NAM (Nasoalveolar Molding) & Taping

The day after we got home from the hospital (Oct 26) we had an appointment to meet with Dr. Lacey. It was hard to have to get out of the house so soon after getting home but it was important to get treatment started. Dr. Lacey is the plastic surgeon who will be doing Wyatt's surgeries. At this first appointment he took a look at Wyatt's cleft and reviewed with us the process for repairing it. Wyatt's first surgery will be in January to close the lip and dental ridge. Dr. Lacey told us the cleft was wide, approximately 5 mm. The next time we see the doctor will be one month before surgery. In the meantime he referred us to an orthodontist at the University of Minnesota.

The orthodontist will help prepare Wyatt for surgery by aligning the cleft and getting it as close together as possible using a NAM (Nasoalveolar Molding) device and taping. We met with the orthodontist for the first time when Wyatt was a week and a half old (Nov 2). The orthodontist is amazing. We love her. Wyatt doesn't like her as much but he will when he gets older because she is going to help us prepare for the best possible results with his surgery. At his first appointment the doctor showed us how to tape Wyatt's lip and took impressions to make his NAM (Nasoalveolar Molding) device. We went back the following week (Nov 5) to get his NAM and will have weekly appointments to make adjustments until his surgery.

Here are some pictures of Wyatt getting molds done for his NAM.

  Here is a picture of the NAM.

Finally, here is  picture of Wyatt with his lip taped and his NAM in.

Wyatt wears the tape and the NAM 24/7. The orthodontist recommends changing/cleaning it after every feeding unless it doesn't get too dirty. I didn't like changing it at first because Wyatt doesn't like it and it is just plain gross! Imagine a plate that collects whatever is coming down from his nose and spit up... yuck. I almost gagged a couple of times. We are all getting used to it though. :) It is amazing also what a difference it makes in Wyatt's appearance when he is wearing the tape. We don't really notice the cleft anymore with or without the tape and mold. Sometimes it is hard for me to have that cute face covered up with all that tape and stuff!

Wyatt's Birth Story

Baby Lopez was due October 20th. This day came and went with no baby! Luckily, we wouldnt' have to wait too long. The morning of October 22nd I had my 40 week doctor appointment. Everything was great but the doctor said we needed to come up with a game plan for the end in case the baby didn't come on his own. The doctor didn't advise going past 42 weeks because of the potential risks involved for baby and mom. We were scheduled to be induced Saturday, October 27th but Wyatt had other plans.

The 22nd also happened to be our daughter's 5th birthday and I had taken the day off to celebrate with her. After my doctor appointment we had a family day planned. I look forward to her birthday because it is a more relaxed time for our immediate family to enjoy some time together. We had some special birthday surprises at home and then went to see a movie. Sometime that afternoon I started having contractions. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the end of my pregnancy so I didn't pay much attention to them. 

That evening Bella had dance and then we had family over for pizza and ice cream cake. Great Grandpa was in Minnesota for hunting and had surprised us at Bella's dance class and then joined us for dinner and dessert. I continued to have contractions but didn't tell anyone. Everyone left  our house around 8:30 p.m. Once things settled down I noticed the contractions weren't going away and I started timing them. They were becoming more painful and more frequent. I told Mike that I was having contractions and this might be it. I was afraid they would go away but after waiting an hour or so we called Grandma Brenda to let her know what was happening in case she needed to come stay with Bella. She came back over around 11 p.m. and slept at our house in case we needed to leave in the middle of the night.

We decided we should all try to get some sleep. The contractions were getting closer and closer together and more painful. I quickly realized I wasn't going to get any sleep! At 1:30 the contractions were anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes apart. I called the doctor and he said to try to wait until the contractions were closer to 5 minutes apart or the pain became unbearable. At 4 a.m. the contractions were much closer together, averaging from 3 to 5 minutes apart. At 4:30 I couldn't take the pain anymore and told Mike it was time to go. I called the hospital to let them know we were on our way and we were out the door a little after 5 a.m.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and were put in an observation room. When the nurse checked me at 5:40 a.m. I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Wyatt was definitely on his way. They got us all checked in and moved us to labor and delivery. At 6:40 a.m. I got an epidural. It was only working on one side so they gave me an extra boost of pain medication which fixed the problem. I didn't feel a thing after that! (Not even the delivery. They even had to tell me when to push. It was great.) At 7:05 a.m. the nurse checked me and I was 5 cm and 90% effaced. The next time they checked at 9:05 a.m. I was 9 to 9.5 cm and 100% effaced. There was just a little ways to go now. At 9:37 a.m. I was 10 cm and 100%. I didn't have the urge to push so we waited a few minutes. At 9:46 a.m. we decided to try pushing. After 1 hour of pushing Wyatt was born October 23rd at 10:46 a.m. Dr. Buss delivered him. He came into the world with his hand by his face. It was funny to see everyone's faces (Mike's, the doctor's, the nurses...), from my perspective, when they saw that little hand by his face on his way out. He was 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 in long. He is beautiful with a full head of dark hair and big cheeks. He has a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate but it didn't matter one bit. Our perfect little man was finally here.

Once Wyatt was here daddy called Bella to let her know her baby brother was born. She was so excited. (When she woke up to find Grandma at her house that morning and found out her brother was on the way she actually cried because she was so happy.) Grandma and Grandpa Lopez brought her up to the hospital to meet him. She came into the delivery room first. It was love at first sight. She then went to get Grandma and Grandpa who were waiting in the hall to introduce them to Wyatt. She is so proud of her little brother. We are all so proud of him and love him so much.