Appointment Updates

This Tuesday we once again went to the orthodontist and they attached a stint on Caidy's plate. She is doing really well with it, but the thing keeps popping out of her nose which means I have to take her plate out and put it back in. It is a hassle because for the plate to stay in place we have to put polident on it and clean out her mouth each time. She hates this and so do I!

Also another appt was with the midwife today. They see the baby at 2,4 and 6 weeks then we go back to a regular pediatrician. But I am thinking I may go to the pediatrician sooner. Caidy was weighed today and she is only 7 lbs 8 oz. That is only a weight gain of 5 oz since her birth. I don't think this is enough, but I am not sure because my midwife doesn't know anything about birth defect babies. I am a little frustrated because when we got home from the appt I went right away and phoned the cleft nurse at children's hospital and of course she is on holidays for the next 2 weeks! So Jessica if you happen to read this I would love some advice!! She eats anywhere from 1.5-4 oz every 3-4 hrs. I can't force her to eat, she just fights me! Plus she is already sleeping one 6 hr stretch at night which I thought was a great thing, but could this mean that she is not getting enough food so she doesn't have the energy to wake up on her own? Any advice would be great!

BLESSINGS

"God would not give you a child without giving you the means to provide for that child." loosely taken from Dr. Sears

I was reminded of this phrase today, as it seems people keep telling me that God will not give you more than you can handle. I guess it is a little more reassuring for me to know that God is going to provide for us and by this we are going to be able to handle more. I want to know that the way God is helping us handle all that we have is by constantly blessing us and bringing people into our lives that are such an encouragement there is no doubt in our minds they are from God.

I also wanted to share some of the ways God has blessed us since we have had Caidy, and even before that when we found out we were having a baby with a birth defect.
~ Giving us amazing doctors who really care about our little girl. My midwives who gave excellent care although they missed Caidy's delivery! And Cheryl who was always with James and I at our appts helping to put things into laymans terms so that we could understand what we were being told!
~ Our parents who are constantly giving, above and beyond. From groceries, diapers, clothes for the kids and support for James and I, hopefully we will one day be able to repay them for all they have done for us.
~ My great friend Flora who organized meals for us after Caidy was born. We were so blessed by her and Maple Ridge Alliance Church that we didn't have to cook for ourselves for over a week!
~ James' boss who has been great with days off for drs. appts. Through this God has shown us the reason why he is working construction for right now.
~ The gov't who gave our our income tax return exactly when we needed it the most! Ok this may be a little far fetched, but it did come at a perfect time!!
~ Leah and Elijah who have learned how to sleep in so mommy can get some extra rest!! Elijah will sleep in till 10 am after going to bed at 7:30, he is a perfect child! ;) I think I may eat those words in a couple years!
~ Caidy who has been sleeping 6 hrs in a row the past 2 nights! I really hope this continues!

I think it was more encouraging for me to think of all the things God has been doing for us than all the blessings we have received! WOW we serve a good God!

There are also some things we would like prayer for, as there always is!
~ Caidy's continued healing, her cleft has already shrunk by 3 mm in a week! We go back tomorrow for another appt where a stint will be put in to stretch her nostril.
~ A new job for James. Although God has really shown us why he is here at this time, we are praying this time will end soon! :)
~ Patience and time for me to learn how to be a parent to 3 children! AHHHHH ok I feel better!
~ For Elijah who goes in for surgery on April 4th. He was born with Hypospadia, his foreskin on his penis wasn't fully developed and the hole of his penis if too low, they will move it to the tip where the foreskin that is left will cover the hole that is currently there. (as you can tell the reason we need Cheryl at our appts is because I have no medical terminology knowledge whatsoever!! )
~ For provision of our finances. Being a one income family is hard enough without all the traveling and days off James is taking we need prayer that God will continue to provide for all our needs.
~ For our friends and family. That Caidy's surgery will be early so we will be able to attend Kim's wedding in July! YAY Kim and Matt! :)

Thank you again so much for all your support and prayers!

Dad's View 2

Its been awhile since my last blog. Caidy is doing great. She is eating more and the space between her lips is moving closer together. Jaime and I have been learning a lot from Caidy. Today we are planning on heading out to Costco for our first family of 5 Groceries shop! It will be interesting to see how we will balance three kids in the store. It will be a learning fun time!. Thanks for everyone's prayers and leaving some great comments.

James

Have Some Quiet Time!

It is so nice to sit at the computer and feel like I have some time to myself! Grandma and Grandpa Wilson came by and took Leah and Elijah to their house, Caidy is sleeping and James and I are not too sure what to do! Of course with March Madness being on James isn't really looking for anything to do and I am just enjoying the quiet!
Thanks to the amazing advice of a new friend (Jessica), my little girl has been eating so much better. Her last feeding she chowed down a whole 3 oz, the most she has taken at one time in so long. Plus it only took her roughly 20 mins to do it. A huge accomplishment seeing as half an oz used to take hours.I think she is getting way more used to the tape and we are also getting accustomed to seeing her cute little cheeks all squished up, but we know that the more disciplined we are in taping the better the results will be with her scar after her surgery. It only makes sense to do a good job now with something that will affect her for the rest of her life.

Lighten the Mood!

I wanted to have a great picture of the kids, and Grandma Sandy was able to get a beauty!! Leah and Elijah love their little sister!

Chaotic Life!

We have one unhappy little girl right now! We went to the orthodontist yesterday and Caidy had her mouth plate put in and we learnt how to tape her lip. The plate and tape together will minimize the clefts and then when she has her surgery there should only be a gap of a millimeter rather than so many centimeters. Everything in me wants to take the tape off because she hates it so much but I know that it will only take a couple days for all of us to get used to it. Caidy will try to rip it off and just yell at us when we try to feed her. Last night we fought for roughly 2 hrs and then she finally had about 1.5 oz and fell asleep, and the same thing at 5:30 and 8:30 and 12:30!! I seriously don't know how I am going to feed her for 2 hrs while trying to take care of Leah and Elijah! Along with all the feeding issues this morning, Leah was up at 5 am, my breast pump broke, James was late for work, it felt like if one thing goes wrong it all does! We paid $300 for the pump and to have it break so soon was very frustrating, but my amazing husband fixed it! He pried it open and saw that a belt had fallen off. I can't imagine if we would have had to buy another one!! I have tried nursing Caidy and she really liked it, but I found that she would feed for so long and I didn't know how much she was taking in, I had to hold her like a football and try to pump with my hand, but it was so hard and I figured that she was already getting the good milk that I could bottle feed and not feel guilty.
I feel like this post is a little full of random info, but our life is a little chaotic and I know you all understand!

Orthodontic Appointment

This morning we went to Children's hospital once again and had Caidy's Palate impression made. The day started at roughly 4:30, with Caidy's last feed being finished at 2am. We were headed out of the house just after 5 and Caidy was already rooting around because she was hungry, it was so hard not to want to feed her when that is all she wanted! During the car ride I sat in the back and held a soother in her mouth, she can't get a suction so it gets pushed out by her tongue, and that held her over for a while. By the time we were at Children's she was sick of the soother and was not a happy camper! I feel so bad for the nurses who have to work with these hungry, tired kids just before surgery, it would be a hard and tiring job! In the waiting room we were seen by the orthodontist, Dr. Angelina Loo, and a Anithesiologist (sp?), who told us about what they were going to do and then they swept Caidy off while we sat in the waiting room. She was only gone for about 20 mins but it felt a lot longer and she was sound asleep when they brought her back to us. The nurse told us she had quite an attitude and was mad at everyone who came near her! That's our girl! :) she was so tired that I was only able to get about half an ounce of food into her and then she was out. The nurse told us that she would probably be ready for a good feed in an hour or so; it took Caidy till 2 this afternoon to be ready!! She was so mad that every time I went to give her a bottle she would freak out and, I'm sure, thinking we were filling her mouth with putty again! All is well though and tomorrow will be another adventure where we will go back and fit the plate and learn how to tape her lip. Oh the joys!! :)

A Very Special Visitor!

The weather improved, leaving no sign that yesterday even happened, and Megan and Mom were able to make it out. Leah and Elijah were very excited to see Grandma, they were a little shy until she pulled out the candy! Of course they warmed up very quickly after that and now I can't seperate the three of them! From reading books to playing hide and seek, Grandma is going to be running off her feet and need a vacation away from her vacation!

Caidy's First Quilt

Thank you so much Joan and Remi Houle for the beautiful quilt. It is definately going to turn into a favorite because the other 2 kids are trying to claim it for themselves!!

Snow Day

Today we woke up to a surprise, it was snowing. Which is odd for BC in March. One of my biggest pet-peeves is that BC people have no idea how to drive when it snows! We almost got hit twice! Jaime's mom arrived into BC today and we were going to go out to Abbotsford to pick her up, but on our way out it was not only snowing but hailing and icy as well. So we decided to go home try again tomorrow, Sandy will be staying at Megans house for the night so it worked out ok. Instead we went outside and played in the snow. Leah, Elijah and I built a snowman. It was a fun daddy bonding with his kids day! We had a lot fun! Caidy is doing well, she is gaining weight and has a good set of lungs on her!

James

First Visit to children's Hospital

Today was our first appointment at the cleft clinic at Children's Hospital. It went really well, although quite overwhelming. We already get started early on Monday March 13th seeing the Orthodontist to make a mold of Caidy's palate. With the mold they are going to make a plate that will fit onto her palate, she will have to wear this plate 24hrs a day until her palate repair at 9-10 months. On Tuesday we will have to go back to the orthodontist, in North Vancouver approx a 1 hr drive, to fit the appliance and learn how to tape Caidy's lip. The reason for taping her lip is it will stretch the skin and pull the lip and gum line closer together so that when she has her first surgery, tentatively set for June 2nd, the skin will already be touching making the scar and cleft less noticeable. Along with taping and wearing the appliance there will be a small wire with a soft ball attached pushing up on Caidy's nostril to stretch the skin so that her nose will be more proportioned. It was very overwhelming today to hear of all that is to come in the next couple months. Not only will we be having 2 appointments with the orthodontist next week, we will have to see her at least once to every 1.5 weeks until Caidy's palate repair! That means not only having to drive into North Van, but James will have to take at least half a day off for every appt. until we get things organized with finding people to help care for Leah and Elijah and also only having 1 vehicle means either James finding alternate ways to get to work and me going to appts by myself. I think at the moment everything feels so huge because we don't know what to expect and instinctively I expect things to be hard.
James and I would like to ask all of our family and friends to please be praying for us and our kids. Praying that God will take care of us and providing in all areas of need. Thank you for support.

We love reading your comments and don’t be shy if you have any questions!

Feeding our Baby Girl

Today Caidy is 4 days old, wow how time has gone by! :) She is doing really well, both our midwives are very impressed with her weight gain so far and how much she eats. When we left the hospital she was 6lbs 13oz, today she was 7lbs even. I am so proud of her, she is defying all the odds. When we first found our about her clefts all we heard were the feeding problems we were going to have; nasal aspiration, spit up, inability to suck. Not our baby girl. She takes about 2.5-3 oz at a time, technically only needed roughly 12oz a day, she is getting and wanting more. Also I have been pumping to feed her, the first night she was home we had to supplement with some formula but since have not had to at all. I have been doing it every 2 hrs during the day and uaually twice at night. She definitely prefers the breast milk and I really want to give that to her at least until her first surgery, but I figure if we make it that long why not continue. Its not the most enjoyable thing I could be doing with my time, but both Leah and Elijah understand that Caidy needs milk and are more than happy to play with their toys in Caidy's room until I am finished. Elijah has tried a couple times to get a bottle, never having had one himself I think he just wants to see what Caidy gets that he has been missing. He hasn't had the opportunity to get anything out of them, James and I catch him too fast, but I think one of these days he will think Caidy is crazy for wanting to drink that stuff!! Next week we should be meeting with an orthodontist to fit a device that will go into Caidy's mouth to cover the holes in her palate. We are going to children's Hospital this Wednesday for a consultation, we are hoping to meet with the whole cleft team but may end up just meeting with the lady I saw when I was still pregnant. Which ever happens it will be great to get more information and get accustomed to the place we will be spending so much time at this next year.

The Power of Prayer

It is amazing how young children can learn to pray and understand its power. When I was in the hospital with Caidy, James told me Leah woke up and was upset because she prayed so hard for mommy to come home and Jesus must not have heard her! :) Every night before bed we pray together. Leah has her turn, followed by Elijah who mumbles a little and says 'men', then mommy who suns everything up. The power of Elijah's mumbles are no less powerful than anyone else's words and by the picture you see, God already has begun to work in the heart of our new little girl.

Dad's View

Every once in a while I will get a chance to write on this blog site. I feel I am not the best at writing, so please bear with me. Thanks

At this moment I am holding Caidy and typing with one hand. She is a peaceful baby, maybe because she is the third kid, but my youngest brother wasn't very peaceful :). We have had two great night so far with her and hopefully more to come. Jaime and I have this on going debate, I think her eyes are brown like mine but Jaime thinks there blue like hers. Silly, I know but it gives us an opportunity to look at her beautiful eyes. Well I should go. Feel Free to leave your comments!

Thanks

Fun Family Hospital pictures!

new picture of the BIG happy family!! It is amazing how our family has grown so much in only 4 years!! Leah and Elijah love their new sister so much. Leah is very protective and lets everyone know that the baby is ours and she will be coming home with us. Elijah wants to help by holding the bottle or burping Caidy, he is really good just needs to be remined what it means to be gentle! I'm sure you have all noticed as well that she has even more hair already than Elijah and more than Leah had when she was 1!! We are not sure where it came from but are thinking it had something to do with all the heartburn I was feeling.

What's Next?

Now that Caidy is here and we are able to see the extent of the clefts both James and I were asking "now what?'. Here is a little info on the scheduling that will take place in the next 18 months. Although vague on dates it gives us an idea and we will inform you when the actual dates are set.

The following is taken from the Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Program info packet.

Orthodontic Evaluation (within 2 weeks): assessment of clefts and fitting of an orthodontic appliance/nostril splinting and lip taping at about 1 week of age. Orthodontic follow-up as directed by the Orthodontist.

Plastic Surgeon Consultation (4-6 weeks of age): assessment of clefts, surgical planning education.

Cleft Surgery @ 3 months of age: This is a 1-2 night hospital stay.

Cleft Palate Team Assessment @ 8-9 months of age: Assessment will include nursing, pediatrics, audiology, speech & language pathology, plastic surgery, orthodontics & otolaryngology. This is a 2 day out-patient visit.

Cleft Palate Surgery @ approximately 9-12 months of age: This is usually a 2-3 night hospital stay.

Plastic Surgery, Audiology & Otolaryngology (ENT) recheck (6-8 weeks following Palate & middle ear tube Surgery): This may be done in the families own community or as directed by the child's surgeon.

Cleft Palate Team Assessment @ 18 months of age: same as previous assessment.

regular team follow-up at ages 3 & 5 years.


There is going to be a lot of info coming in the next couple of weeks and we are hoping that as we become more informed, we will be able to pass the info on to you as well! :)

Here she comes

This Blog will be mainly about our experenices with our daughter Caidy Faith Jolene and some other fun family stuff too. She was born with a Unilateral Cleft Lip and Bilateral Cleft Palate. This coming year will be full of surgeries and visit with doctors. Although it will be trying we decided on Faith as a middle name because of the faith we have in God and how much He is going to take care of us through this beautiful little girl.