15 months old

Hi All,
Oscar will be 15 months old on Sunday. He had his palate repair on the 8th July and has recovered really well. It was a slow recovery, but he got there in the end and is going great guns now. He really seemed to enjoy having his palate intact and started making purposeful, la, la la's almost straight away.


We saw his surgeon last week, which was 8 weeks since surgery and he is happy with the results and doesn't want to see him for another 12 months. Of course we were delighted with that news as we half expected there to be another surgery as there are a couple of residual holes in the palate. But one is very small and will hopefully close on it's own and the other will stay there until his bone-graft when he's 8 or so.


He also had appointments with Audiology and his ENT Specialist and they have decided that he'll require grommets (small drains to clear the fluid out of his ears). This is going to happen sometime in the next few weeks, we're just waiting for a date. This is a 15 minute procedure, so just a day stay in Starship, but of course they have to put him under, so I'm not super thrilled! 


His Speech Language Therapist is very excited about his progress now that he has recovered from surgery. He is eating really well and chatting away at daycare and home. He is pulling himself up on everything and getting ready to walk - but still a wee ways away from actually doing it!

Gramps gave me my first chocolate biscuit!

Coffee Group 1st Birthday outing at Butterfly Creek - August 2011

Oscar loving his vegetables!

Brennan and I are having lots of fun with him.


Hope you're all well and enjoying the RWC.
xx


fi

no more surgery... (for ages anyway)

Hi there,
I know this is very late in coming, but in my defense, I wrote all about Oscar's palate repair and I lost it... then I was too tired to do it again and I'm only now finding my way out of the post surgery haze!
Oscar is doing really well after surgery on the 8th July. It was fairly uneventful and after 2 nights in hospital we were sent home much to our delight! Hospital rooms are not made for 3 people!!
It's been a pretty unsettled few weeks with Oscar not sleeping well and feeling generally under the weather, but he's back at daycare this week and zooming around the place with his arm bands on (these are to prevent anything sharp or hard getting into his mouth and undoing the surgeons handywork). He only has to have them on for another couple of days so yippie to that!
Much to my delight, two of my dear friends have had babies during this time. Melissa had baby Molly in Australia on the 6th July and Cath has baby Nico in Auckland on the 14th July. We are excited to meet them and get to know them in the coming months and years. Hard to believe Oscar is 13 months already!
We've had a pretty crazy year and to be honest, I think it's only just dawning on me that we've been through so much without too many meltdowns - although Brennan may tell you otherwise... I found the lack of sleep after this last op almost unbearable and wasn't at my best! Anyway, that is all behind us now and there are no surgeries on the cards for us for 8 or 9 years. So raise your glasses to Oscar and lets celebrate a brave and adorable wee man.
x

postponement

Hi Folks,

Well you can stop wondering how Oscar's surgery went, as it hasn't happened yet. We got cancelled as Oscar came into contact with someone who had chicken pox so the hospital decided it was too risky to operate. We have a new booking on the 8th July so not long to wait and in the meantime we have a week off together next week to just relax. Oscar has had a bad cough for a long time and has just finished a course of antibiotics and is heaps better and is sleeping through the night again, so I'm glad for the extra time before surgery to get that sorted.
I finish my job tomorrow too, so will be a full time mum for the next month or so, which is perfect timing.
For those who don't know - which is most of you cos we've somehow managed to keep it pretty quiet, Brennan is studying full time this year. He is doing 2nd year law at AUT and loving it. It certainly keeps us all busy!

Here are a couple of photos of the first birthday party.x

One more time round

Hi folks

We don't really know if there is anyone out there anymore - we do know that we have been bad bloggers and haven't updated for ages...

But we want to let you all know that we are heading back to Middlemore on Tuesday this week - 28th June 2011 - for Oscar's palate repair.

That is Oscar Noah Rigby, who recently turned 1! - 19th June. He is doing really really well despite having been pretty hard hit by the common ills that apparently come with the joys of Day Care. And his birthday was a lovely day at home with family and friends.

So, back to Middlemore on Tuesday morning for surgery on Tuesday afternoon. We will be in for a few days depending on how he goes afterward.

and we'll let you know how it goes!... promise x

The all clear

Oscar had his follow up appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. He had a ultra-sound done to check there were no residual holes in his heart now that it has had time to recover from surgery. He was given the all clear and Jon (the cardiologist) was excited to see Oscar's new lip. We are very excited and don't have to go back and see them for 4 years - or just before Oscar starts school!!!!!!
Well done Oscar's heart. We can close that chapter now and await our surgery date for the palate repair, then this blog can go into retirement for a while.....

meet the surgeon

Hi there,
Well we were having a good day on Tuesday until the earthquake news came through, we'd been to see Oscar's surgeon for his post op check-up.

Oscar and his surgeon - Zac

Zac was very happy with the results of his handy work. The area has healed well and the nasal splints and arm splints are gone! Oscar can now put whatever he likes, in his mouth again - although one of the benefits of surgery, is that he's forgotten that he used to like putting everything in his gob.
Zac thinks he'll do the next repair when Oscar is about a year old - June or July, but he'll see Oscar in 3 months time to see if he's ready for it, or if he'll wait another few months.
 

I started back at work two weeks ago, was an unexpected offer to work on Power Rangers (kids show) which is based in Glen Eden - which is where we live, so just a 5 minute drive to the office! Oscar is settling well into daycare which is just around the corner from our house. He's there three days a week and seems to be doing really well! I work Sunday to Thursday so I'm with Oscar on Friday and Saturday and Brennan has him on Sunday and Monday, then daycare Tuesday to Thursday. It's a bit of an adjustment but it's all good and hey we don't have anything to complain about aye!

Hope you and yours are all well and safe out there.

fi x

Oscar visiting his mum at work.

10 days later

Well it appears we have made it to the other side. Oscar is doing really well and although he is still rather grizzly, he is also happy and smiley most of the time. He's sleeping through the night again and eating really well. We don't have a bottle option at the moment but he's going great guns on his little 'open' cup, which is a plasitc cup that he sips from. His greatest pleasure at the moment is ripping up tissues....

His nasal splints are staying in til we see the surgeon on the 22nd Feb, which is all good, but we'll be glad when they're out. Our main enemy at the moment is the humidity, but everyone in Auckland is in the same boat! Bring on autumn I say!!!
Hope you are all well. Bye, from a much more relaxed Fiona x