Emily is fine. We just got back from the hospital and the pediatric cardiologist said the murmur was harmless, and the most common form of murmur in children, called a Still’s Murmur. It’s described as a “functional” or “innocent” heart murmur and can occur in 1/3rd of kids between the ages of 3 and 5 (although Emily’s murmur was initially diagnosed when she was just nine months old). So, whew on that one. I can go back to worrying about other things now.

Here’s my good girl. Ana bundled her up so they could both go to Mars (yes, this is a space suit and the world’s largest chunk of strawberry candy).

Emily was so good at the hospital getting her tests today. The technician who did the EKG couldn’t believe it. She had like 7 things taped to her little chest and she just held still and waited until the test was over. Then she didn’t even cry when all seven things were pulled from her skin and it obviously hurt because she wimpered and flinched. She also stood very still during the chest x-ray. She’s my little trooper.

We switched Emily from a pediatrician to a family physician a couple of weeks ago because the practice where we’d been going was getting crowded, with longer wait times and we never got to see her doctor. So this new guy is great – we took her there for a follow-up because she’d had an ear infection. Her ears were clear, but the new doctor heard a heart murmur. We’ve known about the murmur since she was about nine months old and were told it was benign. However, this new physician wants us to bring her for a chest x-ray and EKG which we’ll be doing this Thursday. He said the murmur sounds loud and he wants to get it checked out. Of course I’m worried, but I’m trying not to worry. Please send us some positive energy that this is nothing more than a benign murmur. Meanwhile, I’ll try not to frantically obsess (ha!)

Ana took this picture of Emily and I, so it’s slightly blurry (at least she didn’t cut our heads off)

This is Emily’s FAVORITE nightgown. It’s got princesses, acres of pink and frills. Ew.

Is it me, or is Emily ENORMOUS?? I mean, look at her and now glance up at the series of images at the top of the blog. I now ask you, WHERE IS MY BABY?

And it’s not just Emily. Look at Ana…

At nearly 7, Ana understands and can dish out sarcasm (that’s my girl!), can read passably well and is an expert at rolling her eyes. I keep reminding her that I remember when she was toothless and thought burping was hysterical but she finds my humor so pedestrian. We’re both addicted to the same video game. I mean, WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? This must mean I’m getting older too.

Emily is posing for the camera. Such a ham!

Okay, so I’m a little worried about Emily because she has this preoccupation with her teeth. She’ll come out with things like, “Mommy, my teeth are broken,” seemingly at random and I’m not sure if it’s because the kids at school are noticing or if she’s heard me talking about her teeth or what. She obviously realizes at this point that her teeth are different from everyone else’s, and I guess I thought the moment when I’d have to really talk to her about her cleft, and what that means for her, would come later. I told her we were going to NYU in April and there’s a special doctor that will help fix her teeth, but of course there’s no way to explain that it will take time or that she’ll need to wear industrial strength headgear at night.

I’m looking forward to the NYU visit this year more than ever because I know Emily will be able to talk to the team herself. Then I’ll at least have a point of reference to continue the discussion (“Emily, remember those doctors in the city we visited? They’re going to give you great teeth!”)

I recently received an e-mail from a representative at Canica, the makers of DynaCleft, regarding a new tape they created to assist with stretching the skin prior to surgery (for use with both unilateral and bilateral clefts).

Unilateral and Bilateral (respectively) Versions of DynaCleft

According to their website, DynaCleft is/provides:

* NAM compatible
* Easy for parents to use
* Less tension on repair
* Less frequent change-outs
* Better placement of prolabium and premaxilla
* Post-operative tension relief on sutures
* Tape stretches as the mouth moves

Apparently “NAM compatible” means the tape can still be used while NAM is being used (but doesn’t replace the tapes that actually hold the NAM in place). In the words of the manufacturer, “DynaCleft is for stretching the skin of the lip prior to surgery, whether you use NAM or not.”

I can’t vouch for this product firsthand since I never used it, but I think it’s great that it’s out there and it’s worthwhile for you to discuss it with your team. There’s more information about how to order it on Canica’s website.