Elizabeth

Thought I'd better do an update on our lovely girl.

Since her surgery, she is like a different baby. She sleeps during the day, IN HER COT, for up to an hour at a time, compared to thirty minutes in the motorised swing. She puts herself to sleep about 8 times out of 10, instead of needing to be fed to sleep all the time.

She has started rolling onto her tummy and reaching out for things in front of her. She loves talking and has huge conversations with herself while waiting for one of her slaves to attend to her.





Her little nose and mouth look amazing. She needs to wear her nasal stent for another couple of months, but it doesn't bother her.

She is feeding well and frequently (compared to a lot of babies). We switched her from her cleft palate teat to a regular teat as she was guzzling her feeds in 30 seconds flat. I am expressing 4 times a day and this yields approximately 800-1100mL of milk.

We have been trying to breastfeed, but the more I try, the more disheartened I feel. She attaches really easily, but refuses to suck and will just push away. I will keep trying but I don't know for how long.

She is just such a joy and always has a smile for anyone who passes into her line of sight. It's hard to imagine the dark days of her first three months. There were days when I truly felt that I was a failure, and I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so glad she has turned a corner and I am able to enjoy being her mummy.