Facing the New Year!

We started the new year with a positive outlook, bought a few more baby clothes, wrote a few more lists! Alan purchased a babygrow complete with hat and mittens...all with the Villa logo on, hmm I think we need to talk.
First thing to do in the new year was get Grace settled into the new school, she was so nervous and cried on the way saying she felt 'queasy', but a very happy child emerged at the end of the day with a whole load of new friends she'd made! So proud of her, we have moved a few times so she's had to start at a few new schools, I hate having to put her through that but this time we are settled in the new house with no plans to move (for a few years anyway!)


On Thursday 5th January Alan and I had a tour of where our baby will be treated at Birmingham Childrens Hospital. We met with Theresa, a cardiac liaison nurse who knew about our baby's condition and offered some really useful information, she informed us that his DORV (one of his problems) falls under the 'Taussig-Bing anomaly', I knew there were various types of Double Outlet Right Ventricle and have read all about this particular one so I am happy to put a name to it.
After baby is born he will hopefully stay with me for a few days until he is moved over to BCH. We were shown to Ward 11 which is where he will go prior to his open heart surgery, this is providing he is stable on the Prostaglandin drug (Prostin). If he isn't they will be whisking him straight from BWH to theatre as soon as possible after the birth. Working on the assumption he responds well to the drug he will be taken from Ward 11 to have his op, probably during the first week, the op could last around 4 hours we have been told.
After this we were shown into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Alan found it more difficult than me, I suppose I have read every last bit of information I can get hold of about our baby's condition, that's what has helped me face this, Alan is the opposite and has kept a positive attitude throughout without feeling the need to read endless scenarios. 
We saw a tiny baby who had had open heart surgery that morning with the label 'Chest Open' covering the incision, this is standard as the heart needs to rest afterwards and will be swollen. Theresa told us they perform around 500+ heart surgeries on babies and children a year at BCH, I asked how many more parents are in our shoes, apparently there are 8 sets of parents facing similar problems with newborns this January.
You hear people complaining about the NHS, not us, the ICU is a bustling environment with 22 beds and people stationed around each bed 24/7. Amazing. We left that room with our spirits lifted, our baby will be given the best care possible.
So...now we are just going to enjoy the final stages before our baby makes his entrance, what a pregnancy this has been. So many mixed emotions, good days bad days...just one hell of a journey...9 days left to go.