Update on Levi's Eyes and Lip

Last week was busy with appointments. On Wednesday Levi had his 6 week eye appointment check-up. 

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who left comments and sent emails or messages about Levi's eye condition. I really appreciate everyone's input - I'm sorry I have yet to respond to several of you. Life is busy, busy these days.

We have been patching Levi's good eye for 3 hours each day (except we missed a couple days over Christmas) to help the weak eye become stronger. He's also been wearing his glasses whenever he's awake. Over the last several weeks, we've seen huge improvements! His eyes are working together so much better. The goopy gunk that was coming out of his weak eye has completely cleared up. It cleared up as soon as we started patching - our theory is that it cleared up when he started using the eye, but the doctor said it was just luck. Whatever it was, we are thankful that we don't have to deal with the trauma of getting his tear duct cleaned out!

At the appointment, the doctor just accessed Levi's progress and didn't dialate his eyes this time. We will still be patching for 3 hours a day and we'll see her again in 2 months.

On Thursday we made the trek to Children's Hospital for Levi's 6 month post lip surgery appointment. We saw the whole team of cleft doctors. The Audiologist was (once again) not happy that Levi has some fluid in his ears, and we are still bucking the system and not getting tubes. He did a good job on his hearing test though. We are hoping to get a second opinion from a pediatric ENT closer to home. 

Next, we saw the Speech Therapist who was very pleased with Levi's talking and jabbering. She said that if we notice any delays, she can set us up with a therapist who would come to our house.

The surgeon came in next. He said that Levi's lip looks like it's healing great and the scarring is minimal. He said that we need to try to help Levi say the "B, D, and P" sounds because they use the soft back palate where he has the abnormality. If he has trouble with those sounds, he may have to have another surgery.

Finally, the genetics doctor came in. When he heard about Levi's eye diagnosis, he ordered a more extensive blood test to check for any other issues. We should get the results in about 2 months. 

Getting blood drawn was a pretty awful experience. Let's just say, it's way easier to get blood from a 5 month old (that's when his last one was) than it is from a 1 year old. He cried, I cried, and the nurse didn't get it the first time and dug around. Ugh!

We go back to Children's in 6 months for another check up. 

Levi has been saying "ma-ma" for months now, but has only maybe said "da-da" a couple times - like where he says it and you're like, "did he really just say it, or was I hearing things?" Anyway, since the appointment, we've been working with him a ton to say "ba-ba" and "da-da." He always just grins and says "ma-ma." He's a mess! Well, yesterday afternoon, he was in his crib playing when he was supposed to be napping. All of the sudden, I heard him saying "da-da," "da-da," "da-da," over and over again!!! Jacob came and heard him too! I can't tell you how happy that makes us! We are hoping and praying that he won't need another surgery, so this progress is huge!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We appreciate you so much!