A year on from Isaac's cleft lip repair

What a difference a year makes...

A year ago, we were preparing ourselves for Isaac's lip repair operation. To think that a whole year has passed and that we're blessed with a beautiful boy with such a love of life, with a smile that can light up any room; it's astounding that were so worried about him, his future and how he'd deal with the surgery.

I'm not going to lie, handing over my 4 month old little bundle to the anaesthetist was the hardest thing I've ever had to do (and I've climbed mountains, given the breath of life to revive Noah when he was weeks old, abseiled off buildings and tolerated my husband for 13 years etc) but this was handing over control to the unknown. 

We fell in love with Isaac the moment we met him; his sparkling eyes, his soft skin, his fair hair, his relaxed temperament and his cleft lip. But post surgery, he was like a different baby; in pain, sobbing, inconsolable. I felt a sense of loss of his old smile  and redundancy that initially, I wasn't able to nurture and feed him; which he was yearning to do. To see my baby in a different light was heartbreaking. However a couple of days later, he was flashing his new smile and showing us how resilient he is!

A year on, these are distant memories, but still prevalent to the person he is today. He's tough; he needs to be with a boisterous big brother! He's full of personality and has a happy temperament. Yes, he has a scar (strangely, sometimes I forget that!) a small, raised mark on his lip, but it doesn't define him at all. He's Isaac, our little superhero. 

Isaac will still have to endure further surgery when he's around 8-10 years old. He still has a gap in his gum and will require a bone graft and advanced dental work in order to align his teeth. He has a flat nose profile, but it's entirely his choice if he'd like reconstructive surgery as an adult. Whatever he chooses, we'll be by his side to support him. 

I'd like to share some of our journey with you, so here are my columns that were published in Prima Baby magazine which detail his operation and post op.