First Early Intervention Evaluation

Today Nikolas was evaluated by Early Intervention Physical therapist. She was pleased with the progress we explained he has made in the 4 months he has been home. She also was very pleased to see how he has bonded to his mom & grandparents. Thier was another therapist with her that evaluated more with him to get him qualified with Early Intervention and Special Education. They both said he will qualify and in 45 days we should get a call for further evaluation.

The PT evaluated him on the Peabody Scale and this was his results:

Stationary: 11 Months

Locomotion: 10 Months

Object Management: 12 months

She also said the left side of his lower body is weak which we knew cause he dragged his leg for the first three months home. Now he is in a fast crawler and going places!!

Oops ... here is the picture

Here is a sneak peak of Nikolas new lip an nose!!! We snapped a quick picture while his tubes were out being cleaned! He looks so different! The surgeon did a wonderful job on him!!

Forgot to hit attach on the picture.... Here he is eating Tapioca Pudding!!!

Almost three weeks post op!!!

Nikolas is 2.5 weeks post op and recovering very well. He had his first follow up visit with the Nurse Practioner who removed his tubes in his nose and cleaned them and said he is healing very well. The tubes will have to be worn for a few months to prevent his nose from going flat. They showed us how to remove and clean them. He doesn't like it very much but who can blame him. We are now starting to see the tips of his upper teeth. He is learning how to chew and its so nice to see him able to consume so much of his food where as before he got about 70 percent of what we put in his mouth. He is growing more interested in the food we are eating and we are now making sure we have something when we eat that he can eat too. His No no's do not have to be worn as much. He can have them off as long as he doesn't put too much in his mouth and play with his nose. He last about 40 min to a hour at a time and then we have to put them back on. He gets so interested in his new mouth and nose starts to itch and his hands are none stop touching. His next follow up visit is on April 14th!!! He see's the surgeon at this appt and may schedule his palet repair.

In this picture he is eating tapioca his new favorite thing to eat 5 times a day!!! Thank goodness for carnation instant breakfast so we can get him some nutrition with it!!

One Week Post Op....

Nikolas you are recovering well from your surgery. You have had some bumps in the road in the past week. You fell while trying to crawl the second night home and fell on your nose and mouth. It required a trip to the hospital the next morning to make sure you were ok and that your stitches were all still in place. On your third day home you came down with a cold. The doctor put you on antibiotics. You fight mommy every time she has to squirt the antibiotic in your mouth. You also have developed a strong fight not to have your pain meds squirted in your mouth too..... But Mommy loves you and is doing what is best for you. Your eating habits are not the same as they were before your surgery but getting better with each day. You have found a new love for Tapioca Pudding and it has become a good sorce of calories for you. Mommy was happy today when she took you to the doctors for a followup on your cold that you have only lost 5 ounces of weight.

Nikolas your face has changed in so many ways.... Your swelling is almost gone. Your smile is big and long. You have a little chin that mommy just loves. Your eyes stand out even more. You have discovered that you can lick your upper lip now and have fun making noices with your new lip. Mommy cannot wait to see what is under all your bandages.

Mommy Loves you!!!

A message to my precious little boy....

Nikolas you just had your first set of surgeries to repair your clefts. You did so well. You were in the hospital from March 7 through March 9th. You had multiple surgeries at once. You entered the OR prep room at 9:15 in the morning and mommy got to see you in the wake up room at around 5pm. I saw my little boy laying thier so peacefully. Mom cried when she saw you. I was overwelmed with the wonderful change that Dr Rozzelle did and that you looked so peaceful. Dr Rozzelle closed your front lip and rebuilt your nose. Dr Sariya also did surgery on you at the same time. She put tubes in your ears and then had a hearing test done to see where your hearing was. Its 100%!! Dr Rozzelle is your plastic surgeon and Dr Sariya is your ENT out of Childrens Hospital in Michigan.

Nikolas this is the actual medical terms for the procedures the doctors performed on you: Audio brain stem response with Anes. PACU., Bilateral myringotomy with insertions of long duration tubes., Primary Bilateral cleft lip repair., Cleft Rhinoplasty.

You came home from the hospital with needed care. You are on rounds of pain management and came home with "NoNo's" on. Your NoNo's prevent you from being able to move your arms towards your face. You have learned to crawl, Pull yourself up & rock yourself to sleep with your NoNo's on. You do have one treatment you do not like as much. Its the Syringing of your Tubes in your Nasal passages. Mommy has to hold you down and insert a small tube into the tubes and clean any blood, food etc that may collect in them. Also you have tape that has to remain on your face for weeks. This tape helps keep everything in place and protects your stiches. Mommy cannot clean them or they will fall off.

Mommy loves you and is so proud of you! I love you Nikolas.....