Verdict from London this time was...

Hazel is doing amazing!!!

When the doctor came in to do her check up, he began by asking us how things were going, while he was looking over her chart. No real eye contact was made for the first few seconds of the appointment, not really getting a good look at Hazel. Just as he was asking about how much weight she had gained, while simultaneously looking at the chart to check, his head turned in a way we could only see the side profile of his face. We could subtly detect the beginning of the huge grin that was about to land on his face. Then he looked up and made eye contact...it was then that we saw a big ol' teeth baring, head nodding, hands clapped together look on his face that could only express his pure and utter amazement with our baby girl.

He was astounded by the rapid weight gain, going from 11 lbs 8 oz before her surgery to 15 lbs 14 oz just 8 weeks later. That is a 4 lbs 6 oz gain, which is 40% of her entire body weight pre-surgery. She is now in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. A long ways away from the 10th percentile she was in before. It was evident then, that all the effort and focus she has been putting into eating has paid off (and girl can eat!!!).

Going through the experience of the VSD surgery was the most difficult thing we have had to deal with as parents (so far). We have had so many challenges, so early on in our role as parents. It would have been nice to be able to be a little more seasoned, a little less green while dealing with all of these arduous tasks. It's a good thing that Hazel doesn't have a check list in her journal that she uses to compare us to other parents she comes across. That being said, we could not be happier with the results, and would do it again in a second if it meant that Hazel would be this content and happy afterwards.

What a relief...the doctor is not worried...we are not worried...amen!!!

We even had time to stop in to NICU and visit Auntie Cheryl. They were both delighted to see each other. Smiles all around....yes...even from Hazel.