Primary Childrens Medical Center

Well over a month ago, we had our appointment to have an Echocardiogram done on baby Jefferson.  Andrew had to work so Stella and I went to the Cardiologist to have a Fetal Echo (basically an ultrasound on his heart) done.  Since I thought it was just a simple hole in his heart I was not worried.  Stella was born with a heart murmur and it went away on its own.  So I was not worried at all, I just thought of it as another ultrasound. 
Stella did great, she was so quiet and calm the entire ultrasound and sat there and watched her movie.  The Echo was over an hour long and they made sure to get plenty of pictures of his heart.  Next the Cardiologist, Dr Pinto, took us into a conference room (the initial room we were suppose to go in was occupied) and she carried a binder with her.  I got a little worried.  Usually most Dr just talk to you in the ultrasound room or in a exam room, but a conference room, that really got my heart going.  So we sat down and I got the movies going again for Stella to occupy her as Dr Pinto started to tell me what was going on with his heart. 
Now let me throw in this little disclaimer, I admit it, and Andrew even has pointed it out.  But I have some sort of ADD when it comes to trying to listen intently.  So as for the appointment and the initial shock, I do not remember everything that she told me. 
Doctor Pinto began by showing me pictures of a healthy heart and then what is wrong with his heart.  She called it AVSD, Atrioventricular Septal Defect.

 She showed me a picture exactly like this.  It shows the valves on right and left are missing and a hole between the left and right primum.  She then told me that this will require surgery to fix it, between 4-6 months of his life.  That is when I completely fell apart. 
Just hearing the words that my little baby will have to undergo Open Heart Surgery at such a young age was such a shock.  I would have never imagined something like this happening to my unborn child.   From then on what she said kind of went in one ear and out the other as I was trying to control myself from having a complete melt down.
She asked us to come back in 6 weeks to do another scan of his heart and to make sure that Andrew was there so that he could know exactly what was going on. 
Dr Pinto was so nice at trying to console me and tell me everything was going to be ok.  She gave Stella a little purple Hippo TY beanie baby to take home and a folder with information about his heart defect and I quickly booked it to the car because I felt a melt down coming.

I got Stella and myself in the car and quickly closed the doors.  I sobbed.  I have never cried that hard in my entire life.  It felt like my whole world was collapsing in on me.  How could my sweet innocent baby have to go through an invasive surgery at such a young age.  There was nothing I could do to help him.  Nothing that I could do to fix the problem or to take the eminent pain away.  The damage was done.  The only thing that helped calm me down was hearing Stella's sweet voice "Mommy please dont cry."  She kept saying that over and over until I finally got out of the car and went into the back seat and just held her.  She is such an amazing little girl and her not wanting me to be sad melted my heart into a million pieces. 
It was a really rough day.  It was unbelievably hard to take in those words, Open Heart Surgery by myself.  But some how I made it through the day.  I had promised Stella that I would take her to the Zoo after the appointment, so I sucked it up and we spent a few hours at the Zoo.  We got home from the Zoo and Stella went right down for a nap.  I sat in my rocking chair with a box of tissues and just cried.  It literally wasn't until Stella woke up when I slowly calmed myself down.  Stella again said to me "Mommy, please dont cry," and came and climbed into the chair with me and gave me a big hug.  It was going to take several days for these crying fits to ease up, I knew that.  Even just the thought of him, or an ultrasound picture just made me start crying.
I just had to try telling myself that everything was going to be ok.

Here we go!

Why Hello Again!!

It has been a very long time since my last family blog post.  Daily lives got ahead of us and before you know it, Stella will be turning 3 and we will be welcoming baby Jefferson into the world in a couple of months.  So here is the scoop on Mr Jefferson.  We found out a couple months ago that he has a CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) called AVSD (Atrioventricular Septal Defect) that will require OHS (Open Heart Surgery) between 4 months to a year of his life.  (I'm giving you the abbreviations now so I don't have to spell them all out every time in the future)  So this will be a way to get our experience out in cyber space so if anyone wants to read or relate, they can follow our journey, or hopefully help you along yours.

So here is the story of how it all came to be:

During one of my routine appointments to the Perinatologist at Obstetrix at Ogden Regional, where I was suppose to be monitored for my cervix, the sonographer saw something off with his heart.  Now with my pregnancy with Stella, I had an "incompetent cervix" and was dialated to a 1 at 26 weeks and was put on bed rest for 3 months.  It is suppose to be a problem with every pregnancy, but my cervix with Jefferson is above normal and extra long.  Thank Goodness!!  
The sonographer briefly pointed it out to us but made Dr Kathrine Gestland aware of the possible problem.  Dr Gestland just thought it was just a murmur at first and wanted to check his heart again in 3 weeks to see if it had changed.  
     Three weeks later we came back for the follow up appointment.  His heart had shown no change in the past 3 weeks.  There was a definite hole in the heart and other valve issues.  Our Perinatologist diagnosed it as AVSD and suggested we saw a Cardiologist at Primary Children's Hospital to have a Fetal Echo to see if they see the same problem.

Dr Gestland was amazing, and so was the sonographer we saw, I think her name is Rose!  We are so grateful for her and her amazing eye in catching this defect.  Although there is not much you can prepare for, it is so nice to know what we will be going through next year so that we can plan on time off, and healing and care for our baby Jefferson.  We are so blessed to live in a time when we have the technology and amazing Doctors to be able to figure this out early and to help guide us through the process.  And we are so privileged to be able to live near amazing Hospitals like Ogden Regional and Primary Children's.  I know that our baby Jefferson will be in some of the best hands in the world.

So here begins our journey with our beautiful little "Heart Baby."

(found this as a draft, forgot to post it 2 1/2 years ago) Our little Christmas present!

Wow! So much has happened since I posted last. Well Thanksgiving was good, but not that enjoyable since I did not have much room for food. Black Friday was a dud! It was so disappointing this year. There was not one thing that I saw in the ads that was worth waking up at the butt crack of dawn and facing the crowds and lines, so needless to say we slept in! Drew and I went shopping that afternoon after the dust had settled and got all of our Christmas shopping done. That was a life saver I tell you. So all the walking and shopping on Black Friday did not do a darn thing. The weekend came and past and next thing I knew it, it was Monday night and I still had not had Stella. So we cleaned up the house a little bit and got read to head to the hospital first thing Tuesday morning. Man I had not been up that early in months! I was so tired, because lets face it, who would actually get sleep when they knew what was going to happen the next day. So we got to the hospital at 6 am and we were in our room by about 6:30am. At Ogden Regional you are in the same room from start to finish. It was so nice not to have to move from room to room. We got all settled in and just waited. My awesome nurse Becky got me started on Pitocen by 7:10 and the anesthesiologist was in my room ready to shoot me up with an epidural by 7:45am. All I have to say is that it was heaven! Dont get me wrong, I am absolutely terrified of needles. Ask my mom, or my pediatrician when I was a kid, but I knew the pain was not worth not-not having an epidural. So as I sat there arched and shaking like a leaf (literally) and squeezing Drew's hand till it was purple, I bucked up and took it like a man. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Just a little sting and then tingling down my back and legs. Part of me kind of wishes that I would have experienced just one painful contraction, but then when I think about it, nah its not worth it. So I did not feel one painful contraction the entire time. I am so greatful for technology and modern medicine these days because the epidural was AMAZING!! Kudos to all those brave, strong women who go all granola when it comes to child birth, but I am all for that epidural! It made it so much more pleasant knowing that things were progressing and I was just laying there playing solitaire on my phone! At 9am I was starving and dying to eat something! I really dont know how I had the energy for the labor, but I guess all of the ice I munched on helped. By 12pm I was already dilated to an 8 and still cruising. My fantastic Midwife Machel came in and checked on me about 1pm and Stella was locked and loaded and working her way down. Kristin came by hoping to see her little niece before she had to go to work and at about 2:30 we sent her on a Jimmy Johns run so that I would have a #12 Beach Club on wheat with extra avocado waiting for me after Stella arrived. That sandwich just sat there taunting me but I think it helped me get through the labor, knowing I was going to be able to finally eat a Jimmy Johns sandwich after 9 long months! By 3:06pm Machel was back and I started to push. With a little tug of war (literally) with Drew and a towel, and a lovely episiotomy later our little baby girl was born at 3:27pm on November 30, 2010. A few short minutes later I was all stitched back up, bawling and holding my little baby girl. She is absolutely perfect! She weighed in at 7 lbs 2.5oz and was 19 1/2" long. She has got the cutest little nose and lips and a head FULL of brownish-blondish hair. We absolutely love her to death! It is amazing how you can fall in love with something so quickly that keeps you up at all hours of the night. But she is such a good baby. She loves to be cuddled and rocked and I dont mind doing it at all even in the middle of the night. I love being able to just look into those cute little eyes and know that she is all mine.
I have not really been sleep deprived. We just go to sleep about 8pm and dont get up till after 11am the next day. Thus the reason why my house is a disaster and the laundry is still in the baskets needing to be folded, and the dishes are piled up in the sink and covering the stove. So almost 3 weeks later and we are just now getting around to the dishes. (We use a lot of paper plates and plastic silverware)
We came home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon and Drew had the rest of the week off so we just spent it together as a new little family. Monday came and I hated to have him go off to work. Yes I cried for a few minutes after he left (I'll blame it on the hormones). But thank goodness that my amazing Mother flew in that afternoon to come meet her new little granddaughter. She came with 3 suit cases pack full of Christmas gifts and several new outfits, blankets, and toys for Stella. She is so spoiled! My mom hung out with us the rest of the week and helped us get situated and rested while she cleaned my house, made us dinner several times and played with little Stella as much as she could. My dad flew in on Thursday morning and came and greeted his little granddaughter and instantly fell in love. Well he did not say that to me but I could just tell. He was so cute with her I cried a little bit (again I'll blame it on the hormones). He just sat there and talked to her and rocked her and loved her for several hours straight.
That Friday we braved the new world and went to the Dee Event center to go watch Drew walk across to get his Diploma. I know im crazy to take a 1 week old out of the house, but I did not want to miss it. Through all the fog horns, screaming, cheering and clapping, Stella slept through it all and just chilled in her car seat the entire time. She was a champ. We are so proud of Drew for finishing his degree! Now we can start this new chapter of our lives, as a family!



Here are a few photos as requested...

Fresh out of the oven!


Getting her first bath


Getting her hair washed for the first time

So fresh and so clean!


First outfit, Thanks grandma Waite!


First family photo


First Christmas family photo


The best Christmas present EVER!!


Cutest little present!


My favorite!

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Its been a loooong time!

Well it has been almost a year! I am sorry, but I am not even sure people even look at this, but oh well. I am an avid journal keeper for both me and I have a Stella journal too where I keep track of her growth and new things she learns so thus the reason I dont blog very much.
Well to get you up to speed the past year, Stella broke her leg last fall by thinking she could walk down the stairs at 10 months old and rolled down the stairs. She just "fractured her tibia" in her right leg, but it was more like a dent in her bone. She was suppose to have her cast on for 4 weeks but at 3 weeks she pulled her cast off in the store with my mother in law. She had a huge blister on her heel and so she wanted to take it off. We went back to the orthopedic Dr and he said her leg was good to go. She pulled it off right in time for her 1st birthday party on December 3rd. My parents flew out for it and we had a big candy party. It was a blast and she got so spoiled.
I started a new job last September working with inmates in Salt Lake growing in the greenhouse and a big garden in the summer. I love it and love teaching those guys to hopefully help them when they get out.
Well the main reason why I wanted to blog is because I just had to share with you how much I absolutely love and swear by the kid show Signing Time.

I have learned ASL over the years from having deaf aunts as well as taking some courses in college. I have always wanted to teach my kids sign language and I have loved letting Stella watch it. It has been so fun for just the past 3 weeks to watch it click in her head and she now copies, signs, and she knows what she actually is signing. I ask her "whats the sign for milk, please, thank you, more, cookie, food, drink, signing time" and she will sign what I ask. She has been watching it pretty much since birth, but it has been so fun to watch her actually learn and use it even before she can talk. Stella is only 14 months and is learning so much from these DVD's. I think it is so fun for them to watch and for Drew and I to be able to communicate with her. She is such a character and LOVES her signing time and throws temper tantrums when I dont put it on when she asks for it. I just thought I would share with you, hopefully my friends that have little kids and babies, the success that I have had with these DVD's.

Well I will leave you with the latest family picture we had done back in November.

Much love,
The Warwoods

4 Months Already!

Little Miss Stella Rae turned 4 Months old last Wednesday. I cannot believe how much she has grown the past few months. Her 4 month stats were :
weight - 11lbs 12oz
length - 24 1/2" long
head - 16 1/2" long

She is a petite little thing, but she is growing like a weed!

So much has happened since the last report. Grams Waite came out the end of February to spend a little time with Stella before her blessing. We spent the week shopping and hanging out. We went and picked out her blessing dress. My mom did a little modification on it to make it what I was wanting for her dress. It had a white satin sash with a white rose fabric flower on the sash and I wanted a pink sash. I wanted her to have a white dress, pink sash, pink tights and a cute pink flower for her hair. She was adorable! My dad flew out just in time to spend a little time with his first granddaughter. He just loved her up all weekend long. It was so cute to see him with her and she just giggled and talked every time he played with her. The blessing was beautiful and it was so great to have all our family and friends there for such a special occasion.

After the blessing Stella hit so many milestones with in the past month. She finally started to laugh and giggle at you. She smiles all of the time. She absolutely loves to have her diaper changed. She will go from screaming her heart out and then I lay her down on the changing table and she puts on a huge smile on and laughs at me. She loves to stare at her feet. She is enthralled by the TV and hates to take her eyes off of it. I dont know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is nice to be able to put baby Einstein on and get some cleaning done while she is entertained. She is very easily entertained and is such a happy baby. Stella also had her first haircut. She was rocking a mini mullet, but since I was getting my hair did, I decided to get her hair evened out so that it grows out even and not all different lengths. With in the past 2 weeks her attitude has completely changed. I think that she is teething. She has this new thing where she rubs her toung on her gums a lot. She holds her head up and stands for about 10 seconds at a time. She still sleeps through the night. She goes to bed about 9:30pm and wakes up around 8am. I am starting to put her to sleep earlier to hopefully get her to sleep longer. She usually only takes 2 naps every day. They usually are 3+ hours each though. She is such a great sleeper. We are so spoiled to have such an amazing well mannered baby. She is growing up so fast. I have just loved watching her grow and we love having her in our family.
So without further adieu, here are a few pictures of our adorable baby girl!


I love this picture. Sitting up like a big girl and smiling!


First time I actually did something with her hair.


The first day with good weather and we got outside. This was the first time we actually used the stroller.


This is what I wake up to every morning. It just makes my day to see that adorable little girl!


The mini mullet


Stella getting her hair cut for the first time


Hangin out with Grandpa Dan


Stella in her blessing dress


Grams lovin on Stella after her blessing. She just loves her grandma!


And the two loves of my life...

I love my life!

2 months

Well our baby girl turned 2 months on Sunday. Time flies when your having fun! Little Stella had her check up yesterday. Poor thing got 5 shots in her legs. I am such a coward, I had to leave the room while Drew held her for the shots. For those who dont know I HATE shots and had a traumatic experience every time my pediatrician, Dr Sonia Ruiz, tried to give me a shot! So thus my reasons for not being able to hold my baby while screaming bloody murder and getting pricked 5 times. I had to walk out of the room and hum to myself so I didn't start crying from hearing Stella scream. Her stats from her check up...
Weight - 9lbs 4 oz
Length 22 1/2" long
I am so glad that she is growing! I was nervous that I was starving her and she was not getting enough to eat.

She has a trend of sleeping 6+ hours straight every night. I say trend because I dont want to jinks it and have her wake up more. Last night was her longest stretch, 7 1/2 hours. I love that she is only 2 months old and she already puts herself to sleep every time she naps and goes down to sleep at night and she sleeps pretty much through the night! We are so glad she is here and is such a joy to have around. We love the fact that she has started smiling more and is more interactive with us. She is so easily entertained with her play mat, baby Einstein, her bouncer, and she finally likes her swing! I love that she likes all these fun things we got for her finally!

We just love our little Stella Rae to death!