Is my baby girl 9 months already? I cannot believe how time flies. I always thought it did, but now that I have a baby...it really FLIES. Maybe that's because there's hardly a free minute in my day and I'm usually asleep before 9 pm...BORING!! No really, I wouldn't change a thing, but I am pretty boring.
Charlee is doing fabulous. She is so big and crawling all over the place. She's getting mighty brave, wanting to stand up and pull herself up on everything. She is a 24-7 job, that's for sure. We haven't done as much baby-proofing as we probably should, so there's a lot of "NO's" being said around the house. We put a swing up for her outside, which she loves. She is clapping her hands and saying lots of "mamamama's". She has an infectious laugh and is still a happy baby. We are very blessed and very proud of her. Rocco, our chihuahua, on the other hand, still wants nothing to do with her. She'll laugh at him and crawl towards him and all he does is run the other way. I am hoping he will warm up to her eventually and just accept the fact that she's here to stay.
We did meet with the cleft team and they were all so amazed at how well she was doing and how big she had gotten. We see our surgeon one last time on Dec 9 for our pre-op appointment. We were told that she would only be in the hospital for a day and a half after surgery, if all goes well. She'll be monitored closely that first night to make sure she isn't having any apneas. I'm still not totally clear about how she's going to eat. They said she can take the bottle, but probably won't want to because her mouth will be sore. DUH. She hasn't really taken to a cup yet, so I'm not sure what we will do, but I'm sure she'll figure it out. She'll eat if she's hungry. I've been doing some extra research on cleft palate recovery and most parents say that the worst is the first week. She'll have some blood coming out her nose and mouth the first few days. She probably won't sleep well either and will have to wear arm restraints for 3 weeks. I plan on keeping her pain as regulated as much as possible. Luckily, we will have help during the recovery period from family. I'm looking forward to it because I want it to be over, but I am dreading it because I fear the unknown. I figure that if thousands of children can go through this surgery every year with success stories, then so can we.
It's amazing to me how resilient we are. I always thought I was a strong person, but in retrospect, I had never really gone through anything challenging. But, now after infertility, child birth, and mothering a daughter with a special need, I realize how strong I am. I realize how, as people, we adapt to our surroundings and we rise to the occassion. We get through hard times, unexpectedly, and we become better, more empathetic people.
