Where does the time go??

Wheeeew we have had a busy few weeks. I can't believe May is already half way over!! Quite a lot has happened over the past few weeks so I will do my best to summarize.

On May 2nd Mommy had her alumni soccer game at Seattle U. It was a lot of fun to get together with old teammates and lifelong friends to kick the ball around and see if we still have it. I literally had not kicked a soccer ball since I found out I was pregnant so I knew the first few minutes would be pretty entertaining. It took a bit but eventually it all came back to me...just in a much slower and more painful pace. All in all it was a great time and I came away with no injuries and was surprisingly not too sore! Madi enjoyed wtching Mom play soccer for the first time and hopefully she learned a few tricks...she will be up and playing in no time!

Madi has also started going to physical therapy once a week. She still has some stranger anxiety but took to her therapist Larry really well. She had a good time and really works hard for us. We are so excited to see what the difference will be after she has recovered from heart surgery. Everyone is always surprised at how well she is doing and how much energy she does have despite her heart defect. We are still focused on lots of tummy time (which is a huge workout for her now), getting her to use her arms to push herself up, and sitting up. She has come such a long way and we are so proud of all she has accomplished already. The great thing about kids with down syndrome is that they will reach all the milestones that other kids reach, it will just be at their own pace. As of now she is not too far behind and it is our goal to do all that we can to help her reach those milestones!

On Wednesday we had Madi's pre-op appointment for her sugery that is scheduled for next Thursday. It was a long afternoon that consisted of a tour of the hospital, meeting with the surgeon and his team, bloodwork, echo cardiogram, chest x-ray and an appointment with the cardiologist. It was a lot on little Madi but she was definitely a trooper. The surgeon spent a lot of time with us explaining the procedure, rattling off a lot of statistics, discussing possible complications, and helping to prepare us for what to expect. We both really like him and feel confident that he will do a great job! He assured us that the success rate for this procedure is extremely high. They also helped prepare us for how Madi will look after surgery. She will have a pretty large incision down the center of her chest as they have to go in through the sternum. She will most likely come out on a ventilator, will have chest tubes for drainage and quite a few IV's...I think I am forgetting some things. Needless to say it is going to be extremely difficult to see our little girl like that. She should only be on the ventilator for a day or so and slowly as she becomes stronger they will be able to start removing the wires. He also said to expect a 7-10 day hospital stay. If you are interested in learning more about an AV Canal defect here is a link with some info

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=132

I had an amazing first Mother's Day (well the first one with her here with us)!!! The day started with breakfast in bed with my two favorite people! We then went for a walk in the afternoon and had a picnic at the park near our house. It was such a fun day to spend as a family. I absolutely love being a mom and I feel so blessed every day to have such a sweet and loving baby. Madi got me a new BOB jogging stroller so we can get out and go running together. I am definitely ready to get back into running but was unable to when it is just Madi and I at home. I was very excited for the new stroller and have already enjoyed a few runs with her.