Day 100

Ouch... That was a hard title to type. I don't know why, but the 100th day seemed like such a scary milestone to me- One that I never wanted to meet. However, I am beyond thankful for every day I have with him, whatever the setting. If it takes 100 more days in here, we'll gladly serve them to be able to bring our baby home. He is truly a miracle, and far braver than me. So many mothers would give anything to be with their babies for one more day, even in a hospital. When I look at it that way, it seems selfish of me to complain about being here.

Many CHD families learn about their child's heart defect during pregnancy. However, there are countless others who don't find out until after their child's birth and for some it is too late. I didn't know about heart defects before Holden was born, and I didn't know any of the signs to watch for either. We took him home thinking he was a perfectly healthy baby. If his heart weren't so perfectly imperfect, we could have lost him before we even knew what was wrong with him. We were lucky. Some families aren't as fortunate. It breaks my heart every time I read a story of an undiagnosed baby passing away. News like this makes me so angry and rips my heart to pieces because it shouldn't be this way. More should be done to prevent this from happening. No mother should have to leave the hospital with empty arms, or be forced to say goodbye to her baby after only a few short hours or days. Many OB/GYN's are still not performing routine 20 week ultrasounds (mine included) and many hospitals are not performing pulse oximetry testing (O2 reading) before sending babies home. If more parents found out about potential CHD's at the 20 week ultrasound, surgeons and medical staff could be prepared at the time of the birth. Countless lives could be saved. (And it's one more chance to see your sweet baby on the monitor... Why pass that up??) The pulse oximetry test could catch defects that are missed by that ultrasound. These are both non-invasive tests that only take a few minutes. INSIST on having both tests, even if they're not required. (And they probably won't be.) It could save your baby's life!