Kailyn ’s smiles, Kailyn’s strength

Photo credit: Samantha K Photography On April 1, 2012, my husband Kevin and I found out we were expecting our second baby. We were very surprised as our daughter Kendall was just seven months old at the time. At the same time, we were very excited we would have two kids so close in age. At our 20-week ultrasound, we had another surprise — this baby had a cleft lip. We were pretty upset when we left the ultrasound. We couldn’t stop asking, “Why us? What did we do wrong?” We were sent for a 3D ultrasound to confirm what we already knew. From there we were referred to the Cleft and Craniofacial Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. We had a fetal MRI and met with Dr. John Mulliken and his team. Kailyn and Dr. Mulliken Learning about cleft lip They showed us pictures of what our baby’s cleft would look like and also showed us the special bottles we would use to feed our new baby. They assured us everything would be OK. That’s when we knew — our baby would be in the best hands. Kailyn Marie was born on November 15, 2012. Her cleft was more involved than we initially expected; she had a pretty significant gum notch. She was still beautiful, she was healthy, and she was all ours. Kailyn was even able breastfeed despite having a cleft. We met with Dr. Mulliken when Kailyn was just five days old, and they scheduled her first surgery (lip adhesion) for December 26, 2012. Kailyn was just six weeks old when we handed her over for her first surgery, but s...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Cleft and Craniofacial Center cleft lip Dr. John Mulliken Source Type: news