Day 5

Today, Monday, is the 5th day after surgery for Cassie. Her lip is really showing changes. Last night I gave her a bath and noticed something interesting. Until last night I thought she had two kinds of stitches in her lip. It looked like she had black (or very dark colored) stitches going up the center of her lip and a little above her lip. These seemed to be under the skin. Then it looked like two rows of white fabric stitches running almost the whole length of her lip. There is also a stitch or two way up in the middle-inside of the lip that appears to be going all the way through her lip. Now that a lot of the swelling has gone down, you can see that the dark stitches are not on the inside of her lip. They are most definitely on the outside of her lip. We can see the ends of the thread. Her lip was so swollen that it had engulfed the stitches, making it appear that they were under the skin. That's very interesting, and goes to show just how swollen her lip really was. Tonight I noticed that those dark stitches aren't as dark as they once were-- they are getting lighter. I'm beginning to think they once were white in color - the same white fabric stitches as every where else on her lip - and that the dark color is just blood stains. I have been putting aquaphor on her lips about 5 times a day -- most of the time at her request -- and I think it's helping to dissolve/remove the blood. I know -- kind of gross -- but very interesting to watch the changes. Her lips are starting to show glimpses of their new shape -- of course I think they already look adorable and kissable. But think it will be quite sometime before she will let mama kiss them.

Sonny was off today for MLK Day but has to go back to work tomorrow. Then it's all up to me to keep the girls quiet again. Daddy took Chloe to gymnastics tonight and Cassie and I stayed home and made cookies. This was a simple mix in a bag - just add butter and water. At least they both got to do something fun tonight. It's getting pretty boring around here. And if I have to watch one more episode of Dora, well, I just might scream.

Cassie is feeling more like herself the past two days. I know this because she begged to take her pajamas off yesterday morning so she could be a ballerina and just wear a diaper and tutu. Slowly, she's getting back to her spunky self. We let her keep the no-nos off during the day. She still has to wear them at night, and theoretically at nap time. I say theoretically because she has yet to take a nap since her surgery. I expect that to change soon. Cassie usually loves her sleep. She doesn't seem to mind the no-nos at night. The nights are still difficult for everyone. If it's not Cassie waking up, it's Chloe. Add in the no-nos and a sore mouth or a sore mouth with very dry lips and stitches, and everyone ends up losing an hour or two of sleep.

I think we have turned a corner with the issues stemming from surgery -- the first 3 days were really tough. But we seem to have figured out what works for everyone. Poor Chloe is still getting the short end of the attention stick but we'll make that up to her when we can. She does seem to understand it sometimes, even if just a tiny bit.

Below are pictures from today -- day 5 -- from about 6pm.