My daughter has been "froggied" for 7 days. It feels like we got the harness yesterday AND forever ago at the same time. So many things changed in the matter of a few hours last Thursday that are now becoming the norm. It's amazing how resilient children are! We had made the decision to let Froggie stay in her harness for 22+ hours a day rather than to just have her wear it while she sleeps so that it can be of maximum benefit. So far we're still adjusting.
I'd like to list some of the things I've learned in the last 7 days.
1. Any 3-6 month pants/sleepers my daughter has will probably never be worn. This probably bugs me more than anyone else. I saw one blogger-parent post that they experienced the same selfish feelings about outfits. I've been brainstorming ways to repurpose some of these clothing items and if I come up with any ideas I'll be sure to share them. In the same vein, what Froggie wears and how she wears it has changed.
2. Trying to nurse around "froggied" legs is not comfortable. I'm sure there's a whole blog entry coming about this one - stay tuned.
3. Changing diapers is tricky. We use both disposable diapers (at day care) and cloth diapers (at home). both seem to have their pros and cons. This will also probably end up being it's own blog entry or 2.
4. Everyone seems to feel bad for Froggie. The way I look at it she has an issue that we CAN fix. Not only can we fix the issue but we can do it now, before she has any true pain and while the harness might be the end of her needed treatment. I see this harness as a blessing, it might be awkward for us for the time being but it's doing its job to fix my Froggie.
5. The harness has not changed who Froggie is. This is a tough one. I occasionally catch myself looking at the mess of nylon, fleece and Velcro wrapped around my daughter and I almost miss her gummy smile or her giggles and cooing.
6. She likes to be held. This is probably a no brainer. Infants like to be held, it makes them feel warm, safe and loved. However, with the harness Froggie likes to be held in a very specific way. This very specific way changes periodically depending on how tired her legs are, how warm she is, which way the wind blows, etc.
Well those are 6 of the hundreds of little things that have changed in the past 7 days. As much of a transition this is for us I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm glad that even though things looked and felt "normal" that our doctor didn't shrug us off and miss this opportunity to repair Froggie's hips without the need for surgery or confining casts.
Today Froggie went for her first walk in our stroller without being in her car seat. She typically is in her car seat hooked into the stroller or in a chest carrier so this was her first REAL stroller ride. She hated it. From having sun screen put on to laying in the reclined seat she yelled, which she doesn't normally do. I ended up having to pull her out of the stroller and carry her while she held on to the neck of my shirt; all while pushing my double stroller with another child in it back to our starting point.
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| On our way outside. |
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