Amazing :)

Part of our discharge instructions were to give Iz a bath every day (either sponge or in her baby tub with just her butt in the water since her incision can't be submerged) so we can gently wash the incision site with warm water and baby soap and then rinse and gently pat dry. Dr W says he uses a plastic surgeon's closure to minimize scarring so there are no external sutures, just the steri strips. The strips are starting to peel off--none have come off completely yet but we are getting a few tiny glimpse of the incision underneath.

The little bit we are seeing looks AMAZING. It looks like someone drew a line on her chest with a pen. We were warned that some people, even though the initial scarring is thin and light, will grow scar tissue and make it bigger and wider and raised but we are hoping Iz takes after me--my first c-section scar was nearlly non-existent. You had to look really really closely to see the very faint line. Of course, crappy closure work by my next surgeon means I had a big ugly bumpy scar--the surgeon who delivered Iz repaired a little bit of that and the scar, while not as faint and fine as the first time around, looks better. Anyway, back from the sidetrack ;) At this point, we are very optimistic about Iz's chances of having almost no noticeable scarring. We've good luck with Vitamin E creams and oils in the past with clearning up small scars from our klutzy boys and Dr W says that he has seen them help and encourages us to go ahead and use it after she is all healed for a few times a day for the next year to help shrink the scar down.

I know it seems vain to be worried about her scar. It probably is. But my girl has been through so much already and will continue to go through so much--even though her main defects are "fixed", she will see a cardiologist for the rest of her life. The RPA stenosis could require procedures in the future. Her cardio team told us she is at higher risk for valve and heart muscle problems later on and she has to be monitored for those issues for her entire life. She has months of meds and checkups she hates ahead of her. When she is a teenager, I would really like if she didn't feel self-consious about the scarring. She may be one of those who view it as a badge of triumph. Or she could be one of those who feels like it just screams she is different when she doesn't want to be. I don't know. I'd rather she not have to worry about it.