Good news update

Sorry it has been a while but here is the latest. Ben's hole that would require an operation is no longer there according to Alderhey hospital. There is a hole there but it is an ordinary one which will heal itself. The Primum hole that was supposed to be there was not on display on the scan. We have to take him back in April to make sure but it now looks as though an operation will not be necessary. We shall keep our fingers crossed. Trying to fit things in around him is proving very difficult which is why I haven't updated the blog for a while. He is gurgling away quite happily now and getting used to his voice. This makes him unbearably cute at times and even more huggable which also uses up valuable time but it is well worth it.
I am getting more tired and confused as each week passes. I have just sent a 40th birthday card to a friend at completely the wrong address so I will have to re-send another one. When I get the bus to work, I keep taking the car keys with me which impresses the hell out of Gill and defeats the whole purpose of taking the bus...so that she can have the car! I will get it right eventually. It's only taken me 40 years to get this far.

We're off to Alder Hey

We have now had a date to take Ben to see a Paediatric cardiologist. This monday at 5:00pm in the afternoon, which at least gives us plenty of time to get there. They said to allow approximately 2 hours for tests so it will be a long day by the looks of it. Ben is doing well and weighs in at a hefty 10lbs 13oz which doesn't seem like a lot unless you are bouncing him on your knee for half an hour trying to get his wind up! No need to go to a gym for a workout anymore. I can feel my shoulder muscles developing already.

So, hopefully by the end of our session in Liverpool we will have a bit more information about the seriousness of Ben's heart condition and what they intend to do about it and when. I do know that they don't do open heart surgery anymore unless it's necessary. They stick a line up through the groin and plug any holes from the inside so ther is less mess and quicker recovery. I have enough of a job threading a needle without losing me temper so these guys must be incredibly patient to find a pathway up through the body like they do. I bet they'd be good at unblocking drains as well! Weekend working for Dyno-rod perhaps?

Moved at last

I am now typing from sunny Wales! Yes the move was succesful and fairly uneventful and I have started my new job at the pathology lab in Bangor. Quite a lot of the old faces from 12 years ago when I was there last and they all seemed quite pleased to see me. They don't seem to have changed though I know I have since the last time I was there. Now I have to learn all about the lab again as things have certainly changed which I expected. The house I am renting is nice and adequate for our needs. It is in a quiet spot. Ben is doing okay and is now weighing in at 9lb 11oz and is the cutest baby that the health visitor has on her rounds at the moment according to her. He doesn't like sleeping during the day at the moment which is a bit of a nightmare for Gill but he seems to be sleeping well enough at night. Still waiting for Alder Hey hospital to get in touch but they have already said that any time I need off to go to the hospital with Ben is not a problem, which is a far cry from the old job I can tell you. Getting back into the swing of speaking welsh again too. And it's funny to think that I am on half the money I used to be on but I am a lot happier. Don't tell Gordon Brown!!

Cutest boy ever.

Aaahh, look at him. He is eighteen days old now and doing very well really. He has had a bit of a cold which has cleared up mostly which prompted us to take him to the doctors a couple of times. On the last visit, the doctor sent us to the child assessment unit at the Blackpool Vic as he detected a heart murmur. At the Vic, he was given a chest x-ray which showed a problem and he was kept in overnight for observation and to speed up the heart scan as we are moving. The heart scan revealed a hole in his little heart. An Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). Holes in the heart come in two forms; one which generally heals itself and one which generally doesn't. Ben has the one that doesn't. There is no immediate danger. It will start to affect him as he gets older. Now he will be looked after by a paediatric cardiologist at Alder Hey Hospital and they will monitor him and decide when an operation will be performed and we will have to take it from there. If it hadn't have been for him having a cold and a shit hot chinese doctor spotting the murmur then we would never have known until our little boy became ill. At least now they will be able to do their best for him before it gets too late. Apart from that, he is just about perfect, but I have no doubt that every father thinks that about their child. Tomorrow we begin the move to Wales and then he can settle into a routine of being loved and spoilt rotten.

He's Here!

This is Ben and he was born today at 11:43 and weighed in at a decent 8lb 7oz. As the anaethsetist said, "He's ready for school!" Both mother and baby seem to be doing well. It has been a long day but well worth it. We have a busy month ahead of us now as we are moving back to Wales, so there will be a certain amount of upheaval for the little lad before he can settle down to a life of spoilt bliss. It's very odd becoming a father and Gill has done me proud. I don't know if we will have another one so I will do my best not to break this one.

Close Call

Ben was very nearly here yesterday. Gill went to the hospital for monitoring and they weren't too happy with the results of the first 2 sessions and decided that they would cut him out and send him to special care. However, they put her on a monitor in the delivery ward and got a much better trace so they decided not to. Gill went to her scheduled appointment with the consultant today and he said that Ben showed signs of stress yesterday. They will keep an eye on him but may deliver him possibly next week. They will try and keep him in Gill as long as possible as his lungs haven't quite completed developement but they are still confident that there shouldn't be too much of a problem if they have to release him a little earlier than planned. This parenting thing is certainly very nerve wracking. Poor Ben. Daddy's going to be a nervous wreck!

Jacks back

Little baby Jack seems to be on the road to recovery and they have eliminated meningitis as the cause. However, they still don't know what it was and they are unable to test for it. So we will never know. His heartbeat went up to 22o bpm and his temperature was 108! The doctors were quite convinced that he wouldn't make it but it just shows how resilient babies can be. Of course they still need to keep a close eye on him over the next few weeks and certainly monitor him over the next few years to see if there is any damage done. The main thing is that he is on the recovery road and hopefully all will be well.
It just highlights the problems that can occur when you have kids. It is worrying. My brother had Ioan who had hydrocephallus followed by Toby who was born with club feet. Toby is now running around as if there was nothing wrong and seems to be very intelligent for his age. Ioan is coming along well although there is obviously some lasting damage from the Hydrocephallus which will always affect him. But again it helps to put a positive spin on the fact that whatever goes wrong all is not lost. The medical profession can do miracles these days and often do. And long may they continue to do so. I hope Ben doesn't give them a reason to though!!

Closer.

Starting to get a little bit nervous now as the time passes and the imminent arrival of mine and Gill's combined genes draws nearer. A very romantic way of putting it but I've always had a romantic side and I don't mind revealing it. Another scan today has revealed that he hasn't grown over the past two weeks so Gill will have to spend a couple of hours over the weekend being monitored. This is just a precautionary exercise as there is a chance that the measurements on the previous scan may have been exaggerated a little bit for whatever reason. As you can see if you look very carefully, you can make out his face on the bottom one! Alien!! And he's still a boy. Apparently. So far the date for his release is the same but they are still concerned about how big he is getting so it could be sooner. If Gill's waters break then they will deliver sooner but they are happy that if this becomes the case that he has developed enough for it not to pose a problem. There are added complications. We went down to Brighton over easter to attend Gill's brother's wedding and stopped off at Oxford on the way back to see Gill's sister's new son who is about 5 weeks old. He was taken into hospital yesterday with suspected meningitis so we are just waiting for confirmation to see what effect that could have on us and Ben if any. Hopefully, little Jack will be fine as I believe his condition has improved since he went in and it's not nice to think of a little defenceless bundle like him suffering like that. We shall keep our fingers crossed. Being an atheist, that's about the best I can do.

Where have I been?!?

It has been a while since my last entry. Things are going quite well with the pregnancy all things considered. Gill is injecting her insulin but Ben seems to be growing a bit bigger than he should. He is probably about 2 pounds heavier than he should be at the moment which is a concern in relation to when they will perform the caesarian. At the moment it will be on the 2nd of May (the day after my mother's birthday funnily enough) but if he gets too big then they may get him out a bit sooner. Apart from that they seem to be quite happy with his performance so far and are keeping a close eye on him. My compliments go to all of them up at the Blackpool Vic who have done a splendid job so far, fair play to them. We will be popping down to Brighton just before Easter to watch Gill's brother get married and to pick up a pram on the way back. I just hope there are plenty of toilets on the way down as no doubt Gill will want to stop at every single one.
I have been getting into magic tricks lately as I have discovered a good magic shop just down the road from where I currently live and after seeing some of the magic acts recently at the Winter Palace as well as the Junior World Championships it has spurred me on to learn some card tricks. I've already got a magic wand (well it worked on Gill! Geddit?).