What Recovery?

I can't believe I have been so negligent as not to tell all you lovely people how E is doing.  Her recovery is non-existent. We expected the entire first week to be much like the first 36 hours.  It wasn't. She came home revved up and ready to go.  Back to herself by day three.  She was signing for pizza and other food she couldn't have.  Her appetite was back well before she was enough healed.  We mitted her with socks 24 hours a day for the first week.  We took them off only for meals because she refused to let us feed her.  That's the orphanage in her.  Stubbornly self-sufficient, because she had to be.  The second week through now we mitt her for naps and bedtime.  Thankfully, she doesn't fight us on putting them on.  And we do wrap them in surgical tape for a secure fit.  Although we did not aim to ween her from thumb sucking, I would bet she is cured of that habit since it's been two and a half weeks.  Her follow-up was yesterday and they asked us to mitt her one additional week, since she doesn't seem bothered by it, just for safe measure.  Her mouth looks nearly "normal" now.  The jaw bone is covered in pink gum tissue and the gaps have filled in.  All but a teeny tiny one at the juncture right of her front teeth.  While eating the other night, a pea came through her nose.  B figured there must still be a small gap since a single pea made it up.  Sure enough, the surgeon saw that tiny space not filling in.  She said it may not ever, considering that there was no gum or bone tissue in that space to  sew the palate too.  Makes sense.  It should not affect her blossoming speech, nor her regained diet.  Down the road, after her additional dental surgeries to build the missing bone and teeth, if the millimeter or two gap bothers her, we can connect it then.

Since home, she's celebrated her first Halloween (wearing the same lobster costume the boys each wore their first Halloweens,) met Aunt Krissy, brushed up on her Italian verbs, stepped in sand, gone to the beach for the first time, and grown hair long enough for pig tails.  What recovery?!

I've already sent her back to "school."  The teachers were amazed how she is herself.  She was ready to go back, and Mama was ready to be back into my routine.

I even headed south for an uber quick surprise trip to Florida.  My nephew had his 4th birthday party and my sister-in-law had a baby shower.  Since we move often with the Air Force, we try to make it to as many major events as possible while we live relatively close.  I drove solo to be in attendance since it was a quick turn around. Too many hours in the car for the kids for only two days. Brent stayed behind and appreciated me more when I returned.  *wink*

By the way, I don't know if mitted is a real word, but I'm using it.  She is beyond doing well!