Dear Sydney,

Today is your Dad's birthday. He turned 25 today. You helped me this morning as we made him an omelette for breakfast and wrote him notes about reasons why we loved him. You are one lucky girl to have him as a dad. Right before we sent him off to school, the three of us danced to "Happy Birthday" by New Kids on the Block. It's a tradition that got started at Grandma Moon's house when all of her kids were little and we aren't about to let the tradition die...even if the song is a little cheesy! You must have thought the dance was boring though because the minute we started dancing you fell asleep. :)


I told you yesterday that I would tell you about how we were led to Dr. Moore. So, here you go- When we found out we were having a baby I debated whether I should deliver you at Madison Memorial Hospital which is only 5 minutes away from our house or go down to Idaho Falls at EIRMC. For various reasons I decided to deliver at EIRMC (Miracle #1). So I found a Dr. who would deliver there and her name was Dr. Huggins. She is the doctor that delivered you. You were born on an early Saturday morning (miracle #2) at EIRMC. Dr. Moore just happened to be on-call that weekend (he rotates on-call shifts with two other doctors) and he spent a lot of time with you and listening to your heart.


The next morning after you were born he came in and told us that he picked up on a very quiet heart murmur that was almost impossible to hear (miracle #3) and that it should go away within the day. Well, a day went by and it never went away. Then the next morning he came in very early with a shirt and tie on (it was clear he was on his way to church) and he apologized for coming in so early but he had some meetings to get to. He just wanted to tell us that he felt strongly to have an Echocardiogram done on your heart (miracle #4) even though you weren't showing any other signs of a heart defect other than a murmur. Murmurs, by the way, are very common with babies. So the Echo was done and they discovered a 6 mm hole within the two ventricals of your heart. Sydney, I truly believe Dr. Moore had the spirit with him that day. Something told him to pay closer attention to you and that's what he did. I don't know if any other doctor would have been so careful with you at that time. He explained to us that the bigger the hole in a heart, the harder it is to hear because the pressure going through the hole is smaller. If the hole in your heart was small then it would have been a very loud sound because the pressure is a lot greater. That is why it was so difficult to pick-up on your defect because your hole is very large. Heavenly Father led us to that doctor and I am forever grateful.


You threw up everywhere this morning. I never knew so much stuff could come out of you. I hate it when you spit up like that because I want you to keep every ounce of food in your body that you possibly can. You have a hard time gaining weight. I don't know if that is because of your heart defect or not. But because you don't gain weight very easily I have tried to make eating easier on you by not having you nurse anymore. Instead I pump my milk and feed it to you in a bottle and then I add 1 1/2 ounces of formula to every single one of your bottles. I have noticed a difference in your weight gain. You are growing much faster now and your cheeks are starting to fill out. You still can only fit into your newborn clothes though. Your 0-3 month clothes are still very big on you. I love to watch you eat. You have your own personal cheerleader as you eat... I am always telling you to keep going, just a little more, eat baby eat, etc. I just want you to be as healthy as possible when it is time for you to go in for surgery.


I love you. Your Dad loves you. I love your Dad. I hope you know that. I hope you can feel the love that surrounds you every day.

Love, Mom