Long day and an explanation of "heart failure"

As I type this, it is almost 9:30 p.m. Matthew is still at work. :(
He rarely has to work late, but it still stinks when he does!
Today was just a typical I-have-two-small-children kind of day. Benjamin hasn't been napping that well, and neither has Andrew. Any stay-at-home mom knows that nap time is MOM time. And with no mom time, well, let's just say it's been glorious since they've both been asleep.

I go to the hospital tomorrow to weigh Benjamin. The past two weeks he has not gained very much. (2.9 ounces and 3.4 ounces) His appetite has just seemed low. It could be that the upped dosage of his Lasix (heart medication) is causing his appetite to decrease, thus he's not gaining a lot. OR it could be that he is taking too much Lasix; it's a diuretic, so he could be peeing away too much liquid. OR he could be at the beginning of heart failure.

Let me explain what heart failure is. Before I had a child with heart defects, when I heard the words "heart failure" I just assumed this was a sudden condition. Like a heart attack. But that is not what it means. Heart failure simply means that your heart cannot keep up with its job. Most people, leading up to open-heart surgery, are in heart failure for awhile. At his last cardiology appointment (two weeks ago today), Benjamin was still not in heart failure. But ever since then, he seems to be eating less, gaining less, and these are all signs that he could be starting to go into heart failure. What does that mean? Simply that the holes in his heart are needing to be fixed. And they will be. Soon. :)