Open Wide!!!

When we received Mia on the first day, the first thing I did was to check her palate. We were told that she had a Stage 3 open palate, but pictures we received previously were pretty hard to make out. When I looked in, I didn't see any hole...only a huge whitish matter that was covering the palate and running down her throat. I knew instantly, from working as a Dental Hygienist, that it was something foreign and NOT supposed to be there. I initially thought that it may be congealed or dried formula. It is important to clean the palate after feeding, especially with an open palate, and I was almost certain that was never done. We inquired about it several times and were assured that it was skin or to possibly try "wiping" it off. I tried wiping it and cleaning as best as I could with a wash cloth, only to see that it was firmly attached and would need to be removed. Still, we were assured it was nothing.
Finally after 2 nights of screaming, we insisted that she be seen by a Doctor. They agreed to take us to a local hospital and have her seen by an Oral Surgeon. When he began to inspect her palate, he said the same thing...it is a yeast/fungal infection, and just needs to be "wiped off". Bullshit...sorry...but come on...you could LOOK at it and tell that it could be peeled off. I begged him to use tweezers and try to pull it off (nothing with the mouth scares me...especially when it comes to my child!!). He agreed and could not believe it when he removed a 5 inch piece of hard plastic paper that  ed been lodged in her open palate!!! WHAT?!? When he pulled it out, I thought I was going to die...PLASTIC PAPER????You've got to be kidding me!! It had been there for a long time, and formula had dried to it, giving it a yellowish appearance.
Well, needles to say, once he removed it, she has been able to drink her bottles like a champ. We have not tried any solid foods yet, but before hand, she was unable to swallow anything solid..hmm...wonder why???
The moral of this story is to ALWAYS trust your gut. I knew that something was wrong and should have put my foot down when i first saw it.
Since she didn't sleep at all last night and was wiped out from her hospital experience (which let me just describe as nothing short of chaotic), she has been sleeping all day. Poor thing is worn slap out. She did manage to suck down 2 full bottles right before conking out....poor thing.
This sweet girl is having it so rough. Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou. I have been assured that the remainder of the trip should improve from here on out. It is supposedly at least 20 degrees warmer where we are headed with lots to do outside...parks, gardens, shopping...no foreign objects lodged in throats....;-)
We pray that she does well on the flight. It is only about a 2 hour flight, but since many cleft babies have lots of ear problems due to all of their fluid, We are hoping the altitude is not too painful. How she does will give us a slight indication of how the 15 hr plus ride home will be......
Once we got back to the hotel, we decided to venture out for lunch. We headed out with some other families and enjoyed a nice, authentic Chinese meal. Mia slept in the Ergo carrier the whole time and is still asleep as I type this....

We are pretty much DONE for the day. Just going to let little Miss sleep and recover. Tonight we are anxious to face time back home with our family and Boys who we are missing SO much. We are so thankful to have such amazing Grandparents watching over them while we are away. The "2nd shift" is in now, and "3rd shift" will take over tomorrow for the rest of the trip. The Boys have done great so far and we are praying that things go smoothly while we are away. They are so anxious to meet their little Sister. It is so sweet seeing them facetime with her..always wanting to tell her something or show her something..she is one lucky little girl......but WE are most definitely the LUCKIEST!!!
Packing our bags and flying out tomorrow for our last Province...woo hoo!!!!

For those of you who have left sweet messages and comments on Facebook....FB is a blocked site here in Zhengzhou. I can access my page and make limited posts, but am not able to read ANY comments or messages...only see that I have them. I am so anxious to get to the next City tomorrow and hope to find better internet reception, as I am desperately missing my "love notes of encouragement" from back home. Thank you all for supporting us with your sweet words..our spirits have definitely dipped a little since not being able to view them. Love you all!!!xxxxx

blessings,
Angie