Max had his first visit with all of the doctors at the Johns Hopkins Cleft Clinic yesterday. After wolfing down an early lunch, he napped all the way to Baltimore. He woke up refreshed and ready for a hearing test, which he did great on. Max's hearing is within the normal range, which officially means when we call his name and he does not answer, he is just ignoring us.
Next we met with our favorite, Dr. Redett. He said Max looks great. No kidding! Dr. Redett did think that Max's scar had become hypertrophic, or thicker, which is common. This is something we tried to avoid with nightly scar massage, but David and I agreed that the scar is minimal; we do not want Max to have another surgery just to reduce it. He has had enough surgeries, and there are still a few more in his future. Dr. Redett went over his next two surgeries- nose repair at four and bone graft around nine. Years old. So far away. Thank goodness.
Between long periods spent in waiting rooms, we also met with a speech pathologist, genetic counselor, and dentist. The speech pathologist was impressed by Max's use of baby sign language (thanks to Jen and Sadie). She also explained some ways to help Max make sounds that might not come naturally to him because he was born with a cleft palate. For example, M's are easy for him because it is a nasal sound; he is used to sounds (and food) coming out of his nose. Other consonants, such as H's and B's are more difficult because Max has to direct all of the air flow through his mouth. The speech pathologist suggested that I hold his nose and make him do raspberries. Just when we get permission to stop torturing him with lip massages, we are supposed to hold his nose.
The dental exam was the most exciting and surprising of the day. Exciting because it was Max's first dental exam, and surprising because he remained completely still the entire time. The nugget officially has 11 teeth. It looks like he could be missing two top teeth, where his cleft palate was, but that is what braces and dental implants are for.
Our last visit was with the genetic counselors. It was Max's favorite visit of the day; he very much enjoyed flirting with the two ladies and hearing them gush over how cute and smart he is. Just another day in the life of the general.
Despite only one, short nap in the car, and nearly six hours in a hospital with five doctors appointments, Max was on his best behavior and showed off his smile all day long.
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| Making the most of waiting for doctors (4.22.13) |
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| Max's first dental check (4.22.13) |
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| Look at this guy (4.21.13) |
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| Vanilla or chocolate? Both! (4.21.13) |
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| Shady (4.20.13) |
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| (4.20.13) |
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