Some good news...

We made it home safe and sound from our Shriner's trip!  Miss Sunshine did so well on the plane, I was very proud of her.  She did okay in the hotel, but when it came time for bed, she cried and said she wanted to go home.  It took some convincing but I did finally manage to get her to sleep. She's a bit of a bed hog, so Mommy didn't get as much sleep, but that's okay!

Wednesday was a LONG day.  Team cleft visits always are - we saw 5 doctors (Dentist, Orthodontist, ENT, Plastic Surgeon, and Child Psychologist) in one day, plus a Medical Photographer, Social Worker, Nurse Practitioner, RN, Audiologist and Speech Therapist.  And they did dental X Rays for the first time this visit as well.  Phew!  Miss Sunshine is still a peanut, weighing in at 29 pounds, and 37 inches tall.  Long and skinny... just like Daddy.  Everyone was astounded by her.  They told us she could not be developing and recovering more perfectly!  The speech therapist agreed with our local speech team that she no longer needs speech therapy.  The child psychologist agreed with the cognitive assessment we had done here (despite Miss Sunshine deciding to talk in baby talk the entire time she was in the room - stinker!), the social worker gave us some paperwork for assistance with dental care down the road, as she will likely need extensive orthodontics, the dentist said her teeth look great and he has no major concerns - just to keep up with twice-yearly visits and keep an eye on her developing underbite.  The ENT said her ears look great, she passed her hearing tests with flying colors, and both tubes are still in place and functioning.  He even said he feels this may be the last set she needs - he wants us to follow up with our local ENT periodically to check hearing and function of the tubes, but if she loses one, he doesn't want to rush to replace it, he wants to give it a few months and see how she does without it - when they placed this last set, there was no fluid in the left ear at all, and he thinks it's a sign that her palatal muscles are beginning to do their job.  All in all, it was a fabulous (if tiring!) visit.  And the best news is - they don't need to see her back for TWO years!  Yes, we get a two year reprieve from visits unless something major comes up that our local doctors don't feel they can handle.  But at this point, she is a totally normal little girl who just happened to have a cleft palate at birth, but her surgery has been deemed a 100% success now that she is two years post-op.  I can't being to describe what a huge weight this is that has been lifted off our shoulders.  Even though all our local doctors have said she is doing well, you just never know until you get to a team visit - you can think things are going perfectly and then find out that really they aren't.  But they are going perfectly this time - and it's just the kind of break we needed!