First morning home

Haven did ok last night when we got home--didn't eat very well but was in good spirits. She fell asleep at 10:30pm and Mike and I assumed we were in for a long night of crying due to the pain and the fact that she hadn't been able to eat that much. She ended up sleeping until 4:30am and then woke up and ate 3oz before going back to sleep again. She slept until 8:30am and then didn't eat very well again so not sure if she's in pain or just not hungry. They say it takes a few days for the anesthesia to get out of her system so maybe that's why she's a little off. Overall, it was a great first night home and she is getting the rest that she needs. The "no-nos" on her arms don't seem to bother her too much yet but she has learned that she can swing them. So, they solve the problem of her not putting her fingers in her mouth but we have to now worry about her hitting herself in the face....perfect. :)

No nose stents!

Dr. Polley said that because she has some swelling and congestion she can wait to start the stents until next week. We love that because we dont have to cover her new nose with tape while it heals. He will round tonight around 6pm and decide if she can go home tonight or if she needs to stay longer. She's eating 1/2oz every hour now and her vitals have been stable the last few hours so we're hoping to be discharged earlier than expected.

Raise your hand...

Haven has a question, "Can I go home today pleeeeaaase Dr. Polley??"

Good morning!

Haven ate some formula this morning and then fell back asleep after taking more Tylenol. She has more swelling than yesterday but is in much better spirits. I caught her trying to smile!

Dr. Smith came by around 6am and said she looked good but they would wait until a little later today to decide if she gets to come home tonight or not. Her nose is very congested and the cleft nurse has to come show us how to clean her stents--once that is done she can eat much better I'm sure. We will see...

sleepy time

Haven had two doses of morphine and was pretty out of it while she came out of anesthesia this afternoon but was able to go 4 hours without pain meds and then drank 2 oz of Pedialite! We were really nervous for the first feeding because it just looks like it would be so painful for her but she did great. She needed some pain relief after that and she's now sleeping peacefully after taking Tylenol 3. It was a great step for her to be able to step down from the morphine and we know she can eat when she gets hungry enough. :)

She finally opened her eyes for a few minutes tonight--just long enough to stare at her seahorse and give a little smile. Mike and I are taking turns sleeping--I got 2 hours in during the Bears game and he's sleeping now. More to come!

Resting...

Surgery went well--her new smile is a bit swollen and has tape over some of it but she looks beautiful. This day has been exactly how I imagined it would--emotional, exhausting, and wonderful. She has been getting morphine every 3 hours for now and that keeps her out of pain and pretty zonked out. We're waiting for Dr. Polley's team to come by and help us with feeding since she hasn't eaten yet. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers---she did great today and we're so thankful for our awesome family and friends.

Just waiting...

Haven went into the OR. More to come as we hear it. :)

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for since our 20 week ultrasound--it's crazy to think how far we've come on this journey. Mike and I are so thankful that we were chosen to go through this process with Haven. It has made us more patient, loving, and grateful for all we have been given in our lives. Haven is a strong little girl and tomorrow, even though it will be a tough day, will begin a new chapter in her life. We trust her surgeon, Dr. Polley, and know that Haven is safe and in extremely capable hands. He is the very best at what he does and Haven deserves nothing less. We had a great day with family today--a few tears but good tears. Thanks to Grammy and Papa for a GREAT brunch! Haven is SO loved and has so many people praying for her and that's a great feeling. I've said it before and I'll say it many more times in the blog I'm sure...but it's awesome how someone so tiny can change an entire family. :) SOOO....from here on out--no more tears (well maybe a few in the morning) but only HAPPY tears. She is going to have a beautiful smile and we have a crazy amount of photos to remember the "old" smile so there are no regrets. Thank you to our family and friends who will be with us tomorrow and who are thinking of her throughout the day. I will keep this updated over the next few days...WE LOVE YOU!

p.s. thank you to...Katie & Matt Caraway for the pretty flowers and to everyone who brought Haven pre-surgery gifts today!

LAST NAM appointment!

Can you believe it?!? It has been such a great 9 weeks but we are finally ready for surgery. I've been thinking so much about Monday....this is the day we've been looking forward to for so long! It won't be a fun few days I'm sure but I know that Dr. Polley is going to do an awesome job. Here are a few photos of her last NAM appointment....EVER! :) She only weighed 9lb 15oz--4oz more than 2 weeks ago so that's not great. She's healthy and eats fairly well but we're trying to make more of an effort to get her to eat more.













We go to see her pediatrician tomorrow so we'll see what they say.

old videos

Like I said, I'm getting really emotional about Haven's surgery so I have been looking at "old" videos of her at 1 and 2 months old. Her first NAM appointment, her first taping, first time at the lake, etc.

Half Paddy's Day

We got to see Aunt Sara, Uncle Marty, and GRETA at Half Paddy's Day last weekend! Greta is awesome--already almost bigger than Haven (not hard to do) and her mommy, daddy, and Bailey are loving their new little one.

We love cousin Arlie!

Congrats to Uncle Sean for making Battalion Chief! We're SO proud of you! (he's the headless guy she's standing on)

13 weeks & Bears Game

3 months old today!!

So I'm a little behind on my posts....a few photos to catch up!

Haven is doing great--getting ready for surgery on Monday. We go see Dr. Figueroa tomorrow morning for her LAST NAM appointment. I can't even believe that this part of our lives is almost over. We have gotten so used to caring for her with the NAM and this is all we've known...it's a little sad to move on to be honest. It sounds crazy but I wish, in a perfect world, she wouldn't have to have surgery and life could just go on "normally". I'm so sad to think that I won't get to see her cleft smile anymore--it's just who she is--that's Haven. :) I know we will love her new smile but I'm having a hard time thinking that just a few days from now we won't be able to go back and see that smile in person. Luckily...we have photos. Being back at work has been hard but we have awesome family helping us out. We really appreciate that they are taking time out of their lives to be a part of Haven's--not for themselves--but to help HER and our family. I know offering to help isn't everyone's idea of "fun" but knowing that Haven is with Aunt Amanda and cousin Arlie while we're working is the best. We love Aunt Amanda's Daycare and Grammy's limo service. We can never thank you enough for what you're doing for our family.

Family Photo

Mike and I are starting to realize how much we'll miss Haven's "wide smile" after her surgery. We can't wait for that day to come and go and get it behind us but it will emotional to say goodbye to the smile we first saw and completely fell in love with from the beginning. We tell her every night that she's the very best thing to happen to us! Surgery is necessary and the best thing for her but that doesn't make it any easier to voluntarily change the smile that makes us melt. :) We decided to do a family "before" photo so we can always remember her pretty smile the way it is now. (we also have MANY pictures we have taken ourselves) Bears was the obvious theme and we can't wait to take a new one after her surgery. (this is the proof so it's hard to see in detail)

Haven was 12 weeks old yesterday and her new thing is sucking her thumb! I know I'll probably regret saying this in a few years if she's still doing it but...it's so cute! Her NAM wire makes it look uncomfortable but it doesn't seem to bother her at all.

More 12 week photos...

GO BEARS!

She started out so excited and then....

Emma Jane!

What an awesome day! Emma Jane was born on September 11, 2010 at 3:01pm. She is so beautiful and her mommy did a great job. She weighs 6lb 5oz and we can't wait to visit her once she gets home. Haven has ANOTHER playmate!

Footprint Tile...

Haven has been making a footprint tile each month and it's been fun to see how much bigger she's getting! Cousin Arlie did it for her first year and now Haven goes with Grammy to do hers.

NAM appointment today...

We went to see Dr. Figueroa for another NAM appointment. Haven was in a great mood and was happy to see Dr. Polley too! They both said her nose looks amazing and are very happy with her progress. She will go back one more time on the 22nd before surgery on the 27th.