December 17, 2019

Annika had her first of 2 bone grafts on December 17. The surgery was 6 hours, and Dr. Mann was thrilled with the surgery. She slept overnight 1 night and was able to come home the next day. She missed school the rest of the week, and then she had 2 weeks of Christmas break to recover. She went in again on January 25 to have her splint removed. Between those times, she was on a liquid diet for the first week and then a soft foods only diet for the other 5 weeks.

In December, Dr. Mann also told us he would be cutting down his practicing hours, but at this point, he would like to keep Annika as a client. We continue to be so thankful for him!

2015 Surgery

On July 1, 2015, Annika had a minor procedure on her nose. It was a few hours, and Dr. Mann was very pleased with the initial results. Later after surgery, Dr. Mann said it was not as successful as he had hoped.It was her 5th surgery to date, and she continues to be a champ! We are so proud of her continuously!

I've been neglectful

So it has been about 3 months since I last posted, and I failed to post pictures of Annika's "after photos" from surgery....Sorry! Once we got home, life continued on despite the fact that we had a recovering 1 year old, so we were busy busy busy, and blog life took a back seat! Below you will see a few photos of Annika's facial developments since her latest surgery. She looks so great, and having 2 real lips are helping the formation of, what seems like, hundreds of new words a week! In fact, 2 people stopped me at church today just to marvel at how good she is looking and how difficult it is to tell she even has scars. It is easy to forget how far she has come in less than 2 years, but looking at her baby book reminds me ofhow blessed we really have been, and how when we found out about her condition, the journey ahead seemed so overwhelming. We look back now and say "that wasn't so bad!"

A few new things since my last post:

- Annika visited her surgeon a couple weeks ago, and he is pleased. We won't have to go back until June for a check-up.

- In replacement of surgery appointments, we are now starting the process of speech therapy. Michigan's Early On program will be meeting with us (after the holidays I am assuming) to do a screening and get a plan set up for her therapy needs. I have heard great things about this program, so the earlier we can help her, the better!

In addition to medical updates and changes, I have a

normal almost-year old. She is incredibly funny right now, always wanting to be chased. She loves art, christmas trees, and "Frosty the Snowman." She loves testing our patience, waking up early, and brushing her teeth. She is a crazy little lady who is either extremely happy or extremely sad. I can't figure out where she gets her extreme emotions, but Ross seems to think her has an idea :)

One final update is that Annika will be a big sister in the Spring. I am due May 25, and Ross and I are excited! Annika, although I'm not sure how well she understands the concept, seems less than thrilled, and I am anticipating an adjustment period.

All things with this pregnancy have been smooth an

d much like my pregnancy with Annika. We have our ultrasound the week after New Years, and we will not be finding out the sex of the baby, but we will be checking to be sure everything is growing and developing correctly. From the information I have read, it was a 1 in 700 chance for a first child to be born with cleft lip and palate. After having a child with this condition, however, the chances move to 1 in 20 for the other children we bring into the world. While 1 in 20 still seems like pretty good odds, we are realistic about the possibilities, and we will ta

ke everything in stride. For now, we just pray for a healthy baby, as all parents do.

I think that's all for now. I promise to be a better blogger in the future. For now, enjoy some pics!

Ross and Annika just before her Surgery in September

Annika on the way home from surgery the same day. She nose was very pinched and her lips and cheeks were swollen.

This is about 1 week after surgery. Notice the skin glue around her mouth and nose.

Annika and mommy went to the fire truck parade. She loved the big trucks!

For Halloween, Annika was a very cute lady bug! We spent the evening at my mom's house, passing out candy.

Our happy little peanut mid-November.

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a good looking family, don't I?

Adorable Christmas picture taken by my dad.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Good News!

We got 2 pieces of good news today regarding Annika and her surgeries:

1- She is done for at least 3 years with surgeries!

2- We will not need to stay overnight tonight; instead, we can go home this afternoon!

Annika went into Surgery at 7:30 this morning. We had been here since 5:30, and she played so nicely during our wait. She was not so happy (okay she was REAL mad) about having to be given to a stranger, but they took her back, gave her some sleepy medicine, and began their work. Surgery itself took about 4 hours, and Dr. Mann came to see us at about noon to tell us he was pleased with how things went, and that we would be able to go home today.

Right now, we're still waiting to head home. We are in a recovery room waiting for Annika to be awake, comfortable, and drinking a little liquid. Ross and I are getting a little antsy, so I'm aiming to leave here in an hour or so, but we also don't want to rush anything.

Pictures to come sometime this weekend!

The benefits of being a teacher

There are a lot of reasons I became a teacher, and I would be lying if I said the summer vacation had no bearing on my decision. Having 3 months off during the best weather Michigan has to offer has always been an enjoyable part of my job, but this summer proved to be the best summer yet. I was so blessed to be able to watch Annika become a little person, with a new, adventerous and curious personality. We spent our mornings running errands, going to the farmer's market, and having coffee with Aunt Katie. We visited the splash pad, went shopping, and played at parks. The afternoons were relaxing, as Annika (and sometimes I) took a nap. It was an ideal summer.

This summer also allowed me to focus my attention on starting Annika on new foods. God's timing is always perfect, and that was clear as Annika was able to start eating solids the week school ended for me. I'm guessing we will have a picky eater on our hands, but she has progressed so well! At times in the last year and a half, it was hard to imagine her being able to eat and even begin to talk like her peers.

Now that summer is officially over, we are making some changes again. Annika left the little tots room and the best 2 daycare teachers I could have imagined, and she is now in the toddler room. Even in the 2 weeks that she has been there, I can already hear new words and phrases that she is putting together, and new things she likes to play with. I miss not being able to experience these things more throughout the day with her, but she is learning so much while I'm away that I have to remind myself we are both where we should be right now.

Another change we are making will come next week, as Annika will have her 4th and final surgery (for awhile at least) next Friday. This surgery will make her upper lip more full and natural looking. It will also cover up her middle gum area more. We went to her pro-operation appointment yesterday, where the details of the surgery were more fully explained. We won't know the time of the surgery until next week, but it should last roughly 3 1/2 hours. I will post the time of the surgery once I find out.

For now, please pray that Annika stays healthy up to the surgery. She's been sick off and on this past week, and we're hoping she will stay healthy . Also, if you haven't seen Annika in awhile, and want to see some more-than-cute pictures, you can take a look at her 18 month pictures that my dad took in August. Just click on the link below.

http://animoto.com/play/X9vGa7sB3QPxsTzzsmYTaw

What do you feed a 1 year old?

The post below was written at the end of June, but I forgot to finish and post it.

Enjoy!

There have been a lot of changes with Annika's eating since my last post, so I will try to be brief while trying to include everything.

After she came off her liquid diet, she was immersed into foods pretty quickly. The first week was stage 1 baby foods only. The second week was stage 2 foods plus some yogurt. Annika did really well with these, although she developed some preferences to some foods over than others (just like any baby will do I imagine). The third week was stage 3 baby foods and "anything you can squish between your fingers" according to the doctors. I wish the doctor would have given me a list of foods because I had a hard time coming up with things that qualified. We tried bananas, jello, chunkier yogurt, and pasta, but she pretty much rejected everything that came her way. Even some of the stage 3 foods were too much for her to handle.

We struggled for a week, and the fourth week was time for her to eat ANYTHING she wanted! Ross and I were so excited for her, and we wondered what foods she would really latch onto. It turns out that the doctor sort of glorified this stage. He said she could eat anything she wanted, but did not mention that she might not want any of it at all! This was the case with Annika. I think Ross and I were so excited, we figured she would be too. But when we started introducing new things, like peaches, waffles, raisins, grilled cheese, and so on, she refused everything we gave her. The one thing she really like was animal crackers (which she had before her palate surgery, so it was familiar). For about 1 week, she ate nothing besides yogurt and animal crackers. Every meal I ate, I put something new in front of her. Things I heard that other babies liked was proving to be unsuccessful for her. After a week, I called Dr. Mann's office to see if we should start food therapy (always jumping to the extreme I guess). After answering a few of the nurses questions, I was let down gently..."It sounds like she just has an extreme preference." She also reassured me that this is more common in babies with clefts, and I should not worry yet. I was advised to put the animal crackers away, and only take them out for desserts or rewards for eating the desired food. Ross and I obeyed, and the stubborn nature that Ross and my parents talk about us having as kids came out in Annika. She sat at dinner with plenty of delicious foods in front of her, and a few times she ate nothing. Other days, she would try a bite by force with animal crackers as the reward for not spitting it back out. There was even one night where we gave her 7 time out for throwing the one piece of food that was on her tray for her to eat.

Finally, by some miraculous parenting skills, or maybe prayer, Annika ate an entire meal without coaxing or objections Saturday night. She ate a hot dog, lima beans, and tried an apple all on her own free will! I can't describe the elation and relief Ross and I felt Saturday night as we sat and had our first pleasant real meal as a family. Since then, she has been open to trying many more things, although fruit is still a little hurdle (I think the slippery, slimy texture still freaks her out a little).

For now, we are continuing to explore new and exciting foods. The timing of this process could not have been mapped out more perfectly. If I would have had it my way, palate surgery would have been April 19 as originally scheduled, but with that earlier surgery would have been food struggles while I was still working. Being able to take my time and devote my patience to such an important step is invaluable to me, and I am so thankful I'm not the one in charge.

"Yummm Yummm Yummm"

After 3 weeks of a liquid only diet, Annika had her splint removed from her mouth Tuesday morning. She went into surgery at 7:30 and we were in the car by 8:15! A pretty quick ordeal! Luckily, it was a beautiful day, so we spent our day getting some work down around the house and playing outside.

Wednesday, we were able to start giving her stage 1 baby foods, which are more liquidy. When I fed her the baby food, she was so excited, she just said "Yummm Yummm Yummm" every time I gave her a bite. She ended up eating 4 small jars of food in one sitting. Since then, she has been consistent in her eating, and goes to her high chair when I ask if she wants food. She also really enjoys "pink milk" right now (milk with strawberry sauce).

On Tuesday, we will start to give her some stage 2 baby foods, and maybe some smooth yogurt. We also have her post-operation appointment with Dr. Mann next Thursday. At that meeting, I hope to hear the rest of her feeding transition schedule. I'm thinking that by 4th of July, she'll be able to eat pretty much whatever other kids her age eat!!! Dare to dream.

The 4th and final surgery for awhile will be scheduled for sometime around 4 months from now. We won't get that date for another month or so.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts, cards, gifts, and especially prayers for Annika and Ross and I. Please continue to pray that this feeding transition will remain constant and exciting for her!