Well, Ellie and Reid's mom here.
3 more days until palate surgery and gumline repair for Reid. Am I ready??? Yes. Is he? I hope so. He has double ear infections right now. Yeah...what timing. We have been battling them for over a week now. Still gunky and pus filled. The tubes in the ears allow the crud to drain out of his ears, which is good. But, it still worries me. Hopefully, we can get these cleared up before surgery day. I called our dr. today, and he is going to up the meds tomorrow. Hopefully, it will do the trick. I don't want to have to postpone surgery until later. Time will tell. Pray for us!
So, all you cleft families out there...any words of wisdom? Advice? Things that were helpful to you? Things to take to the hospital that helped you out? Anything that would be good for me to know that I may not have thought about would be wonderful. I know that all of you have us in your hearts and minds...and we thank you so much. I hate to think of another surgery. I think since I went through the first one and kind of know what to expect a bit....I worry more. Just like having baby #2...you know more....and just anticipate what is going to happen. Hopefully, all will go well. I don't plan on sleeping at the hospital much....didn't much for the lip repair....I am sure this will be similar. Wonder how he will eat afterwards? He is such a good little guy...I just pray for a safe and healthy recovery...and maybe a little sleep if we are lucky. Thanks in advance for your help! You are all just what we need!
Mommy and me having cuddle time at Hocking Hills.
Told ya, my hair can be wild! And you thought I was kidding!
Hmmm, Blue's Brother's perhaps?
8 comments:
Adalynn was more aware the second time (and the third was the worst), so that made things a little harder. She was only 6 months old, so the drive to eat was still fairly strong and she took her bottle fairly soon after surgery. I feel like I should have tons of advice (especially since she had her palate done twice) but I don't have much.
Here are few things that surprised us...
1-all the packing/gunk they put in the top of the mouth. It was a little gross looking, but eventually all disolved.
2-they took skin from the sides of her mouth to help close the palate-I had no clue that is what they did.
3-it wasn't as surprising when she got out of surgery. It almost made it a little easier, because there wasn't that huge shock of her looking so different.
4-we didn't have to actually see this, but they warned us that she may have a stitch hanging out of her mouth attached to her tongue in case her airway would start to swell (so they can pull her tongue out of the way). They had already removed this before we got back to her.
I wish you the best of luck. I hope the ears clear up soon and surgery is able to happened as planned. The 16th is my oldest's birthday, so I will definitely remember Reid's big day and will be thinking about you on that day.
Best of luck! God Bless !
I hope all goes well for your sweet baby, my stomach dropped when I read Shannons commenst (sorry Shannon) Avie has hers on the 28th and the closer it gets the more nervous I get, I am so glad she is "unaware". You will be in my thoughts on Thursday.
Still in the thick of it :-) Holly was ok in the hospital but the feeding troubles began when we got home :-( Today is Day 5 post op and has been pretty good. Here's what helped in the hospital: sippy cup and a mylar balloon for distractions. If I could have brought anything else, it would have been a DVD of Curious George. She loves the music. But had to make do with the broadcast on PBS, when that came on for a moment.
Clothes were harder this time. She ended up with blankets and eventually the hospital gown on. Too many monitor things attached. She had an additional three monitors to measure heart and breathing.
Holly didn't have the packing or stitch in her tongue, but I have read this before too. She was very swollen, her whole face.
At home, it has helped to offer sherbet (dairy free, Reid could have really soft ice cream) and chocolate Silk (milk).
One thing I didn't expect was the massive amount of runny nose yucky. Running the humidifier helpd with that. Also to clean her nose, without touching it, we use a q-tip, twirl it gently OUTside the nose, and wahlah! all the gunk will come out. (We did nothing the first 2 days to clean her nose, just to make sure we didn't disturb anything we shouldn't!)
Reid is a trooper and has grown so much! He is a terrific eater, too. I will pray that this will go well for him and you too! and that the ear infection clear up!!!
It's so funny to me the difference in doctors and hospitals and when they do things. Aidan won't have his palate done until he's over a year old, next summer. Seems like an eternity to wait!
What bad timing, with TWO ear infections. I hope he gets over those ASAP!
I'll be thinking of you and big boy Reid! He'll do great... and although the recovery will probably seem like a lifetime, a week from now, it will seem like it was forever ago.
I will be thinking of you all! I just read my post from July 12th about Drew's surgery, and it reminded me of how you must be feeling. Drew really did wonderful, so I pray that Reid's goes just as smoothly!
The only thing I will point out is that when Drew woke up he really wanted to drink, but when he would, it would upset him. I think it feels different to them once everything is closed up, so just be prepared for that. I also noticed that I put a few "tips" on my July 14th post in case you want to read it.
BIG HUGS TO REID FROM ME AND DREW!!
Hello! Just wanted you all to know we have you covered for Thursday. I am available for any kind of help - running errands, meals, watching Reid, etc. Please let me know if you need me. Keep smiling - this too shall pass.
Love you all,
Rhonda and gang
Wanted to let you know we were thinking of you guys tonight as you prepare for your big day tomorrow. Makenna was absolutely crazed coming out of surgery, and it took a few hours of her fighting and screaming for her to calm down. She literly almost fell out of my arms numerous times because she kept rearing backwards. Her face was very swollen. She had surgery on Thursday around noon and her last pain med was Friday night just becasue I thought she would sleep better, not that she was in pain!! Kids bounce back so quick! Please call if you need anything!
Keep those little fingers out of the mouth...We left the "welcome sleeves" off when he slept and it ended up that we had a trip to the ER for bleeding.
Good luck! You'll all be in our prayers!
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