Post Op Palate Surgery 3 Week Appointment

I'm going to go ahead and warn you... There are lots of pictures ahead and they all include eating!

The post op appointment went well.   We had a late appointment (which we hope to do again), so we were able to have lunch before going to the hospital.   FL was thrilled to be eating soft bread with cheese and meat ALL BY HERSELF!    We figured she'd be released from most of her food restrictions (we ended up imposing more than our surgeon did) so we let her do this a little early to celebrate!

The appointment actually went quickly this time.  I didn't have time to take pictures because we kept moving the whole time.  Audiology did not want to run a hearing test (one of the tubes looked "off") so we will do that in 6 months.  The ENT thought that everything looked ok.  One of her tubes was slightly turned, but he wasn't concerned.  FL's cleft surgeon thought everything looked good and told us we should expect to see her begin to experiment with making different sounds soon.  She should also begin enunciating better. 

Post op thoughts/notes:

This was our first day without any pain medication.   We probably gave her ibuprofen too long, but we wanted to be sure she was comfortable.

Giving her any kind of control over her eating made her happy during that last week before post op.  I cut up bananas small and let her feed them to herself (fingers only) as well as eggs and sweet potatoes.  She was so excited!

We are cleared to let her eat with a plastic spoon by herself.  Fruits, soft bread, veggies, soft meat, etc. are good to go as well.  The doctor told her to wait on the crackers.  She was dissapointed, but has totally accepted his answer.  When she asks for them, we ask her what the docotor said.  She holds up her hand and says WAIT in her own little way. : )

Long and short pieces of suture that are dissolving are hanging down in her mouth.  We've cut a few, but one way back in her throat was bothering her.  I really didn't feel comfortable sticking scissors back there!!!

For the first time, FL has boogers in her nose! : )

Her mouth still stinks a little...  Kind of like a poot.  

She is singing and making silly noises more. : )

She is not making a lot of new sounds yet, nor is her pronunciation significantly better, but we are not concerned and have our first speech therapy appointment in April. 

She still has a hole a little smaller than the size of a dime in her gumline and part of the roof of her mouth that connects to it.  This is totally normal.  It will be corrected when she has her bone graft in a few years.

Food comes out of the side of her nose that the hole is on.   You should have seen the mess she sneezed out today!

As of right now, we are not cleaning out her nose other than teaching her to blow it and wiping the nostril area.

The area where the donor tissue was taken from is almost completely filled in - it is so amazing how the body heals itself!  It is so amazing that she has a palate!

She is super happy. : )

After a nap on the way home, we swung by Toys R Us, picked up an indoor children's trampoline (great for sensory, balance, energy outlet, etc) and had dinner and ice cream together as a family.  This was the first time FL was able to feed herself with a spoon and eat noodles since surgery.  She was thrilled!  It was a big moment for her and for us!

Her sister was happy for her, too!

Yay!  She loves it!

Here's the play by play:

I can't explain how excited she was to have her feeding independence back and to be able to take big bites without it squishing through her nose!  Just think, four months ago she was eating nothing but one bowl of rice cereal and five bottles of formula a day and now she is eating EVERYTHING and eating it well (with an adoring mama taking pictures of her nonstop!)!

You know we had to have the free ice cream (and no, this was not hers!)!

FL had chocolate ice cream - chocolate is hands-down her favorite!

Not to be left out, c had ice cream, too!  They both don't love the cold aspect of ice cream, so I make them Ice Cream Soup.  I just stir it really well and let it melt a little.  If we are at home I'll put it in the microwave for a few seconds.  This, they love! : )

I had such a wonderful day with my little family!  I love you all!

 I am so blessed.  That thought is not lost to me.

 Somebody pinch me! : ) 

Life seems so sweet right now!