Off To The Dentist

Well, Bella's had her first visit to the dentist.  We knew she would have to have some work done, but 6 cavities. Oh my, I feel really bad for her.  At least they'll put her to sleep at the surgical center, but at the same time, I really don't like her having to deal with anesthesia again.  Well, we'll do what we gotta do.  Besides, we really do not want little icky teeth.
Aidan, is in Kindergarten this year.  We decided to put him into his Preschool Kindergarten class and then next year, let him do the full day Kindergarten.  With him being a June Boy, we wanted to let him get some more maturity on him.  You never hear anyone say that they regretted sending their child to double kindergarten classes.  I think it will be very beneficial for him.  He absolutely loves school this year and is doing really well and learning so very much.  We're so proud of him, he is truly a wonderful son.  Guess that's all for now:)

Ahhhh Choooo

Yes, today Aidan is gonna have to be tested for allergies:(  Hoping he'll do okay and we can get him on something for those annoying sniffles and constant sneezes.  He's been feeling so crummy.  I tell ya, this week has been filled with good news and not bad, well maybe for me but good for them, we'll call it sad news.  I think having met a person who is such a dear friend that would do anything for you when you needed,  is always there to listen, you know your children are safe with them and loved on....this is a blessing, I am thankful to have had her in my life for the "too short of time."  Praying for no more sad news, and hopefully some really good news a little later.  Also, would like to send out a special yippee and congratulations to the Perry family, they're getting ready to go to China next month to adopt their third daughter at the age of 13.  What a blessing for them and the precious young lady.  

Blog....What Blog

Goodness Gracious.  It has been to long since posting on my blog.  Our family is doing really well.  Bella had her palate surgery in May.  This surgery was very hard, she had an awful time with the anesthesia and I think just the overall palate repair was just really tough.  She got through it like a little trooper, she's amazing.  So, thankful for our precious little family.

Easter with the Kiddos

I am so sorry that I've neglected my blog.  So, here is our update.  Bella's doing great, as you can see her lip has healed very well.  Her nose has collapsed a bit, but that was really to be expected.  They'll work on it more later, not to mention she'll probably have to have rhinoplasty when she gets older.  You can also see how her lip has drawn up a bit around the scar, that is to be expected with the cleft lip repairs.  We massage the inside and outside twice a day with vitamin E this will help break the scar tissue down and allow the lip to soften and basically fall back into place.  Our next surgery will be at the beginning of May for the palate repair, this is a bit more complicated and painful for the little one.  With her being older, the Doctor said more than likely we'll be looking at about a 2 day stay in the hospital.

As you can see in the photos Bella and her Big Bro Aidan had a blast easter egg hunting.  We're enjoying the warm weather and times spent with friends.

Isabella's Repaired Cleft Lip

Sorry this is so very late getting posted.  It turns out that Eric ended up having to take Bella to surgery all by his self.  I have been having these horrible debilitating attacks of nausea and couldn't even get out of the bed.  Thank God for a wonderful Husband who took such great care of his daughter and thank God for my Mother who took such great care of Aidan and myself during that time.  To make a long story short, I've got to have a couple test today in checking for an ulcer.  So, we'll see.  Anyways back to the surgery, went really well Bella did phenomenal.  She's absolutely amazing, she came home acting as if nothing had happened.  We used the arm restraints only during nap time and bed time, and she does really well with them.  She's been eating a regular diet and drinking normal, she really hasn't even bothered the lip.  As you can see in the pictures she has a stint in her nose that is to hold it in the correct place and it is stitched to her nose.  Once she gets the stitches out she'll have to continue to wear the stint, but at least we'll just be able to put it in and take it out manually.  I'm so thankful it went so very well and she handled it so very well.

Dyna Cleft Strips

Sorry, meant to put this up a while back.  I just wanted to show the tape that Bella wears before her surgery.  This is applied to get the lip use to being together instead of apart.  So, when she has her surgery it won't be so foreign for the lip to come together and won't have that strong pull on the sutures.  She does really well with tape, doesn't seem to affect anything.

Surgery In A Week

This past Tuesday, Bella had her Pre-Op appointment.  Went very well, a little longer than we liked but that's to be expected.  They really just went over her overall health and preparing us for the upcoming cleft repair procedure.  You know it's really weird, because i'm excited to get things going and get our sweet little girl taken care of, but at the same time i'm so used to seeing her with her cleft lip.  It's like I know she needs to get everything fixed and obviously I have full intentions of getting her taken care of but to me what's considered a deformity has become part of who she is and her beauty.  Is that weird??  So, we'll leave for Winston Salem that Thursday and spend the night, get up at the crack of dawn on Friday for surgery.  So far we're extremely happy with the Brenner's Children's Hospital and I would highly recommend Dr. Argenta and his team.  I do not believe I mentioned Isabella's doctor, her name is Dr. David, she's a partner of Dr. Argenta.