Free at Last!

April 4, 2013 was the hardest day we'd ever had as parents. It was the day that our sweet Katie was placed in her spica cast, and we began this journey of hip dysplasia. Here we are now: 14 weeks, four new teeth, hundreds of diapers, multiple sponge baths, hours of army crawling, and the cast has finally come off! She is free!

I have looked forward to this day for SO LONG. 98 days to be exact. Today was a day I was nervous about because it was the day we would find out if our journey was coming to an end, or if we were going to be opening a new chapter of treatment. I am happy to say that her X-ray came back perfect. She came home without a brace, and we have an appointment in 6 weeks for a follow up X-ray to make sure her hip is still in place. Am I nervous about it?  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But, I am choosing to trust in God and in His plan. He got us through this, and I believe that He will keep her hips secure and in place.

Katie was not a happy camper during the cast removal. She cried her eyes out. Naturally it was hard to see, but at the same time we were so excited for what was happening that our hearts were not as broken as they've been in the past while watching her cry at the hands of DDH.  A few minutes of a saw buzzing away, a few more minutes of scissors cutting apart the inner lining, and then there they were--the most perfect little legs and thighs I had ever seen. People had prepared me for a hideous sight, but Katie's little legs looked amazing. A small patch of flaky/scaly dead skin, but that was it. Her doctor said we win the prize for cast care.  He was bery impressed with the condition of her skin.  One bath later and her legs are looking as good as new.

Right now her legs still naturally fall into the froggy position, and they will for a while. Eventually they will go back to normal. We need to not lift her up by her legs when changing her diaper because her tendons and tissues are still doing their work. We also are to not to force her legs into any position. We need to let them do their natural movements. But if she wants to stand, she can. If she wants to kick, she can. Basically, anything she is comfortable doing, she can do. And she's already army crawling all over. She seems surprised by how much easier it is to move. She ended up rolling onto her back already, too, and it really caught her by surprise!

Everything about tonight was perfect. I got to bathe her, I got to put lotion on her entire body, and I got to nurse her, holding her close to me.  But, best of all, I got to hold her and rock her to sleep for the first time in 98 days. She felt so perfect and light and cozy. I'm so in love with my precious baby all over again.

 Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty she is free at last!!!

The cast had just come off, and I was able to put her in a favorite outfit of mine! She still looks a little shell-shocked from what had just occurred.

Five more days!!

13 weeks and 2 days. That's how long Katie has been wearing her cast. 5 days. That's how long we have left. 2:15 PM on July 11th cannot come soon enough. I can hardly believe that we have been on this journey toward healthy hips for Katie for this long, and am so thrilled to be so close to the end. Katie has adapted fully to life in her cast, and we are now baby-proofing since she is crawling everywhere. Yes. Crawling.
Katie's doctor is optimistic that she won't need a brace when the cast comes off. Please pray that this is indeed the case. We would like nothing more than to be able to move forward with our lives, and make DDH (developmental dysplasia of the hips) only a party of Katie's medical HISTORY, and move forward with her life as an adventurous, curious, crawling machine.
Throughout this journey I have read so many stories of moms who knew something was wrong, but pediatricians gave false assurances that everything was fine. These women now have babies/toddlers whom have endured multiple procedures and operations. I feel blessed to have had a doctor who humored me and gave me the X-ray. He was wrong. I was right. My intuition has hopefully helped to make Katie's journey a short one. I firmly believe that ALL newborns should be given the ultrasound at birth to check for DDH. They charge us to check for their hearing, so they should check for this, too. It would be so simple. It would save so much pain and frustration for families.
Thank you to the friends who checked their babies' hips. I am so happy that all of your babies' hips are healthy!
Final thought for you mommies out there...please don't use the bjorn. It does not support the hips. If your child has loose hips (which you have no way of knowing), it could cause the hip to slip out of the socket. I feel certain that this is what happened with our sweet Katie. Use the ergo. It supports the hips. It is recommended by orthopedists for healthy hips.
Five more days...

First ride on the carousel. She loved it!