One year.

I'm pretty big on remembering dates - so I was floored as I happened to be reading my first posts on this blog earlier and noted that a year ago today, Annabelle got her Pavlik Harness.  I had felt some kind of premonition that our journey with Hip Dysplasia would not be brief, and that I would need an outlet - somewhere to share my thoughts and feelings, as well as Annabelle's progress.

What a year.
February 18, 2012 (birth day) : click felt in right hip on exam, xray unremarkable
February 22, 2012 : four day checkup, no click felt, Pediatrician recommends followup ultrasound at 6wks (the "gold standard" for followup)
March 21, 2012 : one month checkup, no click felt.
April 2, 2012 (6wks, 2 days old) : bilateral hip dysplasia diagnosis via ultrasound
April 9, 2012 (7wks, 2 days old) : Pavlik Harness treatment started
4 weeks in Pavlik Harness - no success.
4 weeks in Rhino Cruiser - left hip successfully reduced, right hip still dislocated
June 4, 2012 (15wks, 2 days old) : attempted closed reduction - no success, back to Rhino cruiser
July 17, 2012 : right hip still dislocated, left hip still in place
September 19, 2012 : right hip still dislocated, left hip still in place, surgery scheduled
October 9, 2012 : Open Reduction and Capsulorrhaphy of the right hip, spica cast
November 21, 2012 : Spica cast off after six weeks, both hips in place, able to be out of Rhino cruiser 3-4hrs a day
November 26, 2012 : James and I were concerned about Annabelle's range of motion -  hip still fine.
January 16, 2013 : Both hips still in place, able to be out of Rhino cruiser 6-8hrs a day.
March 20, 2013 : Both hips still in place, able to be out of Rhino during all waking hours.

And I am overjoyed to report today that Annabelle, as of today, is properly crawling - with her knees!  She's still pretty slow - she moves faster when she's army crawling, but this girl won't stop!  She's been successfully sitting up for two weeks, pulling herself up since January, and cruising furniture for at least a month (bad mom, I don't have the dates memorized - I will have to check back on my Facebook statuses.  Stati?)  Last week she took off walking with a walker.  I was floored. 



Now I'm just looking forward to seeing my tiny girl walk, and to hear the words I've been longing to hear for so long:  Healthy Hips.  We're so close.

Life with a hip baby

It's been nearly seven weeks since we said goodbye to the Spica cast.  She's been out of it longer than she was in it.  It seems like a distant memory.  I definitely don't miss it, but it wasn't that bad.  It was short lived, and it's now past us.

Annabelle is doing quite well now, she's become extremely mobile and army crawls herself all over the house.  She's only allowed out of her brace for four hours a day, so she doesn't get much time to practice 'real' crawling, sitting or standing - all of which she cannot do on her own yet. 

I have managed to get her standing and sitting with assistance and she will stay in that position for a small amount of time - while clinging onto a toy for dear life!  She still can't get herself into a sitting or standing position on her own - and I suppose that will just take time.  She definitely has more range of motion than she did - but she's still limited and guards her right hip quite a bit.  I work on stretching it when I can, however it occasionally pops when it's moved - which Dr Olney's nurse said can happen (and is okay).  It freaks me out when it happens, though, and she SCREAMS in pain. 

We see Dr Olney again on the 16th - and assuming all is still going well with her hip - she should have the amount of time allowed out of her brace to increase.

rhino roll

Since we've been able to allow Annabelle more time out of her brace the last few weeks, she has really gotten mobile! 
She rolled back to front without her brace a couple weeks ago, and the next day, she did it IN her brace - I was shocked!

 
She's also working on her version of crawling, which looks more like digging, as she digs her head into the floor and kicks with her legs until she scoots to whatever object she is trying to reach.  She also rolls like crazy. 
She still isn't crazy mobile when her brace is on, but I'm thankful she's meeting more of her milestones. 
I had initially prayed that she wouldn't become mobile prior to her open reduction/cast placement so that she wouldn't get so frustrated and being unable to move, but it's such a joy to see her exploring and discovering her world.  The 6 weeks in the spica cast will be long and stressful - but they are only 6 weeks.  Only 42 days.  That I can handle.