We've been meaning to update the blog for a LONG time. On average, we have been posting updates about once every 1.5 months. The last post was listed on September 27th, 2013, so needless to say, we're late, but it is because of a very good reason (we think).
We were going to post right after Halloween because we created a special pumpkin, and Claire's costume was really great, but we didn't want to spill the beans about some upcoming news. We wanted to get something listed in mid-November to update everyone on Claire's Palate Surgery, but we were nearing some crucial dates that had nothing to do with Surgery (which happened on November 6th).
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah (Insert Bob Lawblaw joke, here!)
Nevertheless, here is the pumpkin we carved for Halloween 2013.
And here's a picture of an Ultrasound.
Note the date of the Ultrasound. This is NOT an Ultrasound of Claire.
If you haven't figured it out already, Jen and I are expecting another baby. The due date is at the end of May 2014. We'll be finding out the gender of the baby on December 15th, so that news will have to, unfortunately, wait for the next blog post. NOW you understand why I went on and on and on about blog post averages and why I listed a ton of excuses for the delay. Surprise :-)
CLAIRE'S HALLOWEEN 2013 COSTUME
Cute Halloween costume, huh? No costume for Peyton this year. Sorry Peyton!
We took some video of our little pink monster (who is now walking around!!!), as she growls and snarls. Very scary!
Click HERE to view the video.
AND SPEAKING OF WALKING...
Claire is a very active little kid. She's able to sit on the floor and entertain herself with books, toys, and the dog, but she also has interests that are above her eye-level. She had been pulling herself up and cruising around furniture for quite some time. When it came time to take some steps, it required a little bit of encouragement from Mommy, Daddy, and our roommates.
Click HERE to see the video of Claire's very first steps.
She is now EVERYWHERE! We haven't attempted stairs yet because we don't have a staircase, but hopefully we'll be able to experiment with that in December. We're heading home for Christmas and my sister, Jen (For those of you who don't know, my wife is named Jen and my sister is ALSO named Jen. At one time, for about 2 years, there were TWO Jen Brunsmans in the family. Fun!), has a really great staircase in her house.
PING PONG AND OTHER GAMES
Our roommate, Ian, was playing with Claire one night while we were out, and he learned that Claire really likes playing Ping Pong.
Click HERE to see a very cute video of Claire playing "Ping Pong" with Ian (video taken by our other roommate, Anita).
Click HERE to see a great and funny video of Claire playing peek-a-boo with Jen behind our coffee table.
Click HERE to see a video of Claire playing with her shapes toy.
We sometimes put Claire on our shoulders while running around the apartment. I am pretty sure that we have more fun than Claire does. Click HERE to decide for yourself.
This is a picture of Claire's favorite game. Hide-and-Seek/Peek-a-Boo under her pink blanket. She either puts the blanket over her head (or we do it for her), and she just sits there for 20-30 seconds before pulling it off - hilarious!
Claire likes playing with the computer. Here's our little tech-head surfing the internet (banging on the keys, more like).
And this is Jen trying to use the computer while Claire bangs on the keys more.
Click HERE to see a video of Claire finding her belly button.
CLAIRE AND PEYTON... BFF
Claire has found a great friend in Peyton, and Peyton in Claire. We're very happy (and a bit surprised) how much they love each other. Honestly, if I were Peyton, I'd consider Claire to be a bit of a nuisance.
Click HERE to see a video of Claire giving and then taking Peyton's treat.
THIS CHICK SLEEPS WEIRD
We don't really need to give an explanation for these photos, do we?
About the things on Claire's arms in pictures 3 and 4, there's an explanation later on in this posting. For now though, she had to wear them after her surgery.
FUNNY FACES AND FUNNY HAIR
Probably don't need to give an explanation here either, right?
DISNEYLAND
A friend of mine from High School came to California in October to take his family to Disneyland. Along with dealing with the mayhem of his own children at Disney, he (and his beautiful wife) invited Jen, Claire, and me along for the ride(s). We had a really great time and this was a wonderful distraction for us as we inched closer to Claire's surgery on November 6th.
This is a photo of all of us in front of the Magic Castle.
Claire, why do you have to ruin EVERY photo (Click on the photo for a better, full-sized view of what she is doing)!
Kris (Dave's friend) had an idea of taking video of Claire while on the rides. This actually proved to be quite interesting and entertaining. Claire was probably on information overload, but it was so cute as she checked everything out.
Click HERE to see some video of Claire on her first ride ever, It's A Small World, and another kiddie ride, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.
The Buzz Lightyear game is a shoot-em-up game (so to speak). Each rider is given a "laser gun" to be used for shooting aliens. Dave earned the high score of the group. This is a picture of Dave, Jen, and Claire (provided by Disney) on the ride, with Dave and Jen's score attached (Dave's is the bigger score).
After a long day of riding rides, we went to the ESPN Zone to watch the Colts/Broncos game - a very hotly contested match-up for those of us who are Indiana natives (Kris and his family are also Colts Fans, which was nice because Colts fans are slim pickins in Southern California). As torn as we were to root AGAINST Peyton Manning, when it really comes down to it, we're tried and true fans of the Blue and White (even with Curtis Painter as the QB - as difficult as that was)!
Andrew Luck lead the Colts to a rough win, and provided a very entertaining game for everyone watching. Go Horse!
BUT, Kris's daughter didn't care much about the Colts and Broncos. She was more interested in entertaining Claire, which was TOTALLY fine with us!
THE SURGERY - WHAT IS THIS SURGERY ABOUT?
Claire was born with a Bilateral Cleft Lip and a Complete Cleft Palate.
This first picture is of Claire's Bilateral Cleft Lip.
This second picture is of Claire's complete Cleft Palate.
Both pictures were taken within a week of her birth. Later on in this posting, I'll give you a before/after from Claire's Palate Surgery.
It would be pointless to re-cap everything, so, if you wish, you can click HERE to be redirected to the blog post regarding the repair of Claire's upper lip (November and December 2012).
Regarding the Complete Cleft Palate, in the picture, you'll notice a line running in the middle (area) of the roof of her mouth (where the arrows are pointing). That is her Nasal Septum (the part of your nose that separates both of your nostrils). The bunched-up skin on either side of her Septum is the skin that is supposed to be her Palate.
The #1 question we received regarding this surgery was, "Where did the doctors GET her palate?" The way it was explained to us, and as I tried to explain above, the skin on either side of her Septum IS her palate. It's just in the wrong place. The Doctor's task is to take that skin and muscle, and to reposition it, without moving her teeth buds, so that Claire can now have a proper roof of her mouth.
I found this graphic on the Internet, which diagrams the process of the actual repair - in a simplified way, of course.
Claire had been dealing with hearing issues since birth. Her ear canals are narrow (more narrow than a normal baby), and the pressure that's created (normally) between the Ear Drum and the Palate wasn't there (no Palate), causing an issue with the effectiveness of her hearing and the functioning of her Ear Drum. Regarding hearing, there was also a concern about fluid in her ears.
Here is a picture of Claire and Jen in the booth during a hearing test.
Kids who are born with Cleft Palates are susceptible to ear infections much more so than normal kids. The risk is rather severe that she could suffer some, or even complete, hearing loss as a result of fluid and infection. To this concern, we must be very careful with Claire's exposure to germs (good luck with that!).
Further, because it was assumed that Claire's ears had fluid buildup, an Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) Doctor was scheduled to look into Claire's ears once she was under anesthesia to determine the need for tubes (obviously it was determined that there was a need, otherwise I wouldn't be talking about it). The tube is primarily for fluid drainage, but it does serve other function as well - as it relates to her palate (which we don't completely understand).
The name of the surgeries (for all of you Medical Professionals in Training):
Repair of Complete Bilateral Cleft Palate - This is obvious, hopefully.
Bilateral Myringotomy - Placement of Ventilation Tubes in the Ear Drums
This is a picture of the Anatomy of an Ear, along with the placement of a Vent Tube.
The Grommet is the Ear Tube and is inserted into the actual Ear Drum.
THE THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED...
Every time you speak and your tongue touches the roof, bridge (front), or gum line of your mouth, you are using your palate. When you say the letter "P" (for instance), you use your palate, and the pressure created in your mouth, as your tongue seals the air in your mouth at the back of your palate, to create that sound, is made possible BECAUSE of your palate - which anatomically offers a separation between your mouth and nasal cavity. If you didn't have a palate, you wouldn't be able to make the "P" sound - you'd only be able to make an "Mmm" sound.
Say the alphabet. Go on, no one is watching! Say the alphabet.
Here's a graphic to help you if you're feeling shy (with instructions on printing to boot!). My 1st Grade Teacher wife will really love this, I'm sure!
The next time you talk on the phone, or to your boss, or to your baby, or perhaps, your husband/wife (haha), concentrate on how many times your tongue touches the roof of your mouth - and the exact position your tongue touches the roof of your mouth. Does your tongue touch the front, back or side of your roof? Does it hit your roof hard, lightly, or does it tap (as if your were to roll your "R"). Is your tongue wide or narrow as it touches the roof of your mouth?
Imagine drinking through a straw. The pressure created inside your mouth, between your tongue and palate, allows you to suck on that straw. Imagine drinking a soda and how the fizz sometimes goes up your nose. That "going up your nose" feeling... that's how ALL eating and drinking felt for Claire because there was no separation between her mouth and her sinus cavity. Imagine the irritation of constantly having the feeling of something being "in your nose" and needing to sneeze it out.
All the sounds and activities you just did and concentrated on... Claire wasn't able to do because her anatomy didn't allow it.
Crazy, huh?
PREPARING FOR SURGERY - A BIT OF READING NOW
For two weeks before November 6th, Claire was placed into quarantine. No outdoor walks, no visitors, no one (including Mommy and our roommates) touching her unless they were completely sanitized (Jen took showers after every school day before touching Claire because, as a teacher, she's susceptible to tons of kiddie germs), no Church and Bible Study... nothing.
The main reason for the quarantine was because Claire came down with a very serious cold in early October. The doctor's warned us that, if she wasn't able to kick the cold within two weeks of November 6th, the surgery would be postponed.
Anyway, quarantine was in place, and it wasn't much fun - for anyone (Especially Dave because he was stuck inside all day long - Cabin fever, baby!).
We had Claire's name listed for two weeks (prior to surgery) during the Prayer of the Faithful at Church, which was difficult to hear, especially because she wasn't able to be there with us. We also listed her in the bulletin under prayer intentions, and finally, we gave her the Anointing of the Sick Sacrament. Prayer circles were enlisted everywhere we could reach out and to anyone who would listen.
Perhaps this sounds like a case of "crying wolf" but this Surgery wasn't like the other surgeries. The previous two were minor comparatively. This one was very serious, which is why surgeons want to wait for a certain age and weight limit - and why we were so consumed with Claire's weight gain, food consumption, and food content. We can't imagine that we would have been so anal about her weight (specifically) had she not had surgery pending (maybe, maybe not).
Because of the seriousness of this surgery, we were on pins and needles (much more-so than the previous two surgeries). Honestly, I (we) can't imagine doing something (much) more stressful than having to send your kid (baby, no less) into a surgery room, under anesthesia, to have an operation on her face.
NOVEMBER 6, 2013 - SURGERY DAY
We got to the hospital at 5:45am (yawn!), and got Claire all prepared for her big day. It seemed that 50 doctors (probably more like 5, but still) visited us in the prep room, asking us the same questions over-and-over. We were told that the procedure would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Claire got into her little surgery dress and hat (cute stuff, by the way), and we were as ready as we were going to be.
The nurse saw that Claire is very attached to her pink blanket, so, to keep her calm, they wanted to allow her to keep it until the anesthesia took effect. Fine by us! Whatever they can do to keep her more comfortable...
And at 7:30am, they wheeled her off.
Knowing that we had 3(ish) hours, and since we were starving, we went to Del Taco to grab a breakfast burrito, and to try to reel-down a bit. We didn't really talk much - probably also on account of being so exhausted (for sure) - because honestly, what do you say at a time like this?
At 8:00am SHARP, our hospital called us (gasp!).
This was a HUGE surprise. The Surgeon was on the other end of the phone. We would have preferred that the very first words out of his mouth were, "Everything is fine" but there's really nothing that could have been said to stop our hearts from sinking into the Earth's molten core.
Apparently our ENT had a last-minute scheduling conflict and was unable to make the surgery. Our Surgeon was asking for our permission for another ENT to perform the ear examination.
First off (and most important), we signed the release which states that (and I quote), "I authorize Dr. ________, MD and/or (key-word, "OR") his/her associates, assistance of his/her choice, and personnel assigned by the hospital or medical group to perform the following operation or procedure..."
So, yeah! We're cool. You didn't need to call and scare the Hell out of us while you were performing surgery on our daughter. Thanks anyway, though.
The rest of the waiting time was tenuous at best. We couldn't read or concentrate on much of anything. We couldn't relax or sleep. We were wound up as tight as a snare drum because of that phone call.
The 2 1/2 Hr. mark passed. The 3 Hr. mark passed...
At 12:00pm (4.5 Hours), the Surgeon came into the waiting room and told us that Claire was fine, the surgery went well, that she was coming out of anesthesia now, and that we'd be able to see her soon. OK. Whew!
POST-SURGERY - DAY OF
After the first two surgeries (mind you, Claire was only 3 months old), we were lead back into the recovery room, and she was just laying there crying, confused, cold, and hooked up to tons of machines.
For this one, the moment we walked into the door, Claire saw us from 20 feet away, and she (not exactly) practically jumped off of the crib/bed wanting us to hold her. Obviously, she was still crying, confused, and hooked up to a ton of machines. But this time, she knew us and she really wanted us to hold her. Nice, yet a little bit heartbreaking - it's hard to explain.
It was in the recovery room that Claire was able to "enjoy" her first ever Popsicle. We've been very careful not to give her sugar or other snacks, but this sugar was OK. She was in serious pain, and we just wanted to take it away from her... not possible, of course.
Jen stayed with Claire while I went outside to make my 2 detail-laden phone calls, explaining everything (as we understood it). The phone tree was activated and I went back inside to be with Jen and Claire.
OVERNIGHT
For us, Claire having this surgery, with regards to the recovery, was as if we had a newborn all over again.
Every 2 hours, she was up wanting something. But, to make matters more interesting, she was having a very difficult time with taking (even) the slightest amount of liquid, so she was starving, in tons of pain, and completely confused about why her mouth (space) was reduced by 50%.
Imagine living with a mouth (I'm generalizing here, but you'll get the idea) the size of a quarter for a year, only to wake up one day, and for it now to be the size of a dime.
Claire's tongue is now (for all intents and purposes) taking up a LOT more space in her mouth because of the reduced size of the cavity. She has to re-learn how to breathe because the placement of her tongue is now more crucial to that effort. Imagine it. Scary!
Here are two pictures of Claire in her recovery bed.
The things you see on Claire's arms are called No-No's. They are basically arm splints for babies. Because babies like to have their hands in their mouths, and since Claire had surgery on her mouth, she had to wear the No-No's. We had to keep them on for 3 weeks. Of course, she didn't like them, but it wasn't like Claire was miserable. She was OK and she's a pretty resilient kid.
Aside from the No-No's, one of the first things you may notice (and aside from that she looks completely awful, weak, and pathetic), is that she has a little black string coming out of her mouth that's taped to one side of her cheek.
As a result of the anesthesia and the surgery, Claire's tongue was very swollen (on top of her mouth now being much smaller - even more scary, right?), and a serious concern after a surgery like this (with the swollen tongue), is that the patient can/could swallow their tongue - making it impossible for them to breathe - essentially suffocating to death.
This black string had been run through (think of a tongue piercing) her tongue and fastened to her cheek so that, if she swallowed her tongue, we (or the Nurses) could quickly unfasten the loop taped onto her cheek, and pull, effectively yanking her tongue out of her throat.
Thankfully, we never had to do that. The string was taken out before we left the hospital because the swelling had reduced enough.
POST-SURGERY - NEXT DAY
Aunt Michelle (Jen's sister), flew into LA the next day and was able to hang with us for a few days while we (us as well as Claire) recovered from this entire ordeal. She was a huge help.
One main deciding factor about when we were able to leave the hospital was with regards to Claire being able to drink and eat. Our instructions were to only give her smooth food - pudding, yogurt, etc...
While we were at the hospital, however, they provided all of Claire's food for us. She really liked the pudding (again, she hadn't really had sugar before this surgery), but the drinking was much more difficult.
But something funny happened. The Nurse ordered some food for Jen because she is pregnant (see above), and since we were checked in to Claire's recovery room, with a doctor's order for pureed food, Jen's food came to the room looking like this...
That's pureed sausage and pureed eggs. Eat up!
In all, Claire received (I think) 3 trays of food, out of which she only really ate the pudding - no cereal, no (yuk) pureed eggs or sausage, no milk or apple juice.
Here are two of her menus (Click for larger view). Anything pop out at you?
Jen and I were absolutely wrecked and exhausted, and we really needed a supplemental pick-us-both-up (a.k.a. coffee).
Again, because we were checked into Claire's room, the coffee came on Claire's tray (see the pictures above if you didn't see it already). Perhaps we thought the coffee on Claire's tray was funnier than it actually is (we were a bit delirious), but we thought it was funny that Claire's menu contained coffee - she IS only 14 months old, after all. Funny/Not Funny?
We were finally able to get a slight smile out of our little patient. A very heartwarming and wonderful sight to behold for sure. The second picture is of Aunt Michelle holding our little tough cookie.
Here's a family picture from the day after surgery. Everyone already looking better.
MOVIE SCENES IN THE RECOVERY ROOM
If you can't laugh and make fun at situations that are heavy like this, we (personally) feel that you'll just go insane. Even though we were dog-tired, we couldn't help having a little bit of fun.
Claire had a little Oxygen sensor on her big toe that glowed red. E.T. phone home!
Claire looked like she was in jail. Back to the Future (Marty talking to his Uncle Jailbird Joey as a baby) - "Better get used to these bars, kid."
GOING HOME
We got to go home the day after the surgery, after only one night in the hospital. We were told that about 15% of palate patients are able to leave the day of surgery, 80% are able to leave the next day, and about 5% need to stay one more night. Thank goodness we were able to go home. We were absolutely exhausted.
This is another one of those things that's hard to explain. We had been building up to this surgery and this date for a year. Religiously, every two weeks, we took Claire in for a weight check so that we could ensure she was eating enough (often times, it felt as if we were force-feeding her, and in actuality, we probably were - our ONLY goal was to get her weight up and everything else, we'd just have to fix or work on later) and gaining enough weight.
Every decision we made revolved around Claire's eating schedule and how much and when she was going to eat. Food and weight was a constant nag that hung around all day - every day. When Claire got sick (a few times over the year), she'd lose weight, and we'd freak out because we had this "goal" we have to hit.
And on, and on, and on...
And at the snap of a finger, it was over. A huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders, and at the same time, even though Claire was in immense pain, we felt (a sort-of) calm for the first time since she was born, but we WERE exhausted. All we wanted to do was sleep, but of course, we do have a baby to take care of.
RECOVERY AND MORE
We were blessed to have several meals provided for us once we arrived home. Some friends, along with our roommates, and Michelle too, chipped in to make sure we didn't have to worry about meals for a few days, and that was really nice. Thank goodness for great friends!
On Sunday, Michelle, Jen, Claire, and I went to Oggi's (a local pizza/sports bar/restaurant) to watch the Colts/Titans game. It was awful and they got crushed, but it was nice to be outside for a bit - even though the quarantine was still in effect. With wreck-less abandon, we said, "To hell with the quarantine!" for just one day.
Here's a picture of Claire lounging in her high chair at Oggi's. She's hiding from the horrible Colts play (apparently) - it was UGLY that day.
The reason the quarantine was still in effect (for two weeks after surgery) is because, due to a prior cold (remember, Claire was sick a month before the surgery), she had residual buildup in her lungs, which had to come out, in order to ensure her safety through anesthesia.
When the buildup was sucked out, the protective coating in her lungs, which helps to prevent colds and sicknesses, was taken with it. The absence of this protective coating exposed Claire to potential pneumonia, bronchitis, and other serious illness (doubly so because she had just undergone serious surgery).
As promised, here is a before/after comparison of her palate repair. The picture on the left is a pre-surgery picture and is a different one than I listed before (this one was taken one week before surgery). You may notice on this one that there seems to be a LOT more skin on either side of her Nasal Septum. The picture on the right is of her repaired palate.
The reason there seems to be more skin (is because there actually IS more skin) is because, as she grows, everything else grows too - including her palate - even though it's not in the right place. It is also because of this (the skin growing), that doctors want to wait until later to do the palate surgery so that they have more tissue to work with.
THIS FELL OUT OF WHERE?
Because the bridge of Claire's mouth still sticks out rather far, the surgeon couldn't seal the palate completely. I'd say that the palate is about 95% sealed, with a little hole in the front, just behind her bridge.
The surgeon plugged the little hole with a piece of gauze (which he didn't tell us about), which fell out while we were feeding her on our 2nd day home. When it came out, it looked like a clump of skin, and of course, we all freaked out a little bit. Upon a little bit of investigation, we found that it was just gauze. The doctor (after we called him) told us not to worry and that it wasn't a big deal.
Here's the gauze.
SHE'S STILL A NORMAL BABY
Grandma Lynda gave Claire a new bib - sporting the Colts all the way! The picture on the right is of Aunt Michelle cuddling with Claire after bath time.
Claire likes books and she took advantage of Aunt Michelle's interest in spending time with her. I'm pretty sure that Aunt Michelle didn't mind reading to her :-)
Aunt Michelle loves Clairelynne, and vice versa...
She likes to dig through her diaper bag.
And, as disgusting as it may be (and is), Claire likes to lick the window on our porch door as Peyton looks on. We try to keep it clean, but, you know, it's hard sometimes. A lot of the smears you see on the window are from Peyton's (you better be sitting down) nose.
Peyton and Claire both look longingly at the outdoors through the window on the porch door, which is why Peyton's nose-slobber gets onto it. Claire either likes the salty taste of Peyton's nose-slobber, or she likes the cold feeling of the window. Your guess is as good as ours, and yes, we understand that it's disgusting. Don't judge!
WHAT'S NEXT?
Luckily, we should not (hopefully) have to deal with any more surgeries until Claire is about 4-5 (or maybe even a little older still) years old. You may notice on her pictures, like I mentioned before, that the front bridge of her mouth (the area where your top four teeth are) still sticks out quite a bit. This is gradually going to work its way into her mouth as she ages, as a result of the tension from her repaired lip.
Eventually, she'll need to have an appliance placed into her mouth, which will expand her palate, gum-line, and re-position her front bridge. From there, she'll have serious orthodontic work done in order to straighten everything out, but we can't really do any of that until she has her permanent teeth in.
She'll need to get a lip revision, a slight palate revision (to plug the little hole), and nose work (when she's about 18-20) done.
It'll be a long road, but we've made it past the serious one. Of everything Claire is going to have to endure (with regard to surgery), the Palate Surgery is the most severe and serious by far.
WRAPPING UP THE SURGERY TALK FOR A WHILE
Everything is getting back to normal. Claire is eating well. She's already had both of her follow-up appointments (Surgeon and ENT), and apparently everything looks good. She's off of the pudding and is almost ready to start eating food such as noodles, puffs, crunchy stuff, and the like, which I'm sure will be a completely different adventure. With her feeding, we've had to hold her back so much that she's very behind on her (feeding) abilities. We do, however, approach this next feeding stage with a sense of ease. If she doesn't eat, so be it. If she eats, OK. This is the first time in her life that we don't care much about whether she eats (Like I said before, we felt like we were force-feeding her at times). If she's hungry, she'll eat. If not, she'll eat when she's hungry.
We just know that we're not going to force anything anymore.
One step at a time! Right now, we want/need to enjoy our little girl - not having to weigh her every 2 weeks. We want to enjoy, now that she can really start making new sounds, the diarrhea of the mouth that has been promised to us (by the ENT).
Since surgery, she's started making the the following sounds - Nuh Nuh, Vuh Vuh, Mmmm, Buh Buh, Tuh Tuh, and several more. Very interesting to see for sure.
GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS
Claire was very excited to see that the Christmas tree had been set up and decorated. The second picture is of a Pink Nightmare (intended reference to the movie, "A Christmas Story") we found at a local baby clothes store - No, we didn't buy it (I'm a Scrooge, I've been told).
Click HERE to see Claire riding in a shopping cart through the Christmas section at Wal-Mart. She really loved the hanging super-sized balloons.
CELEBRATING BABIES!
Ian and Anita (our roommates) gave birth (Anita did most of the work, obviously) to their first baby on November 30th. We went to visit them in the hospital as soon as we could (later in the day on November 30th). What a cutie!
Including Ian and Anita's baby, our friends Chris and Darci had two babies back-to-back (August 2012 and September 2013), and Jen and I had one (September 2012) with another on the way (May 2014). The guys never celebrated the age-old right of passage by smoking cigars and sipping scotch.
On December 8, we all got together to celebrate. The guys spent most of their time outside celebrating all of the kids in the last year-and-a-half. The fertile bunch, from left to right, is Ian, Chris, and Dave.
THE END
I'm really hoping that the "text" part of these postings will be reduced greatly now that the technical explanations for surgery can be ignored for a while now. We understand that people have tons of questions (and we're happy to answer them), about the whole surgery and repair process (and we realize that many are very concerned about Claire), and we try to cover a much information as possible in the text of these postings so that the procedures are explained as clearly as we know how.
In the next blog post, we'll have a full write-up about Jen's new pregnancy, our Christmas trip home, the gender of our new baby, Peyton's birthday, and the few things I just didn't get around to on this posting (Concerts in the Park and Drumming). I promise less text and more pictures!
Thanks for reading and especially, thanks for all of your love, thought, support, and prayers over the last couple of months (and year). We would have felt completely lost without your concern and support.
As for this blog, we'll see you on the (New Year) flip-side! Have a wonderful Christmas, Holiday Season, and New Year!
Love,
Dave, Jen, Claire, So-and-So, and Peyton (the dog)
P.S. - THE REASON FOR THE BLOG
The main reason that Jen and I established this blog was so that we could raise awareness about Cleft Lip/Palate Birth Defects. Of course, we put a lot about our personal lives onto this blog too, but the driving force in creating a personal blog with wide readership was to hopefully show that you CAN live a normal life with a baby who's born with these (or other) challenges.
We've found that sometimes, parents take for granted the simple (even though they seem difficult at the time) aspects of raising a baby (we would have been included in that list), such as teaching speech, feeding, and soothing methods (thumb, pacifier, bottle sucking). This is not to say that we have the most difficult case of birth defect - far from it. In the scheme of things, we're positive that many others have much more severe things to deal with in their lives - especially when you compare our specific difficulties to things like homelessness, genocide, oppression, etc...
But, as it relates to Cleft Lips and Cleft Palates, we wanted to offer a resource about what to expect, should you (or someone you know) be faced with these defects. The Cleft Lip/Palate community is very sheltered and very few resources exist which show the actual progression of repair - especially on such a severe case.
Our hospital, along with many others, we fear, don't keep (or at the minimum, reveal and share) stats about surgery success, before/after photos, and organized support groups, citing HIPA and other medical-field regulations. This, unfortunately, is a great disservice to the people who are dealing with these defects - often times feeling that they are alone and that no one on Earth understands what's actually going on - the difficulties, the stresses, the developmental concerns, and the long-term prospects and schedules for repair.
If you, our readers, feel that someone else can benefit from reading this blog, please feel free to pass our link and/or e-mail address along.
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