Milestones

     It's been raining ALL DAY! I'm pretty over rain... 

     One of the things that I was concerned about when Froggie was placed in the harness were milestones. I was really afraid that since her movement was restricted that she would give up on trying to roll, scoot, etc. At her 4 month check up her doctor was amazed that she had stayed pretty much on track and would roll when not in the harness. To me that was a positive sign.

     According to the Center for Disease Control website 6 month olds should be rolling in both directions, begin to sit with without support, supports weight on both legs and may bounce when standing, and rocks back and forth sometimes crawling backwards before moving forward. 

     I'm so excited to say that Froggie will be 6 months old this coming week and she began sitting up by herself for short periods of time! She's not steady enough to sit without some cushion behind her but she does a good job! I'm so proud of her for being determined enough to do things like roll over and sit up that she didn't let her time in the harness hold her back!

She LOVES sitting by herself!

Froggie sitting up

Lounging

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).

Beating the Heat

     It's been pretty hot for the last few days and it's all over the news that the East Coast is experiencing a heat wave. So instead of coming straight home after work the kids and I strolled around the mall to enjoy the air conditioning.
    We tested out our "new" double jogging stroller and checked out a few stores. I found an amazing deal on shorts for the kids at The Children's Place. All of their clearance was an additional 60% off. This was actually pretty good timing considering how hot it has been and the fact that Froggie has been wearing dresses and onesies for the last few months.
     The jogging stroller worked great and will be nice for my next 5K and any others we do in the future. The only downfall to using it at the mall was that it was a little difficult to get through some of the displays in the smaller stores.
     After our mini shopping excursion I took the kids to the new Kidz Zone that was funded by a local credit union. It's really a very nice place for the kids to play and everything is padded and made of foam. Big Brother had a lot of fun but some of the kids in there were obviously not accompanied by a parent or were being minimally observed, which would be fine if they weren't almost 10 and running over little kids. Oh well, Big Brother liked to climb on EVERYTHING and then jump off of it. He was pretty well behaved and even played with some of the other kids.

Strolling in style.

Big Brother on a GIANT basketball!

     We went out to dinner and came home with enough time to get Big Brother ready for bed and read a few books before bed time. Froggie slept for a little bit in front of one of our fans and then had her squash. Tomorrow we will try a new food. We haven't decided on on carrots or peas but it'll probably be a last minute decision. She got a quick bath and played a little on the floor. She spun herself around and played with her toys for a few minutes before passing out on the floor under the fan.

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!

Clinical Check

     This morning was a clinical check for Froggie. This means we were just going in to make sure she was still tolerating the harness and that it was fitting the right way.

     We got there early and headed in quickly to avoid the rain. After a few minutes in the waiting room we were taken back and Froggie was weighed in at 13lb 2oz. We were then escorted to our typical exam room and waited for Froggie's doctor to review her files and come in. 

     I had mentioned to the nurses that I was concerned about a popping/snapping sound that occasionally came from Froggie's right leg. After she went to add it to Froggie's file Froggie and I returned to making faces at each other and playing with her blankie and frog. I also requested copies of Froggie's X-ray and Ultrasound to keep with all of her records (I walked out with them on CD at the end of our appointment!).

     Froggie's doctor adjusted her harness back to the looser original settings that he had tightened at our las appointment. We were once again reminded to keep up with tummy time and Froggie's doctor took a closer look at her hips to see if anything was causing the noise. He wiggled her legs all around and said that everything felt ok and it may be the ligaments in her knee. He mentioned that the harness isn't able to properly do its' job once Froggie starts to roll over and move more. What I took away from this is that Froggie would then be able to put herself in a position that would keep her hips from laying in the way the harness is supposed to keep them.

Froggie checking out her feet.

     When I explained to the doctor that Froggie is starting to roll from side to side and if her harness is off she can roll from her belly to her back he mentioned that he would like her to wear the harness for another month but at her next check we would do X-rays to check her progress. So July 11th we find out what the fate of the harness is!

Tummy time at school after her appointment.

     This evening Big Brother was showing his little sister the wonderful world of his cars. He even let her hold his brand new Mater!

Eating Mater!

Feeling Froggie

     Greetings from a silly, sleepy Froggie.
    

     Froggie got her very own froggy from my mom this past weekend and she loves it. Well she loves to eat it, which is about the same thing as far as a 4 month old is concerned. 

     Lately Froggie has been very interested in playing with her harness. I'm not sure if she likes to hold on to it in an attempt to get it off or if it's just a convenient place to put her hands. I'm not really sure how effective her harness is if she sits around with her legs up in the air but she seems to have fun. I decided to take some pictures today while she was holding her straps and playing with the velcro.

     Tomorrow is another clinical check so we'll see if her harness needs adjusting at all. 

Travel and the Harness

     I mentioned travel in yesterday's blog and thought I'd say a little more about it.
     Right now Froggie is still in an infant carrier that snaps into a base in the car. between her harness and cloth diapers the straps can be a little tight if she's not sat back in the  seat the right way. Because of this we keep tossing around the idea of moving Froggie into a rear-facing car seat that has a wider seat.
     The International Hip Dysplasia Institute has a whole page about car seat and carrier recommendations. They advise the use of equipment that allows a baby's hips to spread appropriately and not be pushed together or placed at unnatural angles.

     Today we ventured out to see family and friends and there's one day left of our long weekend. Tomorrow's a wild card though since everyone is off but we made no plans.

A little Froggie during tummy time this afternoon.

Another Day in the Life of a Froggie

     Today was another beautiful day and we spent most of the day outside. Froggie got her harness dirty during a morning feeding session and spent the rest of the morning harness free while it was cleaned and dried. While she was out of her harness she got to do some tummy time and rolled over a handful of times while having a stare down with the dog!
     We spent some time outside rinsing off the cars and playing around both before and after nap time. It never amazes me how quickly infants heal. One of our dogs ran towards the door while Froggie was on the floor and scratched her cheek and the scratch is almost completely gone now only a few hours after it happened. After nap time we decided to try Froggie in a stroller again. Her first experience in the stroller (our double stroller) was not so great and she ended up being carried during that walk. I decided to see if she would be content in our jogging stroller with the seat reclined.

     She seemed pretty happy for a little bit but quickly became bored with the stroller. This may also have been due to the fact that Big Brother kept poking and pushing her.

I think I've got my hands full...

     We decided to conclude the weekend with some S'mores for dessert. This was not the first S'more he had ever had but it was the first time that Big Brother had made a S'more on his own (with Hubby's assistance).

What a marshmallow SHOULD look like

   

Free Froggie Legs

     In all of my research about hip dysplasia I have noticed that every case is different. Some parents are told to put the harness directly on their child's skin and never remove it until given the ok. Others, like Froggie, are permitted to have out of harness time from the very start.
     Some days Froggie has free legs longer than others and her out of harness time ranges from a few minutes to an hour or longer. She was originally ordered to be in the harness for bed time and nap time but trying to get it on and off around an infant's ever-changing schedule just wasn't worth the hassle so Froggie stays in the harness most of the day.
     While the harness is off we do bath time and tummy time. She eats and stretches her legs. She feels so different without the harness on. Smaller but not lighter. She doesn't seem to "go crazy" like some parent's describe but she seems to enjoy it.
     I feel like having her legs free is important regardless of how long it lasts each day.

**Sorry, no pictures today. I got a new phone and haven't figured out how to move them yet**

Tummy Time in the harness

     While we were at our appointment yesterday the staff seemed overly concerned about Froggie getting tummy time. Tummy time is pushed for all kids but apparently because she has a harness it's extra important. From what I gathered from their questioning it has something to do with an increased risk of flat head syndrome for kids in harness'. It's a good thing that Froggie loves to be on her belly!
     At least she did before the harness. She would lay on the floor and stare at herself in the mirror I normally propped near her and sometimes she would even fall asleep. Now that she has the harness tummy time is a different experience. When she has her harness off she still just lays on her belly; however, if she has her harness on she doesn't seem to be able to get comfortable and ends up laying, with her face on the floor, in defeat.

     This is where her pillow comes in handy. In the first days after getting the harness we went out looking for a pillow that was pretty squishy to help Froggie be comfortable. I bought 2 of them thinking we'd leave one at home and take one to "school" and they work great but they aren't used for their original purpose. Instead of propping up Froggie's dangling feet they prop her up for tummy time!
     I really recommend a pillow or rolled up towel or something. Froggie still gets some tummy time out of her harness or at least with her feet free.