What to Expect

Yesterday we met with the chief of cardiology at Seattle Children's.  This was our last cardiology appointment until our little girl is born in July.  It seems that everything is about the same from a month ago so there really wasn't a whole lot to talk about.  We did discuss what to expect when she is born.
The doctor said that in the majority of these cases the baby is strong enough to go home with the parents.  This is desirable so the baby can grow and develop for a few months before surgery.  If our little one is more fragile there are a number of options including medication or minor procedures that would still allow her to wait for the heart repair.  The chances of needing open heart surgery right after birth are small.  If the best option for her is to have heart surgery right after birth it would still be about a week or so later.  They would not rush her in but rather watch her and figure out the best approach to take.
Hopefully she will be able to come home with us and wait until she is four to six months old before they do the surgery.  As a mother I still have plenty of concerns.  One worry would be if she cries so hard that she doesn't breathe well and her heart races and her oxygen levels drop.  The doctor eased my concerns when he told us that they would never send a baby home if they even thought that was a possibility.
We were told that our little girl should have a normal life and that there is no need to really hold her back from being an active kid.  She will have multiple heart surgeries throughout her life but besides that she should have a pretty normal life.  Did you know that the awesome snow and skateboarder Shaun White was born with Tetrology of Fallot?  One of our questions was how much physical activity would be okay.  As you can see, physical activity is great, but of course she won't be able to run a marathon right off.  We are very optimistic and excited.