Palate check up

Yesterday Maimie went to visit Dr. Hansen. We had noticed some food still coming out of her nose every once in a while, but thought maybe it had travelled up the back of her throat. As it turns out, there is actually a hole in the tissue between the hard and soft palate areas. According to the doctor, it is not in an area that normally you would expect to have any trouble. We will just continue to be careful with what she puts in her mouth and have her rechecked in 2 weeks. The doctor hopes it will heal some more, but did mention the possibility of repairing the opening in 6 months.
Meanwhile, Maimie has picked up more signs, but has stopped vocalizing as much as she did previously. Her signs include milk, eat, more, all done, please, and Daddy. She shakes her head yes and no, and grabs her nose while wrinkling up her face if she has a dirty diaper. Her walking has become more steady and faster, but she still falls occasionally. She shows her temper by yelling at whoever displeases her at the moment. Sometimes when she is irritated with me she will look at me and yank the bow out of her hair and throw it down. We have 3 remote controls for our tv and equipment. However, we have to get up and manually change channels since Maimie has fiddled with them and we can't get them to work any more.
Her sleep cycle has been difficult lately. She went for 3 nights sleeping in her crib all night. Then she refused to be set down even after she is dead asleep day or night. Since her older sister and brothers have to get up for school and are in earshot, she ends up in our bed awhile. I wait until she falls asleep before transferring her back to the crib, but sometimes that doesn't work.


Bath time is usually a lot of fun for Maimie, but since her surgery it hasn't been fun for her or for her dad. She screams and carries on for ridiculous amounts of time. I have to quickly shower in the other bathroom while she is being bathed, because I don't get a break from her from that point on in the evening.
I wish I had read more on the adoption transition time before living it. I was naive to think that because I had parented 3 other children that things would be similar with an adopted child. Eventually we will move past this transitional phase and things will be more like the normal parenting we are used to handling. But in some ways we do have to treat her differently now. There are issues that have to be taken into account and allowances to be made. Unfortunately I think we have made some mistakes, but in general Maimie seems happy most of the time. I hope that counts a little for something.

Palate Surgery

On Thursday morning, Maimie's cleft palate surgery was performed. It was hard to give her to the operating room nurses, and even harder managing the grueling three and a half hour wait. Dr. Hansen seemed very pleased with the amount of tissue available to use in closing Maimie's palate, and thought that the surgery went extremely well. It was around 2 in the afternoon before Maimie first cried and wanted to be held after the surgery. I held her in the chair in her room most of the afternoon and evening. She wasn't too happy with the IV, the id bracelet, or the arm restraints. Then there was the vomiting. Poor thing kept vomiting blood out of her mouth and nose all afternoon and evening. I'm not sure which one of us smelled or looked worse by bedtime. She would not let me put her down even when she was sleeping. Finally I talked a student nurse into taking her long enough to let me use the restroom. Maimie cried then vomited all over her white scrub jacket. Beautiful. Last break I got.
Maimie couldn't even sip water Thursday night. Friday morning went much better. She was drinking formula from a cup without a lid (not cool!) and spilling plenty of it. By lunch time she was eating a few bites of applesauce and vanilla pudding with her formula. I cleaned her up, put clean clothes on her, and talked the nurse into disconnecting the IV tubing. She perked right up when she saw Daddy, Mikaela, Jacob, and Joseph. Dr. Hansen felt she was doing well and liked how her mouth was looking. He discharged Maimie around 4:30pm Friday. She had some trouble with fever Friday afternoon and evening but has done better today. She is still having pain and taking tylenol. Even with her arm restraints she has been animated and playing. We need to keep them on her through at least Wednesday. I'm anxious to see how she will react to having them off. Will she still suck her left thumb and right pointer finger? We have also noticed she's not eating or drinking as much as usual, but as her mouth heals, it should pick back up. We are so thankful for Dr. Hansen's expertise and care for Maimie and for God's hand of protection over her. We could certainly tell that people were praying for her.

Maimie's Easter

WEARING LAMB EARS

Maimie had a very successful ear tube placement last week. She enjoyed having Mikaela take her for a wagon ride in the halls of the outpatient surgery department. Not a peep was heard when she awoke from the anesthesia. She just looked around. It has been interesting getting the tiny little ear plugs in her ears for her bath, but normally that's Dad's time with Maimie. She did seem to hear better right away after the tubes. She tried to say milk for the first time. It sounded like "mi" with a short i sound. She also started pointing at the lights and after I said light, she put her tongue slightly out and made a "l" sound. I know it doesn't seem like much, but we rejoice with each new improvement. She can sign for "more", but stubbornly refuses sometimes with her eyes closed. Same thing happens with milk now too. Sometimes it's amazing how like her siblings she really is!


We are still struggling with sleep issues. Maimie wants to be a night owl. Some nights I can't get her to sleep and in the crib until 11:00pm or later. She hates the crib and won't go in there if she's awake. She sleeps a few hours and then wakes up crying. I bring her in our bed so the other kids can sleep. Sometimes Steve can't calm her at all and occasionally I can't either. She is still teething, so that could be contributing to the sleeplessness. We don't know if it is the adjustment or something else, but many mornings 6:30am comes way too early for Mom. During the daytime I usually let her fall asleep in my arms then lay her on a quilt on the living room or playroom floor.


Last week she was evaluated for her developmental stage in social, verbal, and physical development. She apparently is at about a 12-14 month level for each of these areas. Maimie is walking all over, dancing, changing directions, getting back up from any postion. She still falls alot, but is getting faster, too. Sometimes when I wash her up from eating and stand her down on the kitchen floor, it seems to be only a second or two and I can hear the piano in the next room. She loves to bang on it and sometimes sits with her older siblings on the bench to play.

This was Maimie's first Easter with us, so it was fun to watch her. She managed to find some of the lower eggs hidden for the big kids. I did buy her a little basket with her own package of Disney princess eggs. I filled them with her Cheerios, and she loved munching on her stash. Of course I insisted (as I do every year) on the whole family color-coordinating for Easter Sunday morning. Maimie liked wearing her little white gloves and carrying her little purse. During church she lifted the hem of her flouncy little dress and put it over her face to look through it. How cute!

This week is going to be a big one for Maimie. On Wednesday, she turns 18 months old. On Thursday, she is having her cleft palate surgery. I'm very apprehensive about how the days after her surgery will go. Normally she soothes herself by sucking on her finger and thumb, but I assume that will not be allowed following the surgery. Staying in the hospital for a few days may also be a disruption in the attachment process for our family. Please pray for Maimie and her pain management on Thursday and the days following.