family pictures

My sister Lauren, took family pictures of us, to celebrate Dahlia turning six months old.  We just love having her with us, out of the hospital.

big sigh of relief!

Today the other kids had appointments at Texas Children's to check their hearts. The type of heart defect Dahlia had can sometimes be genetic. On top of everything I already have to worry about, I have been worrying that our other kids might also have Left Ventricular Non-Compaction like Dahlia. Well, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, after a thorough examination the kids hearts are healthy! Brian had his hands full, especially with Laila. She freaked out. Brian said she tried running down the hall to get away from the nurse. During her echocardiogram she was yelling, "I'm not doing this anymore!" and tried hitting Brian. Then, when she got home she told me the doctor put peanut butter on her chest when they looked at her heart (they had to put gel on her chest when she had her echo).

Ava stayed with us the past two weeks and was a big help! Dahlia loves her big sister.  I ordered this hat for Dahlia when she was a newborn and it finally arrived this past week!

goodbye hospital!

Dahlia was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.  It would have been sooner but there was a debate about if Dahlia would need to leave with a feeding tube or not.  Luckily Dahlia gained some weight and showed the doctors she could handle a bottle just fine. Since we live more than 1 hour outside of the Houston area we have to stay in the area until 3 months post transplant; one down, two more to go.  Luckily, I grew up in this area and my parents still live here.  So, I will be staying at their house and do not have to rent an apartment or stay at the Ronald McDonald House like many families have to.  Leaving the hospital is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.  No more doctors or nurses to come running if anything goes wrong.  It's all on me now.  If I simply forget to shake her medicine she could end up back in the ICU.  Luckily so far there have been no calls to 911 or trips to the emergency room.  Aside from giving medicine around the clock it has been just your normal baby stuff; eating, playing, lots of smiles, sleeping, dirty diapers.  After almost losing her, normal feels so good!