tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47793453236655582422024-09-13T04:19:40.095-04:00My son was born with Unilateral cleft lip and palate...I am using this blog to share his story and also raise awareness and compassion for those affected by clefts.Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-45558049786178761392012-07-18T13:13:00.002-04:002012-07-18T13:34:22.439-04:00

I wanted to take some time to explain some of the issues that children with clefts have with feeding. Here is a picture of Ethan with a soft palate cleft. Judah has a cleft in his hard and soft palate, but it is possible to have either or, and variations of both. Both parts are very important for feeding and speech. The hard palate is in the front of the roof of your mouth and forms a

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-31083267112427567432012-07-11T00:23:00.001-04:002012-07-11T02:01:22.654-04:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-28326991037742003682012-05-02T21:03:00.000-04:002012-05-02T21:19:09.215-04:00

A little late, but time for the 6 month update! Judah's first half-birthday was April 24th. His doctors appointments always seem to be exactly on his birthdays and we visited his pediatrician that day. He was 27 inches long and 16.1 pounds. They said he looked great and everything was fine. We have to go back on July 24th because they want to do some blood work before his surgery to make sure

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-23569851443969859572012-03-07T16:20:00.001-05:002012-05-02T21:13:54.150-04:00

Donate to Judah's fund for Operation Smile

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-43232151144250241482012-03-02T15:20:00.000-05:002012-03-02T15:20:15.840-05:00

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-47913349095730900212012-02-29T22:03:00.000-05:002012-05-02T21:22:12.614-04:00

Back in January when we saw the geneticists they ordered a CGH array, which is a blood test used to map out chromosomes to look for abnormalities. I was really caught off guard because we had already seen some doctors up in Atlanta and they did not mention anything about further testing. I asked the doctors in Birmingham if they saw any 'red flags' or anything abnormal that made them want to do

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-50875690695329894072012-02-24T11:09:00.001-05:002012-05-02T21:13:40.369-04:00

Judah is four months old today and we are three days shy of 'officially' being one month post-op. Judah's appointment yesterday went fine, Dr. Grant said everything looks great. He said it will take about 3 months before it is completely healed...we should be able to tell when all of his lip feels the same, right now it feels kind stiff where it was sewn together. We got the go ahead to start

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-18138156709946752012012-02-06T15:16:00.001-05:002012-05-02T21:13:05.842-04:00

I had a friend ask me earlier if Judah would need more surgeries, that it didn't look like he would since his lip and nose have been repaired. I'm sure there are several others that don't understand what all is going on with his clefts and I would like to try and explain here. First, Judah had a cleft lip which was repaired on January 27th. This surgery repaired his lip and he also basically had

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-50695607004920350832012-01-31T13:28:00.003-05:002012-05-02T21:12:22.147-04:00

We arrived in Birmingham Thursday night. I had been dreading the night before surgery because I figured we would get no sleep; a hungry Judah is not a happy Judah. He normally eats about 4 ounces at a time and when we were preparing to feed him for the last time at 11:30 PM I told Micah to go ahead and give him 5 just so Judah could try to get as much as he could. He drank every last drop and

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-1361777102218761702012-01-17T13:35:00.000-05:002012-05-02T21:11:37.980-04:00

It is starting to hit me that Judah's surgery is so soon...tomorrow will be worse because we will be in single digits and Friday worse still because that will mark a week. I wish I could fully explain the gamut of emotions I am experiencing. I am excited that something is finally happening, but at the same time I am terrified of what it IS that is happening. I've heard a lot of cleft moms say

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-90536794235043751002012-01-12T17:50:00.000-05:002012-05-02T21:11:19.456-04:00

Much to my surprise, we have a date...even more surprising, it is SOON. Judah will have his lip repair on January 27th. I am as excited as I can be considering the circumstances, but a little freaked out because this got real, really quickly. Our day at Birmingham went really well. I was very impressed by everything about the hospital and the cleft team. We saw audiology first, and I gave them

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-87649588495568709102012-01-11T10:37:00.002-05:002012-05-02T21:10:37.351-04:00

Due to insurance coverage issues we are switching to Children's in Birmingham. It is 3 hours away, instead of 1 1/2 but that will be ok. The doctor there does not use the Latham appliance, which at first I thought would make his repair not be as good, but apparently that is not the case. One of the ladies I talked to said her doctor compared having an appliance to making surgery a home run, and

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-39660618593793548692011-12-31T19:39:00.000-05:002011-12-31T19:39:37.914-05:00

This year has brought two very awesome things to us...Micah and I finally got married and we had our sweet baby Judah. It's weird how fast this year went by, I spent the better part of it pregnant and though that seems to have dragged on forever, it is such a distant memory now that Judah is here. 2012 will bring a lot of challenges our way. Judah will have his first of many surgeries and I am

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-78429995582196754152011-12-14T18:36:00.001-05:002012-05-02T21:09:37.550-04:00

Today we went up to Atlanta to make Judah's impression for the Latham device...it wasn't too bad but was hard because I had to hold him down while they put the tray with putty in his mouth. It seemed like it took forever, and he cried a lot but I am thankful he didn't struggle because that would have hurt me a lot more. The doctor said it will take about 2-3 weeks for the lab to make the device..

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-74540109368084843002011-12-05T13:10:00.002-05:002012-05-02T21:09:11.966-04:00

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-64970897850552966712011-11-30T19:56:00.000-05:002012-05-02T21:08:53.922-04:00

First off, I apologize for not posting for so long...Nothing new happened in the last few weeks before he was born and now that he is here I hardly have time to think about anything, much less write blog posts. But luckily, Judah is sitting in his bouncer quietly staring at me...he must know I am writing to let everyone that loves him know what went on today. =] Our first appointment this

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-36640694238193472532011-09-06T21:32:00.000-04:002012-05-02T21:07:35.996-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, there just hasn't been any new developments lately. I passed my glucose test, so no gestational diabetes! We go to the fetal medicine specialists on the 15th to have him measured and see him again...I excited to see how much he has grown and how much he has changed since the last time we saw him in July. We have just been getting ready to move and preparing for

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-4726593126050069842011-07-21T23:01:00.000-04:002012-05-02T21:07:12.472-04:00

Today started off ok and ended a little hard. We went to the fetal medicine specialists this morning for another ultrasound to check on Judah's growth and see how he is progressing. He weighs approximately 2 pounds 4 ounces...but he is measuring about 2 weeks ahead of 'schedule' and apparently that is worrisome. I go for my glucose screening to check for gestational diabetes on the 4th of August

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-79569138545888492902011-06-29T09:28:00.001-04:002012-05-02T21:06:50.118-04:00

Judah's heart is fine. =]

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-69740696882654886332011-06-20T16:46:00.002-04:002012-05-02T21:06:35.685-04:00

Today was a really good day! I told about 5 people at work about Judah and didn't cry. Normally, I can get out "He has..." before I choke, so hopefully this is a sign that I am coming around. At first I didn't think I would tell many people other than family and close friends, but I am starting to feel like I want to share. Looking back, I guess I felt ashamed in some way...and yes, I realize it

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779345323665558242.post-73067189665669187302011-06-17T19:28:00.006-04:002012-05-02T21:06:00.974-04:00

I am starting this blog at the insistence of my Aunt Debbie and my mother...I had intended to start a blog for Judah, but never got it off the ground. Now I have a different reason compelling me to write. Originally, when they told me I should 'write it out' I thought it would be a terrible idea for me to journal what I was feeling about Judah and his 'complications', but as the shock has worn

Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13527282730892346296noreply@blogger.com4