5 Days Post-Op

The tape fell off completely today and we were able to get a good look at her skin.  The area between her lip and nose looks really good.  If the scab on her lip would just heal, things would be looking great.  I decided to put on a new piece of tape just to keep things safe until we see Dr. Morrissey on Friday.  

Another Tooth

Rylan was lying on her back crying today and I was trying to look into her mouth to see how the inside was healing.  Well wasn't I surprised to see a tiny little tooth coming in on the top of her mouth.  It is on the non-cleft side and I assume it is one of the front teeth, even though it really isn't in the center of her mouth.  Maybe that is why she had such a rough time the other night.

Her face is looking better each day.   The swelling in her cheeks in almost completely gone and the bruises are fading.  Last night she slept through the night again so we are going to continue to sleep her in her car seat as long as it's working.  She is still only napping when in her stroller so I've continued my marathon of walking, adding another 2 or 3 miles to my total today.

48 Hours After Surgery

Her face is healing nicely.  The lip looks very good although her nose is looking a little crooked still.  As the swelling goes down, I'm able to get a better idea of what her "new" look will be.  It's sad, but it is already getting hard to remember what her "old" face looked like.

Million Dollar Idea

So while I was up at midnight, 1 a.m., and 2 a.m. (at which point my husband took over and I got some sleep), I came up with the next big invention: the self-propelling stroller.  Just like those vacuums that run by themselves and turn around anytime they hit a wall or furniture.  It would go in a straight line as far as possible then turn around and keep going.

As you can probably guess, last night did not go so well.  I knew this surgery couldn't continue to go so easy.  Mason took her for a walk last night around 8:30 and she slept in her car seat just fine until midnight.  Then she woke up crying.  She wasn't screaming in pain or anything, I just think she couldn't get comfortable.  I fed her some milk but she was still awake.  I tried having her lay on me, using the swing, and sitting back in the car seat.  The only thing that worked was pushing her in the stroller.  I would walk from our family room through the kitchen and into the living room, then back again.  After 10 or so laps, she would be conked.  But after 10 -20 minutes of the stroller sitting still while I layed down, she would be up again.  Then the process would start over.  

Mason didn't have any more luck and was able to get her to sleep for 20-30 minutes at a time in her car seat by feeding her more milk every time she woke up.  So needless to say, we are all pretty tired here.  Let's hope tonight goes a little bit better.

What surgery?

Apparently Rylan does not realize that she underwent a pretty painful procedure yesterday.  She's slept a bit more than normal, but other than that she is acting like she normally does.  She is drooling A LOT and her face is still swollen and turning black and blue.  We've had a little bit of blood and drainage from her nose, but nothing too bad I don't think. 

Some good ZZZZ's

My little girl is one tough cookie.  She continued to play and eat last night until her Daddy took her for a walk in the stroller to put her to sleep.  We kept her in the car seat and she slept straight through the night, not really making a sound until around 5:45 this morning.  She didn't even wake up crying.  I woke up to the sound of one of the musical toys hanging from her car seat.  So far this morning she is playing like nothing even happened yesterday.  Makes me a little nervous since she still has no fear and I'm afraid she is going to bang her face on something.   Hopefully the rest of the day goes smoothly.

Surgery Take 2

Today has been a very long day.  I'm sure many of you have been waiting to hear an update and see some pics, so here is the tale of our day:

I woke Rylan up at 6:00 and got her ready to go.  She was very good on the ride to the hospital, even though we had to give her an empty bottle stuffed with a paper towel to trick her into thinking she was getting fed.  After being weighed and checked, we brought her down to the playroom to wait for her time to go down to the operating room.

My lucky onesie from "Aunt"Becky (see my initials?)

Wasting some time before surgery

Having fun with Daddy in the hospital playroom

What do you mean there is no milk in here?

Around 7:45 we were brought down to the operating area.  The anesthesiologist explained his part and then Dr. Morrissey came out and reviewed what he would do for the surgery.  We kissed her goodbye and then went to wait.  It was close to 11:15 before we finally got word that the surgery was over and everything went well.

Just like last time, only one of us was allowed into the recovery room.  I went back and saw her new look for the first time.  It reminded me a lot of the first surgery, but was still a little shocking to see.  She was sleeping in the nurse's arms, so they passed her to me where she stayed asleep.  After a few minutes and a couple of checks or her vital signs, we met Mason and my mom in the hallway and went up to Rylan's room.

For the next few hours, Rylan was in and out of sleep.  When she did wake up, she would cry and mostly refused to eat anything.  The nurses wanted us to stay at the hospital until Rylan had shown that she was really able to eat a decent amount.  Around 4:30 they gave her some Tylenol with codeine and then she started to show a little bit of life but still wasn't eating much.  The nurses told us it was our decision if we wanted to stay or go, since we know Rylan best, and we decided to go home.

It turned out to be the best decision we could make because she was a whole new girl once we got home.  She ate a bottle right away and then started playing.  She's been a little fussy but that is totally understandable. 

Now we just have to see how the night goes.  More updates tomorrow!  Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers!