It's a Boy...Welcome Henry!

Welcome 

Michael "Henry" Whittemore 

Henry was born on March 22nd at 2:50 p.m, weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 21.5 inches in length!

Just as we expected, Henry was born with a unilateral cleft lip and cleft palate.  What we didn't expect was a seven hour trip to the ICU because his umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck during birth.  Almost on cue, God was again providing us instant perspective.  "You don't have it so bad.  It could be a lot worse."  For some parents that day, their experience in the ICU was tragically worse.  Suddenly, the cleft lip and palate took an instant back seat.  Respiration and blood circulation quickly reminded us what was really important: fully functioning organs.  Thankfully, after some fluids, oxygen and a lot of TLC, Henry was released out at 10 pm, no worse for the wear.

As with any baby, but especially cleft babies, the chief concern is getting them to take nutrients right away.  Fortunately, he has been eating like a champ, taking to his bottle incredibly well and even trying to breast feed.  He gets a little frustrated with the breast feeding but is able to latch on for a few seconds at a time.  Amazingly, after 48 hours in the hospital, he had even gained weight!  When we checked out Sunday, he was 8 pounds 5 ounces!

We will be especially sensitive to his weight throughout this process, as the more he weighs the sooner he will be scheduled for the coming surgeries.  We head to Stanford Children's Hospital on Monday for the first surgical consultation.  We hope this meeting will provide us a solid blueprint for the coming months and years.  Even though the reality is "years," we are taking this one day at a time.        

William loving his new baby brother

We came home from the hospital on Sunday morning and pulled up the house to this very warm welcome!  Thanks Noni and Aunt Pibby!  

Cleft or no cleft, we recognize this amazing miracle and gift from God, and we are feeling incredibly thankful that the delivery went mostly without incident, and everyone is healthy!   

The finish line to a "normal" mouth may have just started...but we fully intend to enjoy every second of the journey with this little gift named Henry.