Stanford Update

Friday was our trip to Stanford for Delaney's follow up appointment with her Hematologist. We were very discouraged by this visit and it came as a bit of a shock since we felt like our little happy screeching baby was doing well.
Delaney had a chest x ray Friday which showed that her heart may be enlarged. The concern is that her little heart is having to work extra hard to pump extra blood to all the blood vessels that make up the mass in her liver. The doctor had a cardiologist look at the xray and he said he did not think it was enough of a change to do anything right now but we were told to be aware of certain symptoms at home that could indicate it getting worse and heart failure.
Delaney is still on her steroids but we had to decrease the dose because she was retaining a lot of fluid and this was causing her blood pressure to be high. At this last visit her blood pressure was back to normal. The mass in her liver does not feel like it is getting any bigger, but she is scheduled for an MRI in 3 weeks to check and make sure. This will also tell us how it is affecting her other organs. If the mass has not gotten smaller and if it doesn't continue to shrink, the doctors are concerned this could put a lot of stress on her heart so they spoke with us about the possibility of starting high dose chemotherapy to help shrink it faster.
And if that wasn't enough... today she had her 4 month visit with her pediatrician. He is concerned about a crease I noticed on the top of her bottom and so we have to have an ultrasound done to see if it is a type of spina bifida. AND ... yes there's more... she also has to be evaluated by a physical therapist because her little head is not symmetrical and he said she may need to be fitted for a special helmet.
SO please continue to pray for little Delaney. I try to believe that God will not give us more than we can handle but it is difficult to watch our innocent little baby go through so much.
This picture is my new favorite. This is the face she makes when she is cooing and trying to talk.

Kangaroo pouch

Today I introduced Delaney to one of the greatest places on earth...Target:) She was such a good girl. But I definitely had to prioritize ahead of time just in case she had a meltdown. I came to the conclusion that if she started to scream I would just grab the toilet paper and super jumbo bottle of hand sanitizer. Those are the necessities:)
This picture is one of the things we found at the baby consignment sale. It was brand new and still in the box! She likes to ride around and look out just like a baby kangaroo:)

New Toy

Oh my little Laney loves her new baby Einstein mat.

Happy 4 month Birthday Delaney!

Today is Delaney's 4th month in this world! Right now she is laying on her baby Einstein mat rolling over from her tummy to her back and then grunting because she can't quite make it back to her tummy yet. We decided this morning we would go to church with little Laney Bug. We figured since she did so well last time we would give it another try. After about 10 minutes she arched her back and let out a squeal that meant Mommy would be making a quick exit and pacing with baby in the foyer during church today. And of course church ended with a screaming meltdown. But as soon as she saw her Daddy the tears stopped. She is such a Daddy's girl!
After church we enjoyed some juicy burgers for Grandpa Paul's Birthday. He got a GPS thingy. (sorry I don't know about those gadgets) And then watched some golf and Garrett's beloved Seahawks.
Tonight is bath night. That means lots of smiles from Delaney and her chubby legs going a mile a minute!

Garrett and I decided to start this blog to keep all our family and friends updated! Since you are all scattered around the country we thought this would be an easy way to keep in touch. Of course most of what we post will be updates about our precious little Delaney Rae. Tomorrow is her 4 month birthday! I cant believe it. She is changing so much. She looks like a baby now and not a little newborn. Well, we are all off to bed Garrett and I went to a baby consignment sale today ( I needed my mother-in-law to help me find treasures) and are wiped out. I've never seen so many pregnant women use their bellies to push their way through crowds and Moms nursing their baby's while digging through bins of clothes... that's talent. We will update and add pictures soon.