Stable

No change = Stable...
Margaret had a check-up with her favorite cardiologist today.  We never seem to know what to expect with these appointments but overall things went well.  

Margaret will be put on the surgical schedule for a heart cath sometime in May -- this means, she will get a little "tune up" just in time for her to participate in the Children's Walk for Amazing event taking place on June 9th --- don't forget, you can join our team, too!!

Back to the appointment...
We have known for a while that Margaret would have a heart cath at some point this year but a little piece of me was unrealistically hopeful that we could make it to summer or even next fall before crossing this bridge again.  Margaret had an echo today and it went uncharacteristically well.  Seriously.  Bill and I were able to distract her enough with cuddles, bubbles and TV today.  She let the tech get many images and even seemed to relax a few times!  Mama watches her heart rate on the monitor often during these echoes and I have never seen her relax as much as she did today.  It was refreshing!  Of course, we saw her off the charts adorable pouty face quite a few times, but, she let the tech continue and only screamed a handful of times.  She did sign "all done" a few times which broke my heart into a million pieces each time because we knew she was expressing what she wanted but we just couldn't comply.  


The nurse was able to get a blood pressure reading, a measure of her sats, height and weight, all with minimal complaining from Margaret.  Seriously, who was this child today?!


When the cardiologist came in, Margaret was all sass.  She blew kisses at him, she said "hi" and she even let him listen to her heart and lungs WITHOUT crying.  Why did I feel so stressed about this appointment leading up to it? Clearly my child had grown up overnight and no longer got quite as stressed out as she typically does at these appointments!  While mommy and daddy chatted with the doctor, Margaret busied herself by moving around the room, digging in our bag and even made her way to the doctor and tugged on his pants and coat.  It was almost like she was trying to stay "ummm, pay attention to ME!"  It was adorable.  

Today's appointment was kind of weird.  We walked in with our little baby but as we moved through each piece of the appointment, Margaret suddenly seemed so much older.  She didn't seem like a baby at all but more like an actual toddler.  When did our little baby get so big?!

So what's next?  We will patiently wait for the call with our scheduled dates for pre-op and the heart cath.  At the end of March, our little family is taking a much needed and cardiology-approved vacation to Orlando.  We are very excited!  Now, to relax and do our best not to stress about the next couple of months.  We are so grateful to have a team of doctors who believe in being proactive with our daughter's care and not reactive.