Surgeries 2 and 3?

Rachel here. We just returned from Reese's 4 year well checkup. She's as healthy as they come. Our ped was shocked to notice that she hadn't been in since her 3 year well! I think our kids must be abnormally healthy... neither of them has ever even had an ear infection! She's completely up to par on everything she should be doing... average weight and ridiculously tall... we're ecstatic to have such a sweet healthy girl! There, however, are two causes for concern.

First... her umbilical hernia. Both our girls were born with them. Reese's is exponentially worse than EG's, and we'd hoped it would have closed on it's own before she turned 2. It's just as big today as it was when she was born, so we've come to the time where it's time for surgery. Our ped sent the referral in today, and we should hear back in the next 48 hours as to what our first plan of action is. I'm pretty freaked out, but she's been through one minor surgery before, and I know she's a fighter... so we're optimistic.

Second... her frenulum is still attached and starting to cause some speech issues. She has difficulty pronouncing words that begin with the letter 'l' and with the 'th' sound... both of which require your tongue to touch the roof of your mouth. We never had it clipped when she was younger because we were hopeful that it would rip on it's own... womp womp. Now it has a blood vessel running through it, which causes a bit more of a predicament. What could have been a quick snip in the ped's office is now another contender for surgery. Our ped suggested meeting with a speech specialist to begin working with her... in an attempt to see if the sounds were something she could master on her own with practice, or if they thought a clip would be the better option. After a quick conversation, our ped thought he would try to combine the frenulum surgery along with the umbilical hernia surgery. We would have to meet with a general surgeon... preferably a pediatric surgeon... and see if this would be an option... if so... we'd jump on it in a heartbeat. Of course that's assuming it would be safe. I'd much rather have her under once and with one short period of recovery than 2. She was pretty yucky after coming out of anesthesia for her sty surgery.

There is a third and minor concern with our tot. She's been grinding her teeth in her sleep. We only notice it when she's shuffling about... like if we go to check on her and shift her a bit. Reasons for this could be not enough sleep, stress, or the alignment of her teeth. She has a dentist appointment Thursday, so that will be a major discussion. It could be something she outgrows or something she'll need a mouth guard for. Our ped said they rarely have a child with baby teeth wear a mouth guard, so we'll see what happens.

Poor girl is healthy as an ox but may soon be a surgery veteran!