Happy (late) Birthday, America!

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

The Zoo - trip deux

Last year around this time we went down to visit Chad and Adrienne in Columbia and went to the Riverbanks Zoo, so we decided it was about that time again!

We went down and stayed Friday night with our friends and the newest addition to the posse - Baby Bryn!

Ave loved seeing Bryn and playing with her:

At least one of them still poses for the camera!:

The Alexander crew, at the zoo!

Jeff's fave, the lemurs:

And one of the coolest experiences, the close encounter with the giraffes!

The babies came up to get some lettuce from Avery...

And the Mama came up too. Beautiful animals!

The Kangaroo Walkabout:

Well, hello there, Mr. Gorilla:

Monkey Mountain was wild this time around - they were SO loud!

And the animal that Avery was talking about the most - the ELEPHANTS! She even made sure to make her elephant noise when she saw them:

The zoo certainly has this effect on people. If only I had had a comfy stroller to take a nap in I might have been doing the same thing, Miss Bryn!:

Sibling Tour

In another step to prepare Avery for her up-and-coming role of "Big Sister" we took her on a sibling tour at CMC - the hospital where we will deliver once again. The entire tour was directed at the kids, and Avery was actually pretty engaged for the most part. She actually took it pretty seriously. This Big Sis stuff is important business!

She got to wear a surgeon's cap, learned how to hold a baby properly, got to have "Baby Grace" weighed on the official in-room scale and saw the babies in the nursery.

How NOT to hold your baby:

Much better (we're getting there):

Baby Grace gets a turn on the scale!:

Whoa, that's a HUGE newborn in the nursery!:

By far, her favorite part was learning how to help change baby's diaper. Oh my, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times we have had to go over this since! She is really into changing dirty diapers. And the best part is that every time she says "That's gross! Stinky diaper."

SO cute that they do this tour at the hospital. Avery was over-the-moon excited and keeps talking about going back to the hospital to see the babies.

Jeff and I were also happy that we got our sneak peek at the newly renovated 8th floor maternity wing of the hospital and were highly impressed with the security additions and room updates!

Avery gets her official "Prepared Big Sister" certificate:

What's up, Doc?

Just some good ol' baby #2 updates for ya.

We've been meeting with specialist Dr. Courtney Stephenson the last several visits at CMC Women's Institute, and she is very thorough. Yesterday she took another look at baby's kidneys and they pretty much look the same as they have. The good sign is that there is plenty of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, which means that one or both of them are functioning correctly. As the doctor said, "You really only need one!" Of course, we'd like there to be two working properly. But we will count our blessings. (One of them NOT being that the baby is sitting in a breech position again. I just KNEW it. Lyss and Hill - did I not say this last week? But still, there are many other blessings we cannot ignore.)

The baby has gained over a pound in the last 4 weeks, and should continue to grow steadliy at this point. Baby is measuring a bit on the small side for 35 weeks, but she said is still at a healthy percentile. He or she is currently at a 14th percentile and she doesn't want to see it drop below 10%. Fatten up, sweet little one. (I ran and got a cookout milkshake immediately after my appointment - I felt it was absolutely necessary!) They estimated the weight at close to 4 1/2 pounds and said typically baby will gain about 8 oz per week at this point.

Once again baby kept hands and arms over face the entire time. At one point baby actually was clasping one arm with the other fist in a pose that resembled a cross between a karate and cheerleading move, very firmly blocking any view of the cleft. Oh well. Not much more we can learn at this point anyway.

I also found out in chatting with Dr. Stephenson that she had surgery performed by the plastic surgeon we met with a couple weeks ago! Her son kicked a soccer ball that landed smack-dab in the middle of her face and broke her nose. As she phrased it, "I even let Dr. Lefaivre operate on ME." To which the counselor in the room followed with, "And she's VERY particular." I guess we can count that as a very good referral! She does seem awfully particular. Which I think is a good thing in a doctor. :)

We go back again on July 18th for yet another scan. They will check on kidneys and fluid levels as well as baby's growth. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers coming our way!

Oh, also - I don't know if I mentioned it formally, but you may have assumed... we have decided NOT to get the amnio testing done at this point. We are just going relax (hahaha) and wait for our baby's arrival.

Another overdue post... a look at plastic surgery

On June 16th we met with a plastic surgeon at the hospital. It was a very informative and interesting appointment, and I think we felt much more educated after speaking to someone that performs the cleft surgery. We still feel a long ways off from grasping the whole scheme of what's to come, but I will try and give the best overview that I can!

First of all, we are talking about a baby and a cleft before we've actually SEEN the baby. I have to keep reminding myself that we don't really know what the extent of the cleft lip/palate damage will be.

Here's is what I took away from our meeting with the surgeon. First of all, there are many, many, MANY different factors that can present themselves with a cleft baby. The cleft palate can affect feeding, hearing, breathing and more and there can be a long series of corrections throughout the child's life - up through their teens and sometimes beyond into adulthood. Up until this meeting with the surgeon I had really only focused on the first year or so - basically the initial lip and palate surgeries.

So, here's a briefing on what we can expect:

The surgeon would likely come visit us and evaluate the baby in the hospital or we would meet with him very soon after the baby arrives. Our immediate concern will be feeding. Lactation specialists at the hospital would help us address any immediate feeding needs. Plan (A) - to breastfeed. Plan (B) - anything that works. There at the hospital we will have access to many different types of bottles and nipples that we can try. If the palate is affected, the baby may have trouble gaining suction, making it nearly impossible to nurse, and even tough to use standard bottles. They need easy-flowing bottle nipples and perhaps even extended nipples so that the milk doesn't go up into the nose, so the opening sits back further in their mouth (from what I understand).

The cleft will be evaluated to determine the baby's individual needs, but typically the surgeon will start some taping for the lip soon after baby is here, to help stretch the skin of the lip and prepare it for surgery, which is done around 3 months. There will be a hospital stay involved and what I describe as extensive surgery for a wee little one (under general anesthesia). It typically takes up to 6 weeks for the healing to be complete, and we are to expect some scarring. It can take up to a year for the lip to gain full flexibility and for the skin to become soft and natural feeling.

Around a year of age, our child would get the palate surgery done, if necessary. They may also recommend that baby gets tubes put into the ears, as there is a lot of fluid that can get into the ear canal. They try and do these at the same time so as not to put child under two more separate times. The baby teeth are generally growing in around this time, but they don't really tend to discuss fixing the teeth until permanent teeth are coming in.

If the nose or lip still needs adjustments (such as to correct an uneven nose structure), they usually will schedule them before the child goes to school. Then there is another possible surgery that can happen closer to age 8 to repair any gumline/bone damage affecting how the permanent teeth will grow in. Oral surgery, orthodontics and implant dentistry will be made available based on need. Once the child's face more fully develops (in his/her teens) another rhinoplasty surgery may be needed for cosmetic and/or breathing issues.

Here is some information through the Levine Children's Hospital site that I find helpful:

http://kidshealth.levinechildrenshospital.org/PageManager.jsp?lic=236&dn=LevineChildrensHospital&article_set=22974&cat_id=138#

We think we are going to meet with another surgeon in the Charlotte area that does a lot of cleft work. The surgeon we met with already is certainly experienced, but he does more breast cancer related surgery and reconstruction. He seems to be an amazing surgeon, but we may go with someone that does cleft repairs more regularly. We are in this for the long haul and want to be 100% confident in our decision.

Whew, exhausted yet? I am. Overwhelmed? You have no idea!

The good thing? The cleft is FIXABLE. And we know that the child will be loved and adored for who he or she IS, and that is not based on the outside appearance (but c'mon, of course he or she will be ADORABLE!)

Still, scary. I just sit here and think about the next stretch of time, ranging from the next several weeks (I'm 35 weeks along in the pregnancy now)... to the next 20 years... to the rest of my child's life. I am anxious to make everything "right" and yet I know it's all out of my hands.

I worry about the psychological affects on my child. I never want my child feeling bad about him or herself and putting too much emphasis on looks. I know at some point in our lives we have all been plagued by some sort of image issue - I sure have. Who hasn't looked in the mirror and wanted to change something about yourself? We are never satisfied.

Much rests on a parents' shoulders to raise their child with the confidence and assurance that they are perfect just the way they are - despite their flaws or weaknesses. And we must instill these values in our children so that they can look at others with the same perspective.

Yep, this parenthood stuff really comes with a lifetime contract.

And we are prepared to fulfill it! :)

On another note, this Thursday, June 30th, we have an appointment with the specialist again to take a look at the baby's kidneys. Please keep baby in your thoughts and prayers. We are praying the one kidney looks remarkably better this time around!!!

Yo Daddy-o

*I apologize, as I started this blog post last weekend and never posted it.*

(Better late than never!)

Happy Father's Day to my sweet hubby.

Here is Avery painting a picture on Father's Day. I swear when we started the painting she was saying it was for Daddy, but about halfway through she decided she was going to keep it for herself.

After this masterpiece was completed, she requested that Jeff help her paint another picture ("you do it Daddy") - which is another way she secured her original masterpiece for herself. And tricked her Daddy into making his own Father's Day painting. She's good!

There is nothing like sharing a parenting journey together, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am to have not only someone to share in this experience with, but someone so helpful, loving and caring. And, oh man, Avery loves her daddy. Awesome to watch them together. Watching Avery and Jeff roll around on the floor being goofballs (well, basically she was just jumping on top of him over and over again) before her bedtime tonight made me laugh. After he kisses her and says goodnight, closing the door behind him... she always calls him back in for "one more kiss."

Avery requested that I sing "Amazing Grace" to her not one but three times in a row tonight. I love the words to that hymn and they remind me of my great grandmother who is such a source of inspiration in my life. I know that doesn't directly relate to Father's Day, but it just reminds me where I come from and what's important. My Dad is also an amazing man and I am so thankful to have his influence, love and support in my life.

Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere! :)

I'm a model, you know what I mean?

A friend and co-worker of mine at the magazine is also a photographer and entrepreneur!

Check out her business sites:

LBE Photography

Coco & Bubbles

She is very talented, dontcha think? We sure do!

Well, it turns out she was looking for a model to wear a couple of her headbands so she could use them on her Coco & Bubbles site. And we were looking for a photographer to capture our girl at age 2. Voila!

(Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match!)

Here are some of our favorites from the shoot last month...

The below picture kinda sums up exactly how I want to remember Avery at this age, as it encompasses to very definite sides to her personality:

(1) The look on her face of joy and laughter - my fave!

Her laugh is the best sound!

(2) This also captures the ornery child who would NOT give up the Cheerios for the

last part of her photo shoot no matter what we did - little sass!

If you'd like to see more, you can find them on Lindsay's LBE Photography site.

And that's the story of how Avery became a model.