Luca's Heart Journey - 8 weeks Post Op

 Today marks 8 weeks since Luca had open heart surgery and 4 weeks since we left the hospital! 

Words can't express how grateful we are to be here, experiencing his first Christmas season at home and not in a hospital room. 

I haven't updated much as we have been busy adjusting to giving medications several times a day and keeping him on his feeding schedule along with getting back to homeschooling and our normal routine with all seven of us. 

We are praising the Lord for progress shown on his most recent echocardiogram on 11/29. His left ventricle once severely depressed at diagnosis and moderately depressed at release from the hospital showed as now mildly depressed! He will continue on his regimen of heart failure medications and will receive another EKG and echocardiogram on January 20th. 

In regards to feeding, he has also made progress!  As of two and a half weeks ago, he has been tube free! He is doing so well taking all of his medications my mouth. Feeding has been a learning curve as we figure out the right amount of thickness for his formula. It has been a bit of a struggle to find the right consistency, thick enough not to choke him but thin enough to come out of the bottle properly. 

In regards to typical baby milestones, Luca turned six months old last Wednesday! We are so incredibly thankful to have been given a half a year with our sweet smiley boy. He is just over 16 pounds and has officially found his feet which is one of my favorite baby accomplishments ever! So precious! He isn't able to sit without support yet, but that is to be expected since was laying in a hospital bed for so long. He is getting stronger each day and loves rolling around and playing with his toys. Since he is not able to nurse, he is my first baby to be sleeping in his crib at night. He usually wakes for two bottles and usually goes back to sleep quickly.  I still miss our nursing snuggles, but am so grateful that he is able to rest well. 

This week, he has struggled a bit with a cold, but so far we have been able to manage it at home. 

We have continually been blown away by the kindness of so many even since we've been home. From meals to monetary gifts, we feel so undeserving, but are so very grateful. Experiencing the Church (and not just ours) be the hands and feet of Jesus over the last two months is something I pray we never get over. May we serve as we have been served once this season is behind us.

Thank you all again for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for our Luca Paul.