What No One Tells you After Treatment

     While the pool of information about Hip Dysplasia is pretty small the information regarding the normal expectations of kids following treatment is almost nonexistent. This means that, no matter how much research you do or what you read, there is always some degree of doubt as to whether your child is supposed to meet milestones regarding mobility on track with their peers once the harness, brace, or cast comes off.
     While Froggie seemed to be meeting milestones rolling and crawling regardless of her time in the harness she hadn't shown much interest in walking (especially walking unassisted) or in standing up by herself. I really didn't think too much of it until Hubby said "Should we be worried that she's not walking yet?" the other day. At that point I realized that my answer was "I don't know". 

     If you know me you know that "I don't know" doesn't sit well with me; I have a ton of fairly useless knowledge stored away and I will look for the answer if I don't know it. However, with this issue, there is no looking up the answer. I decided not to panic about it and to call her doctor next month if she still wasn't walking (since she is supposed to be walking before her next X-ray and that is scheduled for April). Noah started walking right when he turned one and all kids are different so I wasn't overly concerned that she wasn't walking yet. 

     Well she showed us that she was just waiting until she was good and ready. Thursday she walked across the room and got us all excited. She wouldn't do it again though so I couldn't take pictures/video. Friday though, she walked all over the place and she hasn't stopped moving since!

Froggie was bit by the walking bug!

4 Months Harness Free

     I'm SO happy to say that Froggie has been harness free for the last 4 months! August 11th was her last night to wear her harness to bed. Since then she has had a second clear X-ray and mastered being mobile. She doesn't appear to have any lasting issues stemming from her hip dysplasia and time in the harness though I can't say that for certain since I'm not her doctor but nothing seems odd.
     She has started trying to stand by herself, walking while holding hands (sometimes), climbing the stairs and trying to step away from things! It's so exciting to watch her do the things we weren't sure would be easy for her come naturally!

Standing!

Climbing the stairs!

"Bracing for Dysplasia that Remains after Initial Treatment"

     This was the title of a blurb posted on the International Hip Dysplasia Institute website on July 29th. Just 10 days ago they identified my only remaining worry regarding Froggie's hips.
     The blurb briefly discusses a paper that explored children who were treated with a Pavlik Harness having continued mild dysplasia. They noted that in these cases doctors typically recommend observation or part-time bracing (Froggie's option). The doctors studied 70 children, a portion of them wore a brace while the others did not. The plus side is that the group with braces had better hips post treatment than those who underwent no treatment.
     The scariest part of this blurb was the comment. It noted that as many as 1/3 of treated kids continue to have issues!

Brotherly Love

     As long as you have read more than just tonight's entry you know that Froggie has a Big Brother. He LOVES her! From the time we found out we were expecting a second child Big Brother has been in love with his baby sister. He also told us he was getting a baby sister before we were able to find out through ultrasound.

     He has been a trooper through the las year or so. Going to doctor's appointments with Hubby and I to check on his baby sister and see her on TV (the ultrasound was transmitted to a larger screen to be viewed) and then coming to the hospital and not climbing on me after my C-section. He has gone to most of Froggie's appointments or gotten up early to go to school so that I can take Froggie to an appointment.

Big Brother with Froggie at a clinical check.

      He hugs her and kisses her. He always tries to involve her and finds toys for her to play with. This sometimes quickly ends with him yanking away the car he wanted her to look at instead of chew on. 

Big Brother and Froggie watching a movie.

     This week we are going to school/work early to cover for staff that are out for a week long camp and today I had a sleeping infant, Froggie, Big Brother and a toddler while we were waiting for the older kids to head down the hall with another staff person. During this time Big Brother was showing Froggie a truck, which I thought was cute and tried to take a picture of (see first picture below). I noticed that it was a little blurry; because, lets face it, an almost 6 month old and a 2 year old don't stay still for long. Shortly after this I asked Big Brother to kiss his sister and got the most amazing picture ever, it doesn't even need words (see second picture below).

Here Comes the Rain...

     As I'm up in the middle of the night feeding Froggie, for the first time in her life ever really, I can hear the rain roll in. It is an amazing sound and the almost instant drop in temperature is very welcome if you ask me. This heat is crazy and to be honest I'm surprised there haven't been more storms.
     I'm working on catching up on blog entry's since the internet has been spotty again recently. You may be asking yourself how I gotten through breastfeeding for five and a half months of Froggie's life without having to get up to feed her.
     The answer is simple, we co-sleep! From day 2, after a very traumatizing night of being hooked up to leg cuffs and having to send Froggie to the nursery to be cared for, she has slept on me or near me. until we moved from sleeping on  the couch she slept on my chest and fed whenever, now she hogs the space next to me and feeds on demand throughout the night. Since she was born tonight is the first night I can recall being awake longer than the time span of a diaper change and getting settled.
     This up in the night to feed thing is not for me though, we're heading back to bed! Stay cool everyone!

Relearning Life with Froggie

     Just like having to learn how to live life with a Froggied princess we are now adjusting to life with Froggie out of the harness.
     Some things have stuck while others have changed permanently. Froggie now has a bunch of frog toys and ironically seems to prefer them to the other toys we try to give her. We occasionally call her Froggie (though that's really a rare occurance). We have developed habits that accommodated the harness; how we change diapers, how we hold Froggie, how we dress Froggie, etc.

sleeping with free toes

     In the last few days we have had to become reacquainted with pants/shorts/diaper covers. I scramble to figure out what I'm going to put on Froggie's lower half when I set out clothes in the evening. I had to relocate all of her pants and diaper covers since she never wore any of them; most of them were still on the hangers we received them on!

     Playing with Froggie is another experience with a learning curve. She's better able to roll around and is more tolerant of being on the floor for longer. Much like when she was 2-3 months old and would spend more of the day on her belly on the floor than doing anything else. Her modified Bumbo can still be used since I left the original leg holes though we are reluctant to use it for long periods of time since it forces her legs into a position very much unlike how the harness held her legs. This is also the reason that we are choosing, with the doctors strong recommendation, to avoid exersaucers and jumpers (at least until we get another "normal" x-ray).

Tummy Time!

     Froggie is also a little (maybe a lot) more wobbly without the harness. Because of this she needs a little extra support or her upper half leans a little further back than any responsible parent would be comfortable with. She is a lot more flexible though!

Tasty Toes!

     Things like swimming take a lot less forethought and effort. There's no worry about getting the harness on and off or how long Froggie is out of the harness. So, since it was in the 90's today, we had an impromptu trip into the swimming pool this afternoon.

hanging out in the pool

Silly Froggie floating in the water.

Flying Froggie!

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.
 

Let the Countdown Begin

     Today is Monday and that means that in just 4 days (counting today) Froggie will be re-evaluated. She goes in Thursday morning to have an x-ray done to see where her hips are at. I'm trying not to go into this appointment expecting it to be our last. Especially since I know it wont be.
     Even if Froggie's hips have improved it's not likely that they will just say ok, you don't have to wear the harness at all anymore. Sometimes kids move to just wearing the harness at night once their hips are in a good position. If she can be harness free after this appointment she will most likely have to return for follow up visits once she begins to crawl and walk to ensure that everything is still in place.
     The other option available to us is continued treatment. I'm not sure what that would look like as there are a variety of options. Froggie would probably not continue to use the harness once she begins to roll over because he doctor does not feel it's as effective as they get strong enough to manipulate themselves around the harness.

     Anyway, here's your daily dose of Froggie. I promised myself that I would never be one of those parents to put crazy ponytails in their kids hair but it's getting pretty long into her face so I bought those tiny hair bands last night...

Teeth AND a ponytail... what happened to my baby?

A Sunday Evening Rant

     While not harness related this rant is definitely Froggie related. It has to do with breastfeeding. It also has to do with dealing with "the public".
     If you keep up with my posts about Froggie you know that we had to re-learn how to breastfeed once we got the harness. You also probably read about the stares we get about the harness and the sometimes brave individuals that do more than stare. If you read the post about diapering you know we use cloth diapers, and I have mentioned in more posts than not that we love our carrier!
     Some may call me a hippie, others "crunchy" or "granola", and some will say I'm just flat out weird. I'm ok with all of that, I'm also ok with those who aren't "brave" enough to do anything but stare. One thing I don't think I would handle well is being told I can't meet my daughter's needs because someone else is uncomfortable.
     Yes I nurse Froggie in public (usually with a cover) and thankfully I've never been told I can't feed her wherever it is that she decides she's hungry. I've fed her at work, in restaurants, at the park, while walking aisles at the store, at the doctor's office, at church and on occasion in my car. In an effort to keep Froggie's attention I use a cover when feeding her if there are distractions (people or things to look at, grab for, play with, etc.) The use of a cover, in my opinion, is like hanging a sign on yourself saying "my chest is sort of exposed under here, stare at me", not to mention the older Froggie gets the less tolerant she is of the cover and tries to take it off (this could also be due to the fact that it's the middle of summer).
     I have people stare at me but it's hard to know when I'm breastfeeding in public if the funny looks are because my daughter is eating or because she's wearing something that is obviously NOT a fashion statement. I typically ignore those around and continue doing what I'm doing whether it's talking to those I'm with, eating, shopping or working. The way I see it I'm caring for my child in the best way I possibly can.
     This was not always my opinion. I did not always just "whip them out" and feed my child. When Big Brother was an infant I would pump and tote along bottles of breast milk. I was able to hand him off to be fed by another person and then go lock myself away someplace for the duration of his feeding. He was terribly distracted when I did try to breastfeed him and it was a frustrating experience; primarily because I wanted to nurse him but I was "chicken". So instead I became best friends with my pump and missed out on a lot of conversations and cuddle time with him.
     I'm not one for wasting time... So if I can just be confident in the decision I have made I can continue to eat my dinner, do my shopping or whatever it is that I'm in the middle of. I can give Froggie whatever she needs without having to excuse us and hide.
     This rant came about not because I was finally approached by someone after 5 months of feeding Froggie wherever (though I'm sure my bubble will burst eventually and someone will get brave enough to say something to me), but because of a video circulating on Facebook.

     Holli McNish is a poet who released a video of her take on the shame breastfeeding mothers experience for nursing in public. She's very talented (and british so her experiences come from the UK but I believe they are still relevant)! Her rant was pretty catchy and I listened to it twice while nursing Froggie during Big Brother's nap time.

Here's a smiley Froggie to close out your weekend

Release the... ducks?

     Today way the rescheduled duck race. Like I said on the 4th the local Kiwanis Club floats TONS of rubber duckies down a creek, each duck has a number and you can purchase a duck for $5 and the chance to win one of a bunch of prizes. The money they raise goes to a bunch of youth programs including two local marching bands. 

     We headed over a little early because there are normally a lot of people there. I'm guessing since it was rescheduled people were busy today since there weren't many people there. Then on top of that some of the ducks got through the net so they had to let them go early so no one was really prepared. Big Brother really liked seeing the ducks float down the creek and once they were all released we walked down the road to see them "cross the finish line". They pull all the ducks out and call numbers until they run out of prizes. None of our ducks crossed the finish line before the prizes ran out but it was fun to watch and Big Brother doesn't really care as long as he gets to see fun stuff. Froggie was pretty interested in the ducks as well and watched the people standing in the creek pretty intently. 

A cute, sleepy Froggie laying on my lap and holding hubby's hand.

Heading down to the creek accompanied by some REAL duckies.

Sleepy Froggie

Escaping duckies!

Hubby and Big Brother watching the ducks.

Walking to the "finish line"

Hubby and Big Brother heading to the finish line.

Collecting ducks

Froggie and I watching the ducks come in.

Happy Froggie while we sat and listened to the rain.

Fourth of July Follow Up

     A little late due to internet connectivity issues but here's a little bit about the rest of our fourth.      
     We had headed north to Hubby's hometown to visit with friends and watch fireworks. We had some great food and did a mini photo shoot with all the kids and headed outside to listen to the band play across the street. When it started to get dark we headed out back to wait for the fireworks to begin. Froggie was hungry so I fed her and of course she fell asleep! Big Brother and his friend ran around with glow sticks (we even found one with a flag on it for Froggie and Big Brother). Froggie slept until fireworks started, which work her up. She nursed again and fell asleep through the finale!      Over all it was a great day and I think everyone had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures - my camera battery died so a lot of the pictures from the end of the night came from my phone.

Froggie and Big Brother all decked out for the 4th!

Glow stick fun

More glow stick fun

Froggie with her glow stick

Froggie and her glowstick (with flash)

Fireworks!

Big Bother thought they were too loud

Nursing covers have multiple uses

Hoppy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our family to yours!

     Well the late night construction paid off. We were able to pull a completed "Airplane" down the hill this morning for the parade and 4th of July festivities. We were joined by lots of family and the rain held off so we could enjoy the morning.
     At 10am we kicked off the morning with the National Anthem followed by the Trike, Bike and Group parades (our kids were in the group parade because they both were in the airplane/wagon). I know you're all curious to see the completed project so here it is (and some pictures from the parade).

Our decorated wagon

Hubby pulling the kids in the parade

Getting their prize

Hubby, Big Brother and Froggie with the trophy

Froggie and her ribbon

Big Brother with the trophy

     We won 3rd place! Big Brother was kind of grumpy to start off the morning but as it went on he seemed to have a good morning. In addition to the kids parade there are swim contests, a watermelon race, tug of war, a sack race and a water balloon toss.
     Most of the activities are self explanatory, you may be curious about the watermelon race. It happens in the lake and is done twice, once for the girls and again for the boys up to age 13. The kids who want to participate are divided into two teams and placed behind a rope. Someone walks out into the water with a watermelon covered in Vaseline and drops it into the water when the ropes are raised. Both teams then fight over the watermelon and try to get it to the opposite side.

Watermelon race

     While the water activities were going on Big Brother splashed around in the water and Froggie fell asleep in the Ergobaby.

Froggie and I

Sleepy Froggie

     The rain ended around 8am and held off for the morning. We headed home and grilled up some lunch before Big Brother laid down for a nap. When he woke up we headed over into town to watch them release the ducks for the duck race. The local Kiwanis Club floats TONS of rubber duckies down a creek, each duck has a number and you can purchase a duck for $5 and the chance to win one of a bunch of prizes. The money they raise goes to a bunch of youth programs including two local marching bands. However, they postponed the duck release until Saturday at 5pm. No reason was really given but it looked as though there was too much flooding/fast moving water from the creek to release them.

     Now we're headed up to visit with friends and wait for the fireworks to begin!