Halloween 2012

Christmas may be just around the corner, but around here there's been a lot of talk about what Ben is going to be for Halloween next year. The list currently includes:

• The Black Power Ranger
• The Blue Power Ranger
• The Green Power Ranger
• Spiderman
• The Black Spiderman
• Batman
• Harry Potter
• Shaggy and/or Scooby-Doo

Hopefully we'll have these options narrowed down by September.

Lilah's First Month

I am finally getting around to documenting Lilah's first months. Because it seems like such an overwhelming task given that she is now nearly seven months old, I've decided to tackle it month by month. "Tackle" is the wrong word of course, as that makes it sound like some arduous task. The truth is that I am just now feeling like I might have the cognitive capacity to do justice to her early months. She is such a sweetie that I have also been somewhat reluctant to share my sweet girl with the world.  

 Lilah, the day we brought her home from the hospital (5/6/11)

As with most babies, Lilah's first month was both a blink of the eye and also what seemed like an eternity of sleepless nights. Overall adjusting to a second baby was much, MUCH easier than adjusting to one baby. Ben really rocked our worlds. We were clueless, and he wasn't much of a sleeper. He also needed much more effort to be calmed down, as in walking, and bouncing, and singing, and walking and rocking, and bouncing, etc. All of that combined led to a very exhausting first month that felt like one very long day. 

Fortunately Lilah seemed to adjust to the world a little more readily than Ben. Whether that's because we were a little more confident (though not really, because there is nothing more terrifying than a very young baby that you are completely responsible for, and I always second/triple/quadruple guess myself) or because she was just a different baby, I am not sure. Maybe we'll figure that out as she gets older and we see more of her personality emerge. Although the first month was exhausting and challenging, it was not nearly as exhausting as it was with Ben. Not having to constantly be in some sort of motion was a real energy saver. Also, Lilah and I quickly settled into a fairly nice routine that involved a cozy morning nap after Harold and Ben left for work and school followed by a leisurely stroll around the block.  Those naps were very replenishing, and being able to be out and about in the late spring air was much nicer than the very bleak January that was Ben's first month. 

 One of our first strolls

I really struggled with whether or not to keep Ben in school during my maternity leave. Ultimately we decided to keep him in school so as not to disrupt his schedule and life any more than it already had been. And, somewhat selfishly, it made my life a lot easier as I was able to get some sleep during the day. It was also wonderful to be able to give Lilah 100% of my attention. Eventually, once we got beyond the first month, I took Ben to a school a little later and picked him up a little earlier so that we were able to spend more time together. 

 Lilah with Granny (a.k.a., Mary Belle, my grandmother)

 Already giving me a look

 One of her favorite places - the bouncy seat

 Two weeks old 

Ben immediately adjusted to being a big brother. We really could not have had an easier transition with him and I am so grateful for that. Of course he had his moments of playing too aggressively or seeking some extra attention from us (mostly through crazy hyper episodes versus temper tantrums), but overall he was so happy to be a big brother that it made my adjustment to being a mom of two so much easier. I love that little guy.       

 The doting big brother

At Lilah's three week check up, things got a little more interesting when we found out that she had a heart murmur. Our pediatrician felt that it was most likely an "innocent" murmur given that Lilah was growing and eating well, but she referred us to a cardiologist just to be safe.

 Three weeks old

After an incredibly anxious week, in which I worried over every possible scenario while Harold simply took our pediatrician at face value (the difference between Moms and Dads, perhaps?), an echocardiogram was performed in the cardiologist's office and we found out that Lilah has a small ventricular septal defect (VSD), more commonly known as a hole in her heart. The hole allows for the leakage of blood between the ventricles, which is what causes the sound of the murmur. The cardiologist's first words after the echo were "We found something that isn't life threatening" (sadly, he must be used to delivering such news, and much more devastating news, to anxious parents). He explained that Lilah's VSD is very small and likely would not require surgery. Many such holes close up in the first year of life, but even if that were not the case she would have a perfectly normal life and her physical activities would most likely not be limited in any way. And if she were to have to have surgery, closing a septal defect is one of the simplest open heart surgeries that is performed (you know, keeping in mind that it is open heart surgery and all). So while this was certainly upsetting news, I was actually extremely relieved and incredibly grateful that it wasn't anything worse. It took a while to process everything (and it's taken me this long to be ready to tell the world), but ultimately it is just one more aspect of our girl that makes her even more sweet and precious to us.

We have been seeing the cardiologist regularly and as of now the hole is still there but it has gotten smaller. We are still hopeful that it will close, but if it doesn't she should still be fine, although there is a small chance that due to its location near a valve that it could cause some leakage (though to date there's been no evidence of that). The good news is that Lilah has continued to grow and thrive (in ~90th percentiles for height and weight), which is an extremely good sign because if the VSD were causing a problem it would most immediately be seen in her growth and feeding patterns. So at this point we are cautiously optimistic that she will not have to have surgery. But feel free to send any extra good wishes/prayers our way!
 

 Papa, Nana, and Lilah

 Only my Mom could get away with this 

Lilah at one month, with me and Ben

In reading back over this, I guess Lilah's first month was as stressful as Ben's was, just in a very different way. Unfortunately that continued to be the case (and more so actually) in subsequent months, as the VSD was not our last health challenge (though also, very very thankfully, non life-threatening).