Dr. Grassl continues to be impressed by his growth. He is in the 97th percentile for height coming in at 27.5 inches and is in the 95th percentile for weight weighing 18 pounds. What a big boy.
I was given the green light to start him on stage 1 baby foods. I plan on making his fruit and veggie baby foods, but while I am testing out what he likes and if he has a reaction to anything, the Gerber "supported sitter" foods is so much more convenient. We started on peas 3 days ago and he LOVES them! Tomorrow we are going to try green beans.
Love this bib :)Here is his picture in the chair....he was sooooo grumpy this day because of his immunizations so I wasn't able to get a smiling picture.
He is continuing to get stronger everyday. He still isn't rolling over (he can and has, but does not do it consistently). His doctor said that because of his size he may do things a little bit later. He is plenty strong enough but I think coordinating that big body can be a little overwhelming and difficult for him. He can, however, bear all of his weight while standing and just use us to hold onto for balance. Standing is a favorite activity for him for sure!
Well I debated on whether or not to write about this next thing, but figured that the more people to pray for Corben the better so here goes the other news......
At his check up, Dr. Grassl heard a murmur in Corben's heart. She said to not worry but wanted us to see a pediatric cardiologist, who we saw today.
Dr. Baron was recommended by our friend's stepdad, who is a cardiologist. Turns out he trained at Texas Children's Hospital and with Dr. Friedman, the pediatric cardiologist that I saw all throughout my childhood for my heart condition (which is in no way related to what Corben has).
After an EKG and listen with the stethoscope, Dr. Baron decided it was best to do an Echo-cardiogram (ultrasound) on Corben's heart to see what was causing the murmur.
It turns out that he has what is called a Bicuspid Aortic Valve Defect. It is a congenital heart defect that he was born with.He says it is fairly common for a heart defect. It should not effect Corben's life much, other than monitoring. For his first year, he will get ultrasounds every 3 months so see if the condition progresses. If it is staying the same, he will move to every 6 months and then eventually just once a year.
Worst case scenario is that it will require a heart catheterization surgery in his future to go into the valve and balloon it open (as the condition narrows the valve opening). It shouldn't effect his ability to be active and play sports, etc.
Dr. Baron said there is no way to predict what will happen. We will go back in September for another ultrasound to see if it has worsened or stayed the same. It is not something that will just go away, so we will just pray that it stays the same as his heart grows.
I am sad for him that he will have to deal with this for the rest of his life, but I know that it is something that can be fixed if it becomes problematic. Seeing your baby with leads on his chest getting an EKG and then holding his hands and body still while he gets an ultrasound on his heart is just absolutely heartbreaking though.
I can only imagine what my parents went through with me while I was going through my heart problems and then my surgery. I am so blessed that they always stayed strong for me.....I don't know how they did. I guess as a parent you just do what you have to do. I am just glad Corben couldn't understand my tears as they hooked him up to the EKG.
So that is that. We would appreciate you keeping Corben's heart in your prayers. Steve asked me tonight how I would explain this to Corben as he gets older. In one way, it is good that this was caught now, because going to a cardiologist will always be his "normal" and won't be a scary thing for him. But I will make sure that he knows that God just made his heart special. And I believe that to be true in more ways than just this condition.
"Remember, you are special because I made you, and I don't make mistakes." -Max Lucado's You are Special
Praying for your sweet baby's heart!<3 what a cutie he is!
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