Perfectly Taylored: 3 Months of Anna!

Anna turned 3 months old on 12/17. I can't believe it. The past 3 months have flown by! This will be her last monthly picture with her sweet cleft. We are going to miss it- it's all we have ever known.

Such a big girl!

We had a really busy week. Chris had co-workers in town from California so he was at work extra early each day and had after work dinners etc. This meant extra long days for me :) On Wednesday we went to her last NAM appointment of 2015. They made a small adjustment but she seems to be handling it pretty well. I am so excited to have the next 2 Wednesdays off!

On Thursday I took Anna to Duke to meet with Dr. Marcus and to have her pre-op appointment. It went well. Dr. Marcus thinks she looks great and is ready for surgery. He even made the comment "Let's do it today, what do you have going on this afternoon?!" Ha, I wish it was that easy! Since we have done so well with the NAM, Anna's gum segments are now touching on the inside. Dr. Marcus was very pleased, so in addition to her lip repair she will also have the gingivoplasty surgery performed during this first go around. This will hopefully prevent bone graft surgery when she is around 6 years old. We did a walkthrough of what will happen on the day of surgery- where to go etc. Surgery time is 3 hours from the time he actually starts. The Anesthesiologist will take Anna from us and prep her for surgery. Once she is down and Dr. Marcus is starting they will give us a call and let us know. From that point the 3 hour clock starts and they will call and provide an update each hour. I am picturing this being the longest 3 hours of my life (until we turn around and do it all over again in another few months)...

Here is a little segment featuring Dr. Marcus if you care to see who Anna will be spending so much time with on January 8th :)Dr. Marcus Cleft Repair

I had lunch with another cleft mom this past Tuesday and her son just had surgery on November 30th. He looks GREAT! I am so excited for them. She said it was the hardest 2 weeks of her life (surgery+recovery) but well worth it. She said it's so nice to just be able to enjoy her baby now- no tape all over his face, no nightly NAM screaming sessions, no weekly doctors appointments, just a sweet baby! I am looking forward to that.

We also had a busy but fun weekend. Anna got to meet some of my college friends on Friday night and on Saturday we went to Charlotte to hang out with more friends. She is becoming a little social butterfly.

We also enjoyed seeing Anna's stocking at Renny's house. She has been working so hard to make sure both Anna and Abby's stockings were finished for their first Christmas. They look beautiful, of course! It took many hours of stitching but I know Anna and Abby will cherish them one day.

All of these were stitched by Renny. I will get a close up picture at Christmas.