So, last week we were supposed to see the pediatric dentist to get Kaylee's NAM started. However, about 10 minutes before we were to jump in the car we were called by the dentist's office because the dentist got sick and needed to reschedule. So, tomorrow is the day instead.
I am getting nervous again. I just want things to go well. So, as I said last week, I will update with pictures after the fact. Although, I don't know if I mentioned that since this is our first visit and the NAM is a custom unit we might not get it in tomorrow, we might just be getting her mold done, not entirely sure. So, I will update either way, with or without photos tomorrow.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The First Stage.
The first stage of Kaylee's treatment starts tomorrow, or officially in about 10 hours. We are off to see her pediatric dentist in a few hours. She is going to be fitted with a device that is similar to a retainer or braces.
The NAM device or Nasoalveolar Molding.
The goal of the NAM is to reduce the number of facial surgeries Kaylee will need throughout the course of her treatment. Tomorrow we are going to have her mouth molded and a pediatric dentist is going to form and fit her NAM. The NAM will be in place for approximately four months or so, and will be adjusted weekly (in Kaylee's case) until she is ready for her first surgery. Some children have it in for up to six months, usually because they have a bilateral cleft.
So, I am going to go ahead and leave it at this for now. Later on after she is fitted and has the NAM placed I will be adding her pictures. I am not entirely sure if she will have the NAM placed tomorrow or if she is just getting her mold done. I don't know much about the fabrication of the device, but she will either be getting it tomorrow or next week. Hopefully tomorrow. I want to get this show on the road.
Pictures will be added once we return from the Children's Hospital in Denver.
The NAM device or Nasoalveolar Molding.
The goal of the NAM is to reduce the number of facial surgeries Kaylee will need throughout the course of her treatment. Tomorrow we are going to have her mouth molded and a pediatric dentist is going to form and fit her NAM. The NAM will be in place for approximately four months or so, and will be adjusted weekly (in Kaylee's case) until she is ready for her first surgery. Some children have it in for up to six months, usually because they have a bilateral cleft.
So, I am going to go ahead and leave it at this for now. Later on after she is fitted and has the NAM placed I will be adding her pictures. I am not entirely sure if she will have the NAM placed tomorrow or if she is just getting her mold done. I don't know much about the fabrication of the device, but she will either be getting it tomorrow or next week. Hopefully tomorrow. I want to get this show on the road.
Pictures will be added once we return from the Children's Hospital in Denver.
Cleft Lip and Palate. The Details.
Having a three week old is not exactly conducive to a good night's sleep. Having a three week old who is also has a hard time eating is less so. She is currently lying next to me, after having eaten her four ounces, burped twice, and spitting up once, a silly newborn smile on her face as she slowly drifts off into infant dream land. I type away as fast as I can to get enough info into this post before she wakes up to be changed and fed again.
As far as cleft lip and palates go, there really is no "good" place to start. I suppose the best place for anyone to start is to start where I did: a pdf from the Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. After branching out and viewing many more websites and medical journals (links will be added later) I have expanded my knowledge as best I can without becoming a dedicated student of the subject (considering I have a newborn I don't quite have that kind of time). I offer all of that here.
A cleft lip is an opening in the lip, likewise a cleft palate is an opening in the mouth's roof. It is possible to have a cleft in the lip, mouth and gums or any combination of the three. A cleft lip and palate occur during the fifth and seventh week of an embryo's development. During those weeks the gums, mouth and lips pull together and form. For one reason or another, 1 in 700 embryos fail to complete this part of their development.* It is more common to have both a cleft in the lip and palate, it is also more common to occur on the left side of the face.
The cleft lip and palate can affect appearance, feeding, speech, ears, hearing, teeth and can impact a child socially. With regards to the appearance: there are no missing parts of the baby's body, they are all there, they just didn't come together. They can be unilateral (on one side of the mouth), bilateral (on both sides), complete (all the way to the back of the throat) or incomplete (partially in the roof of the mouth). Kaylee has a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.
Children with cleft lips and palates may have problems with their speech. Certain consonants are more difficult for the child to pronounce. Kaylee will be needing speech pathologists help later on during her preschool years. She will be more prone to pronouncing vowels.
Because of the cleft in the roof of her mouth she is unable to suction properly. She is unable to eat as a regular baby should, sucking on a bottle or nipple properly. Instead she must compress the nipples in order to pull liquids out using a good portion of her palate, and her tongue. As such she uses a special nipple called a Haberman Feeder. It allows for easier compression.
The treatment for this condition is a lengthy process which includes several different surgical procedures and dentistry. Her treatment will last well into her teenage years, and possibly into adulthood depending on the severity of the cleft. First, doctors will perform surgery to close the opening in the lip, usually around 3-6 months of age. Between 9 to 18 months they will perform surgery to close the opening of the palate, these surgeries are usually done per the doctors preference.
What does all of this mean? It means I didn't do anything wrong. It means that things happen, and that now we just move on and deal with what has happened. As for Kaylee, she is a happy, healthy baby. She is gaining weight at a normal pace, and even though we have some issues with the special nipple for feeding (excessive gas being one of them) all is going well so far. Tomorrow we meet with her pediatric dentist to have the first step in her treatment started, and that is going to be another post all together.
*All information is from notes that I, Jessica, took from the meetings with her various doctors as well as from various sources on the internet which will be added to this site at a later date...Kaylee needs to be changed and all that first :) Ahhh, life with a newborn.
As far as cleft lip and palates go, there really is no "good" place to start. I suppose the best place for anyone to start is to start where I did: a pdf from the Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. After branching out and viewing many more websites and medical journals (links will be added later) I have expanded my knowledge as best I can without becoming a dedicated student of the subject (considering I have a newborn I don't quite have that kind of time). I offer all of that here.
A cleft lip is an opening in the lip, likewise a cleft palate is an opening in the mouth's roof. It is possible to have a cleft in the lip, mouth and gums or any combination of the three. A cleft lip and palate occur during the fifth and seventh week of an embryo's development. During those weeks the gums, mouth and lips pull together and form. For one reason or another, 1 in 700 embryos fail to complete this part of their development.* It is more common to have both a cleft in the lip and palate, it is also more common to occur on the left side of the face.
The cleft lip and palate can affect appearance, feeding, speech, ears, hearing, teeth and can impact a child socially. With regards to the appearance: there are no missing parts of the baby's body, they are all there, they just didn't come together. They can be unilateral (on one side of the mouth), bilateral (on both sides), complete (all the way to the back of the throat) or incomplete (partially in the roof of the mouth). Kaylee has a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.
Children with cleft lips and palates may have problems with their speech. Certain consonants are more difficult for the child to pronounce. Kaylee will be needing speech pathologists help later on during her preschool years. She will be more prone to pronouncing vowels.
Because of the cleft in the roof of her mouth she is unable to suction properly. She is unable to eat as a regular baby should, sucking on a bottle or nipple properly. Instead she must compress the nipples in order to pull liquids out using a good portion of her palate, and her tongue. As such she uses a special nipple called a Haberman Feeder. It allows for easier compression.
The treatment for this condition is a lengthy process which includes several different surgical procedures and dentistry. Her treatment will last well into her teenage years, and possibly into adulthood depending on the severity of the cleft. First, doctors will perform surgery to close the opening in the lip, usually around 3-6 months of age. Between 9 to 18 months they will perform surgery to close the opening of the palate, these surgeries are usually done per the doctors preference.
What does all of this mean? It means I didn't do anything wrong. It means that things happen, and that now we just move on and deal with what has happened. As for Kaylee, she is a happy, healthy baby. She is gaining weight at a normal pace, and even though we have some issues with the special nipple for feeding (excessive gas being one of them) all is going well so far. Tomorrow we meet with her pediatric dentist to have the first step in her treatment started, and that is going to be another post all together.
*All information is from notes that I, Jessica, took from the meetings with her various doctors as well as from various sources on the internet which will be added to this site at a later date...Kaylee needs to be changed and all that first :) Ahhh, life with a newborn.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Reveal.
As I said before, I did not see my daughter right away. I actually did not see my daughter until she was almost four hours old. I remember being on the operating table, having felt the pressure of tugging, pushing, and pulling on my abdomen. I remember hearing the faintest little cry that brought me to tears. That cry was my daughter's first breath of air. I remember Grant holding my hand and I remember how we both waited to see her.
I remember that I had to ask the doctor if she was okay. I had to ask if she was even a girl (because they say the ultrasounds are not always accurate). Then, suddenly they whisk her away to the NICU without showing her to us. We were unable to get her first picture, Grant didn't get to cut her umbilical cord. Heck, one of the nurses had a hand on Grant's shoulder and wouldn't let him get up to see what was going on.
I remember the fear that something was severely wrong, deathly wrong with my daughter. I mean, obviously that would be the only reason to not even show the mom her child right away. I remember trying not to panic as I waited in the recovery room for someone to tell me what was going on. Grant and I nervously sat there waiting for someone, anyone to tell us that something was incredibly wrong.
About a half an hour after we were in the recovery room, a team of doctors walk in. They tell us what we've been waiting to hear. Dr. F who delivered Kaylee and was my prenatal doctor said, "she was born with a bit of a cleft in her lip and her palate. She's in the NICU for observation." Immediately, my husband and I both thought "THAT'S IT?!?"
My immediate concerns were: is she breathing, does she have all of her limbs, is her heart okay, did she pass all her newborn screenings, and is she going to survive? The answer to all of those were: yes. Then why on earth did they keep my daughter from us? Why did they deprive Grant of the experience of cutting the umbilical cord? Why didn't they use some kind of tact? I could ask all the questions in the world and never get an answer.
After all of that, my only thought when I saw my daughter for the first time was: she is perfect. This is the truth, she is a gorgeous blue eyed, blond haired, beautiful girl. How she got the blond hair and the blue eyes is beyond me. While I understand the basic mechanics of it (Punnet squares and all) the genetic permutations are to numerous for me to calculate on my own.
I wish the doctors would have been more open. However, after thinking about it, I think the doctors chose the lesser of two evils in a way. On the one hand they could have told me right then and there, but would have scared the crap out of an already scared woman who was going through her first major surgery. Or they could wait until she is in a more calm state in the recovery room.
Now I am just glad that my daughter is home with me and Grant, and that she is healthy and that she is eating, and gaining weight and pooping, and being a newborn. She is the most perfect thing we have ever done, and we are so excited for her future.
 |
| This was the day after she was born. We weren't allowed to take a pic the day she was born. |
I remember that I had to ask the doctor if she was okay. I had to ask if she was even a girl (because they say the ultrasounds are not always accurate). Then, suddenly they whisk her away to the NICU without showing her to us. We were unable to get her first picture, Grant didn't get to cut her umbilical cord. Heck, one of the nurses had a hand on Grant's shoulder and wouldn't let him get up to see what was going on.
I remember the fear that something was severely wrong, deathly wrong with my daughter. I mean, obviously that would be the only reason to not even show the mom her child right away. I remember trying not to panic as I waited in the recovery room for someone to tell me what was going on. Grant and I nervously sat there waiting for someone, anyone to tell us that something was incredibly wrong.
About a half an hour after we were in the recovery room, a team of doctors walk in. They tell us what we've been waiting to hear. Dr. F who delivered Kaylee and was my prenatal doctor said, "she was born with a bit of a cleft in her lip and her palate. She's in the NICU for observation." Immediately, my husband and I both thought "THAT'S IT?!?"
My immediate concerns were: is she breathing, does she have all of her limbs, is her heart okay, did she pass all her newborn screenings, and is she going to survive? The answer to all of those were: yes. Then why on earth did they keep my daughter from us? Why did they deprive Grant of the experience of cutting the umbilical cord? Why didn't they use some kind of tact? I could ask all the questions in the world and never get an answer.
After all of that, my only thought when I saw my daughter for the first time was: she is perfect. This is the truth, she is a gorgeous blue eyed, blond haired, beautiful girl. How she got the blond hair and the blue eyes is beyond me. While I understand the basic mechanics of it (Punnet squares and all) the genetic permutations are to numerous for me to calculate on my own.
I wish the doctors would have been more open. However, after thinking about it, I think the doctors chose the lesser of two evils in a way. On the one hand they could have told me right then and there, but would have scared the crap out of an already scared woman who was going through her first major surgery. Or they could wait until she is in a more calm state in the recovery room.
Now I am just glad that my daughter is home with me and Grant, and that she is healthy and that she is eating, and gaining weight and pooping, and being a newborn. She is the most perfect thing we have ever done, and we are so excited for her future.
 |
| Kaylee Hope. My Darling Girl. |
Labor and Delivery.
September 22, 2010.
We were sitting in our room waiting for things to happen. I was put into an uncomfortable hospital gown, sat on a bed and Grant planted himself into a chair to wait. The doctors and nurses came in and out and in and out, doing various random duties. Changing fluid bags, checking vitals, etc. We were just happy that the end was truly within our grasp and that we were going to meet our daughter.
After a few hours of waiting for a medication called Cytotech to take effect it was decided that we would start Pitocin to speed up my delivery. Now, being a first time mom to be, I decided I would take the road less traveled (at least that is how it seems to me to be) and try for an all natural birth. I would forgo any kind of medication unless absolutely necessary. My mantra was that if I could still say the word "epidural" I wouldn't get it.
In all I was in an induced labor with no pain medication for a little over 30 hours. At about 3:00 pm on the 23rd of September I got the epidural. The pain was so incredibly bad for me that I was actually screaming with each contraction, which were coming back to back by the way. I caved, and I got the epidural.
Three hours later, after having been checked by several different doctors over the course of the day it was decided that I needed to think about having a cesarean section because I was just not progressing. I was going from 5 centimeters to 7 centimeters and then back down to 5. Also, they were a bit worried that Kaylee's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she seemed to be in distress. I finally called it around 4:00 pm and gave the go ahead to have the c-section done.
It was the decision I had to make. I did not want to do it, and I tried to very hard to do it naturally. I tried very hard indeed. After waiting for four and a half hours or so I was prepped for surgery. My husband was placed in his biohazard/chemical warfare suit, and we were taken to the OR. After being pumped full of anesthetic my husband came to my side, held my hand and the doctors started their business.
At 8:42 pm on September 23, 2010 my daughter was born. An hour later I was in a recovery room wondering where the hell she was at and why I had not seen her yet...
We were sitting in our room waiting for things to happen. I was put into an uncomfortable hospital gown, sat on a bed and Grant planted himself into a chair to wait. The doctors and nurses came in and out and in and out, doing various random duties. Changing fluid bags, checking vitals, etc. We were just happy that the end was truly within our grasp and that we were going to meet our daughter.
 |
| Just admitted |
After a few hours of waiting for a medication called Cytotech to take effect it was decided that we would start Pitocin to speed up my delivery. Now, being a first time mom to be, I decided I would take the road less traveled (at least that is how it seems to me to be) and try for an all natural birth. I would forgo any kind of medication unless absolutely necessary. My mantra was that if I could still say the word "epidural" I wouldn't get it.
In all I was in an induced labor with no pain medication for a little over 30 hours. At about 3:00 pm on the 23rd of September I got the epidural. The pain was so incredibly bad for me that I was actually screaming with each contraction, which were coming back to back by the way. I caved, and I got the epidural.
 |
| Epidural smile. |
Three hours later, after having been checked by several different doctors over the course of the day it was decided that I needed to think about having a cesarean section because I was just not progressing. I was going from 5 centimeters to 7 centimeters and then back down to 5. Also, they were a bit worried that Kaylee's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she seemed to be in distress. I finally called it around 4:00 pm and gave the go ahead to have the c-section done.
It was the decision I had to make. I did not want to do it, and I tried to very hard to do it naturally. I tried very hard indeed. After waiting for four and a half hours or so I was prepped for surgery. My husband was placed in his biohazard/chemical warfare suit, and we were taken to the OR. After being pumped full of anesthetic my husband came to my side, held my hand and the doctors started their business.
 |
| The biohazard/hazmat suit. |
The Pregnancy.
Grant and I found out we were expecting our first child in late January of 2010. Ecstatic as we were, it was a little of a surprise. We always knew we wanted children and had been trying off and on for few years. At the particular time I was being treated for an infection with antibiotics and I made the silly mistake of forgetting that birth control pills and antibiotics do not mix well. Naturally, the end result was a bean in the belly.
The first trimester was horrible. Morning sickness has now been renamed "all day sickness," because for me that is what it was, and that is how long it lasted; all damn day. I lost weight during the first trimester, which was okay according to the doctor. I had a lot of weight (and still do) to spare. However, other than the sickness and extreme fatigue, I was healthy. I took my vitamins and drank my water and milk and all that jazz. Things were going smoothly.
At 20 weeks, we had our first ultrasound. Nervous and shaky we held hands as the tech waved her magic wand around the jelly that covered my belly. We watched with rapt fascination as she measured all the parts of our fetus' body. Head, arms, legs, belly. We "oohed" and "aaahed" as we watched the alien growing inside me moved its arms and legs around. We cried as we saw a heart fluttering away. Then we both said "Kaylee" when we were told "It's a girl." The second trimester was a good one for us.
We hit the 28 week mark and we found out that I had Gestational Diabetes. I tried hard to avoid it by eating right and exercising. Unfortunately, it seemed as though I did not do enough. I was given medication to take, not insulin thank goodness, but medication nonetheless. I was advised to poke my fingers four times daily to test blood sugar an hour after meals. I did all of this and was told that I probably would have a big baby.
I was miserable during the third trimester, but hey, what pregnant woman isn't? I had finally made it through, and the last few weeks were nerve wracking, and scary, and exciting all at the same time. I was given an induction date, if I hadn't gone into labor by September 21st on my own I would go into the hospital on September 22 to be induced as they didn't want her to get too horribly large.
Alas, despite all of the vacuuming, pizza eating, curb walking, and *ahem* special time with the husband, I did not go into labor on my own. I went into the hospital to be induced on the 22nd of September 2010 at 10 o'clock in the morning. We made our calls and told everyone to expect updates and we went for it. The labor and delivery is another story all together...
The first trimester was horrible. Morning sickness has now been renamed "all day sickness," because for me that is what it was, and that is how long it lasted; all damn day. I lost weight during the first trimester, which was okay according to the doctor. I had a lot of weight (and still do) to spare. However, other than the sickness and extreme fatigue, I was healthy. I took my vitamins and drank my water and milk and all that jazz. Things were going smoothly.
At 20 weeks, we had our first ultrasound. Nervous and shaky we held hands as the tech waved her magic wand around the jelly that covered my belly. We watched with rapt fascination as she measured all the parts of our fetus' body. Head, arms, legs, belly. We "oohed" and "aaahed" as we watched the alien growing inside me moved its arms and legs around. We cried as we saw a heart fluttering away. Then we both said "Kaylee" when we were told "It's a girl." The second trimester was a good one for us.
We hit the 28 week mark and we found out that I had Gestational Diabetes. I tried hard to avoid it by eating right and exercising. Unfortunately, it seemed as though I did not do enough. I was given medication to take, not insulin thank goodness, but medication nonetheless. I was advised to poke my fingers four times daily to test blood sugar an hour after meals. I did all of this and was told that I probably would have a big baby.
I was miserable during the third trimester, but hey, what pregnant woman isn't? I had finally made it through, and the last few weeks were nerve wracking, and scary, and exciting all at the same time. I was given an induction date, if I hadn't gone into labor by September 21st on my own I would go into the hospital on September 22 to be induced as they didn't want her to get too horribly large.
Alas, despite all of the vacuuming, pizza eating, curb walking, and *ahem* special time with the husband, I did not go into labor on my own. I went into the hospital to be induced on the 22nd of September 2010 at 10 o'clock in the morning. We made our calls and told everyone to expect updates and we went for it. The labor and delivery is another story all together...
The Kaylee Monster!
Hooray! The introductory post!
My name is Jessica. I am the proud wife of Grant, and the happy mother of our daughter Kaylee. This is her story mostly.*
Mostly, this will be a weekly photo/blog update on my daughter and her progress as she is treated for her condition. Kaylee was born with a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.
Here is what we look like. I always like seeing the faces to go along with the names of stories, it makes it easier to follow. Here, I offer the same.
*See the next post for the first chapter of our story.
My name is Jessica. I am the proud wife of Grant, and the happy mother of our daughter Kaylee. This is her story mostly.*
Mostly, this will be a weekly photo/blog update on my daughter and her progress as she is treated for her condition. Kaylee was born with a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.
Here is what we look like. I always like seeing the faces to go along with the names of stories, it makes it easier to follow. Here, I offer the same.
 |
| This is me, Jessica. |
 |
| This is the Husband, Grant. |
 |
| Our little bundle of joy, Kaylee Hope. |
*See the next post for the first chapter of our story.
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