The majority of cleft kids will go through some sort of speech therapy since the cleft affects the production of sound in some way, shape or form. In Ella’s case we started Birth to 3 in the Summer of 2010. That program provided a dedicated therapist who met with Ella on a one-on-one basis approximately every two weeks. The first therapist we were assigned wasn’t a great match so we wasted quite a bit of time trying to find the right fit. We were eventually reassigned a fantastic new therapist, however we didn’t have a lot of time remaining with her before Ella turned 3.

At that point we were turned over to the Madison Metro School District. After Ella was evaluated, we met with our case manager and went through our various options; we could send her to our home school where she would meet one-on-one with a therapist once a week for 30 minutes – OR – we could enroll her in a Phonology Clinic that was more intense. She would be one of 12 kids who attended 2.5 hours per day for 4 days a week, for 6 straight weeks. After weighing all of our options we felt like the highly focused, consistency of Phonology would be the best thing for Ella.

We were told that most kids attended anywhere from 3-6 sessions (a session = 6 weeks on & 6 weeks off) before they no longer needed Phonology. We started our first 6 week session in November ’11. The teachers were fantastic and we were able to notice a difference right away. It seemed like Ella was talking more (not sure how that’s possible) and clearer than she had in the past. Every Friday she looked forward to her homework and everything was positive.

Within the first 6 week session Ella coincidentally had her hearing evaluated by one of the school audiologists – which she failed. When the teachers informed me I really didn’t worry that much since most of those tests are based on audio cues and she typically doesn’t do well due to lack of focus. I wanted to be safe and not sorry so I immediately set up an appointment with our ENT to have her ears looked at. Long story short – the tube in her left ear had fallen out and there was quite a bit of fluid built up, which had lowered her hearing levels in that ear.

We scheduled tube replacement surgery for February 1, 2012. For some reason I was super nervous, maybe because she was big enough to tell me how she was feeling – but everything went fantastic and we were in and out before we could blink. She even threw two thumps up on our way home from surgery —–>

After our first 6 week break, March 6th marked the start of our second 6 week Phonology session. I was looking forward to it because I hoped that with her hearing in tip top shape, we would see even more improvement – and we did! This second round wrapped up last week and this past Monday we had Parent Teacher Conferences to talk about next steps.

Of course I was traveling the first portion of this week so Joe went alone (other mothers reading this will know why this is an issue.) After 2 complete sessions, the teachers feel that Ella has gained all she can from Phonology Clinic and have recommended that she get some one-on-one therapy from our home school. She has mastered all of the sounds that typically developing kids her age do – with the exception of “S.” They feel that meeting with a dedicated therapist, even for 30 minutes a week will help her to focus solely on that sound and improve upon it.

I have very mixed feelings about this recommendation. While I’m all for one-on-one therapy – if we get a bad therapist through the school system, we’re kind of stuck. I also feel like 30 minutes once a week isn’t nearly enough time, especially in comparison to the intense phonology setting we were doing. That being said, I am open to trying a new therapist – I just want the option to go back to Phonology Clinic if needed. In my mind, Practice makes Perfect – so why not continue going, even if the only goal is repetition?

Our insurance provides us with 4 speech therapy visits per year (a whole different story.) I have taken Ella in before basically just to have a second opinion. At this point I plan to set up another appointment to see if they note any improvements and have recommendations on how we can best move forward. I’m also hoping they will be better equipped to weigh in on whether or not any surgical procedures can improve Ella’s speech production and hyper-nasality. Stay tuned!

I can’t believe I’m 24 weeks pregnant already, it seems like yesterday I was holding the positive test in my hands! Even though we have 16 weeks (give or take) to go it seems like we have 1,000,000 projects that need to be handled before our little man is here. I have yet to purchase a single piece of boys clothing!

We were able to select paint colors for the nursery and have moved most of Joe’s office items out of the room, now we just need to actually make the time to paint and tape the perfectly symmetrical stripes I want to go throughout the room. I don’t think Joe is looking forward to it

When I was pregnant with Ella I was scared senseless so I reassured her everyday that she could stay in as long as she liked. It was a pretty easy pregnancy and I tell her all the time how grateful I am for how nicely she treated me. Little Will is a bit different. I’m not sure if it’s because he is a boy or if it’s the fact that it’s my second pregnancy, but he is definitely not as nice.

He sits MUCH lower than Ella which has been causing a lot of pain in my lower back (already). I tried going to the chiropractor for the first time ever, but it required me to go all the time and I wasn’t sure it was helping so I stopped and am trying to manage it on my own. I have had constant headaches almost daily – which probably has something to do with my back issues too. Whatever way you look at it, I’m a mess!

I am fortunate to not have had morning sickness with either baby…. but that doesn’t mean I haven’t felt ill. With Ella I wouldn’t have known I was pregnant if it wasn’t for the extra 40 lbs. I was carrying around. With Will I can barely eat a thing without being in discomfort.

I have a doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon and I am looking forward to seeing how much I’m measuring and how the little man is doing. I definitely know he is still in there based on how often he kicks me! Don’t get me wrong – I am not complaining. I like the continuous reminder of how lucky our family is to have him and the reassurance that he is doing well.

<-------------Ella in the bathtub drawing a picture of her and her new brother :)

Where has this year gone? April is almost over and May is right around the corner! May is a busy month in our household right from the start. Our follow up ultrasound is set for May 3rd and Joe’s birthday festivities begin the following day. Hopefully we will have plenty to celebrate!

Then the following day, May 5th, we are participating in the March of Dimes – March for Babies Walk. The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The March of Dimes provides grants to researchers, with the goal of understanding the causes of birth defects and developing new ways to prevent and treat them.

When we first found out we were pregnant we created a short list of names for both boys and girls, but if we had a boy we were pretty sure we were set on one name. That was until we found out for sure we were having a boy. Once it became a reality I started to doubt my choices and wanted more time to think it over.

From today we have exactly four months to go and we will need that time – not only to finish the 1,000 projects we have left, but to talk Ella into what a great name Will is. While she might also be joking about Ferdinand, she really does want to name him Henry. Every time she tells people Ferdinand we correct her and say, “No honey what’s the baby’s real name?” to which she replies, “Henry.” We then follow it up with – “No… honey that’s not his name.” She then puts her hands on her hips and replies, “Why not? Henry’s a good name!”

*Side note: The above image is a tool from BabyZone that I used when we were expecting Ella. I dug all night long trying to find it and when I finally did it returned the same definition as it showed for Ella. I assumed it was broken and wasn’t going to use it however I tested 10 different name variations that all returned different results. That can only mean our name selection is more perfect than even we realized and more importantly, we are doomed because it seems this child will be just like Ella!!

On July 15th, 2008 we had Ella’s first ultrasound where we learned that she would be born with a cleft lip and palate. That was almost 4 years ago and even though the 2010 Census showed that almost 235,000 people live in Madison Wisconsin – we have yet to meet another parent or cleft kid in the area. I can’t count how many times we have felt like the first people to have a child born with a cleft lip and palate.

Tonight that all changed. Holy Hannah – there are other people born with cleft lip and palate! A while back I was fortunate enough to connect via Cleft Awareness with another mom (Nicole) here in Madison who’s first born son, now almost 9 years old, was also born with a cleft lip and palate. I was super pumped and hoped to line up a time that we would be able to meet in person.

It just so happens that not only does Nicole have a cleft child, but she is also a rockstar photographer. So when she contacted me earlier this week to see if we would be interested in having Ella’s photos taken – we jumped at the chance. Not only am I crazy about photos, but I love her work and I was really excited to meet her.

She is one of those people that you feel like you know, yet you have never met. I could tell that I would like her just from following her on social media. Making new friends since having Ella has been a bit challenging. Don’t get me wrong – we have lots of great friends that we love dearly, but it would be nice to have more friends who are able to relate to having children. Most parents we know – through daycare, swim lessons, dance class, work, etc. – typically have different interests and parenting styles than we do making it hard.

Even though tonight’s photo session was rather impromptu the meeting was very natural and I felt like we hit it off right away. She is super chill and her boys (she has 3) were awesome! Ella was kind of a mess and refused to let me fix her hair, but the photos turned out great. Thank you Nicole Hansen Photography and hope to connect again soon!