Chubby Bunny

Look at all those rolls!!! There's a few more hiding in her diaper. LOL

Gettting Close to Walking...

Rachel walked the push toy across the family room today. She'll also walk holding on to two fingers, and sometimes with just one, with some wobblyness.

It'd be nice if Rachel was walking before her next surgery as I'm sure she'll have major frustration when it comes to the arm restraints this time around. She's used to crawling and pulling herself up to the table. I think if she's walking, and still has some freedom, she might not get as frustrated.

Update on the Plastic Surgeon

Every week, for the last several weeks, I've called the appointment desk of the Plastic Surgery department, inquiring as to whether or not they had the new plastic surgeons schedule in the system yet. Last week when I called, the receptionist was kind enough to contact the Nurse Practioner in charge of doctors schedules. The information was passed on to me that she had Rachel in her book for the new plastic surgeon and I would be contacted when he arrives.

Just wanting an update in reguards to Dr Martin's arrival, schedule, etc, I called and left a message for the nurse practioner yesterday. She returned my call this morning, and let me know that Dr Martin will physically be here on Monday, however, he is still waiting for his California license, therefore they still have no schedule for him. It was quite evident that the nurse knew Rachel's name (from the calls I've previously made) and again assured me that she'd call me just as soon as they have a schedule for the new plastic surgeon.

Now that I've been reassured several times over again, and I know Rachel is in her book, and her name is known, I think I'll stop being a pest for a while. LOL

Rachel's Look Alike

One of my dear online friends emailed me today and asked if I had seen the August issue of Parenting Magazine. She said she thought the baby on the cover looks a lot like Rachel. What do you think??

Aren't I Cute???

If you click on this picture (or any picture for that matter) to make it bigger, you can see how well her scar is looking. Dr Lehocky did such a great job!

Eating ...

I've learned it's much easier to have her eat her cookie in just her diaper than to try and clean her up with clothes on. Notice the cookie drool all down the front of her. Following this cookie, I just stuck her in the sink! As far as eating food goes...the few times I have given her baby food from a jar, she really doesn't care for it. So in the last couple of days I've started giving her table food. Her favorite food, that we tried a few weeks ago, is mashed potatoes...that's my girl!! Another thing we tried a week or so ago when we were out to dinner was refried beans. She liked those too...gets that from her daddy! This last weekend I tried pasta, cheese, and itty bitty pieces of chicken. She does really well with eating the food. We haven't had any come back out her nose yet, LOL.

Happy 50th Birthday Disneyland!

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am a Disney Freak, I love going to Disneyland and anything Disney. Because of that, I have to acknowledge that today is the 50th birthday of Disneyland!

However, to keep on topic because this is a blog about Rachel...Rachel's 1st trip to Disneyland was when she was 5 weeks old. My mom and I made the trip after dropping Hannah off at preschool. Some of the 2004 Olympic Swimmers were there that day, holding a competition with swimmers from local swim clubs, and I wanted to go, as we'd watched all the swimming events in the Oylmpics. There was an above ground pool just about the entire length of Main Street. It was sure a sight to see!

One memory of Rachel's 1st trip to Disneyland is that I forgot her special nipple for her bottle. I had bottles of water, formula, but no nipple! I tried a regular bottle which I bought at the Baby Center, didn't work, I tried feeding her with a straw, using the dropper method, and that worked, but it took forever! Needless to say, ever since then, I've always kept a spare nipple tucked away in the bottom of the diaper bag. LOL.

During another visit to Disneyland, Alice in Wonderland came over to Hannah and Rachel. I was impressed with Alice because despite Rachel's facial birth defect, she looked right past it and was just kept talking to her and to Hannah. It was Rachel's 1st character greeting. I know seeing a baby with a cleft lip is very minimal compared to the other children she encounters throughout the day.


Hopefully, as Rachel gets older, she'll get the same enjoyment out of trip to the Happiest Place on Earth as her mother, and big sister do!!

Trying to Beat the Heat!

We've had a pretty hot few days here in Southern California. Summer is officially upon us. In attempts to try and keep cool, we bought a family size inflatable pool this week. Rachel joined in the fun in trying to stay cool and loved it!!!

Not IN, but UNDER

Rachel has recently discovered another way to enjoy her exersaucer...crawling under it, rather than being in it! LOL

Guestbook!

Rachel's Journey now has an official Guestbook! We would be honored if you would please sign it Followers of Rachel's Journey!

Rachel, Hannah, and Alisha

And yet, another reason to wonder...

When Rachel was born, I couldn't help but wonder what I did to cause Rachel's cleft lip and cleft palate. Was it the starting of prenatal vitamins late?? Was it that a home pregnancy test was false negative therefore I took Provera to induce my period?? Was it because I was doing Weight Watchers and trying to eat healthy?? What did I do to cause this??

As if all those reasons weren't enough to wonder about, now I have yet another reason to wonder...

Once again, in an online search for cleft lip websites or blogs, I came across another news article that hit close to home, Cleft Lip More Likely in Babies of Overweight Moms.

Okay, so I was overweight when I got pregnant with Rachel (I still am). However, I had lost 70lbs prior to my getting pregnant. In fact, it was due to my weight loss that I even got pregnant. I had to take minor fertility drugs to get pregnant with Hannah. I figured I would need them again if I was to get pregnant, afterall, I had been off the Pill for over 18 months and still wasn't pregnant. But my weight loss jump started my ovaries to working, and much to my surprise I became pregnant.

Was my being overweight really a cause in Rachel's cleft?? I weighed less when I got pregnant with Rachel than I did when I got pregnant with Hannah. And Hannah was born non cleft affected. It's defiantely a question I will ask our craniofacial team in September at our yearly appointment.

I first came across this topic a couple of days ago. At first I didn't think much about it. I tried to find the actual article in The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. But had no luck and didn't want to subscribe to the online journal. But then found this second article, and thought I'd share my thoughts about this subject.

Oh, and by the way, one of the accomplishments I am most proud of...is that I maintained that 70lb weigh loss throughout my pregnancy. Since Rachel's birth I have continued to do Weight Watchers in my continued attempt to get to goal...although it has been really hard to stay on the bandwagon the last year. But I keep getting up, despite falling off. And that's the important thing!

Cutie in the Crib

Most times when Rachel awakens for the day, or from her naps, she can always be found in the happiest of moods!

The Last of the "1st Holidays"

July 4th marks the last of Rachel's 1st holidays. Now that we're in the month of July, it's so hard to believe that Rachel's birthday is next month!! Next month!!! Where in the world did the last year go?!?!?!

Anyways, for the 4th of July we stayed close to home, our Cul de Sac had a block party. We had a huge BBQ with all the fixings and then watched the local fireworks from the middle of the street. The surrounding streets around our Cul de Sac do fireworks really big, like professional shows, shooting them up high in to the sky. So we always have an array of shows surrounding us.


Rachel enjoyed the day hanging out and playing with Gracie and other neighborhood friends. This picture is of Rachel (10 months), Gracie (8 months), and Erika (1 month). This time next year, all three of them will be up and running about with all the rest of the kids on the street!

Hanging out with Gracie

Hanging out with someone close to her own age, Gracie. Gracie is 2 months younger than Rachel and is the daughter of our neighbor friends. Her and Rachel are just two of the four girls born within the last year on our Cul de Sac!

Groovy Girl in Gramma's Glasses

"Yeah, I know I'm cute"