ECHO Echo echo

Well, it was that time again, time again for Finn's semi-annual echocardiogram to check on that pesky ASD of his. So off we traipsed to the pediatric cardiology office this morning (and let me just say, if you ever want to experience a cross-section of children with different disabilities, go hang out in a pediatric cardiology waiting room for half a morning. Lots to see. Funny how that kind of thing used to be very off-putting to me and now I feel a connection to all of them and their parents. There was a little Hispanic boy with no hair and Down syndrome, ambling all over the waiting room, and I swear I was ready to kidnap him . . .).

As far as the actual echo, it gets worse every time we go - not Finn's ASD, just his cooperation level. He's more squirmy and less cooperative than ever now, plus he's developed a fear of the dark, plus stranger anxiety, and all this together does not make for a very successful echo!

So the bottom line is that the cardiologist wants to do a sedated echo, and I (get ready to be shocked) have agreed. The doctor would like to, once and for all, get a good picture of Finn's heart so he can document that the ASD is closed (or not), and I would like to, once and for all, get some closure on this whole heart thing so we don't have to keep going back every six months. So sometime in the not-too-distant future, after our insurance company and God approve the recommendation for a sedated echo, I'll take Finn in to the "short stay" unit of the Children's Hospital where they will give him something by mouth to make him nice and sleepy and they'll take some excellent pictures of his heart, and hopefully that will be that.

In other news, Finn had his two-year well check with our regular pediatrician last week. Nothing exciting to report, which is a very good thing. He's gained about three pounds in the last six months (wooty-hoo!), and about a quarter-inch in height.

All in all, Finn is doing fabulously, he really is. He's trying out more and more table foods, he's doing a little bit of signing, lots of mimicking (and it often sounds as though he is speaking, in his very rudimentary way, actual words), he's tearing around the house behind his little push-toy and is well on his way to walking. There is nothing I am losing sleep over. I am so in love with him, I swear I could eat him up sometimes - I just think he is the coolest little dude.

Emily, our OT, has been in the process of evaluating him over the last couple of sessions, as we have our IFSP meeting coming up. I know he's roughly at about a 12-month level in most areas. There was a time when this would have broken my heart, but I honestly just don't care anymore. He is who he is. Rebecca, our SLP, deemed him "very smart" last week during ST. And it's true that he often surprises me with how on the ball he is, how quickly he catches on and figures things out. But even that I take with a grain of salt. Smart schmart - whatever. Emily asked me what goals I want to set for Finn for the next six months, and I really had a hard time with that one. What I finally came up with was this: I just want him to be healthy and happy. I can't ask for more than that.