An Ergonomic Swaddler?

     A few days ago I received an e-mail from Ergobaby regarding a new product they will soon be offering. The Ergobaby Swaddler.
     You would think that if you were born in the middle of winter you would want to be wrapped up but Froggie never really cared about being swaddled. She was swaddled whenever the nurses or doctors would come in to see her in the hospital and we tried a sleep sack with a top that "swaddled" their arms. But after being given the recommendation to avoid anything that put stress on Froggie's hips we stopped trying to swaddle her all together.
     I must say that this swaddler looks pretty cool and seems like a better design than some of the swaddle blankets we were given when Big Brother was little. It also looks as though you can swaddle their top half and not cover the baby's feet which is another option that seems pretty cool.

Photo courtesy of http://store.ergobaby.com

Recovery Day

      Yesterday was a bit slower paced than Saturday was. We didn't have to be awake as early and didn't have as much to do. We slowly got ready for tthe day and headed up to the local arts festival. There were a lot of vendors and tables set up and most importantly there was a kids craft area set up. My kids are all about crafts (Big Brother more than Froggie for now)! Almost as soon as we got there Big Brother (with the assistance of my mom) made a sail boat.

     Then the kids made visors. Big Brother picked dinosaurs and went a little sticker crazy and I put together one for Froggie. The kids also made tiles that we will eventually need to have fired.

making a sailboat. 

watching a pottery demo

Froggie loving her visor

Froggie's visor

     After the arts festival we headed home with a grumpy Big Brother. After lunch and laying him down Froggie and I tried out the pool again. She hasn't really enjoyed it at all despite the heat and I think Big Brother splashing startles her. She did great when it was just she and I. She kicked her feet and splashed her arms. She even let me dump water all over her head! The only time she complained was when she learned forward and got water in her mouth. 

      Yesterday was also a special day for Froggie because she got to have a vegetable! We found these awesome baby food mixes by nuturme that you mix with breast milk. They don't have a ton of options but  they have cereals, single fruits and veggies, and blends. Froggie seemed to be excited to eat but not so sure of the taste.

Our options

Froggie's 1st food - squash

Froggie's first bite.

Thinking she may like it. 

Still ok with the squash. 

Telling us she was done.

5K Day and a Few Other Adventures

     Well today was 5K day... we were up bright and early and headed up to the peninsula to do our walk. At least that's what we thought. We started off walking but walking was no fun for Big Brother so that quickly turned to running. If you've ever tried to run with a 2 year old you know that it's a mix between sprinting, running, jogging and making your walk look like a run. AND it's VERY tiring! Froggie started out in the jogging stroller and didn't seem to care at all about the frequent transitions from walking to running. 

                       

     As we neared the halfway point Big Brother started to get tired. He said he didn't want to go in the stroller but agreed to the Ergo UNTIL he realized that meant he wasn't going to walk anymore. So we stuck him on Hubby's back and he did fine with it aside from the fact that he kept yelling "I want down" in Hubby's ear. 

     So down he went and straight into the stroller and Froggie hopped into the Ergo. She could have cared less where she was at as long as she was moving. 

     Overall it took us about an hour and ten minutes to complete the 5K. Which isn't too bad considering we were taking our pace from a 2 year old. 

     After the 5K we went to breakfast as a family before Hubby had to return to his drill weekend obligations. When we parted ways with him the kids and I headed to the zoo for Frozen Safari day. We used our zoo membership so we don't have to pay admission and we got our nifty Frozen Safari Passports. This passport contained check offs for 4 stations sponsored by local organizations. We were given our passports as soon as we entered the zoo. 

     Station 1 - Sponsored by a local grocery store. 1/2 ice cream sandwich. Near Front gate. 

Station 2 - Sponsored by Blue Bunny. Whole ice cream sandwich. Near Tiger exhibit. 

Station 3 - Sponsored by Slush Puppie. Blue or Red 9oz Slush Puppie (Big Brother chose red). Near Giraffes. 

Station 4 - Sponsored by Sam's Club. Klondike Bar (we split this one instead of getting 2). Near carrousel. 

     There was another station sponsored by a dairy farmers organization and they were giving out cups of ice cream but there is only so much ice cream that someone can eat before enough is enough. In addition to eating lots of special treats we saw most of the animals who were also getting special treats today. 

     When we left the zoo we had a graduation party to make a pit stop at and stayed for awhile. We left once Froggie and Big Brother started to get cranky. Both kids fell asleep in the car (which NEVER happens) but when we got home we were asked if we wanted to walk down the road to meet my cousins new baby. Boy is he cute! So of course I couldn't say no and I attempted to stealthily transfer my sleeping children from their carseats to their stroller. Of course this didn't work and I ended up with two awake kids who were surprisingly not very cranky. 

     After this everyone either napped or dozed off on the couch until Hubby was done with his Navy obligations for the day. When he got home we left the kids with my mom and headed out to dinner with some friends of ours at a local restaurant who was donating a portion of food sales as part of a fundraiser for the Navy Ball in October. 

Ready to Run

     By run I mean walk... and by ready I mean I laid out my clothes and shoes. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we will head out to do our 5K!

     Froggie had another great day! She seems to have transitioned seamlessly to life without the harness.  She rolled around and kicked her feet, she even nursed with her leg stretched straight up in the air for awhile this evening. 

     It's still a little weird to pick her up. She feels a lot smaller without the harness and she wiggles more. The harness, even though it wasn't that big, seemed to make her chest feel thicker and her entire tiny body wider. It also held her steady. She seems to wobble more than she did when the harness was on. 

11 Weeks in the harness

     Well today was our appointment. We checked in and headed back to radiology. Froggie laid on the table while the tech held her still and another tech and I stood behind the wall to take the x-ray. Once they made sure there was a clear image we headed back out to the main waiting room. A few minutes later they took us back and weighed Froggie in. She was 13lb 15oz.
     We got settled in the exam room with the fish light and waited. The nurse came in to check on us and see how Froggie was doing with the harness. She left saying that her doctor would be in after reviewing the X-ray. Froggie was being a little grumpy so I nursed her and she fell asleep so I wrapped her up and put her on the exam table to sleep and I continued my wait.

     The doctor came in and after saying hello to me said "well, the X-ray is normal". He then offered to show it to me, so the nurse stayed with Froggie while I headed out to the computer to look at the X-ray. He showed me her image from today next to her image from April. Her sockets look noticeably different; more curved rather than straight lines. He was looking for angles near 30°. Her left hip was right at 30° and her right hip is at 29°!
     We headed back to the exam room where he unwrapped Froggie and adjusted her harness to ensure a proper fit. He noted that even though he increased the harness' length and allotted her more room she still held her hips at the old setting. He said he wanted us to have her wear it for only bed time for the next month and then discontinue wearing it all together! He took her out of the harness and when he handed it back to me he reminded me that it could be washed as needed. He and the nurse laughed a little when I told them we do clean it. Froggie's doctor went on to say that he can tell which kids wear their harness/braces by how stained they are.

     I asked about Froggie's odd habit of turning her foot and after wiggling her around a little he said not to worry about it. He went on to explain that it was essentially her version of sticking her toes in her mouth. 

     He initially said he wanted to see us again when she was a year old and possibly walking then he changed his mind and said he'd like to see her in 3 months. At our next appointment (in October!) Froggie will have another X-ray done and we'll meet with her doctor to make sure that her angles are still "normal".  We then packed up and Froggie got to leave in pants!

     She really enjoyed her first day harness free and spent a lot of time playing on the floor. She really napped for the first time in 3 months without the harness. She liked having free toes so much that she curled them around the slats on the crib. She also started showing off how flexible she is.

Tomorrow's The Day!

     Well tomorrow morning I will be dropping off Big Brother and taking Froggie to her appointment. When we get there we'll go back for an X-ray. This will determine whether or not Froggie needs continued treatment and what (if any) treatment that may mean. I will also be asking about Froggie's new habit of twisting her legs.
     I'm pretty anxious about our appointment; especially since the last time we went in for an X-ray I thought it would be the end of our journey with Hip Dysplasia. It obviously was not and was the start of this blog and a lot of the things I have brewing in the back of my mind.
     I'm holding out hope for tomorrow though and packing pants/shorts for Froggie. I'm hoping she can go to just wearing the harness at night or not needing it at all.

Where Does the Time Go?

     Time... Where does it go? My babies aren't "babies" anymore and I'm not sure when that actually happened. Check out these pictures of Big Brother holding Froggie. Most of them were from before she had her harness and he really didn't ask to hold her much once she got it (until recently when he rediscovered his interest in holding her). Time is also flying in the harness. Thursday are her x-rays and clinical check so we will know what our next step is by Thursday afternoon.

February 1, 2013

February 2013

February 2013

April 20, 2013

July 9, 2013

     Pretty crazy right? I can't believe how big they both are getting! I am pretty impressed though at how much Big Brother still loves Froggie. I have been warned that in a few years I may not be as lucky. Froggie has also taken to chewing on EVERYTHING! Check out this cute picture of her gnawing on her Frog Wubbanub.