete heart block. That's ok though, because the treatment is the same and Tyler and I feel sure he is going to be ok either way. She said he appears to be very stable and there doesn't seem to be any additional damage to his heart. This may be partly due to the steroids, but Tyler and I know that all your prayers are making the biggest difference in his progress and health. We cannot thank you enough for that! Looking back to a month ago, we are now in such a better place. I now understand how concerned Dr. Vera was about Max initially, and rightfully so. We can see how much more confident she is in his condition now that he seems to be more stable, and that is very comforting to us. She agreed with our high risk OB, that as far as Max keeps up the good work, we will plan on delivering at about 36 weeks. This will be sometime around the last 2 weeks in June.

Then, today we had another BPP and Max did great. He is very active and his heart rate ranged from 58-70. It has consistently been in the 60's and 70's all week, which is very encouraging to us since it's not been that high since he was diagnosed.

So, to summarize, this week has been a great week with a lot to celebrate!! We are so thankful for each small blessing and are trying not to take anything for granted. We continue to feel very "lifted up" by all of you everyday and that is so important. There is not a day that goes by that multiple people don't ask about Max and how he's doing. We love seeing responses on the blog, also, and all of your prayers are making a huge impact. Thank you!!