Pregnancy with Mitral Regurgitation

[Christian]

I've decided to keep a little journal here to add to the group's knowledge base. Hopefully, someone will learn something from all this.

Let me start off by saying that my wife is pregnant, but very newly so. There's obviously no guarantees that she won't miscarry -- or even that this isn't all some giant pregnancy test error. So don't be floored if this thread abruptly ends. :)

My wife is a 30 year old lawyer. She was born with a heart murmur. The origin of the murmur was determined to be mitral valve prolapse when she was 13 years old. Her valve isn't really "floppy" in the standard sense. It's just shaped oddly and is myxomatous.

My wife's heart readings have been "flat" (unchanged) since 1995. She has moderate to severe mitral regurgitation (3 - 4+). Her EF is 69% (measured via MUGA). Her LVIDD is 5.0 cm, LVIDS is 3.0 cm. LA is 3.8 cm. She exercises to 15 mets during each stress test (an excellent result), at which point the technicians let her stop. She's always been wholly asymptomatic. She has no stenosis.

We live in Pittsburgh. We have three relevant doctors in Pittsburgh - a local cardiologist, a cardiologist that specializes in taking women with MR through pregnancies, and a high risk obstetrician. We also, of course, have a family doctor and a general gynecologist. And we regularly visit a world-renowned valve specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. We consider him to be our "primary" cardiologist.

This platoon of doctors is no accident. We sought numerous opinions before deciding to try to have a baby. I'd recommend that anyone in our shoes get at least three opinions. Doctors sometimes have tunnel vision -- you get a fantastic array of ideas by exploring more and more opinions.

There isn't much on the web in the way of guidance. I've done about a zillion searches, and always end up in the same spot:

"Mitral regurgitation is usually tolerated well in pregnancy, mainly because of left ventricular unloading due to the physiologic decrease in systemic vascular resistance (SVR)."

Note the word "usually." We are facing some risk. Our doctors feel the risk of heart related complications during this pregnancy is 2-5%. She could experience rythym problems, hypertension, post-delivery problems, etc.

We considered those risks and a few other factors when reaching our decision:

1. It's a bit too early for reparative surgery. My wife will almost certainly need valve surgery someday. But pushing forward now would be very aggressive, particularly considering:
2. There's no guarantee my wife would get a repair. Her odds of a repair have been quoted between 85 - 99%. We use the number "90%" when making our decisions.
3. We hit 30, and the biological clock started to tick.
4. Now is a great time for us in terms of career flexibility and financial security.

Basically, we had three choices: we could forgo having natural children altogether, we could push ahead with a *very* early surgical procedure and gamble on good results that would allow us to have a child in a couple of years, or we could push ahead with a natural pregnancy now and face the stated risks. We made our decision a few weeks ago and luckily had immediate results.

I'll post updates on and off as things progress. We've got several preliminary appointments lined up over the next few weeks. The "hard core" appointments start in May, when we'll visit the Cleveland Clinic for a "16 weeks gestation evaluation."

Keep your fingers crossed for us. My wife is an amazing person, and she really deserves the best.

[Michelle]

First of all congratulations! Second, you are obviously well informed! I too am a spouse, but don't have near the understanding of it all as you have. I will look forward to reading your "entries"

[Christian]

Well, we saw the high-risk OBY-GYN today. And we saw our baby for the first time via ultrasound. It looks like a kidney bean with a tiny little heart that's beating away like clockwork. I know I'm biased, but it's probably the cutest and smartest kidney bean I've ever seen.

Not much relevant to this forum to report. We were told that Jill has a 4-5% chance of passing a similar heart abnormality onto the child. That's not really concerning.

The delivery plan is, as of now, pretty standard: they expect no problems with a vaginal delivery, although they recommend an epidural to keep the pain down so her heart won't go bonkers. They'll probably not have Jill push a lot in the second stage of labor -- which I suppose means her labor will be longer but less strenuous. They explained that "no push" pregnancies are pretty standard for anyone with a cardiac condition.

We're supposed to report any rythym problems. I asked if they expected A-Fib episodes, and the doctor said Sinus Tachardia was more likely. I have no idea what "Sinus Tachardia" is, or even how to spell it, but I expect to be an expert by tomorrow. :)

[Edit: Sinus tachycardia is a heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute -- sounds pretty harmless]

The doctor was totally impressive. She reinforced the fact that this is on the low-risk-end of the high-risk spectrum. Kind of boring, given all the trauma that most of you have gone through.

Boring is good, though. Keep rooting for boring!

We go back in 5 weeks for another ultrasound and all the genetic screening. Things will hit the fan in May. We hit the Cleveland Clinic and both local cardiologists then -- two echos for Jill and one for our little bean.

October 14 is the magic day.

[Ross]

Thanks for the update Christian. Sounds like things are well in hand. I'll keep rooting for boring if you wish, but I hope alot of noneventful excitement is to be had by both of you. ;)

[Karlynn]

Here's to a boring pregnancy, Christian! I hope it's so boring that it put you both to sleep. Speaking of sleep...get it now while you can!

Thanks for the update. I look forward to the next boring one. (No insult intended;) )

[Michelle]

Oh, I just love the little bean movie!! Isn't it exciting and amazing to see those ultrasounds! I am thrilled to hear everything is going well! enjoy every second of it!!

[Heather Fisher]

Congratulations! You are in for a wonderful journey. It sounds like you have things planned well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for an uneventful pregnancy and delivery!

Heather

[Birky]

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. I had 4 children with my mitral valve stenosis. Really wasn't diagnosed to after I had my children so I just had normal pregnancies. Did gain a lot of weight and retained fluid toward the end. A GP delivered my kids and found the murmer when I was 32 or so when doing a general checkup. Had replacement done at 55. I will say a prayer for you all,

[LUVMyBirman]

"Did gain a lot of weight and retained fluid toward the end"

I was in the same club Birky.... 65lbs gained. Prior to pregnancy I was a 5-10' 125lb gal.

Needless to say.... I was very uncomfortable. Lost 50lbs in 5 days:eek: I recall not being able to wear a shoe or slipper for 2 weeks! They still told me my heart was in fine shape. Held out two more years until surgery was really indicated. All in all....I would not change a thing. Otherwise our daughter would not be here.

Sadness rolled in when I was in the hospital recovering from my MVR. Maternity ward was on the same floor as the CV stepdown. Would take my walks and visit the sweet babies in the nursery. One day a nurse asked which one I was there for:(.

Thought to myself....you know...at 30 years old I should be here having another baby instead of heart surgery. Quickly had to remind myself that this is what God had in store for me.

[Birky]

I gained 85lbs. with the last one. Went from 112 lbs to 197. Willie the Whale.

[Christian]

Good God. 65 and 85 pounds? I'm glad my wife isn't here. She had some problems with anorexia years ago and would fear 65 pounds a lot more than she'd fear open heart surgery. :)

[LUVMyBirman]

Oh yes, that was difficult for me...I was a vegitarian bean pole prior to my pregnancy. 5-10' - 125.

Just something to watch Christian. I am sure being the educated guy you are....the experience will be uneventful:) ;)
Congratulations and enjoy that new life:)

[chevrolet]

Wow ... what a terrific support you are!!! Congrats to you and your wife and best wishes for a healthy delivery.

Keep us posted ...

[Christian]

I can't believe I missed this link:

http://www.acc.org/clinical/guidelines/valvular/exe02.htm

Section V thoroughly covers the risks of (1) a woman with valve disease who wishes to have a baby, and (2) a woman who has had corrective valve surgery who wishes to have a baby. Search for the word "pregnancy" or scroll down to Section V.

No new news for us. Second trimester starts on Thursday -- we have a routine prenatal appointment tomorrow. Jill hasn't experienced any pregnancy related symptoms except for digestive issues.

[Nancy]

Christian-

That is wonderful news about your wife and baby. So glad to hear it.

[bvdr]

Christian,

What good news! I'm so glad your wife is having a normal pregnancy so far.
We are expecting a new grandbaby about the 26th of April so our family is all wrapped up in joyous preparations.

Is she "showing" yet? If you can, maybe you would post photos of her at different phases so we can share this time with you.

[Christian]

Christian,

What good news! I'm so glad your wife is having a normal pregnancy so far.
We are expecting a new grandbaby about the 26th of April so our family is all wrapped up in joyous preparations.

Is she "showing" yet? If you can, maybe you would post photos of her at different phases so we can share this time with you.

She's not really showing yet, and I doubt she'd be too thrilled if I started dropping scans of her growing belly on the web. :)

I'll compromise, though. I'll post the sonogram shots in a few days.

And here's Jill: http://www.bezoar.org.uk/~helblings/girls.jpg

White shirt.

I've asked her to come on here a few times, but she wants to wait until she really has something to talk about (like imminent surgery).

[Billy]

May I send y'all my good wishes for an uneventful pregnancy. I happen to have shared your experience back in 1978.

Myrtle, my late wife had a mitral valve repair when she was five months pregnant. It was the first time that this had been done during a pregnancy in that particular hospital and so it was a trying time for all of us. I'm happy to say that the surgery and the subsequent 'delivery' all went well and Steven is now a very fit and healthy 25 year old.

The repair of the mitral valve lasted for twenty years until a mechanical valve had to be implanted....but that's another story.

One interesting thing that I learned all those years ago is that in patients with heart problems labour time is usually very short. Steven took about three hours to make his debut into the world. Seems nature keeps the hard work to a minimum in these circumstances.

Hope all goes well for you both...

Regards,

[Karlynn]

Billy, I hadn't heard that. Maybe that explains why my labor with my daughter was 20 minutes from first contraction until she made her appearance (we lived 5 minutes from the hospital). My son's, prior to valve problems, was 10 hours.

[sylviayasgur]

hi christian!
what a beautiful couple you two make! glad to hear all is going well with mom and baby. please keep us posted!
be well, sylvia

[bvdr]

Billy,

I had never heard that either. I am another one who had precipitious labor and delivery........under one hour each time. I had valve problems then but no one knew it. I guess that is one good thing about valve problems if there really is a connection. :)

[Christian]

Ok, lets see if I can figure this out:

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/Christian/baby1.jpg

Yup. Whew.

Anyway, here it is. I think it was waving "hello."

[Karlynn]

Ah, looks just like Daddy!
:D

Keep the reports coming. Does your wife know we're all planning on coming and being in the delivery room? We thought you'd like the support. :)

[Christian]

If there's one thing Jill loves, it's a party. :) Unfortunately, she's going to give birth in an ICU bed -- I'm not even 100% sure that I'll be allowed inside.

No problems with this week's appointment. Everything was totally normal and we don't have anything scheduled for April. I'll be back in May after we do the cardiologist rounds.

[Debrinha GT]

Hello, At the age of seven I was a victim of rheumatic fever and since parents didn't have much access to information on those days, by the time my mother took me to the doctor's, the illness had already affected my heart and after having spent over two years confined to a bed, I was then operated on at ten by the most famous doctor in Brazil and one of the best in the world at the time. I was the first child to have a MVR in this country and although the doctor didn't believe I would make it due to the seriousness of my problem, here I am, still coming to terms with the fact that I'll need the fourth one sooner or later. Anyway, my cardiologist here in Curitiba said she was totally against me ever getting pregnant and since I was quite young at the time, I never questioned it. However, years later while I was living in Scotland, I began to feel the need of a child in my life and that was when my husband and I decided to talk to the doctor who was taking care of me there. After examining me, he said he didn't see why I couldn't since my valve was in very good shape. Well, after having heard the opposing opinion for such a long time, of course I felt insecure and abandoned the idea for a few years. When we returned to Brazil, I went years without thinking about it but I guess it had always been there at the back of my mind and it was only in 1994 when I started seeing another doctor, that I began to believe I really had a chance. Unfortunately, my plans had to be postponed yet again because in 1995 I got sick again and had to have my third surgery. I then opted for another tissue valve so that I could have a baby. Six months after the operation I was pregnant and there were no problems at all, lots of women would have loved to have a pregnancy like mine. Just before the 9th month was up, I gave birth to Bruna by C- section. She's a perfectly seven-year-old girl with no health problems at all. Tell yur wife to follow her heart and dream and everything will be just fine for both of you. Good luck and God bless!

[Lisa in Katy]

Congrats to you and your wife.

I had two wonderful pregnancies before having mitral valve replacement. I only gained 21 pounds with the first and 19 with the second (even with diabetes with the second which generally leads to large weight gains). I had a fairly "short" labor with each (9 hours with number 1 and 6 with number 2), but was given pitocin to strenghthen contractions with the first and induced on the second, so can't say that it would have been short otherwise. With my second, I apparently delivered in an ICU bed - at least that's what showed up on my bill - but actually was in a regular labor and delivery bed. I think the ICU designation might have actually referred to the extra monitor that monitored my heart rate, as well as more frequent visits by the nurses. My husband, sister-in-law, and mom were in the room most of the time, as well as other drop-in guests. I would think that a delivery in a true ICU would be very disturbing to the other patients and practically impossible since those beds aren't made to "come apart" to facilitate a delivery. Perhaps this is something you should talk to your doctor about.

[Christian]

Well, we're just about through the 4th month of the pregnancy. We spent yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic and got nothing but good news, though the echo report won't be mailed out until next week.

Here's what we learned:

1. Heart enlargement during pregnancy is normal and happens regardless of whether there's a heart defect or not. Our doctor told us to "ignore" any change in the dimensions of Jill's heart on the echo report unless he tells us otherwise. He expects any enlargement to reverse itself after the pregnancy.

2. Valve regurgitation during a pregnancy can increase due to increased blood volume and can decrease due to the reduction in systemic pressure (veins and arteries dilate during pregnancy). The net effect is usually a wash.

3. Preclampsia (hypertention caused by pregnancy) is our enemy. Preclampsia could offset the decrease in systemic pressure and make things tricky and upset the aforementioned balance. Fortunately, Jill's blood pressure was 105/65.

4. Atrial fibrillation is a possible risk, but we haven't had any problems yet.

5. Heart murmurs get louder during pregnancy.

Anyway, Jill checked out a-ok. No symptoms, no heart failure, no nothing. The doctor told us that we made the right choice, and if he was in our shoes, he'd have made the same decision. That gave me some comfort. Based on his experiences with women like Jill (60-70 people), he expressed the risks of a "bad" result (heart repair surgery and/or an emergency C-Section caused by heart issues) as being "less than 3%."

One interesting sidenote: I got my hands on Jill's file -- if any of you are Cleveland Clinic patients and have a stress echo, see if you can get your file. The CCF is now including mortality analyses with their echo reports to make the surgery-now-or-surgery-later decisions. People of Jill's age with Jill's heart defect and Jill's stress echo results have (based on historical statistics) a 1 in 250 chance of dying of heart disease during the next 5 year period if surgical correction is not undertaken. Surgery is typically considered when that number hits 1 in 100. Once it's higher than 1 in 20, surgery is pushed. Food for thought.

[Karlynn]

Christian,
Thanks for the continued updates. I'm so glad things are going well. I had A-fib during my second child's pregnancy (not my first) and was treated with a low dose beta blocker. It wasn't a big deal (my problems increased after the pregnancy).

I hope you and Jill are racking up the sleep hours and banking them to draw from in about 5 months! :)

[weekycat]

Welcome to our family Christian, and congrats to the two of you.

I was also born with a heart murmur, but never knew about it until 5 years after having my first 3 kids at about age 30, when my doctor mentioned it. And my mother said, oh yeah...some of you kids had heart murmurs when you were born... I did have 9 siblings, so I guess I can't be too hard on her for not remembering which ones.

Then about 8 years later, while pregnant with the 4th one, another doctor mentioned my murmur in passing... never even had it checked out. That pregnancy too, was uneventful, and I had no idea that I had any kind of a heart problem until 4 years later. I went in for a routine physical 5 months after my 5th pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

That's when I found out that I had MVP with moderate-severe regurgitation. At that point I was told that I MIGHT need surgery some day...maybe 5 or 10 years later...maybe never. Well...I ended up having surgery 6 mos. later.

I don't think you or your wife have anything to worry about, (although I've always wondered if my heart problem had anything to do with my mc), the doctors have never confirmed this. It likely had more to do with the fact that I was 43 years old, as my other pregnancies were all uneventful.

The only thing I would caution about, is that each progressive pregnancy could probably do a little more damage??

Good Luck with your pregnancy, and keep posting pictures of your beautiful little kid(ney bean).

[Christian]

Weekycat, we also wonder whether successive pregnancies could hasten the deterioration of a valve. But we'll save that for later. :)

Anyway, we're just about at the halfway point. The recent CCF report (from early May) reported the same old moderate-to-severe regurgitation. But it's caused no problems so far.

Baby is a boy, by the way. It doesn't look like a bean anymore. :)

[KimC]

Christian,

Congratulations to you and Jill. I have three children, Jessica (6), Samantha (3) and Coulson, (10 months old today).

You're way ahead of the game to have the "hard core" docs on your team. Listen to their advice but also listen to your wife. If she starts to feel exhausted or have difficulty breathing, don't be afraid to ask for another echo or opinion. (Ideally, you'll move to Cleveland for the remainder of the pregnancy). :)

Another thing to consider during labor is oxygen and blood pressure monitoring. Don't leave it to the nurses. Have your "birth plan" ready.

Cheers,

[Marty]

I got to this thread late but found it most interesting and informative. Here is some ancient history and maybe some hope for Christian. Alice and I were married in September 1950. She was a nurse at the hospital where I was interning. Any how, she had a heart murmur and the chief cardiology resident said if we planned on having a family "get started soon" Alice was 23 and I was 24. We quickly had three kids now age 53, and 51 girls and a boy 49. Alice is now 76 and has had her problems with borderline CHF, Afib, etc. She is on high powered medicines like Betapace, Hyzaar, etc.Today she is fine and can do everything including vacuuming a house with a lot of carpets. Her doctors have discussed surgery for her mitral regurg at times but have never recommended it. So mitral regurg is an iffy condition and not all cases go to surgery.Only my son has MVP and four grandchildren are OK so far.

[Christian]

Thanks for the story, Marty. And Kim, I went back and read your early posts. Interesting stuff. My wife hasn't had any of the symptoms that you had. I'm guessing that's either because it's too early (20 weeks) or because her heart is accustomed to some regurgitation.

We had a fetal echocardiogram today and we think the baby's heart checked out fine (we won't get final word until later). Another relief.

I'm certainly not complaining, but our biggest snag so far is choosing a darn name! We had the perfect girl's name picked out, but can't agree on anything now that we know it's a boy. It might have to come down to a coin flip.

[KimC]

Christian,

My cardio's not convinced that valve disease was the cause of my symptoms during the pregnancy but something was wrong, either undiagnosed pulmonary disease or pressure on my heart from the third pregnancy and two moderate and one mild valve leak. (I was diagnosed with asthma in January, and am being treated for SOB.

Last September I was told that surgery may be indicated, if my heart continued to enlarge postpartum. Recent echoes have shown a return to almost normal chamber sizes. (The right atrium and estimated pressure on it is still elevated).

I'm undergoing catherization next month for further exploration. My cardio mentioned possible pulmonary hypertension but who knows. The only remaining mystery to solve is the cause of my recurring chest pain. I've been told from a doc at the CCF that it's probably coronary vasospasms or variant angina from the aortic leak. My local cardio thinks it could be microvascular angina, but the CCF is skeptical about that diagnosis, hence the cath.

Re: boy names, we chose "Coulson," my mother's maiden name. Choosing a name for our second child, (a girl) was difficult. I wanted to use "Isabella," but my in-laws couldn't understand why we'd use a "Hispanic" name. Ugh.

Buena suerte,

[Christian]

Had I been a girl, I'd have been an "Isabella."

[KimC]

I was a "wuss," (to steal a word from another VR.com member) not to use Isabella. It's classic.

Best,

[kurli]

Congratulations on the baby. I hope everything keeps going well for you all.
I had my 18 month post op check up the other week and I got the all clear to have a child........... it was such a releif as I'd not been sure if I would be strong enough to carry a child. But thank God I am.
It's encouraging to hear of other women with heart probs having trouble free pregnancies.
And I have chosen isabella as a girls name for when it actually happens. It's obviously very popular........ i have loved it forever.
Any way keep us posted.
Amy

[hensylee]

Christian, there's nothing wrong with a second Christian. It's a beautiful name. So good of your parents to give it to you.

Joy has not jumped in here. She's one of our babies (in her 20s) of VR. She, too, had pregnancies with heart problems, but seems to be getting on quite well.

This thread is needed because others have asked about pregnancy pros and cons. Your thread will be recommended hereafter.

Beautiful baby you have there.

[Christian]

111 days to go and time for a little update.

Still no complications or symptoms. We're on pre-eclampsia watch now, as Jill's blood volume has dramatically increased (I think it peaks at week 28, and we're in week 25). Jill's becoming more and more anxious about the baby as time rolls by, and I'm becoming more and more anxious about the delivery. But I think much of that is normal and both of us have largely managed to keep ourselves distracted and focused on fun stuff. I painted our nursery two shades of blue with yellow stripes and installed chair rail (all Jill's vision come to life) and we've started to shop for a few critical things. Jill did a baby registry at Baby's R Us on Sunday -- eleven mostly indecipherable pages of widgets, thingamajigs, and other weird stuff. By comparison, our wedding registry in 1997 was four pages long. I have a hunch the baby supply industry has successfully pulled off some sort of vast conspiracy, but It's probably better if I keep my mouth shut.

The little guy is kicking a bit now. I got to feel a couple of them, and that was neat.

On an oddly ironic note, a good friend of mine who's due 9 weeks before Jill got uncontrollable gestational diabetes and was put on bed rest with an IV insulin drip last week. I think she'll be stuck in bed until August. I always thought it'd be us, not totally healthy friends of mine, that would have problems. We're all worried for her, but I think she'll be fine.

We still can't agree on a name. I suggested today that we just sell the baby's naming rights on eBay, figuring we could at least exploit the debate and maybe get a mention on CNN.com or some online technology rag, but the idea didn't fly.

[surfsparky]

Hi Christian,
You last posted 3 weeks ago, so you now must be 28 weeks. Hoping that the preeclampsaia is at bay...especially as you mentioned that it peaks at 28 weeks. Looking forward to an update,
all the best,
Yolanda (Chris' wife)

[Debrinha GT]

I think there have never been so many people EXPECTING the same baby. When you least expect this whole thing will be behind you and you'll have your little boy in your arms. Don't forget to post a picture then, OK

´Débora from Brazil

[Christian]

Quick update: We've finished week 28 (just 83 days left). Blood pressure yesterday was 112/70, which is great -- no signs of pre-eclampsia. Everything else was "totally normal."

We visit a cardiologist next Wednesday for a routine checkup.

And I will, of course, post a few baby pics when I can. :)

[Debrinha GT]

Hi Christian, happy to hear all is going so well. This baby really does want to be born and judging by your posts, the two of you also want him so badly that I'm sure God will make this dream come true. Tell Jill to hang in there and take extra care of herself from now on.God Bless!

Débora from Brazil

[Janine]

Hello, Christian. This is my first post on the forum. I had to reply as soon as I read your story. I am 33 yr old mom of two small children. Joey who is 3, and Sophia who is 2. Six weeks ago I had Mitral valve repair surgery at NYU. I too, had mvp with moderate to severe regurgitation for many years. I have suffered with symptoms for about 12 years, passing out, palpitations, irregular heart beats, shortness of breath. I went every year to six months for my checkups, including echos. I was on beta blockers, and just went about my life. I was a first grade teacher and enjoyed every day. My husband and I decided to have children, and with our dr's advice we stopped beta blockers. I had the best pregnancies ever. I never felt so good. Never did it cross our minds that I would have any problems, which I didn't!!! Only recently did I look into my mvp due to my shortness of breath, and the fact that I was starting to have enlargement of the atrium. Thru MY OWN research did I wind up at NYU with a surgeon. He saved my life!!! They repaired my mitral valve , which was the anterior leaflet. I had a life changing experience that week. One week after heart surgery, I was home with my kids , taking walks as usual. Six weeks later, I am back to life, better than ever! So....I am sure your wife will be fine with her pregnancy, and if there is some bump in the road, it sounds like Cleveland is the best. Please ask afterwards about repairing her valve while she is young and before any problems develop that are unrepairable. Don't be talked into this "let's wait and see" mentality. Wait for what? For things to get worse? I was told I had a 80% chance of repair by one dr. Then my surgeon told me 95% chance of repair because of his yrs of experience and expertise. He was one of the best. I new instantly after our 2 hour consultation, that I was in the right hands. As far as I understand, Cleveland Clinic is supposed to be one of the best. I would be surprised if they can't give your wife great odds on a repair. Good Luck. I'll be looking for your updates. God Bless

[Christian]

Wow, Janine. Your story is very similar to my wife's.

I'm glad to hear you received a successful repair. That's our ultimate goal and we certainly won't wait until things get bad.

Even more glad to hear you had two uneventful pregnancies with just about the exact same problems. I'm sure that'll be as reassuring to anyone reading this thread down the road as it is to me. :)

Thanks for the post. Try to stay in touch.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!

[Christian]

Another quick update. Only 70 days to go. Jill had an echo today. I got to watch for the first time -- actually *saw* the mitral valve. I have no idea what it's supposed to look like, but it seemed to be working.

Her regurgitation has dropped to "moderate" (actually "mild to moderate") due to the drop in systemic resistance caused by the pregnancy. That's good news. Blood pressure was 105 / 65 and we're at the peak of blood volume so it isn't supposed to get any worse. That's good too. No heart enlargement at all. In fact, the only change caused by the pregnancy is the aforementioned reduction in regurgitation. So all of you that have valve regurgitation -- go get yourself pregnant!!

She gets to deliver in a regular (rather than ICU) bed. As we expected, they recommended we have a "no push delivery" which means she doesn't push much and they use forceps at the end. That sounds crappy but I know nothing about it. I'll be peeved if my son has a dented head.

Delivery will be slightly risky. We were told that a sudden increase in blood pressure caused by heavy pushing or major trauma could cause severe shortness of breath and pulmonary edema (lung swelling) -- to avoid this, she'll have an epidural (no pain) and won't push much. Easy enough, I guess.

That's it. We had a pretty good day.

[Karlynn]

My guess is that she'd want an epidural anyway. There's nothing quite like the pain of childbirth. Picture a Charlie Horse cramp in your calf, spread it all over your body and magnify the pain X10000! :eek: :eek:

Someone mentioned something a while back about reading that women with heart issues seem to have shorter labor. My son's was 14 hours, before I had any heart issues. My daughter's (my pregnancy with her tanked my MVP) was 20 minutes. So if I'm proof, there's something to that hypothesis. But I still took the opportunity in those 20 minutes to ask (okay - scream) for an epidural. Didn't get one, but it never hurts to ask. :o

So glad everything is going great. I hope you both are sleeping as much as possible, because it will be the last you get for about 20 years. They keep you awake as babies and as teenagers - the crying just turns to whining.

[Christian]

I'm not sleeping now.... Jill gets up to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes.

[KimC]

My labor with Coulson (in photo) started out with a BANG! Contractions began at 4pm. I convinced my husband to take me to the hospital ONE hour later when my contractions were a minute-and-a-half a part! My OB put me on a drip to SLOOOOOOW down the labor, then made me sign a consent form that said forceps were OK.

[Christian]

We finally took some pictures. Here's Jill at 29 weeks (we're in week 32 now). She's standing in our new nursery, clearly pleased that I managed to paint the stripes in a straight line.

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/Christian/baby2.jpg

[Karlynn]

The picture proves, once again, that women with faulty valves are just naturally gorgeous! :D

You 2 are going to have a very good looking baby!

Nice stripes Christian. Try doing that again after about 3 months of having the little critter out in the world! :D

[Rain]

I can’t wait to see the baby pictures!!

My first born didn’t have a name for two weeks... :eek: he was supposed to be 'Sara Lorraine'. :eek: Second child didn't either!! :D

Do we get to vote on names?! :p Cause I wanna vote to keep Christian as the baby's middle name! :)

It didn't work for me Karlyn.... all three were very loooong labors. And mitral problems from child one on. No pain meds with any of them.

[hensylee]

you sure she's pg, Christian? She hardly looks it at all. What a lovely lady - we finally get to meet her! I agree that you will have a beautiful baby, what with the double set of genes you have both passed on.

[Christian]

We finally chose a name for the baby, but we didn't use "Christian." We've decided to keep the name quiet until he's arrived. We want to have at least one surprise on his birthday.

48 days to go -- today's day one of Week 34. The little guy will be "full term" in less than four weeks. Time sure flies!

I don't expect to have any more updates until he's here. There's really nothing to report except for smooth sailing. Looks like I got the boring pregnancy that I was hoping for when I started this thread. Hooray for that!

[Englander]

Lovely couple you are and you will have a gorgeous baby. will look forward to hearing the good news
Bess

[Christian]

Thank you Bess. And I was happy to see the post about your daughter's positive test results.

29 days to go -- nothing new to report.

[weekycat]

If your baby boy is due in 29 days, does that mean the due date is October 13th? My daughter, Jessica is due to have a little boy that day also...(here's the funny part), she called me the other day and said, "Mom, how do you feel about the name "Christian"! I told her I loved it, by the way :) .

Strange, huh? Here's hoping for two healthy little boys to be born that day, (or somewhere around there, anyway).

[Christian]

I'd guess her son would thank her for "Christian" a hundred times over a lifetime... I'd use it if it wasn't already taken. :)

We're due on the 14th. But you never know.

[sylviayasgur]

hi christian!
i have been thrilled that things are going so smoothly for you two and jill's pregnancy. she is carrying beautifully!
just wanted to mention that oct. 14th is a great day_ our youngest daughter's birthday.
please let us know how things go...this entire family is anxiously awaiting this new baby!!!
wishing you both all the best....just remember, labor is temporary... there IS an end in sight... and you get this prize!!!!
be well, sylvia

[Ross]

I need to send you a box of crayons to doodle on that nursery wall and make it look like it really will in a year or two. ;) :D

[Karlynn]

I need to send you a box of crayons to doodle on that nursery wall and make it look like it really will in a year or two. ;) :D

Crayons on the wall? My darling children never did this, but my niece decided to finger paint on her wall ---- after having made her own "finger paint". :eek:
She's now 25 and a preschool special ed teacher. She says she has the regular kind of finger paints in her classroom.

[Christian]

Don't even mention stuff like that.... Painting those stripes almost killed me. :)

[Christian]

Well, we had our first little bump today, and I mean "little" (literally). After having normal measurements for 37 weeks, Jill's uterus measured a bit smaller than normal today. We get to go back to the doctor on Thursday for an ultrasound. The doctor said it could be nothing at all or it could be our baby is small. I guess we get to wonder about it for the next three days. :rolleyes:

Fortunately, it's not heart related. Anyone ever have a small uterus?

All that aside, we were told that the won't let Jill go more than seven days past her due date. So this baby is coming by October 21st at the latest.

[Ross]

Ah man, I thought you were going to say "it's a" and now I'm still in suspense.

It's most likely nothing at all Christian. All sorts of weird anomalies occur just before birth. ;)

[KimC]

Christian,

I have three absolutely normal, beautiful children: Jessica, Samantha and Coulson. I measured small while carrying all three of them and worried a bit, especially with the first, but they were born perfectly normal in size. Women carry according to their genetics. My mother also carried small and felt a lot of anxiety with her first child -- my brother -- who today is six-feet-two-inches tall!

If your tests to date were normal, then you have nothing to worry about. After looking at my son, Coulson's sonogram, one doctor said that he was bald as a bowling ball -- not a stitch of hair on his little head. Two weeks later, he was born with a FULL head of hair. And to this day, he looks twice his age because of his thick, beautiful hair.

The bottom line is that children are resilent and take from their mother what they need. More than one doctor has said that children are parasites, but I find that comparison unsentimental. Children are gifts from God, and you're about to experience the most JOY you'll ever feel in your life.

Best,

[Christian]

You were right, Kim. The ultrasound estimate was 22 inches long and 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Everything else was normal too. Jill just has a small belly.

We got verification that he was a boy too. Jill asked, "is that an ear?"

"Nope," said the echo tech. "That's actually one of his boy parts."

[Ross]

Children are gifts from God, and you're about to experience the most JOY you'll ever feel in your life.
I bet you aren't thinking this way when they hit the teen years. You'll want to kill them then! :D

[Englander]

Yes Christian.
I measure small with Shya from 36 weeks onwards. Shya came at 38 weeks and perfectly ok.
Dont worry too much. Baby is in the safest place it can be

[Rain]

I’m so excited for you and your wife, Christian. I can’t wait to see a picture of you holding your baby boy. This is such a special and exciting time in your lives.

And don’t listen to Ross..... babies grow up to be just like their parents. All you have to do is set a good example, and I can already see you and your wife won’t have any problem doing that. :)

I can't wait to hear what our very first vr.com baby's name is!! :D

[Ross]

And don’t listen to Ross..... babies grow up to be just like their parents. All you have to do is set a good example. :confused: I am a problem child. :p

[sylviayasgur]

hi christian,
just wanted to know how things are going... our first was a premie... our second 3 weeks early and both fine... this was about 17 years ago and 20 yrs ago... just wanted to see if anything was "brewing" with you guys...
i am sooo excited about this baby!!!!
hope you are both well and feeling good..
pls. let us know... -sylvia

[Christian]

hi christian,
just wanted to know how things are going... our first was a premie... our second 3 weeks early and both fine... this was about 17 years ago and 20 yrs ago... just wanted to see if anything was "brewing" with you guys...
i am sooo excited about this baby!!!!
hope you are both well and feeling good..
pls. let us know... -sylvia

We're brewing! Jill's in the very earliest stages of labor as of about 4 hours ago (7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday). The doctors had us come in and then sent us home. They said 1-4 days...

[Ross]

I'll get the catchers mit ready. Are you a tiny bit excited? :D Being the first child, be ready for a long labor. Sometimes I thought the kid wasn't going to come for a week. ;)

[hensylee]

Christian we are all excited. That little one has roused undercurrents of joy round the world. Kiss mommy for us. We are all waiting with bated breath.

[bvdr]

How exciting! Nothing like a new baby to stir things up a little!

[Christian]

I'll get the catchers mit ready. Are you a tiny bit excited? :D Being the first child, be ready for a long labor. Sometimes I thought the kid wasn't going to come for a week. ;)

Yes, I'm a bit excited. Lots of emotions, really.

She's still having steady mild contractions, but nothing serious. She's only dilated a centimeter or so. I'll post again when it's all over. Don't be alarmed if there's a long delay... We expect the baby really soon but I'm guessing it could be up to a week.

[Ross]

I'm sure you know, but in case you don't, if her water breaks, it's time to go!

[weekycat]

Yes, I'm a bit excited. Lots of emotions, really.

She's still having steady mild contractions, but nothing serious. She's only dilated a centimeter or so. I'll post again when it's all over. Don't be alarmed if there's a long delay... We expect the baby really soon but I'm guessing it could be up to a week.

Well Christian...the race is on...who will arrive first, your son....or my grandson??? Anybody want to bet on this one?

My daughter, Jessica is due tomorrow, 10/13, and Christian's wife is due the 14th, right? And as of last Thurs, she was also dilated to about a cm. and having a contraction now and then.

I just talked to Jess, and she's still pretty sure she'll name her baby boy "Christian". I think that's a pretty cool coincidence!

[Christian]

If we named ours "Jessica," we'd have all sorts of coincidences. :) But I'm sure the little guy would hate us for it.

I'm betting on yours coming first. I think Jill's contractions have completely stopped. :rolleyes:

[Ross]

If we named ours "Jessica," we'd have all sorts of coincidences. :) But I'm sure the little guy would hate us for it.

I'm betting on yours coming first. I think Jill's contractions have completely stopped. :rolleyes:
Christian he's just priming up for some extra heavy duty activity, it'll be soon. Just not as soon as you and mom would like. ;)

[geebee]

Christian,

I just found this thread. How exciting to find out what happens without having had to wait so long. I read all of the posts from the beginning and the story is just fabulous.

I never had children so I have to live vicariously through others and I guess you are just one of the ones to support that requirement.

I wish you well and I hope the wait is over soon.

You should name him Zachary. That is the name I had picked out years ago for my first son who, unfortunately never materialized.

In my next life I will have 10.

God bless,
Gina

[hensylee]

Today is my little boy's birthday. Little Chucky turns 38 this afternoon about 4. It's a good day to be born. He's one of the sweetest, kindest people I know; maybe it's because of the date? Now and again the birthday is on Friday 13, but it makes for good conversation on that day.

Hope all is going well, Christian and mommy.

[Christian]

Christian,

I just found this thread. How exciting to find out what happens without having had to wait so long. I read all of the posts from the beginning and the story is just fabulous.

I never had children so I have to live vicariously through others and I guess you are just one of the ones to support that requirement.

I wish you well and I hope the wait is over soon.

You should name him Zachary. That is the name I had picked out years ago for my first son who, unfortunately never materialized.

In my next life I will have 10.

God bless,
Gina

One of our good friends already used "Zachary" and we want to be unique -- at least amongst our social group. "Zachary" was actually the first name used by any of our friends (little Zachary is almost 5). Zachary, Samuel, Ian and Brayden are "gone."

We're off to work once again. Another day of distracted waiting.

[Karlynn]

Well, as long as we're giving suggestions :)
I've always liked Aiden!

[Ross]

How about Beelzabub? :D

[Karlynn]

How about Beelzabub? :D

Looking for a name sake Ross?

[geebee]

Thanks for the update. I am sure I will get someone, somewhere to name their son Zachary (obviously some folks are). I understand 2 in one group would be confusing. I only have one other suggestion and then I will shut up about names - Kyle.

I am sure the waiting will be over soon and the fun will start. There is nothing like a newborn, totally counting on you and so trusting.

Hope to hear soon about his entry into the "real" world.

Take care,
Gina

[Ross]

Looking for a name sake Ross?
I need a minime. :D

[sylviayasgur]

hey, christian!
thought i'd let you know that my joey is named after his grandfather... his first cousin/business partner is also named after that grandfather... and, his nephew is also named after that same grandfather... so we have joey Y., joey G., and joey rosenberg.... weird, huh?
in any case, either way, the baby grows into his/ her name....
oct. 14th is our "baby"'s b-day and she's a special kid.... good date...
i am so excited for you and jill.. i hope things go pretty easily (considering) and you'll have this babe before you know it...
please let us know...
be well, sylvia

[Shelba]

Oh my gosh!!! I'm so glad I checked in to see what was going on. I actually checked in just to see how Christian's wife was doing...and here it is...time for the baby to arrive!!

Very exciting! Congratulations, Christian!

[Christian]

Our son, Colin Nathaniel, was born at 5:00 this morning (10/15), EST. 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. Mommy delivered without a hitch, and mommy and baby are doing fine. Baby is ultra-cute.

I'm too tired to post the details, but wanted to at least give an update. I'll post some pictures and a little narrative over the weekend.

Thanks for all of the well-wishes.

[Karlynn]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little does Colin know just how many people have anxiously awaited his safe arrival. He is blessed to have such wonderful, loving parents.

When you come off of cloud 9, we look forward to the details and hopefully, a few pictures.

May God richly bless your beautiful baby boy.

[geebee]

Christian,

I am so happy for your good news. Colin is a beautiful name for a precious one who has such wonderful parents. I am thrilled everything went well and hope you are resting and enjoying the end of the worries.

Keep us posted as you have so many "godparents" out here caring and curious.

Take care and we all know God blessed,
Gina

[KimC]

CONGRATULATIONS to you and your new family. My husband has never gotten over the first child's birth -- arriving at the hospital as two, leaving it as three.

What a miracle, and many, many blessings and continued happiness!

[Ross]

Congratulations Christian and mom!

I can't wait to hear the details. Get some rest, soon you won't be getting any at all. :eek: :D

[sylviayasgur]

hi christian!
what wonderful news! we're so thrilled that mom and baby are doing well and all went smoothly. looking forward to hear all about it.
everyone's right, try and get some rest while they do...it helps.
so happy for you and your family.
all the best,sylvia

[hensylee]

Whew - I'm glad it's done - those sympathy labor contractions were beginning to hurt!

Congratulations to two lovely people. And little Colin is so blessed with so many people peeking in at his birth. Bet the Golden crowd will toast him tonight!

[Englander]

Many Many congrats to the two of you. love from me and Shya
Bess

[Mary]

Congratulations all around!
Heaven smiles when a new baby is born.
Mary

[Christian]

Here are the promised pics.

I'll finish up later.


http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/colin1.jpg

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/colin2.jpg

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/family1.jpg

[Karlynn]

Looks like it's time to change your avatar!!!

Such lovely pictures. Your wife must be a super woman, I can tell you I didn't look like that after giving birth!!!

He's a beautiful baby!

[Ross]

Those are great!

Don't know what you two are doing for diapers, but I suggest that if your going with disposables, you contact the manufacturers for coupons on a regular basis. Procter and Gamble saved us a ton of money bringing up our boys. ;)

[geebee]

WHAT A CUTIE - or is it wrong to call a baby boy a cutie? What the hey - he is just beautiful.
You all look so happy - congrats.
Gina

[Billy]

Hey Christian...let me add my congratulations to all those involved in this little miracle. I bet y'all need a rest for a few days to get back down to earth.

I first posted on this thread way back on 3/31....it was post #18 and I predicted that in view of the heartvalve situation, the labour time would be short. I was just wondering if my prediction had proved to be correct.

Myrtle, my late wife had two children after her first heart surgery and both times labour was around three hours. The medical staff in the hospital explained that this was nature making things easy, in view of the heart valve deficiencies.

In fact Myrtle's valve surgery, which was back in 1978 was done when she was five months pregnant with our son Steven.

Good luck to all of you and may you have as few sleepless nights as possible...

Cheers,

[Christian]

Well, here's my wrap-up:

First of all, I'd like to thank every one of you who posted kind words during Jill's pregnancy. I read every single post -- more than once each -- and got a lot of comfort out of them. This was a bit of an anxious time for us, particularly at the very beginning and the very end. It's nice to have strangers pulling for you, and it was great to read the posts from those of you that have walked this path before us. You all made a difference and I really appreciate it.

We went to work on Thursday just like we always do, though we were both a bit sullen. Thursday was our due date and we were really hoping for some contractions or something -- not "business as usual." I called Jill around 10:00 to see how she was doing. She was feeling a bit "weird," and both of us admitted that the anticipation was ruining our concentration. We simply couldn't keep our minds on our jobs. I told her I'd call her at noon and if she was still feeling strange we could go home at lunch and take the afternoon off. That's exactly how it played out. We got home around 1:00.

We weren't expecting anything to happen. Jill was watching TV and I was revewing some papers I brought home from work. She got up to go to the bathroom and said "this is weird, something is coming out of me." Her water had just broken... We called the doctor and they told us to come right in. We pulled our things together and got to the hospital around 4.

They immediately admitted us. Jill was having no regular contractions so they put her on Pitosin. She was 2 cm dilated and nearly 100% effaced when we got there. Billy, I do think her labor was short, but I attribute that to the Pitosin. It sparked hard regular contractions by 6:00. She had an epidural put in around 8:00 when she was at 4.5 cm. The pain was just too much for her. She was at 10 cm by 1:00 a.m. Because of her condition, they let her go until 2:30 before they encouraged pushing. She pushed hard for two hours but couldn't move the baby past the pelvic bone. So they went in with forceps at 4:30. Colin was born at 4:54 -- a bit dented, but healthy and happy.

Jill's blood pressure never deviated from a band between 105/70 and 135/85, but did fluctuate wildly within that band. Fortunately, all of those numbers are fine.

Jill never experienced a single abnormal symptom. She was not short of breath until she had been pushing for an hour or so (and all of us, healthy or not, would feel the same way). She had no rythym problems. No weird swelling. Nothing.

We go back to the Cleveland Clinic in April for a six months followup. We know that her heart didn't affect the pregnancy, and we're hopeful that the pregnancy didn't affect her heart. Based on her two recent echos, we don't believe it was at all. But if something has changed, we'll be prepared to act appropriately.

We're very thankful to our doctors, particularly Drs. Stewart and Sherman at the Cleveland Clinic and Magee Women's Hospital respectively, and the entire Maternal Fetal Medicine Group at Magee. Without their care and advice, we may never have tried to have a baby. Turns out that they all knew what they were doing.

If someone in our shoes someday reads this, I hope it helps them make decisions of their own. Everyone's different, and our strategy may not work for someone else, but I hope this thread at least provides a measure by which questions can be asked.

I'm so relieved! And I'm so happy!

[momshell7]

:D Christian your son is so adorable!! Very huge congratulations to you and your wife. I know you have been through a lot but I am sure it was all worth it when you saw you little baby. It's so incredible when you see them for the first time and realize " I made a person. I created another life". I am so glad that everything went well during the birth. My first son had problems when he was born and wasn't expected to live. I, of course, wasn't told that part until he was ok and out of the hospital. He is now 8 and perfectly healthy. I was completly terrified to have any more children, but luckily we gave our son a little brother.

I wish you and your wife the best! Keep the pictures coming!!

Michelle :D

[weekycat]

You Win! I'm not a grandma yet!

Here we are in Golden Co....I just checked my email and found this wonderful news. I'm sitting here with Hank and Michelle, Fyrftr and Marsha, Rain and Vergil, Bvdr and Tom, Bill Hall, Christina, JimL and Shirley...the others are still in their rooms), in the lobby of the Golden Hotel.

We're all sending you a great big CONGRATULATIONS! Your son is absolutely beautiful!!! I'm hoping my new grandson arrives this weekend, and I can see him on my way back home. Otherwise, Jessica is scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning...if nothing happens before then. Give Jill our congrats and tell her she did great!

[hensylee]

Just by seeing your avatar, we knew his looks were going to be movie star quality - course Mommie is just as beautiful. You were bound to have a beauty. Thank you for sharing your birthing experience with all of us - our very first VR baby! We feel so honored.

[MichyB]

Wow Christian ... what a beautiful family you have. I am definitely interested in your story on a personal level as my husband and I will perhaps be struggling with the same issues soon. Whether to have a baby. When. How.

The birth of your baby is truly inspiring. I hope the next few years are smooth sailing for you all. Congrats!

Mich

[Christian]

Thank you all for the compliments and kind words. Baby and mommy come home today. Everyone's really excited.

[Emma]

Congratulations to you both!!!!
He is so so cute! Enjoy him!

Emma
xxx

[Ross]

I look at you and that feeling of being a new father just makes my spine tingle. It's the most wonderful time of your life and it's also the most trying at times also. Good luck to the both of you. I hope he brings all the joy to you two that you could ever want. :)

[Rain]

Oh, I'm so happy for you and your wife. You'll be wonderful parents. He's absolutely adorable!!!

Congratulations!!

[surfsparky]

Congratulations Christian & Jill!
So glad that all went well.
Enjoy this precious time.
Cheers, Yolanda and Chris

[Michelle]

Congratulations! Wow, that pregnancy just zoomed by. I am so happy for your sweet little family! Enjoy every minute, and remember they really do sleep through the night eventually! :p

[Debrinha GT]

Hi Christian and Jill, first of all, congratulations to both of you and of course, the little one for he's also a winner! I can imagine how relieved you are now after all you had to go through so that Jill wouldn't miscarry. I hope your son brings you a lot of happiness just like my Bruna does. I know what it's like wanting a child so badly that nothing else seems to matter. I remember how so many people were against me getting pregnant for several reasons, the main one being my health, and I just wouldn't listen. I've had three heart surgeries so far and I'll tell you this much: I haven't had much support from my family when it came to helping out and whenever I wanted to go out with my husband all they would say was: You've had a child because you wanted to and it serves you right for not listening to us. My sister's had three who are all grown ups now and she's always had all the support she needed. I am not saying they're bad, but I think they could've been more understanding towards my situation. I've learned the hard way that everyone wants to go and see the little baby and all that, but once it starts growing up it's no longer the big deal, things change and deception becomes inevitable. My daughter is seven now and until today I hear the same old remarks. I really do hope that you and Jill have a nice family who will participate which was something I never had. My relationship with my mum is awful stormy and I was so upset with the whole bunch on the occasion of Bruna's 1st birthday party that I didn't invite any of the family members at all! Well, until today I'm paying the price! :( I've even been acused of having had a child just because my sister had three and I wanted to compete with her. Sorry for venting, but I wouldn't wish what I've been through to my worst enemy and for that, among several other reasons, I don't think I've been a very good mother to Bruna. So much has been lost along the way. Tell Jill I wish her all the best and also never to let anybody interfere with her decisions. Too many people have too much to say nowadays. Sorry again, I don't know what came over me all of a sudden! She is a heart patient like me and I can really relate to her, I guess that's it.

Débora from Brazil

[Karlynn]

Christian, is your sleep-deprived self out there??

Just wondering how things are going in New Baby Land? I hope all is going well with everyone.

[bvdr]

I do think it is time for an update on how things are going. Babies tend to be a bit more work than you expect.... :)

[mommy3]

AND...how about some more pictures???!!!
Babies change and grow so quickly! :)

Hope you are all doing well!! :)

[Christian]

Deborah, I'm very fortunate to have friends that I'd grade at an A+ and family that I'd grade at an A+. The amount of help and support we received was, frankly, both overwhelming and undeserved.

As for the requested update, Colin is almost four weeks old, and he's a total treat. No issues to speak of. We're not getting a lot of sleep, but that's to be expected. My mother-in-law has been staying with us since October 9th, so we haven't had to do any housework. I took two weeks vacation after he was born and helped Jill out with the transition. I'm back at work now, but am working short (4 day) weeks through January.

All of this has been a lot easier than I expected. I guess as far as new parents go, we were well-prepared.

Colin doesn't do much yet. If I take a flashlight and shine it on a dark wall, he'll follow it all around the room with his head and eyes. He's smiled, but Jill claims it's gas. And he pulled my glasses off three times in rapid succession one afternoon -- he's never grabbed anything else, but three times in a row can't just be a coincidence. So I guess he's learning a bit about hands and fingers. Other that, he eats, poops, sleeps, and looks around.

I'll post a few more pictures some time soon. We have hundreds already. :)

[thecman321]

I am new to this site and just read the posts from the begining!
Great Story!!!
My wife and I just had a very similar experience to yours,, the difference being we had a baby girl,,, born this past April.
My wife was born with a heart condition and also has significant regurgitation.
Our daughter was born by c section because of early preeclamsia and toxemia,, but this happens to non heart patients as well so we dont think there was a direct corrilation.
However now,,,maybe or maybe not due to the extra work done by her heart during the pregnancy our cardiologist thinks its time for aortic valve replacement. Her only symptom is that she has been fatigued ever since having the baby and it seems to be getting worse as of late.
She is scheduled for AVR in Jan. The eternal question remains,,, tissue or emchanical.
Anyway just thought i would chime in to let you know that you are not alone in your ordeals.

C

[bvdr]

Hi C.,I hope you search the boards here on the on-going discussions on valve choices. I'm so glad you have a little baby girl and your wife made it through pregnancy and delivery intact. As you know, you have come across a site that has many members that collectively have so much knowledge and lst hand experience about valve issues. Please make yourself entirely at home and, if your wife is so inclined, maybe we will get to know your wife as well.

[Christian]

Any Steeler fans on this board?

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/colin0001.jpg

[geebee]

He is too cute. You guys must be so proud and so in love with your son, your accomplishments and your new family. What a great time of year to have a new one.
I wish you and your family all the best for the holidays and the future.
Take care, thanks for sharing and smiles forever, :)
Gina

[Karlynn]

Ahhhhhhh, what a little sweetie he is! They grow so fast Christian. Just keep drinking it in!

[momshell7]

How adorable!!! What a great picture!! It almost makes me want another baby!! I said ALMOST!! Then the reality kicks in and I hear my two boys fighting like cats and dogs!! I wouldn't trade them for anything!! Enjoy your son and keep those pictures coming!!! He is definatley a bright spot on this site!!

[breakingwaves]

Beautiful baby and beautiful family! Thank you for taking the time to share his beginnings with us it is a good reminder of where it all beigns and how important it is for us and our children. You will have a blast raising him!

[Christian]

Those are great!

Don't know what you two are doing for diapers, but I suggest that if your going with disposables, you contact the manufacturers for coupons on a regular basis. Procter and Gamble saved us a ton of money bringing up our boys. ;)

Ross:

How exactly did you go about getting these coupons?

Colin's almost two months old. Time sure flies.

[Karlynn]

Colin's almost two months old. Time sure flies.

We'd love to see more photos of that incredibly beautiful baby boy!

[bvdr]

Absolutely adorable! Thanks, Christian.

[shana23]

Here's wishing you both the best I went through two pregnancies and I was born with a murmure ectra....did just get and luckily had no problems till I was 53 so go for it and enjoy!!!!!! :) :) :) :) She will do just great.Shana

[sylviayasgur]

hi christian,
what a beautiful baby!!!!
you must be enjoying him so much.
how is parenthood?
have fun and enjoy every minute of it; it passes way too quickly.
be well,
sylvia

[Englander]

very very cute. congrats and best wishes.
Bess

[emmylala2003]

Christian,

Congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your beautiful son. I was told about your thread by the wonderful people on this board. I am extremely interested in your experience, as my husband and I are planning on starting a family of our own. However our situation is slightly different , as we will be seeking a fertility specialist to help us conceive. I did have a question about what you said in your earlier post.

"Mitral regurgitation is usually tolerated well in pregnancy, mainly because of left ventricular unloading due to the physiologic decrease in systemic vascular resistance (SVR)."

Note the word "usually." We are facing some risk. Our doctors feel the risk of heart related complications during this pregnancy is 2-5%. She could experience rythym problems, hypertension, post-delivery problems, etc.

Most of the complications you mentioned could be experienced by any pregnant woman, with or with a heart condition, am I right on this? Also,
I'm curious about what "post-delivery" complications the doctor has discussed with you.

[Christian]

Most of the complications you mentioned could be experienced by any pregnant woman, with or with a heart condition, am I right on this?

Yes -- heart conditions simply increase these risks. I think the 2-5% number we were quoted related to the additional risks caused by her particular condition.

I'm curious about what "post-delivery" complications the doctor has discussed with you.

Pulmonary edema (swelling / water retention in the lungs) was the articulated "post delivery" risk, at least in the short term (0-3 days after delivery). She didn't experience it at all.

Long term there was (is) the risk that the pregnancy would weaken her heart. Based on the echos she received during the pregnancy, we don't think that happened -- her numbers didn't really change at all. We'll know for sure in April when we go back for her next checkup.

Hope that helps. And we wish you the best for a quick conception!

[emmylala2003]

Thanks for your help and good wishes. I did have another question for you. I think you mentioned that your wife was seeing a high risk OB. Are high risk OB's familiar with these conditions? and did he/she work in tandum with your Cardiologist during your wife's pregnancy to monitor her condition?

[Christian]

I can't speak for all OBs, but ours was familiar with this condition and we were also assigned a new local cardiologist who specializes in monitoring these conditions during pregnancy. He worked closely with the OB. Since nothing at all happened there really wasn't much to be done, but it was sure nice to have all of our bases covered.

[Christian]

http://www.frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/colin%20christmas.jpg

Happy Holidays!

[Mary]

Christian,
I guess Santa left you something extra special on your couch this Christmas!
Congratulations once again and enjoy the blessing you have received.

[Christian]

Sorry, I can't resist posting this one....

http://frutsel.terrainhost.com/frutselapp/dump/Xian/touchdown!.jpg

[Karlynn]

How utterly precious!!!!! Another few years and he'll be ready for college Christian. Don't blink!!

[labguides]

What a DARLING baby!

Enjoy that baby. Babies are SO special.

[momshell7]

Colin is so adorable!! He looks so happy!! Is he cheering on Big Ben? I am so sorry about the loss last night. All of us here in this part of Ohio were pulling for him!! Keep those baby pictures coming they are certainly a bright spot!!

[Christian]

Well, good news and bad news.

The good news is that we had an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic yesterday and Jill's pregnancy had no affect whatsoever on her heart function. Here's a summary of her echo results:

EF 65
LVIDd 4.8
LVIDs 3.1
Left Atrium 3.8

3+-4+ regurgitation

The bad news is that they're not going to let us do it again. They were happy to let us take some small risks since we were a childless couple. But now that we're not a childless couple, they think we should be a little more careful.

Additionally, Jill's regurgitant orifice is over .40. If you've read Sarano's recent article in the New England Journal of medicine, you know what that means...

Yup. Jill's now "on the clock," as an elective mitral valve repair attempt was recommended over the next year. Despite the fact that Jill's doing great, we're not going to ignore our doctor's recommendation.

We're going to talk about scheduling this weekend and have chosen Dr. Cosgrove as our surgeon. We'll have to choose a backup valve type, since her odds of repair were quoted by our cardiologist at 85% (we haven't yet heard what Cosgrove himself thinks). Our cardiologist doesn't have a strong preference for mechanicals or biologicals in a 32 year old, but he seemed to lean slightly towards a mechanical. In any event, we'll have to make the choice ourselves.

Jill's been registered here as jaydee (a play on her initials) and likely will have some questions about the procedure. Keep an eye our for her over the next few days.

This will be my last post on this thread, as this chapter of our life has closed. We have a wonderful, beautiful baby boy and we consider ourselves very very lucky. Having him was the right decision and an unqualified success. We couldn't be happier. I hope we pull through our next challenge as well as we did this one.

I'll see you all on the other boards.

[hensylee]

Christian, thank you for being a BIG part of VR and sharing the pregnancy and birth of your dear baby boy. You are wonderful, caring parents and your son is a lucky child to have the two of you - and you and Jill are lucky, too. Your posts will be a big help for other couples who are contemplating pregnancy. The question is asked from time to time and now we have a direction to send them.

We understand that this is over for you and know that you are getting on with things. Please come back and see us now and again - and let us see your little one.

We look forward to talking with Jill - as jaydee.

[Christian]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm not leaving -- I just figured I'd move over to "pre-surgery" with Jill and close out this particular thread since if we have another baby it will hopefully be "without regurgitation."

Trust me -- there's no way I could stay away from this board with a surgery on the horizon. :)

[bvdr]

Thanks for the update, Christian. We'll be with you and your wife as you wait for the surgery. I'm glad she came through pregnancy and childbirth as well as she did and do agree that doing it twice may be asking a little too much out of her body.

[geebee]

Christian,

Thanks for the update. I will be praying for Jill (and you and Colin) that all goes well and Jill will be "fixed" up well enough to try for another baby (assuming that is what you want). I am sure her health is foremost but we do surgery to make us healthier.

Look forward to discussions with Jill and posts "down the road" from both of you.

[hensylee]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm not leaving -- I just figured I'd move over to "pre-surgery" with Jill and close out this particular thread since if we have another baby it will hopefully be "without regurgitation."

Trust me -- there's no way I could stay away from this board with a surgery on the horizon. :)

oh, okay. See you over there.

[jaydee]

Hi everyone! My husband has been posting here for several years, as most of you probably know. We have that BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS baby boy who could not be more perfect!!!! (I am happy to post more pics any time you guys want!!! :D ) As you know, it has been recommended that I undergo surgery for my MR in the next 6 months (which I think we are going to extend to 9 months with the Dr's blessing). Anyway, at some point, I will probably be seeking info about recovery. But, for now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself.

So...Hello!!! :)

[geebee]

Welcome Jill.

Glad to hear from you directly (not that we objected to hearing from Christian). :D

We will all be happy to help you through your surgery. Just be sure and start a new thread so we know it is a request for assistance rather than an update to Colin's journey into life.

Take care and talk to you soon.

[hensylee]

Mornin, Jill. Welcome to Vr. Of course, we all know you already. Christian had made a really great contribution to the forum because of his ongoing thread of your pregnancy and birth of your precious beautiful child. Lots of families in your 'predicament' want to know about having babies while they go through the valve thing and now we have a full and complete thread - all in one thread alone - that we can direct them to read. Thank you both. We have been honored to be a part.

(Ross, maybe a copy of this post from Jill could be put in a new thread so nobody will miss it?)

[Debrinha GT]

Hi Jill, I'm the Brazilian member and I'm very pleased to meet you. I've had three mitral valve replacements so far and I only had my daughter Bruna, who's now eight, after the third operation. By the way, I'll be needing a fourth within a couple of years. I remember how frustrated I was before that because we'd been trying for a baby right up to the last minute, but the operation came first. Well, there's a reason for everything in life and now I'm happy it happened that way. The way my valve was then, I don't think I would've managed. As for your pending surgery, I know you must feel quite confused at this point. but believe me, it's not as bad. Hope to see you posting more and I'll be very happy to be of help. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding my surgery and I'll do all I can to clear up any doubts you may have from now until your time comes. Say hello to Christian and the wee one for me. Take care.
Débora

[KimC]

Hi, Jill.

Of course, you know that you're in excellent hands at the CCF.

What a mixture of emotions you must be feeling! We're "here" to support you and Christian. You'll find a remarkable community of people at VR.com.

Best,

[Innercalm]

Thanks for the update Christian. Sounds like things are well in hand. I'll keep rooting for boring if you wish, but I hope alot of noneventful excitement is to be had by both of you. ;)
Christian: thank you so much for the information. I was told that Dr. Cosgrove is not doing surgery since becoming the CEO of Cleveland Clinic. I would love to have him operate on my son. We chose Dr. Lytle because we thought Dr. Cosgrove was not doing any surgery. Is it difficult to arrange an appointment with Dr. Cosgrove? Susan

[Christian]

Here's what we've been told: He's doing between 5 and 15 surgeries a month these days. That's much less than before. Getting an appointment for surgery was not difficult, but we haven't met him face to face (we deal with his horde of assistants), and we did start the process about 7 months before our expected surgery date. They wouldn't give us the actual date until about a week ago. If you're interested in using him, I'd call his office and have your son's echos sent up for an evaluation.

Our Cleveland Clinic cardiologist told us that Dr. Marc Gillinov (who learned under Cosgrove for years) was basically "another side to the same coin" when it comes to mitral valve repair. We would have been happy to have him had Cosgrove become unavailable.

I'm sure Dr. Lytle is great too. He just wasn't presented to us as a mitral valve specialist.

[Lynlw]

Susan , I think I read somewhere that your son is in his 30s? if that is the case, IF he hasn't already please get him to fill out the HIPPA forms, that you can know all his info for every doc hospital you are looking at (and yes in my experience everyhospitals hippa form is different,at least the 4 hospitals my son uses why can't there just be one universal form?) other wise it will be pretty tough for you. W/ the HIPPA laws now, they can't give out any patient info w/out the forms, a few months ago my friends son turned 18, she has been taking care off all his med stuff since he was born w/ CHD, the month after his birthday she called the doc to find out his coumadin result like she has for about 10 years and they couldn't give her the info since her son didn't put her on a HIPPA form.
I keep reminding myslef about this since Justin will be 18 next year. Good Luck I hope you can find a surgeon you both have faith in. does he have any preferences? Lyn www.caringbridge.org/nj/justinw

[dmoses1]

You were right, Kim. The ultrasound estimate was 22 inches long and 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Everything else was normal too. Jill just has a small belly.

We got verification that he was a boy too. Jill asked, "is that an ear?"

"Nope," said the echo tech. "That's actually one of his boy parts."

I have been pregnant 5 times (4 live births); and I still can't tell bottom from belly on that ultrasound.