Pumping humor.

This has totally happened to me. And I really did cry. After I yelled at someone and cursed the universe.

Tiny Wide Smiles Cleft Dolls

Our friend Kate has her doll business up and running; check out her site for adorable dolls with clefts, good reads for kids and grown-ups alike, and training and community outreach materials!

http://www.tinywidesmiles.com/

Ads on the blog

You probably haven't noticed yet, but you may notice at some point that I've signed up with Google to have ads placed on the blog. I hope it isn't in bad taste on this kind of blog, but I thought that ads are a good way to earn something for nothing, and I plan to donate any proceeds from the blog to Smile Train or Primary Children's Medical Center. Just so you know!

Donate your arm restraints!

I got this email from another parent this morning:

Hey, fellow cleft parents!

A wonderful organization that does tons of work in Chinese orphanages is gearing up for an April cleft palate surgery trip and is looking for left over No Nos. If you have a leftover pair or three, here's a great cause to donate them to - I'm going to send ours off today!

Here's their contact info and post from Facebook:
Got No Nos? Plans are underway for our next cleft surgery trip to China - and we will need 50 pairs for the kids we heal. If you have a pair you could donate, please send them to

LWB,
306 S Bryant, Suite C 145
Edmond OK 73034

Apologies...

I just realized that there were several comments sitting in my moderation box that I hadn't seen! I thought I had set the blog so that it would email me when there were comments, but clearly I didn't do it right... My apologies to those of you whose comments were not posted until today! I turned off the comment moderation and I will just keep an eye on them from now on =)

-Meg

Before and After: Joe

 Between his first and second surgeries.

 Lip taped and ready for surgery #2.

5 months old, just after surgery.

4 days after surgery, feeling great.

7 months old, very happy!

Joe Marcus Albert has a unilateral cleft lip and palate, and has had two surgeries so far with Dr. Morales.

Beautiful Baby

Melissa Papaj recently emailed me and was willing to share the newborn session that she did for her cousin. Isn't this little one darling?! I think it is so special to capture these little ones the way they came to us before surgery, and I'm hoping my son gains a sense of how much we have always treasured him from the newborn pictures we did. My grandparents only had maybe two photos of my aunt before her cleft repair, and it would have been so special for her grandbaby and my son to see more pictures. But they lived in a different time and different circumstances...

If you'd like to see more of this lovely session, take a look at Melissa's blog here:  http://melissapapajphotography.blogspot.com/2011/04/baby-devens-newborn-session-utah.html.