Merry Christmas! We've had a busy week!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has had a wonderful day filled with family and fun! I know we have had a great couple of days spent with family.

Tuesday Robbie and I met with several people and doctors at St. Vincent's. First we met with a lady from monogram maternity for a tour of labor and delivery and the NICU.  St. Vincent has a level IV NICU with 80 beds. The NICU is set up with pods and each pod has 4 babies. The nurses decorate the pods with the babies names; it was very calm and quiet in there. We met with one of the neonatologists who discussed in more detail the goals for feeding and IV's while she is there. She will need to be started on prostaglandin to keep open her ductus arteriosus  which is a blood vessel that babies have open in their hearts before they are born but close very soon after delivery. This vessel is why Riley's heart is ok before she is born and the problems start after she is born when it closes.

We had an ultrasound and got 3d pictures of Riley which was a nice surprise! We had an echo with One of the pediatric cardiologist who was very honest but also optimistic. He said everything still looks the same and her diagnosis is still hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The last person we met with was a child life specialist at Peyton Manning children's hospital who gave us a tour of the PICU. We learned all about visitation, the common areas, and the rules on the shower and sleeping rooms that they have available to families, All of the families that we passed in the hall had one thing in common, they all looked exhausted! I prayed for those sweet children and their committed parents while walking the halls.

Everyone we met was so nice and I really feel good about St. Vincent's and Peyton Manning's hospital. I know these next 3 months are going to fly and we have a lot to get ready! I can't believe the new year is next week!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours!