Dental Surgery has come and gone!!

Nikolas had Dental surgery on February 10th. When he went into the Operating Room it was expected to be about 2.5 hour proceedure. In pre-op Nikolas was suppose to have 5-6 teeth removed and 6 others worked on/crowned. We sat in the waiting room for what seemed like for ever as it always does. Three hours had gone by and no word........ 3.5 hours go buy and no word... then the surgeon appeared. Nikolas had 14 teeth removed and the remaining 6 silver capped. It was explained by the surgeon that nikolas teeth were malformed and had malformations on some of the basis of the teeth. He explained thier were infections in some of the teeth and he had felt he had no choice but to remove them. He took samples of the malformations and sent them to a lab and also kept Nikolas teeth to dysect them to figure out why the malformations formed. (Picture is 5 days post op, Nikolas is finally pain free)

Nikolas now has 4 silver bottom teeth. Two eye teeth and two molars. He also has two molars on the top of his mouth. These are the only teeth he will have until his adult teeth form and come in. (Picture is 5 days post-op of his lower jaw. You can see the silver capps and where the teeth were. Nikolas lost 6 teeth on the bottom and 8 on the top)

His eating is going well... Softer the better..... He still loves his hotdogs, chicken nuggets, fries and mac and cheese as any other two year old does. The surgeon has discussed dentures and bridges for Nikolas. We see him again April.

Another surgery on the horizon.....

Nikolas will be having his first dental surgery this Friday. After seeing the cleft team on January 5th they immediately scheduled the procedures. Nikolas teeth are in horrible shape. They are falling apart, rotting and infected. The initial plan as of now is to remove 5-6 teeth & silver crown as much as they can. They feel only 4 or 5 of his teeth are in good condition. They are opting not to white crown them. They do not feel his teeth will last in there current state if they place the white crowns on them. I know his teeth hurt him a lot. He is constant drool and placing his hands in his mouth all the time. He is getting Tylenol on a regular basis to help. I am not sure what his teeth will look like when they are done I just want him pain free.

Nikolas Turned Two!!!

Nikolas turned 2 this month. It was a celebration he deserved. It was the first time his birthday was celebrated. He has been home for 9.5 months now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKOLAS!!

Nikolas had a Mickey Mouse bounce house at his party. He was a little afraid at first when we put him through the door but he loved being inside it. He was the smallest one inside all the other kids were so good to him they would carfully bounce around him and he would sit there laugh and clap his hands. He staying in side the Bounce House for a good part of his party.

At his party he also had a spongbob pinata. Being the birthday boy he got to hit it first. He did not understand how to hit it so he would push on it with his hands and pull at the paper. Grandma had to give him a hand and helped him hit it with the stick. Momma helped too. Spongbob refused to break at the party after being hit by 20 kids/adults and had to be tore apart and the candy pored out.

Nikolas had a Mickey mouse cake surrounded by Mikey Mouse cupcakes at his party. He got his own cup cake. It was the first time he had ever been given cake. He was not sure what to do with the cupcake at first but had some help from all the adults surrounding him on what to do. He did a great job at smashing it. He would not put his hand in his hair or on his face not matter how hard Unlce Mike tried to coax him to do it. All mom had to do in the end was change his cloths and wipe his hands and arms.

4th of July Weekend 2011

Nikolas went on his first vacation to Lake Michigan. We stayed at the silver Creek RV resort. He got his first expierences being in a pool, on the beach and at a petting zoo.

The pool was a blast. He liked floating around in his blow up tube. He went in the warm kiddy pool at the RV resort and could touch the bottow with his feet which he liked. He would go everywhere in the pool. You could here his laughing as splashed and moved around. He wanted to stay in the pool all day.

The petting zoo was fun. He got to see a wide variety of animals. We let him get close enough to some of the animals and got to pet a Camel, Goat and sheep. We did not let him feed any of them. It was a neat place to go. They had a Chicken show that talked about eggs. It was cute and Nikolas enjoyed it. When he gets older their were lots of things for older kiddo's to do we plan to go back next year.

The beach was relaxing for Grandma and Grandpa. Nikolas loved the sand. He loved crawling through it, putting it all over himself and of course tasting it. Yuck! He got a few mouth fulls of sand. He crawled everywhere and to everyone in range on the beach. They all thought he was cute and would talk to him as he pulled on their blankets and towels. He kept mommy busing chasing after him.

Spring 2011

Its been a while since I posted we have been so busy. I wanted to post a few pictures cause he is changing so much. He is developing quite a personality as you can see by the high chair pictures. He loves to run his hand through his hair as he eats and pull his hair in all directions. You cannot help but laugh. The picuture in the blue was his first day of school at the MIPP program. Macomb Infant Preschool Program. Thier he recieved some physical and occupational therapy. He likes his therapist alot. They were impressed week to week by the changes in his abilities.

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.....

Big Sis Update

Nikolas and his "Big sis" are completely stuck at the hips. They have to be where ever the other is. When his big sis visits she has to drink from his sippies and eat from his bowls. She want him to play with her stuff even though he is too little for them. She shares her horses, barbies and pony's with him. She doesn't mind if he chews on a select few. Yum!! On the other had this has been a adjustment for her too. She wants to be so involved and yet played with by us on her own. She is getting better at understanding the "small" toys have to be played with behind the gate or on the table out of his reach. You can see the joys between them. His Big Sis is sick this week so she called to talk to him. So they talked as a 17 month old and 4 year old would. Silence on one end... She wanted to see him so she asked me to send a picture to her moms phone and I did and she sent him one back. The picture above was taken at Target. She wanted to sit with him while we shopped and they had a blast!!

He's changing everyday!!!

Nikolas is determined to catch up!! He is now 17 months old and growing into his size 12 months. At his last Dr appointment about a week ago he weighed 16lb 5 oz. He has gained almost 3 pounds in two months. He is a non stop eating machine this week. He also had a bunch of first this month. He crawls now, has learned to scoot forward in his walker, he walks around furniture and has been sleeping through the night for the last three nights straight with no middle of the night feedings.

On a medical note: Nikolas had a MRI this past month on his brain and spine to rule out spinal bifita. His MRI showed his spinal cord is in tact!!! I could not ask for more. However he has a fistula near his tail bone that has to be closed. He will be scheduled for surgery to repair it this spring or when the doctor feels it will be necessary between his clef surgeries.

Christmas 2010....

Nikolas had his first Christmas at home this year! It was wonderful and full of excitement and new adventures for him. He loved the Christmas tree. He liked the lights on it and would try his hardest to get the light off the tree. He also dicovered you could unwrap the boxes under the tree and had a blast doing so. He then used the boxes to get too the bulbs and ornaments. Needless to say Grandpa and mom had to rewrap & re tape many christmas gifts this year and by New years the bottom foot & half of the tree was bare.

This Christmas season Nikolas blossomed from a little boy who could not do much to a little boy trying to do it all. He learned to sit up on his own. He learned to pull himself up on his knees and then the next day into a stand and fall gracefully with out having to have a pillow behind him. He learned to scoot in his car across the floor and much more. He is changing with everyday. I look forward to what tomorrow brings..................

Big Sis...

Nikolas has a younger cousin who is 4 who has decided that he is her Little Brother. The bond she has with him is so special. She comes over and spends the night with us. The entire time she is here it's all about her Little Brother. He is learning so much from studying her. They have a great time playing. She doesn't like it when its nap time cause she wants to play with him. So she has a special assignment to keep me informed on what he is doing. She lets me know if he is rocking himself to sleep and when he starts to cry she runs over to me and says "it a emergency KeKe is crying". She likes to eat when he does and and has started to feed him with her auntie's guidance. She helps bath him too. When he needs to be changed she is right thier helping. You can see the bond they have with each other. It's so wonderful!!

It was picture day!

Today Nikolas has his Christmas and homecoming pictures taken at the Picture Me Portrait Studio! He smiled in every photo and had fun having them taken. He had two different alfits in his pictures. One was a red and white striped christmas alfit with a matching hat that had a HO HO HO on one side and santa on the other side. Nikolas looked like a Elf. He never once grabbed the hat to remove it. He was so good today. I cannot wait to see the prints in two weeks......

Trip to the allergist

Nikolas had his first Dr Appt yesterday at the allergist. When we got him from the orphanage he was covered from head to toe in a raw rash from scratching. The pediatrician who looked at him prior to leaving Russia said he had allergies or as his papers said Dermititus. The Dr at the allergist took one look at him and said lets runs some test. He could only do 24 tray tests on his back due to his size and Beef came back positive. So he is on allergy medication, special lotions and everything is washed in dye/fragrance free soaps and doing very well. His skin is the best I have seen it yet.
I have to say Nikolas was a trooper when the test was administrated. When my niece had the same test she cried and Nikolas laughed. He also did well with momma having to hold him still on his tummy for 2o minutes.

Home 24hrs......

Nikolas has been home from 24 hours now. His trip home went pretty good. He slept through a third of the first flight from Russia to Washington DC and through the entire flight from DC to Detroit. Nikolas is use to having floor time so on the flight we put our trays down and layed a blanket accross them so he could lay on his back and tummy and play with his toys for a few minuites.

Since we have been home he has been curious. He discovered the Christmas tree and he rolls or scoots himself to the endge of it and pulls on plastic bulbs with his hands and kicks them with his feet. He got one of his packages and managed to rip the paper open on it so he has a early Christmas gift.

He is rolling all over the place and starting to scoot more. He is facinated by the snowmen we have infront of the fireplace. But he decided that he should taste the tile by draging his teeth across it. So we are keeping close tabs on the tile time.

We put him in a Jumparoo today he loved it so much he put himeself into a deep sleep that we woke him from two hours into it.

I will write more soon.....

36 hours after I Gotcha!!

It's been a great 36 hours so far! Nikolas is doing well. He loves all the attention he is getting from his momma and his grandma. He is a very happy boy. Here is a few tidbits so far on how things are going:

He is playing with all his toys well. He loves to bang on his toys especially if they make noises. He has 2 in particular are his favorites a gitar and a car.

He is eating well. He likes mangos,apples, turkey & potatoes, yogurt and so far dislikes carrots alot. He was only eating from a bottle when we got him from the orophanage and would you know that he has not taken a bottle hardly at all since we got him. The hotel has these small spoons for tea and coffee and he has taken to spoon feeding very well even if it is messy.. LOL

His motor skills are improving since I met him in September. He now can sit on his own but not straight up just yet. He loves to rock on all fours and has started to attempt to crawl himself across the floor his left side is still weak and he drags his leg slightly behind him. But with time it will get better..

He love mirrors.. he like to look at himself in the mirror and others. He has such a curiosity about things. He likes TV and he will just lay thier and watch it or while we are rocking him.

His bonding has started to go very well. He likes to be snuggled, cuddled kissed and hugged. Today he let us rock him to sleep on two occasions. It was a wonderful feeling.

He is sleeping well and napping twice a day too..

I will keep you posted and write more once we are home .....

Pictures from my Court week visits..

He has changed so much. He is now sitting up on his own, he has began to get up on all four and rock back and forth. It's just a matter of time before he takes off and crawls all over. He was so happy this visit. He remembered me from my last visit. I cannot wait to fly back and have him in my arms on the 22nd of November. It will be a Thanksgiving week to remember.

It's Official....

It's official today. After wanting to be a mom for so long the Judge granted my wish today and announced that I am officially Nikolas Alexander's mom. My Gotcha date will be Tuesday November 23. I am so excited and looking forward to having him home for ever Thanksgiving weekend!