BUSY Week!

Monday night, we went to Whitney's softball game. It was the first game of their tournament and they won! They are suppose to be playing tonight for either first or second place, but it is storming really bad here so I'd say it got canceled.

Last night, I took a CPR class through work. I learned how to do adult, child, and infant CPR and also how to use an AED. Then we learned how to help infants, children, and adults that are choking, which is what I was most interested in since Drew seems to choke really easy on food! (I actually took the infant CPR and choking class at the hospital after I had Drew.) Next week is the first aid section and then I will officially be a "heart saver!" It's something good to know, but I really hope I never have to use my new skills.

Today I had training for work about an hour and half from where I live. I learned about Fidiciary income tax returns. Really intersting stuff :) After class, my co-worker Dana and I did a little shopping. I am excited because I got a new dress for a wedding we are going to in September and I got Drew a shirt, pair of pants, and socks from Gymboree. It is part of the football collection and is SO CUTE! I definitley want to get him more of that collection when it goes on sale...

The other thing that has kept me busy this week is me, my mom, and grandma are having a yard sale on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I am getting rid of most of Drew's clothes from last winter. I'm keeping some of the stuff for sentimental reasons and for if we end up having another baby...

Well, just thought I would give an update of what we have been up to. Oh, and here is a glipse of part of Drew's clothes that are for sale. He was in two different sizes last winter (started out in 3-6 months then went into 6-12 months), so I think that is why he had so much stuff!!!

Fun Outside

Drew really likes being outside. Today we played outside with the walking toy that our friends Chris, Daysha, and Ava got him for his birthday. Then he took a little swim in one of his birthday presents from his Uncle Chester, Aunt Penny, and cousins Carly, Dena, and Aiden!

2 Weeks Post-Palate Surgery / 13 Months Old!

Yesterday marked the two-week date since Drew's palate surgery. Just to give everyone an update, he has been sleeping all night since Saturday night and he is eating really well, although I'm mainly still feeding him stage 2 and 3 baby food, and of course that baby oatmeal that he loves! He had his last dose of Tylenol on Tuesday (he was down to just one or two doses a day) and has been in good spirits! As for the arm restrainsts, he only wore them during his nap and at night, but only for about a week. It was like he just knew not to put anything in his mouth! I got a pretty good look at his palate the other night and there are still a lot of stitches. I don't know how long it takes for them to dissolve. Overall, Drew has done much better with this surgery than I ever, ever thought possible!

Also, today Drew is 13 months old! He is not walking yet, but getting a little braver about letting go of stuff and kind of "falling" into our arms. He walks all around the furniture and pushes those little walking toys around, so hopefully not much longer. I am anxious for him to start walking!!!

Below is the only picture I got of him today. Jon and I went to pick him up at my mom and stepdad's after work and then we went to visits some friends. We went ahead and put him in his jammies before we left their house and he was pretty much out of it by the time we got home as you can see from this picture...

Drew's First Trip to the Fair!

Last night, Jon, Drew, and I went to the county fair -- it was Drew's first time going to a fair! There wasn't a lot for him to do, but we did get to ride the carousel. Then, we watched part of the four wheeler races, which Drew really liked!!

Her really liked Ely's portable fan!

Pictures from Sears

Drew slept through the night again last night, so I think we are back on track! And just in time for me to go back to work (today was my first day back).

My mom and I took Drew to Sear's on his birthday (6-25-08) to get his picture taken. I forgot that I had the images on a CD, so here are some of them...

My fav!

This was the best shot they could get of him with the "number 1" as he didn't want to sit beside it or stand up holding on to it.

Speech Therapy

First of all, I have to mention that Drew slept through the night last night and didn't wake up once! I am hoping this means he is getting back on track with his sleep schedule!

This morning, Drew's speech therapist came by for a visit. She worked with him a few times before his palate surgery, but now that his palate has been repaired, she will probably be coming to work with him more often.

Right before his palate surgery I noticed that he was trying to say "ball," which are his favorite toys. But because his palate wasn't repaired, it sounded like "mall."

I'm no speech therapist, but what I have learned about speech during this process is that those of us without a cleft palate have a flap in the back of our throats that keeps air from coming out of our noses when it isn't suppose to. I think the only sounds that are suppose to come out of our noses are "m" and "n." Drew had no flap so every noise he made came out of his nose and basically sounded like an "m." So even if he was trying to say "da da" it would sound like "ma ma."

Part of the palate surgery was to reconstruct that flap. In some cases, the initial repair isn't enough to keep air from coming out of the nose and a second repair is necessary, but you typically won't know this until the child is old enough to speak really well (maybe around 3). I guess I wasn't sure what to expect after the palate surgery. A part of me thought (and hoped) that he would now be able to pronounce everything correctly. However, I think he has to learn how to use his new flap because "ball" still sounds like "mall." I also think he tries to say "bear" and "book," but again they all kind of have the same "m" sound.

If any parents whose child has already had their palate repaired can let me know how their child did/is doing with speech, I would appreciate it!!!

And now a few pics...

Watching Baby E at his new table!

Baby McDonald is funny!!

Almost Back to Normal!

Last night was the first time since his surgery that Drew has slept through the night. He actually woke up crying once, but Jon was on monitor duty and said that by the time he walked over to his room (which is just across the hallway from ours) he was back asleep. So he slept from 8:30pm until 7:30am. He use to sleep until 8:30am, but I'll take 7:30 if it means he'll sleep through the night! We are still giving him Tylenol, but just the regular kind and only about twice a day.

Saturday, we went to a family reunion. Here is a picture that Jon took of Drew and I on the way back home. He said that I had to post it... (I don't usually ride in the backseat with him, but I was afraid he'd get brave and try to put his fingers in his mouth!)

Back at home with my favorite little guy!


In his cute outfit from my friend Laurie's store - Babies & Buttercups!

Whitney's Softball Game

Tonight, we went to Whitney's softball game. My grandma's business is the team's sponsor, so we all have shirts! Drew had a good time. It was kind of hot, so Drew and Mama sat in her van with the AC going for part of the game and he ended up taking a short nap! He woke up in time to see the end of the game, which Whitney's team won!!

Swimming!

Today, Drew and I went to my mom's house. Then me, Drew, Mom, Whitney, and Mama Mary Kay went swimming!

Me and Drew...he wouldn't look at the camera!


Whitney belly flopping!


This is funny! Whitney found a frog and was showing it to Drew.


The next thing we new, it jumped on mom's nose!! (double click on picture to make it bigger to see the full effect!)


The swimming wore him out!

Catch-up from 4th of July Weekend

Drew is sleeping and I am sitting on the couch watching him on the baby monitor (gotta make sure those arm restrainsts stay on!), so I thought I would do another post.

These pics are from July 5th. Our friends have a spot on the river that we always go to for a 4th of July cookout and fireworks. There is a lot of sand there and Drew really loved it!! (Although I don't think he thought it tasted all that goodd...)

Here he is with my sister Whitney:

4 Days Post-Palate Surgery

Well, the last few days have been pretty good. The nights, well that is another story!

Drew has been eating better each day. His diet mainly consists of stage 2 baby foods, baby oatmeal, and yogurt. He also has been drinking a lot of water and milk, although he usually gets a little choked on the water... We have been offering him food about every couple of hours or so which is hard to get use to since we were use to just feeding him 3 meals and one snack a day!

During the day, he plays really good and instead of taking one long nap a day, takes a few shorter ones. He has been choking and coughing a bit and whenever he does that he immediately comes to me for some snuggles :) Don't get me wrong, he is definitely fussy sometimes, but nothing that I can't manage! I think I had expected things to be much worse!!

Daddy is the "medicine man." We are giving him regular Tylenol during the day and the stronger stuff at night. Tomorrow will be the last day for the antibiotic, thank goodness!! I am here by myself today (I'm off work all week) so I guess I will have to try to get the Tylenol down him...

As for the nights, I think I am as tired now as I was when he was first born. Drew has always been a good sleeper and was sleeping consistently through the night from about 11 weeks on. Even after his surgery in February, he only woke up maybe once during the night for the first two nights we were home. Of course he was smaller then and he slept with us on an incline with pillows on each side to keep him from turning over. I don't think he would go for that now! So, we put his arm restraints on him and he stays asleep in his bed for a couple of hours or so but I think that when he wakes up, he feels stuck because of the arm things and that fully wakes him up. I end up going to get him and putting him in bed with us, but he still wakes up a lot. We even had a mini play session at 5am this morning - ugh! Plus, I don't sleep well when he is in bed with us.

Luckily, our plastic surgeon is not a big believer in the arm restraints. He thinks that babies are smart enough to know not to put anything in their mouths because it hurts. We only put them on him at night and he sleeps without them some of the time. So far, he has only tried sneaking his fingers into his mouth a few times... Of course, we don't let him out of our site for a second!

One thing that is better about this surgery is that the wound is on the inside of his mouth. The first two times we had to be so careful with him and he couldn't be on his belly or have his mouth against us. Since Drew is a belly sleeper, I am glad he can still sleep that way!!

As for the mom's who are still preparing for their little ones palate surgery, here a few tips:

1. Take food with you to the hospital. Our hospital only had rice cereal, which Drew ate, but he really loves oatmeal cereal. They also had a few jarred fruits, but if you have a picky eater, just be sure to take what you know he or she will eat. I also packed my own baby juice (the kind that comes in the little 4 oz bottles). And I brought all of my own cups and spoons.

2. His room at the hospital had a tv and dvd player so if your little one has a favorite movie, bring it along! Drew is a big fan of Baby Einstein, but I didn't think to pack it.

3. We really like the open tops cups that Drew is using. Although we have to hold it for him, he does really good with it. The ones we use are by the First Years. What I like about them is they are little (only 4 ounces), clear (so you can see how far to tip it up), and they have little grooves on them so they are easy for him to hold, when he is able to again. Here is a link to them...

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2793340

(We use them without the lids.)

One thing the speech therapist told us to do was put watered down applesauce (or anything) in an open top cup and let him practice drinking from it while sitting in an empty bathtub right before bath time. That way if he makes a mess it doesn't matter because he is getting ready to take a bath. This helped Drew learn how to tip the cup, although, as I mentioned above, we are doing it for him now.

4. Ask your p/s if they will be using packing in his palate. Our p/s didn't say anything about it, but I heard about it from another mom, and sure enough, today this white cotton-like stuff starting coming out of is mouth! They say it is safe for them to eat it, but he spit most of it out. I would have been freaking out if I hadn't heard about the packing before!!!

That is all I can think of for now, but will let you know if I think of anything else.

Of course I can't do a post without sharing some cuteness! From last night...

Palate Surgery -- Check!

First of all, THANK YOU to all of our family, friends, co-workers, and cyber friends for all of your love, support, and prayers during Drew's palate surgery -- it is appreciated more than you'll ever know!

As for this part of Drew' journey, here is what we experienced...

We live about 2.5 hours from the children's hospital so, as usual, we decided to go up the night before and stay in the hotel that is attached to the hospital. My mom went with us (as she has the other two times). We got the call from the same day surgery nurse while we were in route and found out that Drew was our doctor's first surgery of the day so we needed to be at the hospital at 6:30am! Drew could eat anything up until midnight and could have clear liquid until 4:30am. After that, he could have nothing else.

The car ride is always interesting as Drew has never been a good car rider!! We left at 1:00, which is his nap time and he fell asleep before we even got out of town. He usually takes a 2 hour nap so I was crossing my fingers that he would sleep the whole way. No such luck! Drew was awake about an hour into the trip and he stayed awake the rest of the drive. He did pretty good though, especially since Grandma was riding in the back seat with him!

After we got checked into the hotel, we decided to go do a little shopping. Grandma bought Drew some new cute clothes at Janie & Jack and then we went to Build-a-Bear Workshop where Drew didn't just "build" one bear, but two! Then we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The service, however, was kind of slow, so we decided to get our meals to go and just eat at the hotel. We filled Drew up on spaghetti, fruit, and then some cereal later on and he went to bed around 9:00pm. I debated about waking him up around 4:00am to give him something to drink, but decided to just let him sleep. Here are some pictures from our shopping adventure!!

At Build-A-Bear: "Which animal do I want?"



Watching his bear get stuffed.



Picking out his bear's "heart."



Giving his bear a bath.



He loved the "fluff" machine!



At the Cheesecake Factory w/Grandma.


July 10th, Palate Surgery Day:

Jon and I got up around 5am to get ready. Then mom got up, then we woke Drew up around 6am. Even though he is use to sleeping until 8:30am, he still woke up with a smile! We headed over to the hospital to the same-day-surgery floor. Since it was so early, we were the first ones there! A few minutes later and we were taken back where Drew was weighed (a little over 22 lbs) and measured (almost 31 inches). The nurse also took his temperature, blood pressure, and gave us his hospital gown. Next we met with a nurse practitioner who also checked him over. During the next 30 minutes or so, we meet with three plastic surgery doctors/residents; three ENT doctor/residents; 3 individuals from anesthesia, and the OR nurse. Whew, that was a lot of people and a lot of information! My favorite comment of the morning came from his plastic surgeon, who called him a "tank!"

Surprising, I stayed very calm. With his first two surgeries, there always seemed to be some "bad news" right before they took him away. With the first, it was the "discovery" of a heart mur-mur (which turned out to be "innocent) and with the second, there was some concern because he had bronchiolitis a month earlier. But this time, everything was OK! We walked to the hallway and the anesthesiologist took him from me. That's when the eyes got watery, but not bad. It was so sweet as Drew just put his little head on her shoulder and it almost looked like he had fallen asleep. Now the "fun" part...the wait!

Our first call from the OR nurse was just to let us know that Drew was asleep and that everything was going good. The next call was to let us know that the ENT doctor had removed and replaced his ear tubes. We received a few other calls from the OR nurse letting us know how things were going. Then, around 12:30 the plastic surgeon came out to tell us that the surgery was complete! (They took him away around 7:30, so he had been back there for quite a while!) The p/s told us that Drew had plenty of muscle/tissue so he feels like the repair went really good. He had told us previously that in about 15% of cases, a small hole in the palate can develop (i.e. the repair doesn't "hold"). In his opinion, however, he didn't think Drew would develop a hole since he had a good amount of tissue to work with.

A lot of people have asked me how the hole is closed and have wondered if tissue is used from other parts of the body. The answer to that is "no." They basically release the tissue that is there from the bone and stretch it together -- amazing huh? (I'm sure it's a lot more complicated than that...)

Anyway, we waited about 30 more minutes and then received the call from recovery that Jon and I could go see him. This is when I started to get nervous because I hate seeing my little boy "out of it" and in pain. We went back there and he was sleeping. The nurse said they were very "generous" with the pain meds so that he would probably sleep for a while. He did, however, wake up when she washed his face she said, and he wasn't happy about it! We headed to our room and Drew "held" my finger the whole way! Luckily we had a private room.

Drew pretty much slept for the next few hours and then the nurses thought it would be a good idea to try to get him awake to drink something so we could give him a dose of Tylenol w/codeine. We woke him up and gave him some apple juice out of one of the little open top cups we have been using at home. He seemed so thirsty and started drinking away. After a few drinks, though, he got upset. The nurse on the cl/cp team had "warned" us that drinking would be different to him since everything was closed up now. We got a little more down him and then the nurse brought in the Tylenol. I held him while they gave it to him. This was the worst moment yet -- he got SO MAD and wouldn't swallow it. He was screaming and shaking and then I started crying because I couldn't stand to see him like that. We got him calmed down and he went back to sleep. Later, he ate a little rice cereal mixed with formula and fruit. That night, he took turns sleeping on mine or Jon's chest. We made sure to have him awake every 4 hours for his pain meds, which he hated every time, but honestly other than getting mad about the medicine, he was so good!

The p/s resident came in around 5:30am on Friday. We told her that he had been eating and drinking pretty good the night before and she said that if we felt comfortable going home that we could. She said our p/s would be by later and would give the final OK. Since Drew was already awake, we decided to feed him breakfast. First, the kid drank 4 ounces of juice, then ate about 4 ounces of cereal, then drank another 4 ounces of water! What a trooper!!

The p/s came by and said we could leave. We were on the road by 11 and at home by 1:30!

As for today, he's not eating the greatest. We have the best luck with yogurt (I found a great yogurt called "Yo Baby." It is organic and made with whole milk and he loves it!) and oatmeal cereal. He has also had some sweet potatoes and has been guzzling milk! Oh, and he is still hating to take his Tylenol and anti-biotic. We also have to put drops in his ears twice a day, but that hasn't been too bad yet.

Overall, Drew has been so good. I honestly can't say that I would be half as pleasant as he has been considering what he has been through. We are so very proud of him and love him so much!!!

So, here are some pics...

Playing in the waiting room on the day of surgery.

In his hospital gown -- it was a little big for him!

OK, this makes me sad, but I guess it is part of what he went through, so here is a picture right after we got to our room...

This smile melted my heart--after all he had went through, he still had smiles for daddy!

So happy to be home (Friday night)!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO PRAYED FOR DREW! GOD TRULY IS GOOD!

Prayers for Drew Please (and us too!)

Drew's palate surgery is set for this Thursday (July 10th). It seems to have quietly crept upon us. I can only keep telling myself that God will watch over him and the doctors and that everything will be OK. But last night while I lay in bed, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. Oh what I would give if only my precious little boy didn't have to go through this...
A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across this "surgery prayer" on one of the cleft sites I visit and I thought that now would be a great time to post it:

Dear Doctor:
Please remember
That little face you are
Reconstructing is more than
Muscle and Tissue and Bone.
It is the smile that fills
My heart with joy and
Swells my chest with pride
And brings life and meaning
Into my every day.

And when it is you and him
Behind the Big Doors,
And me in the little room,
Waiting,
Please remember
You are working with more
Than just a life.
You have in your hands
A reason for living
As well.

And as you look upon your
Little patient,
A mere few pounds of person,
Remember that he is cherished,
And not by me alone,
But by the many
Whose lives have been touched
And enriched by his.

And, Doctor,
I will also remember
That I have chosen to trust you,
And to trust your skills,
And that by choice
I have entrusted his face
And his life
Into your skilled hands.

But for these next few hours,
While you and he
Hide behind the Big Doors,
And I wait in the little room,
I hope you don't mind
If I also choose
To pray.

4th of July Fun!!

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! We spent the day at our house and had company ... Gabe, Laurie, and Colten. The boys had fun playing together! It was funny because Colten kept wanting Drew to stand up and walk like him!!!

Next, we headed to Aunt Dar's for a cook-out!






Our last stop of the day was Nan and Pop's to watch fireworks. Drew usually goes to bed around 8:30 so he took about a 30 minute nap in the car before the fireworks and he made it through the whole thing. And he LOVED watching the fireworks -- they didn't scare him at all!





And just for fun, here are some pictures of Drew and Colten last year on 4th of July...