He's HERE & He's 1 Month Old!
So I'm a little late on the announcement, but I would be remiss if I didn't start this update without first introducing you to our sweet baby boy, Carter Allen Dishman!! He came a week early and weighed 7lbs 8oz. We are smitten and completely in love!
About Carter: He's one month old today! He is wonderful, precious, snuggly, so lovable and a tough little man. He's surviving lots of love from an over eager older sister who thinks he is HER baby. He's a great sleeper and a very laid back and calm. He learned to smile this last week and only cries when he's hungry (and man is it a legit Hangry cry) or if his tummy is upset. We couldn't ask for a better baby! He's quite the eater and has gained 2.5 lbs in his first month on top of regaining the few ounces he lost right after he was born. We are thinking we should go ahead and apply for football scholarships now. He is a total joy and we love having him in our family!
Cleft Details: He has a unilateral left side cleft lip and alveolus (gum line). The most common type of cleft in male babies. Incidentally 1 in 600 babies will experience a cleft of some kind. It is the most common type of birth defect and is formed between 6-12 weeks of gestation.
We are blessed beyond measure, though! We expected Carter to be born with a full cleft - lip, gum line and palate. Shortly after he was born, we were informed that his palate was fully in tact and he only had a cleft lip and alveolus. For several days I held my emotions at bay and couldn't fully celebrate or even allow myself to hope in this news until we heard it from an actual Cleft team member. They confirmed our good news - His palate is complete and God really did answer our prayers! On top of that wonderful news is the fact that he's eating SO well! I fully expected to have major struggles in this area, but I got to nurse him for the first week of his life and he did great. It did my heart a world of good.
Plan of Care: Two weeks ago we started taping Carter's top lip (this is when I was unable to continue nursing, but he's still getting Mommy's milk through a special bottle created just for cleft babies and he's doing great with it!) The tape pulls both sides of his lip closer together as his face continues to develop. This last week we had phase one of the NAM installed. It's a retainer like device that will put pressure on his gum and pull it down to where it should be. He will have to wear this between now and his surgery with bi-weekly adjustments to continue moving everything in the right direction. It looks like a retainer with a knob on the front and is held in place by medical tape and rubber bands. In two weeks we will add a nose extension to it that will raise his collapsed nostril. Why a NAM? By using this device we are able to cut down on several surgeries as well as make his repair much easier on him and easier for the surgeon to do what needs to be done!
The NAM Installed
Emotions: Yes, we have them. Like any parent of a baby born with specials needs or a deformity, your heart is tender, sometimes it is oh so tender. Most days I am strong, resting in the loads of grace that God is dumping on our family right now. But...I am a Mom. I've cried. I cried when he was two days old and wept over his precious little face. I love it and it's perfect to me, but I know the rest of the world doesn't see him the way I do. He needs "fixing." Some days I just look at him and tear up. My heart hurts for him - A LOT. I want it to be me and not him, but I'm so grateful he won't remember most of this in life. Yesterday when he got the NAM installed it hurt him or at the very least made him very unhappy and uncomfortable and we both cried off and on all afternoon and I held him almost all day long. This is hard and the hardest part hasn't even come yet. But, we are hanging in there and for the most part we are hanging strong!
It's a Simple Fix, right?: Heh...sure, the surgery is "simple" if you will. The road to get there is long. It's peppered with a lot of Dr. appointments and stages of change for your baby. You'll find yourself fighting with insurance companies to cover your Drs and procedures...it can be maddening and emotionally draining. It can make those long days of newborn care feel twice as long as normal. There are great days and hard days. Thankfully they are mostly great days for us, though and we are very grateful.
One Month:
About Carter: He's one month old today! He is wonderful, precious, snuggly, so lovable and a tough little man. He's surviving lots of love from an over eager older sister who thinks he is HER baby. He's a great sleeper and a very laid back and calm. He learned to smile this last week and only cries when he's hungry (and man is it a legit Hangry cry) or if his tummy is upset. We couldn't ask for a better baby! He's quite the eater and has gained 2.5 lbs in his first month on top of regaining the few ounces he lost right after he was born. We are thinking we should go ahead and apply for football scholarships now. He is a total joy and we love having him in our family!
Cleft Details: He has a unilateral left side cleft lip and alveolus (gum line). The most common type of cleft in male babies. Incidentally 1 in 600 babies will experience a cleft of some kind. It is the most common type of birth defect and is formed between 6-12 weeks of gestation.
We are blessed beyond measure, though! We expected Carter to be born with a full cleft - lip, gum line and palate. Shortly after he was born, we were informed that his palate was fully in tact and he only had a cleft lip and alveolus. For several days I held my emotions at bay and couldn't fully celebrate or even allow myself to hope in this news until we heard it from an actual Cleft team member. They confirmed our good news - His palate is complete and God really did answer our prayers! On top of that wonderful news is the fact that he's eating SO well! I fully expected to have major struggles in this area, but I got to nurse him for the first week of his life and he did great. It did my heart a world of good.
Plan of Care: Two weeks ago we started taping Carter's top lip (this is when I was unable to continue nursing, but he's still getting Mommy's milk through a special bottle created just for cleft babies and he's doing great with it!) The tape pulls both sides of his lip closer together as his face continues to develop. This last week we had phase one of the NAM installed. It's a retainer like device that will put pressure on his gum and pull it down to where it should be. He will have to wear this between now and his surgery with bi-weekly adjustments to continue moving everything in the right direction. It looks like a retainer with a knob on the front and is held in place by medical tape and rubber bands. In two weeks we will add a nose extension to it that will raise his collapsed nostril. Why a NAM? By using this device we are able to cut down on several surgeries as well as make his repair much easier on him and easier for the surgeon to do what needs to be done!
Emotions: Yes, we have them. Like any parent of a baby born with specials needs or a deformity, your heart is tender, sometimes it is oh so tender. Most days I am strong, resting in the loads of grace that God is dumping on our family right now. But...I am a Mom. I've cried. I cried when he was two days old and wept over his precious little face. I love it and it's perfect to me, but I know the rest of the world doesn't see him the way I do. He needs "fixing." Some days I just look at him and tear up. My heart hurts for him - A LOT. I want it to be me and not him, but I'm so grateful he won't remember most of this in life. Yesterday when he got the NAM installed it hurt him or at the very least made him very unhappy and uncomfortable and we both cried off and on all afternoon and I held him almost all day long. This is hard and the hardest part hasn't even come yet. But, we are hanging in there and for the most part we are hanging strong!
It's a Simple Fix, right?: Heh...sure, the surgery is "simple" if you will. The road to get there is long. It's peppered with a lot of Dr. appointments and stages of change for your baby. You'll find yourself fighting with insurance companies to cover your Drs and procedures...it can be maddening and emotionally draining. It can make those long days of newborn care feel twice as long as normal. There are great days and hard days. Thankfully they are mostly great days for us, though and we are very grateful.
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