Henry has had one busy month FULL of "first"s and we're absolutely in amazement of him and grateful for all this growth! We had a good visit with Dr. Raghuveer, Henry's Cardiologist, and he did awesome. During a typical visit Henry has both an EKG and ECHO test- both of which require him to be very still in order to see heart function, etc. This was a bit easier when he was a baby, but are becoming more and more interesting as he gets into his toddler years. We laughed a little during this visit, quietly taking bets how long he would lay on a table during the ECHO but Mary, the tech that has been doing Henry's ECHOs since he was a baby, kept him entertained the entire time with glowing toys, cartoons and music. So sweet! The testing confirmed that although Henry continues to have a small muscular VSD and his heart is still acclimating to the changes from surgery, it is even smaller than last visit and even small changes are successes. We have a follow up visit in four months to re-check, so we get to enjoy a little summer in the meantime!
Exciting times started last Friday afternoon when Julie discovered Henry OUT of the crib moments after she put him down IN his crib for his nap. We promptly changed "date night" to include some shopping and transformed Henry's room to safely adjust to his new talent! Julie and I had recently had discussions about when/how to transition him to a big boy bed and were shooting for summer sometime, and were reminded we are definitely on his schedule and not vice versa:) I blame it on my mom and the sweet ABCs quilt she made him (see picture)! I think it made him very excited to take this next leap! So far he's done great with now sleeping in the big boy bed he calls "Henry's bed", all considering. He's got a bit of a routine with all the new found freedom and it's funny to hear him wander around about up there and explore pre-sleep. We took out all the unstable furniture and toys along with the crib and kept things simple for him with just his toddler bed, dresser, rocking chair, some stuffed animals and a bin of books. We put a childproof doorknob on the inside of his door, so he can't get out without us helping him. Right now it takes him about an hour to settle into bed after rearranging furniture, saying the alphabet from his quilt, rocking in his chair and going through his books... all while narrating to Mr Bear. We still use a monitor so we can hear what's going on in there and it is very sweet to witness. He's a little sleep deprived right now, but it's getting better every day!
Henry started school this week after several visits last week to check the place out. He had a rough time after Julie dropped him off this morning for his first full day, but the teachers told us that after allowing a little more freedom and an extra visit with Mr. Bear things were a little better. He seems to love outside/playground time and adores the pet turtle in one of the classrooms. The other children are adorable and his cousin Leo is a great companion for him! We love the curriculum and the teachers are wonderful (and teaching us as much as they are teaching Henry, thank goodness:). We know this will be a big adjustment for him but feel confident that as this becomes routine for him, he will continue to grow in this wonderful environment.
Henry also started swim lessons last weekend at a local YMCA and the jury is still out on whether or not this is something he enjoys. If you ask him about swimming, he will say "go swimming, yeah!!!" clapping hands and all. But, while in the water he is really more excited about getting out and walking around the pool. My goal was really just to get him used to the water before summer rolled around and I think he'll be a little fish in good time.
I think we would have scheduled these changes a little more staggered, but swimming class is truly the only thing we really planned for so we're just rolling with it. We've caught ourselves a little teary lately knowing that there was a time when we were not sure we'd be able to experience these things with Henry- and for that all of these changes we embrace as little miracles:) Thanks for checking in with us!
Much love,
Kate, Julie and Henry
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