We're Home

Melody did very well during her surgery on Monday and we were able to come home late Tuesday evening. Monday was a bit rough as she got over the anesthesia and expressed her anger at being hooked up to the IV and O2 line, but by evening she was already drinking apple juice and taking pain medication by mouth (which meant we could stop using morphine through the IV). By Tuesday morning, she was virtually jumping around in her crib and wanting to "get out!" Amazingly, she doesn't seem to be in much pain, so we're only using regular Tylenol and Motrin as needed. She's one incredible kid! My biggest prayer at this point is that the repair is successful this time and that we don't have to go through this again. In the middle of the surgery, our surgeon came out to ask our permission to graft in some donor tissue (AlloDerm) to increase the likelihood of success. I wish I'd had some time to research it, but we didn't and of course we said yes (what else would we do on the spot like that?). The tissue isn't like getting an organ since it's processed to the point where the cells are removed and there's nothing for the recipient's body to reject. It's an odd concept...kind of like human gauze or something. Our surgeon uses it all the time in breast reconstruction and facial repairs, so he was really confident about it. We think it may be one of the reasons Melody isn't experiencing too much pain, since the tissue is covering a lot of the really raw spots. We'd truly appreciate all prayers for the success of the procedure, as well as for the coming month of dietary restrictions. It's really important that nothing disturb the healing process, whether it be food or fingers or a toy. I'm sure glad that we're doing this now before the baby is here! I'll try to update again in a few days. Thanks for all your support!

Here We Go...

...into surgery tomorrow. We will arrive at the hospital at 7AM and stay one or two nights. Please pray for Melody's safety during the surgery and for her comfort during the recovery period. I am so anxious about the whole thing and I really just want it to be over. It is so hard to put my little girl through this, even though I know she needs it.

...into our last trimester of pregnancy! It's hard to believe. My OB appointments have increased in frequency from once every 4 weeks to once every 2 weeks, which makes it seem like the birth is getting closer quickly. Our childbirth classes start next Sunday and run right up until my due date. Hopefully we'll have a name by then!

...into Melody being an official 2-year-old. Her birthday is this coming Friday but we celebrated today because of her surgery. I'll have to post pictures at some point. She didn't hesitate a bit when it came to singing "Happy Birthday Dear 'Me-do-dy,'" blowing out her candles, or tearing the paper off of her gift. If you ask her how old she is, she will proudly say "two!" while holding up one finger :). We're working on getting that second finger up, but for now it's really precious.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of the girls from this summer. We are so blessed!

A Few Updates

We just scheduled Melody for surgery on September 22nd. We were really hoping she wouldn't need it, but there is, indeed, a fistula (hole) in her palate that needs to be closed. The surgery will be similar to her original palate repair, including the recovery protocol and time frame. Sadly, the surgery is just 5 days before Melody's second birthday, so no cake. I think she can manage melted ice cream though!

Our pregnancy is going along just fine, perhaps with the exception of my swollen ankles/feet! It's hard to believe that "baby brother" is due in just about 3 months. That isn't long! I've really loved having him inside me, but it will also be very exciting to meet him in person. Larry thinks he'll arrive early, but I'm not so sure.

Julie started her second year of preschool a few weeks ago. She is the only girl in a class of 10 kids! She is still in a self-contained class, but she will be going into one of the integrated classrooms for play time a couple of times a week. That way she'll get to interact with some typical peers and also some girls. We're really happy about that! The decision to let her join the other class was based on the amazing progress that Julie has made in the last several months. She is now able to speak in whole sentences a lot of the time, and she has started asking yes/no questions like a pro. It's SO wonderful to listen to her ramble on about something. What a gift!

Melody, too, has started speaking in basic sentences much of the time. The other day she told me "I all done drinking juice!" I had no idea that 1 year-olds could do that! She is a little perfectionist in the making and enjoys putting things where they belong. She and Julie have started playing simple little games together...they just make it up as they go. I adore watching them play together.

Here are a few recent pictures. How they grow!