Little Lev!

I am beyond excited to share with you that our organization, Little Lev, has launched it's English website today! We are working hard to get the Hebrew version up in the coming weeks.

I want to personally thanks Wix.com and specifically Samantha at Wix, that heard about my dream of getting a website out there to help Israeli families with children with congenital heart defects.  They gifted us their complete services free of charge and gave us the support we needed to launch the website.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  With your help, we will now be able to help so many people.

Please come check out the website: www.littlelev.org

If you know of anyone living in Israel, with a child with a CHD, please pass the link along. As well, check out the page titled "Get Involved", to see how you can help make a difference for so many people.

A Little Here, A Little There

Tehilla woke up this morning with a cold and a fever. On a positive note, the medication and prune juice have started to work and she is calmer than she has been in days.  I gave her mushed up prunes as well, and she gave me a look, as if to say, "I have half a heart and a tummy ache, Ima. My tongue works just fine."

She was a little more playful because the pain in her stomach is less than it has been. She even played on her playmat for a bit.

 

But then Tehilla lost all interest and energy and was just not feeling well.

Let's hope she recovers well over Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom to all of you!

Tummy Troubles Ongoing

For the past few days, things have been tough for little Tehilla.  She will not take the oil and spits it out when we manage to force it in.

She has spent the last 3 days crying and whining nearly all day. She hasn't taken her naps and hasn't slept for a few nights.

Today, we went back to our doctor. He examined her and then she had an x-ray done. Her stomach problems are backed up higher up.

So now, she is on a stricter regiment. Prune juice, prunes and a powder medication that I can hide in her food. Let's hope this helps.

Tummy Trouble

My favorite words are "not heart related" and "stable". The words that make me smile are "like a normal baby."

For eight days, Tehilla has thrown up every time we have given her a bottle of formula. So I stopped giving her formula and started only nursing her and giving her solids for a few days. She has been extremely constipated and the past 36 hours didn't poop at all.

I know this was what y'all wanted to read about. Enjoy my poopy post.

We went to the doctor this morning. While some of this could be heart related, it's not! Just normal baby tummy trouble. Yes, in my head, I did a little dance.

She's being given some kind of oil to help her regulate.

And...since we have upped her dose of Enalapril, the excessive sweating has almost completely stopped!

Thank G-d!

If you are on Facebook, we are preparing to launch  our website in English. There is a Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/LittleLevIsrael

Please show your support and like us. it helps get our name out there, so other heart families can find us.

Happy Parties

Today, we had our second Mesibat Hodaya, party of thanks.

Thank you to those of you that were able to make it. We are truly blessed with incredible friends and family. 

At the party, I shared something that one of our blog readers had commented. Rabbi Liebtag in a shiur about Tehillim (Psalms), discusses two types of Tehillim.  One is the type where you are seeking help from G-d and asking for help. This is called "tefilla" (prayers). The other type is when you are praising G-d. This is called "tehilla" (praise).

We are so blessed to be in a time of Tehilla. Praise. Thank You, G-d, for two successful surgeries.  Thank You for giving us the opportunity to seek You out to Praise you. Let Tehilla continue to grow and develop, so that people will continue to praise You.

Shabbat Shalom to all of you!

Sweat that!

We just finished our appointment with Dr. Golander. Tehilla's heart functionality seems a bit better. He is raising her dose of Enalapril. 

He cannot explain Tehilla's excessive sweating, because her heart functionality is not poor enough to be the cause. He wants us to follow up with our regular doctor. 

Tehilla's pulmonary arteries have grown slightly. We still have time to go before Tehilla is "Glennable." 

We go back for another checkup in two weeks. 

Other than that, Tehilla is becoming more active. She is rolling all over and moving herself to the side. She has started to try to push herself forward. 

She also definitely said "hi". Of course, I was the only one to hear it. But it really did happen. Really! 

Still No Teeth

Our home has once again been plagued by Tehilla's teething. Thankfully, Tylenol gives her some relief, but there goes all my hard work on sleep training her. Even Mechal screamed out in middle of the night, "Just grow your teeth already! Please!"

Tehilla has been on the Enalapril for a week now, and we have not seen any improvement in her sweating. She still gets drenched with sweat when she eats, cries and sometimes when she sleeps. We have a follow-up appointment with our cardiologist, next week.

Meanwhile, I have been hard at work with two heart mother friends getting our organization started. I can't wait to share it with all of you, when it launches.