My son Gabe....

For all of you who have been wondering and asking how Gabe is doing, here is an update. He is wonderful. God has really blessed him and us with his health. He is just over 7 months old and currently weighs 19 lbs and is 28 inches long. This is not huge by some standards, but it is almost average for his age and EXTRAORDINARY for a baby with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Most babies with HLHS are nowhere close to his size. He has completed three surgeries (two openheart repairs and one exploratory surgery), but we still have one open heart surgery left. The doctors tell us this will probably somewhere around a year in the future. They say that.....but he is growing sooooo fast. All of his doctors are very pleased with how he is growing. He was a little slow rolling over, but now he has it and would be happy to roll everywhere he goes. He sleeps through the night and eats like a mastodon. We are teething (not fun at all), and leads to some interesting nights and days. Especially when the child is not supposed to cry a lot because it puts strain on his heart. Someone needs to rethink that rule. Have any of you tried to keep a teething baby from crying? Not very easy. Almost impossible really. He has also begun his veggies and other stage one foods. The picture included is of our dinnertime fun. We are going slow with the food by orders of the doctor, but he is doing well with them. He loves sweet potatoes, applesauce, and bananas. Not so much for green beans and green peas.

Anyways, please continue to pray for him and us. He is doing wonderful and so are Marisa and I. We still have a long way to go and everyday we do well is a blessing. Every prayer is needed and we are thankful!

BT, Marisa, Baby Gabe