First Emotions!
We remember when we first learned that Brandon was going to be born with a cleft lip and palate. It was about the 20th week of gestation and we went for a routine ultrasound and we were excited to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Mommy wanted a girl and Daddy wanted a healthy baby.
During the ultrasound, the technician was really quiet and didn't make a lot of statements. After she completed her initial assessment, she called in a doctor to review the results. After a careful examination, he informed us that Brandon had a cleft lip. The doctor was unclear whether the palate was involved and the answers were short and vague. We were stunned and didn't know what to expect.
After we collected ourselves, we searched the internet to learn as much as we could trying to figure out why this happened, what we did wrong, and what could we expect. Our doctor recommended genetic counseling, but insurance wouldn't cover it and we decided the risk to Brandon was too great. We identified a cleft lip and palate team and they semi-prepared us for Brandon's birth with some tips and advice. We thought we had a plan, and waited for Brandon's entrance into the world.
About week 30 of Amber's Pregnancy, she tripped and fell and landed on her stomach, and started pre-mature labor. This sent us on a hour and a half trip to a hospital equiped for pre-mature labor as directed by our doctor. Fortunately, they were able to delay Brandon's entrance, but he attempted to come every week until about the 36th week.
At week 34, we attended another ultrasound and learned his cleft lip was bi-lateral and would most likely include his palate. By week 36, our doctor allowed us to switch hospitals to where Brandon would finally be born and decided that we could now let labor procede as Brandon was quite large and fully developed. Brandon decided to continue being uncooperative and stay in Amber until week 38 when an ultrasound showed he was 9 lbs 6 oz. Our doctor decide he was quite large and decided to do a C-section.
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Please feel free to contact us at brandon@iron-muskie-inc.com if you have questions!