What Went Wrong!

After I found out that Grace was going to have a cleft lip, I asked myself what I did wrong. I was told that often times it can be genetic, however, neither Art or I have any history in our family of cleft lips. So I continued looking through my research online. Many articles say it could be because the mother exposed herself to something that caused this to happen. I felt so horrible, that maybe it was my fault. My doctor reassured me that indeed it was not my fault and things like this just happen. Our little girl just picked us, and she is going to be just fine. For those mothers going through their lists out there too, just to see if there is anything that happened, here are some of the precautions that I took, and our little girl still has a cleft lip.

-Grace was a planned baby and we wanted her so badly. In preparation I started taking prenatal vitamins five months before I became pregnant. I even took the vitamins to my doctor to make sure they had all of the correct and healthy ingredients needed. They did!
-Upon conception, I no longer drank any alcohol (although it was occasional prior to that)
-I have never smoked a day in my life!
-I stopped drinking caffeine-oh how I miss my coffee and mountain dew on occassion!
-I started eating healthier-more fruits and veggies, soy milk, cheeses etc. No hot dogs, sushi, or cesear salad etc.
-I even contacted the EPA to ask about the quality of the water from my home and workplace to make sure it was safe to drink. I shared the results with my doctor and pregnancy risk line and was informed by both, that the water in my locations would be way better for my child than bottled water.
-I bought a metal water bottle, so as to avoid any plastic issues in my water.
-I called the pregnancy risk line and talked to my doctor to make sure my face/body wash was safe for my child.
-I continued to exercise, but was much more careful, not pushing it, and not playing any contact sports.
-I didn't paint in my house, clean with harsh chemicals, or work in the garden. My husband was very helpful. Later in my pregnancy I did paint a dresser, but I wore a mask the entire time.
-I didn't go in places that I was worried would not be healthy, I was aware in every way possible.

Needless to say, I was very careful. I did the best that I could do to give my baby a good start. I still wonder what happened, but I know now that sometimes it just does. It doesn't pay to be hard on yourself or cause added stress. Sometimes it just happens and we love our girl no matter what! Now we move forward and try to make sure that we give her the best chance going forward, the same as we did in the past. So for mother's out there in my same position, I hope to share the message, that it isn't your fault. It just happens some times, and your baby will be okay!