We saw Jacinda's surgeon today. He was VERY impressed with how well her palate is healing after only 2 weeks. He saw NO signs of a fistula (which, as I understand it, is a place where the palate opens back up). He wants to see her back in 6 weeks and then he wants the entire craniofacial team to see her in 6 months. At that point, we'll evaluate how she's doing and see where to go from there. At this point, he thinks she will not need another surgery for several years!!!!!! Although, he did say that he wants to keep an eye on how her nose heals and if the left nostril collapses back down, he might want to try to fix that.
The best news he gave us was that we can start giving her crunchy foods to eat again! He told us to not go crazy .... give her things slowly and see how it goes. He also said we can start introducing a straw in another week.
Her speech therapist thinks that once we can teach her to use a straw, her speech will greatly improve. She learns new words every week. The words we can understand are: mama, moon, uh-oh, and night-night. She also is using a lot of signs: eat, drink, potty, help, hurt, kitty, and more.
So things are going really well!!!!!!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monkey Adventures - Luke's Pineapple
Luke has always had an interesting relationship with food. It's either all or nothing with him. He must be getting ready to grow, because he's eating us out of house and home at the moment! (Luke, please don't get any taller until it's warmer outside! Your pants are already too short!!!!!)
He's been on a fruit kick lately ..... There are definitely worse things, I suppose! Over the weekend, he ate an entire cantaloupe in 2 days. Yesterday and today, he ate an entire pint of blueberries! At the grocery store on Sunday, he saw whole pineapples and asked if we could get one. I said no, that we had lots of fruit at home.
Last night, all 4 of us went to BJ's. Luke saw pineapples again, and asked for one. I said we would get one soon. Well, for the next 20 minutes that we were shopping, he kept asking for a pineapple. He wasn't throwing a fit about it, he was asking nicely. So a pineapple came home with us. I suspect it won't last long around here!!!!
I find it funny that some kids bug their parents for candy or toys when they are shopping. Luke bugs us for fruit!!!!!! I love that kid!
He's been on a fruit kick lately ..... There are definitely worse things, I suppose! Over the weekend, he ate an entire cantaloupe in 2 days. Yesterday and today, he ate an entire pint of blueberries! At the grocery store on Sunday, he saw whole pineapples and asked if we could get one. I said no, that we had lots of fruit at home.
Last night, all 4 of us went to BJ's. Luke saw pineapples again, and asked for one. I said we would get one soon. Well, for the next 20 minutes that we were shopping, he kept asking for a pineapple. He wasn't throwing a fit about it, he was asking nicely. So a pineapple came home with us. I suspect it won't last long around here!!!!
I find it funny that some kids bug their parents for candy or toys when they are shopping. Luke bugs us for fruit!!!!!! I love that kid!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sunday Update - Jacinda
Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Jacinda is in no shape to be out celebrating, so I'm home with the maniacs and thought I'd post while they're wrestling with each other!!!!
We think Jacinda has a cold. She is miserable, which is making the rest of us miserable. Her nose is a faucet, and every time I wipe it, she cries. She didn't sleep much last night. I'm not sure if that's because she couldn't breathe so well or what. I think the Tylenol with Codeine is disrupting her sleep. When she wakes up, she just cries and cries. So 2 strikes on the sleeping situation. Tonight, I think we'll try going with regular Tylenol and see if that helps at all.
Food - Poor girl is SO hungry. She just cries and cries. Today we graduated to scrambled eggs and she enjoyed that! At dinner tonight, she managed to spill her cantaloupe/yogurt smoothie all over the carpet and the cat. Poor kitty. He's going to smell like cantaloupe for a while because I am NOT giving a 25 pound cat a bath. Forget it!!!!! Jacinda is apparently a champion spiller .... there was yogurt 10 feet away in several directions!!!!!
We think Jacinda has a cold. She is miserable, which is making the rest of us miserable. Her nose is a faucet, and every time I wipe it, she cries. She didn't sleep much last night. I'm not sure if that's because she couldn't breathe so well or what. I think the Tylenol with Codeine is disrupting her sleep. When she wakes up, she just cries and cries. So 2 strikes on the sleeping situation. Tonight, I think we'll try going with regular Tylenol and see if that helps at all.
Food - Poor girl is SO hungry. She just cries and cries. Today we graduated to scrambled eggs and she enjoyed that! At dinner tonight, she managed to spill her cantaloupe/yogurt smoothie all over the carpet and the cat. Poor kitty. He's going to smell like cantaloupe for a while because I am NOT giving a 25 pound cat a bath. Forget it!!!!! Jacinda is apparently a champion spiller .... there was yogurt 10 feet away in several directions!!!!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Liquid/Soft Food Diet
So Jacinda is on a liquid/soft food diet for 2-3 weeks. This girl is miserable. She eats more than we do!!! Here's what I've come up with that she can eat.
Yogurt
Jello
Pudding
Smoothies - yogurt, milk, fruit - I may even try to sneak in some wheat germ for some extra protein and other good stuff.
Mashed Potatoes
Baby Food
Carnation Instant Breakfast
Ice Cream
Applesauce - plain and with cinnamon
Pureed veggies
Noodles (probably in another few days)
I'm trying to give her things that are healthy, but that she'll actually enjoy. If you have any ideas, let me know!
Yogurt
Jello
Pudding
Smoothies - yogurt, milk, fruit - I may even try to sneak in some wheat germ for some extra protein and other good stuff.
Mashed Potatoes
Baby Food
Carnation Instant Breakfast
Ice Cream
Applesauce - plain and with cinnamon
Pureed veggies
Noodles (probably in another few days)
I'm trying to give her things that are healthy, but that she'll actually enjoy. If you have any ideas, let me know!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
We're HOME!!!!!
We are home and doing well so far ......
Wednesday - We arrived at the hospital at 10 am and surgery was scheduled to start at noon. We got checked in and they actually got started a little early. I (Sherry) had a hard time when we left her. She was crying and reached out for me when I handed her to the nurse. They promised us they'd have her to sleep in under a minute. Later, the nurse that took her from me told me that Jacinda had stopped crying as soon as we walked away. And that she went to sleep just fine. They placed the IV AFTER she was asleep!!!! I was so thankful for that because her last blood draw did not go well. She had several needle marks on her hands and feet, so it looked like they had tried a few different spots. They finally got it in her ankle.
We settled into the waiting room and the surgery was supposed to take around 3 hours. The nurse that took her from us called us each hour with an update. The surgery took just under 3 hours. We went back to the recovery area and she was already awake. Apparently, as soon as she woke up, she decided she was too hot and peeled off her shirt and tossed it on the ground!!! That's our girl!!!!!
She had a hard time waking up and was in a lot of pain. We gave her some juice ..... and some morphine!!!! She went back to sleep and we went up to her room. She ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. She'd wake up and be really upset, so she got alternating doses of Tylenol w/ Codeine and Morphine until just after midnight. She slept great last night and didn't need any meds after that midnight dose!
Thursday - I stayed the night in the room with Jacinda. The bed was pretty comfy, but I didn't sleep that great because of all the noise .... voices in the hall, beeping in everyone's rooms, the noises of Jacinda's monitors. We both woke up around 7:30 this morning. She had some clear liquid breakfast! She is NOT happy with the clear liquid situation, let me tell you!!!!!!
After breakfast, she took a little nap. Once Aaron came back, we put Jacinda in a wagon and we took a walk around the halls. Eventually, we stopped at the playroom. She perked right up and played with some blocks, then went over to the play kitchen and made us some lunch!!!!
Finally, the surgeon came to see her around 12:30. During surgery, he had put a gauze packing in the roof of her mouth. He took that out and she was NOT happy about that!!!! He told us we could go home!!!!!
We waited around a little while so she could get one more dose of pain meds. She was pretty unhappy during that time because of the packing removal and being tired. We made it home and she's napping now.
She has to be on a liquid and soft food diet for 2-3 weeks. Oh.My.Goodness. She is going to HATE us!!!!!! The hardest part will be trying not to eat in front of her!
Wednesday - We arrived at the hospital at 10 am and surgery was scheduled to start at noon. We got checked in and they actually got started a little early. I (Sherry) had a hard time when we left her. She was crying and reached out for me when I handed her to the nurse. They promised us they'd have her to sleep in under a minute. Later, the nurse that took her from me told me that Jacinda had stopped crying as soon as we walked away. And that she went to sleep just fine. They placed the IV AFTER she was asleep!!!! I was so thankful for that because her last blood draw did not go well. She had several needle marks on her hands and feet, so it looked like they had tried a few different spots. They finally got it in her ankle.
We settled into the waiting room and the surgery was supposed to take around 3 hours. The nurse that took her from us called us each hour with an update. The surgery took just under 3 hours. We went back to the recovery area and she was already awake. Apparently, as soon as she woke up, she decided she was too hot and peeled off her shirt and tossed it on the ground!!! That's our girl!!!!!
She had a hard time waking up and was in a lot of pain. We gave her some juice ..... and some morphine!!!! She went back to sleep and we went up to her room. She ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. She'd wake up and be really upset, so she got alternating doses of Tylenol w/ Codeine and Morphine until just after midnight. She slept great last night and didn't need any meds after that midnight dose!
Thursday - I stayed the night in the room with Jacinda. The bed was pretty comfy, but I didn't sleep that great because of all the noise .... voices in the hall, beeping in everyone's rooms, the noises of Jacinda's monitors. We both woke up around 7:30 this morning. She had some clear liquid breakfast! She is NOT happy with the clear liquid situation, let me tell you!!!!!!
After breakfast, she took a little nap. Once Aaron came back, we put Jacinda in a wagon and we took a walk around the halls. Eventually, we stopped at the playroom. She perked right up and played with some blocks, then went over to the play kitchen and made us some lunch!!!!
Finally, the surgeon came to see her around 12:30. During surgery, he had put a gauze packing in the roof of her mouth. He took that out and she was NOT happy about that!!!! He told us we could go home!!!!!
We waited around a little while so she could get one more dose of pain meds. She was pretty unhappy during that time because of the packing removal and being tired. We made it home and she's napping now.
She has to be on a liquid and soft food diet for 2-3 weeks. Oh.My.Goodness. She is going to HATE us!!!!!! The hardest part will be trying not to eat in front of her!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Jacinda's surgery update
Surgery was today and it went very well. She has been sleeping a lot due to the pain meds but when she wakes up she is pretty upset. Hopefully we will get to come home on Thursday. Thanks for all of the prayers.
Monday, February 1, 2010
A Snowy Update on Jacinda
We're still snowed in here! We're loving the snow, but not the ice. I (Sherry) drove Aaron to his brother's house this morning and the ice on the roads was pretty bad. The kids and I made it home just fine, but I'm perfectly happy to not drive again the rest of the day! (Aaron went to his brother's house to borrow a car .... Aaron's car has a flat tire and all 4 tires are really bad, so he is not driving it in this weather. His brother is a mechanic and is ordering new tires today.)
Jacinda's surgery is still on for this Wednesday, 2/3. We're not sure yet what time ... we'll find out tomorrow. I'm not really worried about the actual surgery. We have some of the best cleft surgeons in this country operation on her! I'm most concerned about the anesthesia part of the whole thing. I have heard that little kids sometimes have a hard time coming out of it.
Dr. Inchon, the plastic surgeon, will repair her palate and touch up her lip and nose a little. He said she will still have a hole in her gumline and that her nose would be the hardest part of the surgery. During the surgery, an ENT surgeon will take a look at her ears and place tubes if she needs them. We're fairly certain she will. She had a hearing test a few weeks ago and it showed that she has fluid in both ears.
We are very fortunate that Aaron's parents have graciously agreed to keep Luke and the dog for a couple of days for us. That way, we can focus on Jacinda and Luke can have fun!!!
Specific things you can pray for .....
1. That Dr. Inchon will be able to accomplish all he intends to so we can minimize the number of surgeries she will need.
2. That I will not have a panic attack! I'm serious about that .... I've had a few of them in recent history.
3. That Luke will not worry if we're coming back to get him. It turns out that when he stayed at Aaron's parents house while we were in China, he was worried that we weren't coming back to get him.
4. That Jacinda's pain will be kept under control.
Jacinda's surgery is still on for this Wednesday, 2/3. We're not sure yet what time ... we'll find out tomorrow. I'm not really worried about the actual surgery. We have some of the best cleft surgeons in this country operation on her! I'm most concerned about the anesthesia part of the whole thing. I have heard that little kids sometimes have a hard time coming out of it.
Dr. Inchon, the plastic surgeon, will repair her palate and touch up her lip and nose a little. He said she will still have a hole in her gumline and that her nose would be the hardest part of the surgery. During the surgery, an ENT surgeon will take a look at her ears and place tubes if she needs them. We're fairly certain she will. She had a hearing test a few weeks ago and it showed that she has fluid in both ears.
We are very fortunate that Aaron's parents have graciously agreed to keep Luke and the dog for a couple of days for us. That way, we can focus on Jacinda and Luke can have fun!!!
Specific things you can pray for .....
1. That Dr. Inchon will be able to accomplish all he intends to so we can minimize the number of surgeries she will need.
2. That I will not have a panic attack! I'm serious about that .... I've had a few of them in recent history.
3. That Luke will not worry if we're coming back to get him. It turns out that when he stayed at Aaron's parents house while we were in China, he was worried that we weren't coming back to get him.
4. That Jacinda's pain will be kept under control.
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