Feeling as if I conquered 'pregnancy brain' today. Great exam score, and aced my quiz this evening. No more assessments at all until after this little one is born... in 3.5 days!

Am I ready? Technically. We have the "things", have prepared the kids (who generally seem excited, cautious, but excited), and everything is all set as far as schedules. But it doesn't seem real, and I don't think it will until Friday around noon when I am settled in my postpartum room with our new addition.

Will update while in the hospital- I have access to wireless this time! SO EXCITED, because I can lecture capture while there--- how sick am I?

Yay - congrats on your exam! I also did well on my exam last week! Luck is with the preggos this time!

Keep us updated on your birth! SO exciting! Best wishes for everything to go smoothly!

Well, baby girl arrived yesterday morning as planned, weighing in at 10# 3 oz and measuring 20 1/4 inches. She has a full head of dark hair, beautiful big eyes, and super chubby cheeks.

But it was evident to me immediately that something was wrong. Her lower jaw is recessed, and the lower gumline is bumpy versus smooth. So after several unsuccessful attempts to feed, I asked for one of the NICU docs to come and loom at her. They found a cleft palate on top of the recessed lower jaw.

We are handling it well at the moment, but it is quite a curve ball. Just taking things one day at a tim. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated- will update again after I get some sleep.

SW, lots of hugs and prayers heading your way. You are an awesome, outstanding mother and we're all hear to listen for you.

Definitely in my prayers, SW. Also hoping you are recovering well, and you and your baby girl are able to enjoy some special bonding time.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby, SW to MD!

I'm sorry to hear about the issues with her mouth. It sounds like the most pressing issue is feeding right now. Kellymom has a bunch of resources that might be helpful:

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bfhelp-cleft.html

Lots of prayers and positive thoughts to you and your family.

Congrats on your BIG baby girl! Keep us posted on how the medical stuff comes out... and meantime enjoy your baby.

Congratulations! It's so great to hear about your new addition.

Congratulations! She sounds beautiful!

Do you have access to a good lactation consultant? There are definitely techniques that can be used to breastfeed babies with cleft palate and for those with recessed jaws. An experienced LC should be able to help you apply those techniques for a baby with both.

Good luck--our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Hi everyone!

Quick update- I was discharged today. My peanut was not. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. But it is for the best, and she is getting excellent care.

She now has an NG tube, and really struggles to maintain her airway while feeding. With the large difference between the upper and lower gumline (just over 10 mm), she struggles on breast at best. So I have been pumping, pumping, and pumping some more, and my supply is finally starting to come in. So she is still getting a little bit of formula, but mostly breastmilk now. But she can barely take 5-10 cc out of the special cleft palate bottles before she is exhausted- she is awake for maybe 10-15 minutes during 2-3 feedings/day. The rest she sleeps through. Her breathing is okay- def. periods of desat, but with repositioning it comes back up fairly quickly.

It is 50/50 as to whether or not she will need surgery now- will be making that decision based on her progress in the next week or less. Keep us in your prayers- it has definitely been a difficult week!