Making Progress

Yesterday and last night have definitely been an improvement from my last post.  She was acting a little bit more like herself yesterday, playing on her tummy time mat and sitting in my lap staring at the TV.   Eating is still the biggest issue but her fever has gone away.  A few times yesterday she feel asleep sitting in her car seat and she took a long nap when Mason drove her around the neighborhood in the afternoon.  

Grandmom and Grandpop came over to give some help yesterday and Grandmom spent the night.  Rylan slept in her lap from 9 - 12:30, then ate a little and slept in her car seat from 1-3.  She woke up at 3 and ate a little more, then slept in my lap for an hour then back to her car seat for an hour.  At 5 she woke up fussy and she has been sleeping in Grandmom's lap ever since.  Not quite back to her normal sleeping patterns, but at least we all got some sleep.

Here is a picture from this morning.  Everything is still bloody (I can't seem to get it cleaned up and I don't want to hurt her) but the swelling has gone down. 

Restless Night

Poor Miss Rylan had a bit of a rough night last night.  We put her down around 8:30 and she slept for maybe an hour in her crib.  After that there was very little sleep for any of us.  She did not want to be put down at all and would go between crying and sleeping.  Once we were able to get her to sleep in her car seat for about 30 minutes and once again in her crib for another 30 minutes.  She has had a slight fever all night and just seems very unhappy (I would be too!).  At 6:30 I put her in the car and drove around for awhile so she could get some sleep.  Fingers crossed she is currently laying on her tummy time mat swatting at the animals so hopefully she is starting to feel a little bit better now. 

Surgery Success

It is 3 p.m. and we are officially home from the hospital.  Rylan did really well and it turns out that we did not need to stay overnight, unless we felt uncomfortable bringing her home.  

Last night went pretty well.  I woke her up and fed her at 11:30 while she was half asleep and she stayed down until 4:45 this morning.  Mason and I both rocked her and gave her a pacifier and she ended up falling back asleep around 5:30 and staying asleep until we made it to the hospital.  We checked in at 6:30 and mostly did a lot of sitting and waiting until they got her down at 8:00.  She had a little meltdown during our down time but fell asleep sucking on a bottle nipple and was actually asleep when we handed her over to the anesthesiologist.  

The surgery took about 2 hours and my mom and Kim did a great job keeping us occupied.  We played Yatzee, which I did not win, and ate a ton of Dunkin Donuts munchkins.  Around 10:00, Dr. Morrissey came out and told us that everything went well, even better than he expected.  Unfortunately, only one parent was allowed to go into the recovery room so I went in by myself.  Although the surgery was best for her, it was certainly a little sad to see her "new" face for the first time.  She was whimpering a lot and a bit squirmy.  After they took out her IV and got her paperwork ready, we were able to go up to her room where everyone could be with her.

So far she has cried, slept, and eaten (a lot more than I thought she would eat!).  She hasn't seemed to mind her arm restraints too much and we can take them off as long as we are watching her.  Obviously she is going to be sore, but she seems to be recovering well.  I guess we have to see how tonight goes before I can be sure.  

Here is one picture from before the surgery and three from after:

No Turning Back Now

I got the official call from the hospital this morning for Rylan's surgery tomorrow.  No food after midnight and a 6:30 a.m. arrival time for the hospital. Yesterday we got our family portraits taken and a few shots of just our little girl.  Rylan did so well and we have some great pictures to remember her beautiful cleft lip.  Keep her in your thoughts tomorrow!  She is a strong little girl and I know she'll be okay. 

Surgery Information

I called Dr. Morrissey's office this morning to see if he was back from his "trip" yet and to ask a few questions about the surgery. He won't be back till the middle of next week, but his very helpful secretary was there.  I found out that Rylan's surgery will last about 90 minutes, not including the prep hour before hand.  She will not be considered an overnight patient, but will be staying at the hospital for 23 hours so she will be there overnight. I wasn't sure if that would be the case or not, but it makes me feel good to know that the doctors will be there to keep an eye on her progress after the surgery. I also asked about when she has to stop eating the night before the surgery. The secretary said it is typically midnight but she would call the anesthesia department and get a definite answer since I've read that breast milk digests faster and can be consumed up to 4 hours before surgery. I feel a little bit more prepared and a little bit more nervous now that I have this information. The surgery will be here before I know it. :(

Tummy Time Smiles

How could you not love this face?

Cancelled Appointment

I was all ready to take Rylan back to the surgeon for her final appointment tomorrow, but I received a phone call from the surgeon's office today and the appointment has to be cancelled.  Something came up in the doctor's personal life, so he must go out of town immediately and he will be gone for the next few weeks.  Her surgery is still a go for the 28th of February and if I have any questions, I can give his office a call.  I know that the plan was to make a final decision on surgery when he saw her tomorrow, but I have no doubt in my mind that it still would be happening because her lip has not changed since we saw him three weeks ago.  I am a little disappointed because I would have liked to just chat with him about the surgery and what to expect, but I'm sure he will go over any specifics that morning before the surgery begins.  Plus I can always call if I think of anything specific I want to know.   I do plan on calling the anesthesia department at the hospital to double check on how soon before surgery she is allowed to eat.  From what I've read, breast milk is safe up to 4 hours before surgery but I want to make sure.  

Now the waiting game begins...3 weeks and counting.