First meal with NAM
From 2 weeks to 5 months old, Given underwent a molding process to reduce the size of his cleft. The device he wore (nasal alveolar molding, or NAM) also acted like an artificial palate, making mealtime much easier for all of us!
At the doctor... again!
We saw a pediatric orthodontist for weekly appointments during the molding process (almost 6 months). She made adjustments to ensure it fit properly and put the right amount of pressure to close the cleft while his cartilage and bones were still soft. He was not a fan of these appointments, but was a trooper anyway. Behind me you can see our doctor and two students. We loved being involved with a teaching program! Thanks UT pediatric dentistry team!
So glad we are past this part!
Here you can see how the device looked once tapes and the nose stent were added. The nose stent helped to shape his nostril and the tapes held it all in place and created pressure on his lip to stretch the tissue out. It looks pretty uncomfortable, but he truly didn't mind wearing it as long as we left it alone. One bonus was that the artificial palate gave him something to suck against and he would use it as a pacifier. He would get upset when we took it out at appointments, or to change the tapes.
We made it!
We are so glad to be past the tapes, devices, weekly visits, and lip surgery. What a huge blessing this whole thing has turned out to be - we wouldn't have Given any other way :)
