Preggers Together

This is a picture of me at 31 weeks and my sister-in-law, Heather, at 16 weeks. She and my brother, Adam, are expecting Wyatt in August. I'm so glad that I get to pass down Sawyer's clothes that he didn't get to wear nearly enough. It will be fun to see some of my favorites again.

BOSTON BOUND!! Yep, we've decided on a surgeon for Riley. We will be using Dr Mulliken at Children's Hospital Boston. I have been blessed this past week to talk with 4 families that all used Dr Mulliken with fantastic results (2 from Alabama)! I emailed him last Saturday with Riley's 4D ultrasound pictures and he emailed me back within an hour. Did I mention it was Saturday?! I feel very good about this decision and know that this is the place for Riley. Please pray that we will be able to handle the trips to Boston physically, emotionally and financially.

4D ultrasound

sweet little hands




beautiful face




eating her foot!



precious baby




wow what a foot!

I had a 4D ultrasound today and got some awesome pictures of sweet baby Riley! At first she was being a little shy (or maybe just sleepy) and was covering her face with her hands, but she soon cooperated. Her cleft appears to be complete on the left and incomplete on the right, which I am hoping will make for a easier repair. We even got one of her trying to eat her foot! She is so cute and I can't wait to meet her! She was measuring a week ahead and an estimated weight of 4lbs 4oz--I'm hoping she will be my chunky baby!

Thanks

Thanks to all the mommies of cleft affected children. Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated! We meet with the plastic surgeon and team at Children's in Birmingham on March 5th. I have a general idea of questions I need to ask, but if any of you can think of any that I definately shouldn't forget, let me know. Thanks again ladies! Only about 8 weeks until Riley gets here (if she waits for the scheduled date anyway)!

Mischief

Mischief...that's exactly what Sawyer's been up to lately. He was in his playroom Friday being very quiet (which is unsual but I decided to relish in the moment). Our computer and other supplies are in a large closet in the playroom. The door to the computer closet has a knob cover so he's not supposed to be able to open it. After being quiet for several minutes he comes into the living room looking like this. He says "I got a marker, Mommy." Yes he did, but luckily only decided to draw on his face and hands.




Saturday when I get home from work, Brock says Sawyer keeps getting out of his bed. I hear him stirring around in his room and go in to find him with his PJ's off, diaper off and a shirt out of his dirty clothes on inside-out and backwards. He explains "I don't like my jamas. I wear this shirt." When I ask why he's taken his diaper off, he says simply "it's wet." PJ's and new diaper back on and he finally goes to bed.

This morning I get up at 7:15. He's not making a sound so I'm thinking he might still be asleep (although he usually wakes up around 6-6:30). I go to his room to find him dressed in this. He says "I like my fish shirt. I get dressed. I want to wear my new shoes." He's taken his PJ's and wet diaper off and put this shirt and shorts on perfectly correctly (even though the high today is supposed to be around 60). He has strown out the new clothes and shoes I got for him yesterday at Kohl's. I asked him to show me his new shoes and say cheese...this is the pose I got. I guess boys will be boys.

Cleft Info

Some of you (friends/family) have been asking about the NAM device and the type of bottle I'll use. This is a picture of a little boy with his NAM in and all taped to his face.



Also is a picture of the haberman bottle (that costs about $25 each!!) and a brief description of how it is helpful.



In cases of severe feeding problems, the Haberman Feeder offers an alternative to spoons, enlarged and /or extra holes in bottle nipples, and nasogastric tubes. It is so effective and easy to use that it can change feeding sessions from difficult or traumatic experience into a pleasurable activity for health care professionals, parents and babies. Special design features make the Haberman Feeder uniquely responsive to the baby’s nursing efforts. The slit-valve in the teat regulates milk flow from zero to maximum, depending on it’s orientation in the baby’s mouth. As milk is drawn out of the teat by even the slightest action of the baby’s tongue and gums, air enters the bottle at the same rate through an inlet groove in the disc. Consequently, there is no turbulence. Milk flows in only one direction - from bottle to teat. The reservoir always remains full, and none of the baby’s effort is wasted.

If the baby cannot nurse at all, or needs a little help, the health care professional or mother can squeeze and release a limited amount of milk - 1.25 ml (about ¼ teaspoon) - from the reservoir into the baby’s mouth.

Choosing a Doctor

This is a question for all of you cleft affected families: How did you choose your child's surgeon? I can't help to keep wondering if I'll make the right decision for Riley. I will meet with the the team from Children's Hospital (Birmingham) at a multidisplinary meeting, but should I meet other doctors too to pick the best one? The only other team that is remotely close to where I live (3hr+ drive one way) is the team in Atlanta that some of you have used. If Riley does in fact have a complete bilateral cleft with palate (as we think she does) I feel very strongly that I want to her have a NAM. If the Children's group doesn't do them, I definately won't use them. But I can't really afford to go any where else other than Atlanta. There is no way that I could fly to New York or Boston weekly for months on end for NAM adjustments. Anyone with any insight to this? Is there a possibility that I could use a surgeon in another state, but use a orthodontist closer by to manage the NAM? I just feel like I'm running out of time and need to get a plan in place...

My Bump

My very sweet, and perfectly thin, sister-in-law, Heather is 13 weeks pregnant. She posted a picture of her bump on her myspace page. I commented to her how patients/family members at work ask me "when are you due" and when I reply "April" they look back down at my stomach and say "oh" like they just knew I was going to say next week! Come on people, I'm only 5'2"! For some crazy reason I hadn't thought about setting the timer on my camera to take pictures. So I took one today of my bump (more like a mountain--but I do love it) and just look at Sawyer's face! Please excuse the horrible clothes--especially the droopy pants!

Nursery

I ordered some letters for Riley's room off ebay a month or so ago. The lady emailed me today with the finished product and I love them! I can't wait to get her room set up! I've already got her bedding, but it's still in the package. I'll take a picture when I do get it all done, but I wanted to share these oh-so-cute letters. You can view/buy the artist's work at www.missbellasroom.com

He's a Big Boy Now

Sawyer is growing up so fast! He's been in his "big boy" bed for a week now. The first night he got out several times, but has done really well since then. We've even had 3 or 4 nights of sleeping through the night without getting out at all. He also had a "real" haircut this week. I've been getting Sawyer's haircut for about a year and a half now, but have always left a little length on it so it could still curl. I doesn't really curl anymore (tear) so I decided to just cut it shorter. Everyone seems to really like it, but he definately doesn't look like a baby anymore! He's been doing really well with potty training, so let's hope that's completely done by the time Riley gets here in about 10 weeks.

**I've got it fixed now so you can leave comments...