Craniofacial Team Appointment

Gavin spending time with his Daddy

We have been so busy lately that I haven't really had a chance to blog.  During the past two weeks, we had another appointment with Gavin's craniofacial team.  Grandma S went with us and snapped lots of pictures.

Gavin and Mommy waiting for the doctors

We met with the speech pathologist, developmental psychologists, pediatrician, and geneticists.  The speech pathologist said Gavin is doing great and she won't need to see him again until he is 9-12 months.

Gavin making a funny face with the Speech Pathologist, Heather

Next, we met with the developmental psychologists.  They held a ring up in front of him to see if he would follow it with his eyes and reach for it - which he did.  They also moved his legs around and tried to see if he would sit up on his own.  After the tests, they said that he was doing very well.  They suggested that I refrain from using a walker or bouncer with him, claiming that both of these hinder walking development and may cause him to walk on his toes.  However, I know that Matt and I were both put in bouncers as babies, and we both learned to walk just fine.  Therefore, I think using a bouncer is okay (in moderation, of course).  They also said that Gavin may need to practice more tummy-time, since he was not sitting up on his own yet.  Once again, I thought the advice was a bit odd, since he is only 4 months old.  Isn't sitting up a skill that is developed by about 6 months?  I figured he will sit up when he's ready.  He can sit up with support, but just not on his own yet.

Following the ring with his eyes

Sitting supported

Our third team member was the pediatrician, Dr. Elmendorf.  He said Gavin looked great and was healing very well.  Gav is now 23 1/2" long and 14.05 pounds.  The doctor said that means he's a bit on the short side, but average for weight.  So guess that would mean he's short and chubby!  Ha!  But with a 5'4" mom and a 5'10" dad, I didn't expect Gavin to be the next Luke Walton.  Also, with the recent events in my life and Gavin still adjusting to his new mouth, I was hoping to stay home to care for him for another month, rather than returning to work on August 1, like I was planning.  Dr. Elmendorf was fine with this and wrote me a note to return September 1.  I would love to stay home with Gavin until he is school age, but I know that's not realistic for us.

Our final team members for the day were the geneticists.  They explained that, due to mixed clefting in my family (Gavin with only the cleft lip and my mom and her sister with only the cleft palate), we have a higher chance of having another cleft baby.  Rather than 2-3% chance many other families have, we have a 5-6% chance.  The geneticists also explained that mixed clefting is generally a cause of van der Woude syndrome, most often characterized by lip pits or mounds on the lower lips.  However, no one in my family has or had lip pits or mounds, so we may not have van der Woude syndrome.  She said that we could run some genetic tests to check; however, knowing would not make a difference to us, so I turned down the offer.  She suggested that Gavin return for some testing when he is in his late teens to determine his chances of having a cleft baby.  So I guess I will leave that up to him when the time comes.

Gavin and Mommy with the geneticists

Overall, the appointment went great.  It was nice to have Grandma S there to help us.  I was glad to hear that Gavin was doing so well - although I knew that already!