Carver Update: His new smile and recovery

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 2 months since Carver’s lip repair. He’s doing absolutely amazing, and his results continue to amaze us every single day. I often catch myself just staring at his beautiful face and perfect little smile, feeling so thankful for how well he’s healing. We are so lucky.

Carver is completely back to his normal, happy self. He can now rub his eyes, touch his face, play with his toys, and his favorite, put everything he can find into his mouth! It took about three full weeks for him to recover, and during that time he slept in his bassinet next to us. Transitioning him back into his crib had been a bit of an adjustment. He’s getting the hang of it again, and those middle of the night cuddles feel a little sweeter after everything he’s been through.

We’ll be seeing his surgeon again on Monday for a check-up. That’s when we’ll start using scar cream to gently massage and help fade his scar even more, it’s already looking incredible.

Carver is eating great, maybe even more than before! His bottle feeding has always been strong, and now he’s also started purées, which he absolutely loves. The purée does come out of his nose sometimes while eating, which is very common for cleft babies.

We’re a bit nervous but excited to start solids soon. With his palate still open, we want to be careful, but we don’t want to hold him back either. Slowly but surely, we’ll see how he does.

Carver’s palate repair is scheduled for March, and we know this next surgery may be tougher than the first. He’ll be older, more aware, and very curious about putting things in his mouth, which will make recovery a little more challenging. Our surgeon mentioned the possibility of a feeding tube if Carver struggles to eat after surgery, but we’re praying he continues to show the same strength and resilience he always has. After his palate repair, we’re hopeful we’ll be done with surgeries for a while. By then, he’ll need to be off the bottle and onto an open cup, and off the paci, something we’re definitely dreading, but we’ll take it one day at a time.

Our boy continues to amaze us every single day. He’s growing so quickly, his personality is shining through, and his little scar tells such a beautiful story of strength (and cuteness). We couldn’t be more proud of our sweet Carver.