Well today is Hudson's 9 month birthday and he sure is getting big! He now weighs over 19 pounds and is rolling all over the place and talking nonstop! His favorites are mama and dada of course! This week was a big week for us! Tuesday we went to the OB and had an ultrasound of baby #2 and were thrilled to find out that we are going to have a little girl! They are sending me for a fetal echo of her heart in 2 weeks but saw nothing to be concerned about just want to confirm normal anatomy due to Hudson's history. On Wednesday, Hudson had a bronchoscopy and echo of his heart. The bronchoscopy went wonderful and his airway was wide open...therefore we will not need another bronchoscopy for at least 6 months...yay!! On the other hand, the echo didn't bring the same news. It showed that his conduit, (the synthetic graft in his heart serving the purpose of the pulmonary artery which delivers blood to his lungs), is already narrowing..something you expect to see after several years. After talking with the cardiologist, the current plan is to just keep a close eye on Hudson's heart and to repeat the echo in 4 months. We always knew the conduit would have to be replaced but this is rather early...they usually last several years so this was not the news we were expecting. Thank goodness we have a wonderful team of physicians watching out for our tough little cookie! Hudson is a trooper and you would never know what he has been through...he is a fighter! All is going well at the moment and we truly are blessed! Overall, each and every month gets better and more and more fun! There are always bumps in the road but nothing that we can't overcome with a little help!

Mommy's Handsome Boy

Growing Strong

Hudson is now 8 months old and doing great! Other than a nasty upper respiratory infection that we spent a couple of days at Children's for in November he has been a busy boy. He now has 3 teeth (working in the 4th) and a personality to die for..at least in mommy and daddy's eyes! He had a wonderful first Christmas and really enjoyed all the lights and wrapping paper. He is scheduled for another bronchoscopy at the end of January and is super excited to be a big brother in July!!

Life is Good

Hudson has been a busy boy! He had another bronchoscopy a month ago and ENT surgeon was pleased with the apperance of his airway and confident enough to try and wait 3 months until his next bronchoscopy...yippee!! Hudson is continuing to eat well and gain weight and just struggles with some daily congestion due to allergies..but very manageable. He has cut 2 teeth just recently and continues to try new big boy foods..not his favorite thing to do though...He has now been to the Fort Worth Zoo, the State Fair of Texas and has probably spent the most of his time recently cheering for the Texas Rangers in the post season. He loves playing in his exersaucer and being outdoors and probably has the most energy I have ever seen for a 6 month old...he truly doesn't want to miss a thing! We are so very thankful to have such a wonderful little baby...he doesn't cry much and immunizations don't seem to faze him a bit...We are looking forward to cheering the Rangers on in the World Series and dressing him up for Halloween!!!

I love helping mommy

Tube Free

So we have been home 4 weeks and Hudson has continued to improve daily. Hudson loves to be outdoors! He has been on several walks and finally got to go swimming...he absolutely loves the water!! He has had multiple doctor's visits and 2 more bronchoscopies. The first bronchoscopy revealed more scar tissue which was debrided once again and we have continued to do daily breathing treatments. He has worked so very hard at eating and mommy and daddy decided he didn't need the feeding tube anymore. He has been tube free for 2 weeks now and continuing to eat like a champ and thrive! Last week he had another bronchoscopy and for the first time the tissue in the trachea did not return!! He still has one area of concern but much improved!! The breathing treatments are finally paying off!! The current plan is to repeat another bronchoscopy in 3 weeks and continue to eat, eat, eat!! We love having our baby boy home!

Home Sweet Home

So...it finally happened!! After 10 days out of ICU, Hudson braved another bronchoscopy and mommy and daddy brought their sweet baby boy home! He completly weaned off oxygen and narcotics and came home with only a feeding tube, pulse oximetry(measures his blood oxygen saturation)and minimal meds(aspirin and prevacid). The bronchoscopy revealed more scar tissue (ENT surgeon debrided once again)...but overall looked much improved. Since coming home he has been taking more from the bottle each and every day and getting regular breathing treatments to hopefully continue to treat the scar tissue. He has had baths every night in his big boy bath and got to go for his first walk around the neighborhood in his stroller!! He is working so hard to wean off his feeding tube! His best day at the hospital consisted of 50 cc's in 24 hours and since coming home (only been home for a week) has worked up to 400-475 cc's per day! Mommy and Daddy are soo proud of our strong fighter that continues to amaze us again and again!! He went to his pediatrician this past monday and the pediatrician couldn't believe his eyes...he never thought Hudson would look as good as he did..he left the room and then preceded to come back in before we left to tell us how fantastic he looks and to keep up the good work....this put a huge smile on mommy's face) Next week Hudson will have another bronchoscopy and then will follow up with all the specialists on a monthly basis to monitor his progess. It is truly amazing what our little boy has been through over the past 4 months. It is such an inspiration to know how brave and strong such a little baby can be and it is such a blessing that we have been chosen to call him our son!!!