Latest appointments

Earlier this week, we had 2 pretty important doctor appointments...one for eyes/clogged tear ducts and one for a hearing test. Both went well!

We pretty much knew the tear ducts were clogged, and although hoping for the pediatric opthalmologist to tell us it looked pretty good and he thought they'd clear up on their own, he was very realistic. There is a chance they will clear, and the goop will go away on its own, but if not, they will do the minor surgery to open them up when Calder has his palate surgery...hopefully in July. ?? The less he has to be under general anesthetic the better! So, we are supposed to be doing gentle "massage" in the corners of his eyes and on the bridge of his nose to help loosen the gunk so it doesn't get infected. He loves that...HA, pretty sure he hates it with every little bone in his body!

The hearing test was also good. Although he passed the newborn screening, at our initial consult with the ENT (ear/nose/throat doctor), they did a tympanogram (sp?) which measures the movement of the eardrum with air pressure. The more movement, the better the hearing. Calder's really didn't move at all, which meant that he had a lot of fluid behind his eardrums. They likened this to things being muffled, or like hearing things underwater...so we knew he could hear, but really didn't know how well. Typically, hearing improves drastically once tubes are placed, so I was anxious to find out more. The audiologist was thoroughly impressed with him, and told us that he did better than the average 7 month old. :) She loved how social he is, and how alert and attentive...he grinned at her and clapped throughout the test, and we all got a kick out of his antics! SO, hearing is fine, and we are so happy that it seems like it's on track.

We have our big cleft team meeting on June 3rd, so that is the next step!

Not really any other big news, he continues to crawl around like a maniac, and is now pulling himself up to standing very quickly! I'm seriously afraid that we will be dealing with a walker sometime this summer! Seems like he is growing up faster than Caydree did, I guess it's just different the 2nd time around...

Mother's Day

Gotta love the Mother's Day pictures...maybe one day, we will manage to get just one where everyone is looking the same direction...either way, I love my babies!!!

A year ago...

So I've been trying to write this post for about 2 weeks now, and every time I start, I give up or erase it all...I don't exactly know why I can't figure out what to say, or how to say it...

About a year ago, we found out about Calder's cleft at our 20 week ultrasound. It is crazy to remember the shock and devastation we felt, the many tears we cried, the fear, the unknown...

Now, here we are, so much of that behind us already...on a journey that we never expected would be so difficult and so wonderful all at once. We are blessed beyond belief with an amazing support system=family and friends, fabulous doctors, and the very best, most adorable little man on the planet...how could we possibly wish it to be any different?

There are so many analogies I could use, mantras that I continually fall back on when things seem hard...but this has truly been a life-changing experience. I've had a HUGE shift in perspective about a lot of things...and found strength I didn't know I had. I know that God's plans sometimes reveal themselves in ways we never expect, and I know that Calder is truly a special gift.

I hate that my precious child has to suffer through surgeries and painful recovery. I hate that later in his life he may encounter people who are cruel and ignorant. These are the things I would change.

I love that my precious child gave me 2 first smiles, one big wide one, and the new one that I can't get enough of. I love that he has made me a stronger, better, more accepting person. I love that he proves to me each and every day that he is NO DIFFERENT than any other baby. These are the things I wouldn't trade for the world.

Having a crystal ball a year ago would have been nice, but the journey to get here has been just as important. Our family has grown in many ways, and our little man has taught us more than we will ever know. I can only hope and pray that we are able to make his journey as wonderful as he has already made ours. We love you Calder!

My Beautiful Girl

Caydree...

I rarely get smiles out of my first munchkin these days...this one was so close!! She is a ragamuffin, a parrot, and a sassy-pants...3 1/2 going on 13, empathetic beyond her years, and a great big sister...a free-spirit who will make you a deal and try to reason her way into or out of anything.

I miss her smiles for photos, but sure do enjoy them when they appear--they are so genuine and spontaneous. She lights up to entertain her baby brother...and her favorite line is, "he's smilin' at me..." which I in turn respond to, "of course he is, he loves you!" SO true...he can't get enough of her, and would smile at her all day.

She truly is my sweet, beautiful girl, and I am so thankful and proud to be her mommy. Even when she crosses her arms at me and gives me the stink eye, I love her more than life...

She's already planning her 4th birthday, for the thousandth time... she is growing up, and I want to remember every minute. So for now, I will keep taking pictures, smiling or not...of my beautiful girl.

Updates

I realized yesterday while we were at the plastic surgeon's office for a follow up, that I couldn't remember if I'd put up any info/stats about our 6 month check. About a month ago now, little man weighed in at 15.3 lbs, and is hanging steady at the 10th percentile. All the doctors seem happy with his initial gains and now his consistency. I am just a little concerned now that he is more active...burning more calories...and sleeping through the night...one less bottle, so I guess we will see in the next month how he does.

Also at that appointment, they gave us a referral for the pediatric opthalmologist, to check his poor little tear ducts. He has always had goopy eyes, sometimes worse than others...so we will be going in May 11th for that appointment down in San Diego. Worst case scenario is that they are clogged ducts and they don't think they will clear up or open on their own...then they have to do another surgery. We are hoping that he'll outgrow it!!!

Yesterday we went to the plastic surgery follow up. He gave us info to start massaging the lip scar with a silicone gel, so mommy needs to get online and order it. Funny, he pointed out all the imperfections in the lip repair and nose job...I guess as a PS, that's his job...but we just love the results, and don't think Calder can get much cuter! :) He also gave us some cautiously optimistic news about his palate, and it looks like they will most likely be able to do the palate repair in July! That seems really soon to me now, but it was what I was hoping for, so I wouldn't have to take any time off once school started. Say a prayer for us, and keep your fingers crossed! He was happy with the way it had already come together so much from the lip repair, and wants to see 6 more weeks of growth before giving us a date.

The only other big thing we have coming up is the hearing test on May 13. I guess this is the one I am most nervous about, as it is directly linked to speech acquisition and the possibility there could be some hearing loss due to the fluid he had before his tubes were put in. We know he can hear, so we are hoping for the best, but we will see! That's about it in the medical department, for now. Thanks for all of your continued thoughts and prayers for our little man!