Adyen, the One Million Dollar Man

We received a summary of Ayden's hospital charges yesterday (the hospital charges - room, pharmacy, lab tests, etc - are tracked separately from the the doctors' charges).  The doctors' charges alone had already hit the 6 figure mark.  With what we received yesterday... hello, 7 figures.  As I discussed with a friend last night, for the first time in my life, an insurance company is now on the losing end of our little arrangement.  And still two more surgeries to go!

Of course, he's worth every penny of that.  He is such a good baby.  He is high maintenance only because of the set of hoops we have to jump through every day because of his heart defect.  Take all of that extra stuff away, and we'd be left with a three month old who sleeps a good portion of the night, throws a fairly small amount of rather short tantrums, and smiles a whole lot.  There are times when you completely forget about his condition.  I continue to be honored to be his father.  Every day he makes me proud.

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We have been trying to work with Ayden on his development.  He is easily able to follow moving objects, or to follow stationary objects - like the ceiling fan - when he is moving.  Thank goodness he has a ceiling fan in his room!

He is able to locate what direction a sound is coming from and find the source with his eyes.  We have made a conscious effort to start sitting him up more and put him on his stomach more.  He is slowly exhibiting more control over his head.  He is getting better at holding on to things, like his WubbaNub.  He used to wear the rings as elbow bracelets, but now he can hook his thumbs around them and maintain his grasp.

Ayden is also starting to generate a wider array of noises.  Previously, his main form of vocalization was either to grunt or cry.  Now, he has expanded his repertoire to include more cooing-type sounds.  Although he is a long way from being able to generate anything close to a word, for the first time he at least seems to be attempting to communicate.

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The process leading up to Ayden's second surgery has begun.  This past week his catheterization was scheduled for late in August.  This procedure is done before the next surgery.  We have not yet had a full blown conversation with his cardiologist about this stage yet, so I am not entirely clear on what they will be looking for with the catheterization.  I know it has something to do with checking the pressure levels in or around his heart and/or lungs.

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We want to send out a special thanks to Jonathan and Nichole for bringing us dinner (and dessert, and a six pack) on Friday night.  It was all very good, especially the beer (I'm a big fan of Magic Hat Brewing Co. - I'd never had their summer brew before).  We continue to be immensely blessed by our friends and family and their willingness to help us out, even knowing they can't spend any time with us or Ayden.

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Pleading with Dad to Make Bathtime Stop

Showing Displeasure with Bathtime