Play Date

Chloe's first outing since the hospital - an evening with her buddy Jack!

Chloe recovers at home

Obviously Chloe has control over the TV remote. It is Nick Jr. 24 hours a day! In this picture, her curls were a mess as she had just woken up from a nap, but believe me she is looking so much better! She is scooting from room to room and expanding her vocabulary of sounds. She's working on growling like a bear and quacking like a duck! She's still not taking the recommended amount of liquid but she is getting closer. She drinks mostly Pediasure mixed with peanutbutter or yogurt and sips from a cup. She still refuses the normal sippy cup. She hasn't had any bleeding or signs of trouble in her mouth and actually does not try to put anything in it. She returns to the doctor this week.

Chloe goes Home!

Even with no-nos in place, Chloe was all smiles as she left to go home this morning.

Chloe is Better!

Chloe had a good night's sleep, drank her breakfast, and is playing. She gets excited when she sees the cup and flaps her arms for more! She gets to play without the no-nos for a bit. So far this morning she hasn't tried to put anything to her mouth - not even the sippy cup. She prefers to drink from a small cup and refuses one with a sippy top on it. She opens her mouth and waits for us to pour it in. She is definately trying to fill up. She's glad the past week is over!

9 PM Friday - Chloe is doing well! She's was drinking Pediasure flavored with banana popsicle and then progressed to straight Pediasure. I hadn't seen her in two days and her weight lose was noticeable to me. She is making faces, playing with toys and watching her movies. We are all encouraged by the amount she has had tonight and feel that she will not be going back to the hospital! We hope that her energy level starts to pick up. Today she has shown signs of disgust for the no-nos on her arms and even tried to suck her thumb when they were removed.

2PM Friday - She's been discharged and is still sipping!

8 AM Friday - Chloe slept all night for the first time so lets hope she wakes up hungry and thirsty.

8:30PM Thursday-Chloe is still hanging out at Children's. She is beginning to take a few sips of a popsicle and juice mixture so there is hope! The Little Rock Zoo brought a hawk to the hospital playground so Chloe went to see it. Otherwise she has been on a lap or in her bed. Grandad reported that she was chunking toys off the side of the bed and watching her dad play pick-up. She still has a little spunk but was gloomy and droopy most of the day.

9:30 PM Wed - Chloe has been admitted for the night. Adam reported that she had perked up some and there were no additional problems. The doctors keep saying that we have to wait until she decides to drink and basically admitted her for the night to keep her hydrated. The good news is that since she was also not swallowing her meds, she is now getting the full doses via IV.

5 PM Wednesday - Chloe is on her way back to Children's Hospital. She just has not had enough fluids today even after a valiant effort by her parents. I'll update when I know more.

11:00 Wednesday - Chloe drank very little last night. Just as her mom and dad were worrying about returning to the hospital for IVs this morning, she drank 2 ounces!

2:40 PM Tueday - Just got the word that Chloe is being discharged from the hospital!!!!

1:25 PM Tueday - Chloe has been given more pain meds and has taken a few sips today.

7 PM Monday - Chloe is still in the hospital. She's moved to another floor and has been out in a wagon a few times. She still refuses to drink but the doctors aren't too worried about it yet. She has a lot of swelling in her throat and swallowing hurts. (You should see the fight she gives the nurses when they give her medicine by mouth!!)

Chloe is spending another night at the hospital. She will not drink yet. She is in a quiet mood and doesn't fuss much except at drug time-she obviously has some pain! (She also fusses at every nurse or doctor that touches her.) At the present moment she is in bed happily watching Finding Nemo and kicking her legs. The picture shows her getting a shampoo earlier today. The disposable shampoo cap was heated and then placed on her head. Mom massaged her head and then took it off. After a towel dry and a brush, she had pretty, clean curls! She didn't enjoy a room full of spectators laughing at her, but the snuggle on her mom was worth it.

For the next month she must drink all her nutrition from a sippy cup and nothing can go into her mouth except the sippy cup. She has been using the cup for two months and is used to it. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel better and start drinking. The IV has been reduced to promote some thirst.

She did spend a little time today without the no-nos so she could play with a toy. She was heavily guarded by three of us to be sure she didn't get anything to her mouth. She enjoyed it and did not want our help!

2:30 Sunday - Chloe is still in the hospital. They will not release her until she drinks at least 3 ounces in 3 hours. So far, she has her jaws locked and her lips sealed! She is much more alert, is trying to talk and showing a little sass. They removed the tongue stitch this morning. Right now she is fussy and in some pain, but it is time for pain meds.

5:30 PM - Chloe is progressing and is getting more alert. She's watched a little TV and even attempted Peep-Eye with her no-no. She hasn't tried to talk and just now took a few sips of milk for the first time. Her oxygen level has been good all day and she is fever free. Perhaps the tongue stitch will be removed tomorrow morning.

She is pretty cute laid up in her bed watching her big flat screen and kicking up those feet. I'm sure if she could talk she would tell you how little fun this has been.

9:30 AM Saturday - Chloe rested well during the night but had to have oxygen due to swelling of her airway. She's running a little fever this morning, but is breathing ok without additional oxygen. She is learning to breathe through her nose. She hasn't tried to drink yet. She will spend at least one more night in the hospital. Natalie has been able to hold her and if she feels like it, today Chloe can try to play anywhere the IV cart can go. Right now that is hard to imagine as she is resting motionless.

10:15 PM - Chloe is still resting well. The nurse said they will remove the tongue stitch early tomorrow and see if Chloe will drink.

Here is our sweet baby. Hopefully she will continue to sleep and rest. I don't think she has been awake enough to really understand the no-nos are on her arms. She does recognize us and watched the TV screen for a short bit before drifting back off to sleep. She doesn't want her moma to leave her bedside!

It's 4:30 and she is snoozing. With a rolled up blanket under her bottom to keep her from sliding in the bed, she is propped up on her back. She has a tongue stitch that is taped to her chin to keep her tongue from the back of her mouth and her lower lip down. An IV is in one foot and the memorable red glow of the monitor is on her other foot. She is wearing No-Nos on her arms so that her hands can not reach her mouth. She'll not drink anything until tomorrow. It took two of us to hold her head still for ear drops. It upset her greatly, but when she was left alone she drifted right off to a good sleep. She gets pain meds as needed and is in a private room so both her dad and mom can spend the night with her.

She was out of surgery at 12:15. Doctor reported to dad and mom that all went great and she is doing fine. With a cleft as large as hers, there can be a problem with the tissue/muscle being stretched too tight. The Doc said Chloe had no tension and it looked good. They will get to be with her in a little while.

At 12:10 she's still in surgery but all is well.

Chloe's surgery actually started at approximately 9:30 and should last a couple hours. Chloe spent pre op time with her parents and apparently was a funny drunk baby. At 10:10, surgery reported that all was well.

Chloe's surgery is scheduled for 8:45 on Friday. I'll keep the blog updated.

Chloe's been on vacation

Chloe and her family have been on vacation at the Alabama beach. The oil spill is dreadful, but we did have clean white sand and swimming pools to enjoy. See the latest videos.