Speech Breakthrough

Just wanted to share that after 2 years of speech therapy we have met our goal with Luke's speech. Other than some lingering nasal emission, he is now at a normal speaking level for a 3 1/2 year old. We are so proud of him and so thankful for our speech therapist and the work she has done with him since he was 18 mos old. When we started, I wondered if we would ever get to the point where we would completely understand him. I remember giving him chocolate the first time he made the "p" sound at the beginning of a word. Great job Luke, what a happy Mother's day for me. Happy Mother's Day to all the cleft moms out there as well.

Facebook Circle of Moms

Hey everyone, I just discovered Facebook Circle of Moms and found a circle for cleft kids. There are a ton of members and lots of discussion and conversations. You should check it out. Luke continues his speech weekly, we are working on S and F sounds within words. He needs some practice but he's doing pretty well with it. Sometimes we notice in conversation that he'll get lazy and not annunciate his words. Then he gets mad when you don't understand him so he'll say it correctly. Little bugger!

Looking back on 3 years

So here we are, 3 years into what I thought was going to be this horrible ordeal at that 33 week appointment. I couldn't be more wrong. Although there have been tough times and there will be more ahead of us. I really should have listened to those people that told me to be happy that it wasn't something worse. I hear stories about kids with heart defects that have open heart surgery, kids with cancer, etc. It breaks my heart to think that I at one time put myself in the same camp as these people. We are so lucky to have Luke and he really was a gift for us. He has taught us so much as parents and as people. He will give his sister the gift of knowing that its okay for kids to look different. He gave Matt and I the gift of a son but also pushed us further along in our spiritual journey. And like a lot of bad things do, he gave me a passion for something. When we went through this, we didn't have anyone to bounce issues off of, we didn't even know anyone that had a child or even knew a child with a cleft and its a pretty common defect. Since then I've been able to reach out to other parents and help them answer those questions I needed answered. I have also been able to get involved financially to help less fortunate kids get those badly needed surgeries and just be there to support them. What a blessing that is. And of course, this Blog is all because of him and a way to share our story. We hope you enjoy. Thank you Luke and we love you so much!

Going Under again....

It had been 2 years since the ear tubes had been put in and they finally fell out just before Luke turned 3. We went a few months without, had an ear infection that he got over but there was still fluid in the ears. The ENT decided it was time for tubes once again. So for the 5th time in 3 years, Luke was put out again. He was a little nervous, being 3 you know means that everything is "why". We explained everything and when the nurse came to get him, he never looked back. I was so proud. Everything went great and when the ENT came to get me, she told me to be sure to praise him as he had done awesome. He never cried and woke up happy. She couldn't believe it. I walked down to recovery and he was sitting up in the bed and said "hi mommy" as happy as can be. The nurses and docs were in love with him, he was the best patient all day. I couldn't be a more proud parent.

3 year appt in Iowa City

In the weeks leading up to Luke's appt in Iowa City we started to prepare him for the scope. The doctor had told us it would be better not to tell him but we disagreed as we thought it would it would be better if he knew what was going to happen. A little bribery is always an option too. We told him if he did a good job and let the doctor stick the straw up his nose and talked for him that he could pick out a toy at Target. It seemed he was all ready to go as long as mommy was going to be there with him. So we get to our appt with the speech therapist and he sits down with Luke like normal to take him through the flash cards so Luke can name them all. Kind of nerve wracking as parents as you watch your 3 year old take a test. He did awesome and annunciated even better than we knew he could on some words. The therapist was so impressed, he cancelled the scope and told us that with regulary therapy he thinks Luke will be fine. It was an awesome day and we were so proud of Luke and SO THANKFUL for our AEA therapist, Mandy. We were so excited that Luke got to pick out his toy anyway. Cars of course.