Update 2/25/08

It's been a great couple of weeks (for the most part) here at the Scadlock household. Being that it has been as low as -32 (with the wind chill) here in Des Moines we surprisingly don't have to much to complain about.

Beckham has had quite a few doctor appointments and each one has been very positive. His cardiology appointment went great and his ECHO, EKG, and X-Ray were all normal. This is such great news and such a different experience then when he was in the hospital and we watched the doctors worried faces after looking at the results of the same tests. At that same appointment he was taken of 2 medications! Beck's last CMV test came back negative so he was taken off of the Valcite which is a blessing because that is a mean drug. He was also taken off of Enalipril because his blood pressure has remained normal for the last couple of months. He should have been down to only 2 meds but sadly a new one was added. He now is taking Prilosec for reflux. Hopefully this will help with his spitting up. I can't tell you how many outfits both Beckham and myself go through each day because we are both covered in his stomach contents.

Another appointment Beckham had was to see where he is developmentally. He is now 6 months old and to be in the developmental range of a 6 month old he had to score between a 90 and 120 on the development test. Beck scored a 112. This is so great for a baby that basically laid still for the first 2 months of his life. He is still behind in many aspects, but we are glad that his brain is developing normally. He still has no interest in sitting up or putting any weight on his legs. I am very alright with this because I don't think that I am ready to have 2 mobile children. He also seems to favor using his right side more than his left. The Nurse Practitioner and Physical Therapist who see him do not seem to be too concerned, but they are going to bring an Occupational Therapist with them the next time they come just to be on the safe side.

At Beck's six month appointment he weighed 16.5 lbs. What a chunk....well not really, but compared to our skinny Gwen he is chunk. He is in the 25% of weight, 75% for height and his head is in the 50%. I think that Beckham's cheeks make up half of his weight! Beck was also given the clearance to introduce solids into his diet. He has only been given rice cereal thus far and he actually loves it.

Looks yummy eh?

The only thing that our family has to complain about is that both of our children have black eyes. Yes, you heard me right, they both have black eyes and NO we do not beat our children! Beckham's black eye was caused when Gwen walked by him with her sippy cup full of milk and accidentally dropped it on him. It hit him right in the eye. Poor little guy!
Gwen's black eye was caused by her finally achieving her goal of crawling out of her crib. She fell flat on her face. Her bruise started on the side of her face but by the next morning it had moved under her eye. Poor baby girl.

Black eyed Beck

Black eyed Gwen day 1

Black eyed Gwen day 2

The black eyed twins

Other than the black eyes we are all doing great and trying to stay healthy and sane. To tell you the truth I can't find it in myself to complain about anything when we have been given something as precious as Beckham's new heart. This winter will end soon and once it does we will emerge from our cave to explore the outside world. Again, a big thanks to everyone for their continuous support of our little family. We feel so blessed for all that we have.

-Kim, Nate, + black & blue Gwen & Beckham

Valentines Day/CHD Awareness

We are so grateful this year to be celebrating Valentines Day as a family and we are also grateful to be part of CHD awareness week. Many of you may be wondering what CHD is.....well CHD stands for Congenital Heart Defects. This week is the national Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week and I would like to let you know some facts and statistics about CHD.

• According to the March of Dimes, congenital heart defects are the #1 birth defect. It is estimated that 40,000 babies with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are born in the United States each year. To put CHD it in a better statistics: about 10,830 babies are born each day and out of those babies about 411 are born with some sort of birth defect. Out of those 411, about 87 are born with CHD. Isn't that crazy? I never knew this before I became a heart mommy!

• Sometimes during early pregnancy, a baby's heart fails to form properly, resulting in structural abnormalities known as Congenital Heart Defects. Although some defects are genetic, in many cases the cause is unknown.

• More than 1 million American children and adults with Congenital Heart Defects and Childhood Onset Heart Disease are alive today.

• CHD is the most frequently occurring birth defect, and is the leading cause of birth-defect related deaths.

• Although some babies will be diagnosed at birth, sometimes the diagnosis is not made until days, weeks, months, or even years after. In some cases, CHDs are not detected until adolescence or adulthood.

• Some CHDs may not require treatment other than periodic visits to a Pediatric Cardiologist. Others can be treated with medications or repaired with surgery and/or procedures. Complex defects may require several surgeries and are never really "cured."

• Many cases of sudden cardiac death in young athletes are caused by undiagnosed CHDs and Childhood Onset Heart Disease.

• It is estimated that more adults than children are living with congenital heart disease, and this population is expected to grow by 5% each year. Yet, many adults with CHD are not receiving adequate ongoing care from trained specialists.

*Beckham's heart defect is so rare that I could not find statistics on the number of babies born each year with Mitral Valve and Tricuspid Valve Stenosis.

This "heart" of our Valentines Day this year is focusing on the precious gift of Beckham's new heart. My good friend Crystal (and Nate's cousin) whose son Noah received a transplant a month before Beckham left me a comment once and it made me think. These are her words once she saw Noah's old heart:
"Here was the heart that had grown inside me and was suppose to be keeping my baby alive and now it's sitting on a table, the heart that nearly killed him.... How am I supposed to feel? Then I imagined the new heart beating inside him. The one another mother created and gave to my son. The one that is now keeping him alive. The price that was paid...."
I sometimes sit and feel Beck's heartbeat and marvel at the fact that Beckham grew in me, but his heart did not. It grew in another mother, a mother that lost her sweet baby. There is no words to express my gratitude toward that mother. I am actually playing with Beckham as I am writing this and he is smiling and laughing. I am so grateful that he is still with us, that he has a second chance at life, that he is able to sit and smile and laugh. We love him so much.

Children die each day from CHDs and while waiting for a heart transplant. I know that donation is a hard concept to think about but the one thing I do know about organ donation is that it is something that you never really think too much about until you are in a situation where that is the only option to save a life. Lets hope that this never has to be your option. If you would like to know more about CHDs or organ donations or make a monetary donation please click on the below links.

CHD
Organ donation

Happy Valentines Day!
-Kim, Nate, Gwen, and the "heart" of our family Beckham

Snow Day

It snowed enough the other night that Nate's school was canceled so we took Gwen out to play in the white stuff for the first time.