Beginning to walk!

Joshua has decided its time to try walking! Maybe he will be walking before Easter! We are so blessed.

Cruising...

How many teeth do you have?

Joshua was scheduled to have his sedated echocardiogram last week, but we decided to cancel it. Thinking about the sedation and how hard it was for him the last time he was sedated for his GI procedure, we decided there was no harm in waiting a few months and trying again without sedation. The cardiologist suggested waiting anyways in the visit, so that is just what we will do. Patience is something we have become very good at, so I think we can handle the wait.

Joshua is cruising so fast around the house and pulling up and standing up on everything. I think he is going to be a climber....uh oh! He is really getting close to walking, he is able to walk with minimal help from us, and will stand up for a second on his own and then fall down. Its so fun to watch him have that look of accomplishment.

Here are some pictures of Joshua from the past weeks!

Hurry go!!

Exercising my mind =)

Lets Count...

Silly face

Aunt Kimmy and Joshua

Joshua and Grandma and Grandpa

Little button nose

I love playing with Uncle Chris!

Joshua and Pops

A Trip to the Arboretum

Joshua and Daddy

The Dallas Arboretum has the most beautiful spring display of hundreds of thousands of beautiful blooms. It was sunny and 80 degrees Monday so we figured it was a perfect day for a family outing. Here are a few pictures of our day. We will have to go back when Joshua is a bit older and can appreciate the landscape. But he did enjoy the ice cream we bought him =)

Mommy and Joshua

So many tulips in every color

 It was a little hot in the sun so we decided to cool down and share an ice cream....Joshua did not want to share =)

I want Ice Cream....

Can you say spoiled?

My favorite...the yellow tulips

So hard to get Joshua to look

 

Don't you wish this was your backyard?

 Joshua is really good at finding his nose and sometimes his eyes and ears. He loves to find his nose and then laugh about it...its so funny.

Joshua can you find your nose?

Wait I know this one....

Here it is!!

Good Job Joshua!

Oh and we now have 5 teeth! The 6th is on its way...hard to tell from the photo, but they are definitely there. Much love from Team Altman.

A Visit to the Cardiologist

Today was Joshua's cardiologist appointment. The appointment lasted about 2 1/2 hours which was pretty exhausting. Dr. Hess, the cardiologist, was extremely nice and straightforward which I always appreciate. Joshua's ECG, Electrocardiography aka EKG, was normal. The ECG basically interprets the electrical activity of the heart over a short period of time by electrodes placed on the abdomen. He had a 12 lead ECG, meaning they placed 12 leads or electrodes all over his abdomen and chest.

Stickers for me!!

I don't like all these cords...

In addition to the ECG, Joshua had an Echocardiogram, or Echo, which is basically a sonogram of the heart. This is similar to an ultrasound in that it uses sound waves to depict a 2D image of the heart in action. It took the technician about 15 minutes to get images and recordings of his heart on the monitor. Then we had to wait...and wait, for the doctor to read all these tests and determine the significance of this murmur.

Coloring on the paper while we wait...

From the Echo, she said everything looked normal, except for two things that stood out to her. She made it clear that these two things were not abnormal....but different from the usual. Without going into too much detail of the heart, there are 4 basic chambers of the heart as well as veins and arteries that are responsible for transporting blood to and from the heart. A couple of these veins that bring blood into the left atrium of the heart, seem to be in an awkward position, possibly restricting or not allowing easy flow and thus causing the murmur that is heard with the stethoscope. If this is the case, its not a big deal and as long as it doesn't cause any problems with his breathing, blood oxygenation, etc then we go about daily routines without concerns. Currently Joshua has no symptoms of any of these things and his blood oxygenation was 97%...perfect!

For those scholars that want a little more science =)

However....there is a possibility that it is more than this. The Echo has its cons because unfortunately its a 2-dimensional exam that is imaging a 3-dimensional heart. So not everything is seen in the exam. During the exam, like any 16 month old, Joshua was really squirmy which made it more difficult to get good images. Before she could give us a diagnosis, she recommended we repeat this exam while Joshua is sedated. This is the best way to get good still images and more importantly ANSWERS! So this is where we are now, waiting to go back and repeat the exam under sedation. Its an easy outpatient procedure, no IV's just a quick sedation like at the dentist. Hopefully some good answers are soon to follow. Thank you everyone for your prayers and for keeping up with us! Much love from Team Altman.

Check up & Check back...

Joshua had his 15 month well check up yesterday.... and there was good news and not so good news. The good news is Joshua's growth is beautiful on the charts, just where he should be. He is 32 inches long which is the 69th percentile for height and he weighs 23 lbs 1 ounce which puts him in the 25th percentile for weight. He got three more vaccines and lots of kisses from mommy yesterday. He is a trooper...cried for about 1 minute and then he was back flirting and laughing with the nurses.

While the doctor was listening to Joshua's heart, she heard a murmur which she hadn't heard since he was first born. When Joshua was born, as is common in preemies, he had a small hole in his heart. When looking at x-rays it seemed that the hole had closed and everything was normal. The murmur was no longer evident when listening with a stethoscope....until yesterday. The doctor clearly heard the murmur again, so we are going to see a cardiologist on Tuesday. For his first year of life, we were always being referred to specialists in hopes that their diagnosis would be a good one, and now that feeling of being helpless is far too familiar again. Have you ever had something on your mind, and everywhere you go and everyone you see somehow sparks that idea in your mind again and again and you think is it just coincidence? Of course, I experienced that all day.

When I think of all the organs in the body, I guess the heart is the most unsettling to hear of not working properly. Thank you in advance for your uplifting prayers. I will post again with updates on Tuesday. Much love from Team Altman.