Goto Firefly Seat

I've got a lot to catch up on! I've downloaded an app to watermark my photos from my phone so I think I'll try to phone-update more.

Starbaby is doing amazingly. We're continuing to work hard on physio and over Christmas he has learnt to clap, wave, shake his head, copy things (generally head-shaking!), say mamama and bababa... and most excitingly, get himself from lying to sitting 'sideways' (our current main physio focus) and push himself up into a near-crawling position then to sitting from there. All that happened within the space of just over a week! Which explains why he's hardly been sleeping. ;)

Starbaby's foot op is next Monday. 6 days away. I'm really scared but just trying to picture it being over. It's going to be a very long day... we need to leave home at 5.30am to get to the hospital for 7.30am.

We have recently spent some of Starbaby's DLA money on a goto firefly seat. Due to his low muscle tone he can't sit upright in a chair, shopping trolley etc for more than a minute or two. The seat is amazing! You clip it on, clip Starbaby in with the 5 point harness and voila! He sits so stably and comfortably. I'm so happy we took the plunge and got it.

New Op Date

Starbaby's op has been rescheduled for 6th January - so that means a cast-less Christmas! It also means he won't be into BnBs until he's around 11 months at the earliest, but hey ho, I've accepted that.

He'll be 9.5 months when he has his op and goes back into casts... he's getting more and more mobile, so I wonder how having one leg held rigid will affect him. He's taken most things in his stride so far, so hopefully it won't affect him too much. I guess I'm most worried about going into BnBs... I was fine with it when we thought it was imminent at 5 months old... but it's a different kettle of fish when your child is nearing their 1st birthday and having them for the very first time. I desperately hope he doesn't struggle too much having his legs restricted. However, I can't help feeling sad about it... he has so many things to overcome physically as it is, due to his muscle condition, so adding BnBs into the mix is rather different than for most babies with talipes. All we can do it wait and see.

Starbaby is doing really well, overall. He's responding brilliantly to our physio exercises and if I put him into an almost-crawling position (kneeling down, leaning forward onto his hands) he can actually support himself with his hands for a brief time! This is <i>amazing</i>, as his hands and arms, particularly on his left side, are so much weaker than your average child. I am SO proud of him.

Another Delay

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, really... Starbaby's talipes journey has been far from smooth!

He's been a very healthy little guy since getting home from NICU at a week old... a very brief tummy bug (which everyone in the family shared) and a cold a month or two ago. But this week he's gone down with a stonker of a viral infecion, with an awful cough and difficulties breathing. So the hospital have had to postpone his op, which was due to be on Monday 25th. It's frustrating that he's got poorly just at this point, but postponing the op is totally the right thing to do - I don't want any risks taken with my precious boy.

He has been cast free for 8 weeks now, and the earliest his op will be rescheduled is 3 weeks from now, when he'll be nearly 9 months old. After it will follow several weeks of casts, then he'll go into BnBs (finally), probably at around 11 months old. It's so, so frustrating to have had so many issues... most babies do the '3 months full time' period between the ages of about 2/3 and 5/6 months, so that once they're starting to get mobile, they are only wearing them at night. Starbaby will be close to 1 before he even gets into BnBs at all! He obviously has other issues which impact on his mobility (mainly his weak arm/hand muscles) but even so, he is rolling around the room like a pro and getting closer to a sort of of wonky commando crawling. I do worry about how he'll cope, going into BnBs at such a late age... but at the same time, I feel pretty sure he'll amaze me with how he takes it in his stride, as he generally seems to.

He's really quite poorly at the moment... struggling a fair bit with breathing, although he's OK if he's calm. Thank goodness for breastfeeding... last night he was getting upset and that was making him cough then he was really struggling to breathe... I managed to get him to feed and that calmed him instantly.

He's been very floppy since getting poorly on Sunday night... it's a little scary to see such regression in his muscle ability, but I am 99% sure it is related to being under the weather, so should only be temporary. It's not much fun, though... some muscular conditions are progressive so at some point there is a regression in the muscles' abilities... I hope that never happens for my Starbaby but I know it's a possibility. He's been struggling to sit upright (even with support), despite having been sitting for nearly 2 months now, and he's not been able to hold onto things properly, even with his 'good' hand.

Hopefully he'll be better soon. For now, it's lots of feeding, mummy snuggles and distraction.

19 days...

... left until Starbaby has his second tendon op (along with a bit of 'tweaking' inside, apparently). We are absolutely loving having him cast-free, and I'm glad to say that even though when we were in the middle of his 16 weeks of casts it didn't feel much fun, the memory is very quickly fading into the past and it definitely hasn't affected Starbaby long-term - that's the main thing.

He's doing really, really well. His hands and arms are continuing to gradually improve, and I'd estimate that he currently has about 50-60% use of his right hand and 10% on his left - it may not sound much, but it's a lot more than he did a few months ago. He is getting better at picking up some food with his right hand, and uses his left hand a lot to 'brace' things against and support the work of his right hand. His arms are still generally quite weak but it isn't affecting him too much. We have some physio exercises to work on arm strength so that crawling is a possibility in the future, although I think that is still a while off. He rolls both ways like a pro, though.

Today Starbaby had his first proper blood test - he had 40-50, maybe more, heel prick blood tests when he was in NICU, but he'd never had a 'needle' one until this morning. I requested some numbing cream last time we were at the hospital, which although he had a bit of a reaction to it, meant he felt no pain and that made it a much better experience for both of us. He wasn't too impressed at having his arm held still, but I breastfeed him throughout (well, he popped on and off to see what was going on!) so that was a good distraction. It was testing his level of creatine kinase - if the result is high then it means it's likely he does have a muscular condition like muscular dystrophy. I'm expecting it to be high as he does clearly have something going on with his muscles, and if it is it'll mean we're one step closer to a diagnosis and the future seeming a little clearer.

Dates

This week we've received dates for two upcoming big-horrible-scary-things-under-general-anaesthetic aka Starbaby's tenotomy (plus a little more) and his MRI scan.

25th November is tendon surgery day and 11th December is MRI day. I look forward to them both being over... really nervous about my precious boy being anaesthetised/sedated twice in just a few weeks. I desperately hope it's worse for him than it is for me.

Other than that, things are ticking along quite nicely here and we're very much enjoying having a good chunk of time out of casts. To think that when Starbaby had he week break from casts about a month in, I thought to myself on the last day "this will be the last day he isn't in casts or BnBs to sleep until his 5th birthday" - how wrong I was! But I'm feeling fairly accepting of the fact our journey is a very bumpy one (after a fair period of feeling royally, um, unhappy about it all, and not in the least bit accepting) and am mostly able to appreciate the good things. Like baths, cast-free snuggles, and no "how did he break his leg?" enquiries from random members of the public.

Starbaby is now a pro at sitting up on his own - he amazed us all by sitting for the first time at 6 months and a few days, and is loving being upright and seeing the world from a different angle. I'm so, so proud of him. He still has significant muscle weakness, but just watching him sit, you can see how hard he is working to keep himself upright and steady - he's such a determined boy. I hope that the fact he's having to work hard to overcome some challenges will actually result in personality traits that will serve him well in life.

He really is totally and utterly amazing. I am head over heels in love with him, and fall further every single day.

Sitting

Last Monday, 23rd September, Starbaby started sitting up on his own! It was quite a sudden thing, as it was with Big Sis, and he has very quickly gone from looking like independent sitting was a good way off, to being incredibly sturdy.

I am so, so, SO incredibly proud of him. Through physio exercises and the most determined personality ever he has overcome so much in the 6 months he has been in the world. Not long ago he was so, so floppy, yet look at him now!

Sitting has opened up the world for him more... he's suddenly got really into reaching/grabbing and is constantly looking around for something else to grab at. His left hand and arm are still very weak, although they are improving, and his right hand is doing really well. He can grasp things when they're put in his hand, or held in front of him, and hold on to them for a good while (especially if it's food... that reminds me, I must write about our quasiBLW adventures soon)! He has even managed to pick a few things up from his high chair tray, although that's still fairly challenging. However, seeing how determinedly he has overcome all sorts of challenges in his life, I have little doubt that he is going to continue to amaze me.

Here's my little sitting boy, last week, at 6 months and a few days.

Castless - again!

On Tuesday we headed to hospital, 2 hours away, to have Starbaby's slipped cast changed... we were seen really quickly as our fab consultant and physio were popping in especially in between other commitments.

Starbaby's cast was removed by yet another lovely casting nurse (what a stark contrast to our old hospital) and then our consultant had a good look at his foot - she said it had lost some correction due to the slip, but that's not a surprise, and overall now it's settled I can see it's still in the position it seems to have stayed in over the past few weeks. It's proving a tricky one, this foot!

They started putting on his next cast, but within a few minutes I looked up from distracting Starbaby with lots of funny noises and realised they were taking the cast off. Our consultant said that she didn't feel confident that this cast wouldn't slip as well (the last 4 casts have all had some shiftage or a full on slip) and didn't want us and Starbaby to have to deal with the stress of that.

Starbaby has neurological talipes which is why his treatment journey has been rocky and why his casts keep slipping. It's frustrating, but at the same time I'm feeling quite used to it now. This is our new normal!

So the current plan is for Starbaby to be cast-free for the next  few weeks, and then he'll be having a tenotomy (operation to cut his achilles tendon) under general anaesthetic. Hopefully the result of that will be to bring his heel down and allow his foot to be manipulated into a position which will help the next cast stay put in the right position so his foot can finally get closer to being corrected.

Starbaby got his first cast nearly 5 months ago... we were expecting 2 months in casts, 3 months in BnBs full time and him to be free of them in the daytime around now. But this journey has ended up being trickier than we expected... I'm frustrated with our local hospital for many reasons... but I'm now feeling more accepting that this is the journey we're on, it's complicated, but we are now in the very best hands.

Another Bump in the Road

Starbaby's 16th cast appears to have started to slip again. I'm getting pretty used to casts slipping now, so am not feeling too down about this latest slip. Hey ho. Starbaby is on a long and bumpy journey but it's becoming normal to us now.

After emailing back and forth which his fab consultant and physio, they've asked us to bring him up tomorrow to have a new cast put on. Thankfully B's work are fantastic and his manager has agreed he can swap his unpaid leave from Wednesday to tomorrow so we can all go up together. It's a 4 hour round trip, Big Sis and Starbaby both have bad coughs, and Starbaby still hates the car if the journey lasts longer than 10 minutes and he's awake, so it's really not a trip I feel I could cope with on my own.

Looking on the bright side, it means Starbaby and I get a day of 1:1 time on Wednesday instead of spending Big Sis' nursery day going to the hospital.

Tomorrow...

... Starbaby will get cast #15 on. Fingers crossed for no slippage this time! Cast-slips are quite common with his type of club foot, so I know there's a good chance it will happen again at some point... but it would be lovely if we had a week of things going smoothly on that front.

We've sent in Starbaby's DLA application... although I feel he is deserving of it (he needs a lot more care than an 'average' 6 month old) I'm not overly hopeful as I know it can be tough to prove extra care needs at his age. But we'll appeal if he's turned down. We're spending so much on hospital parking, travel, unpaid leave from work etc that any extra ££ would make such a difference to us.

Starbaby, Big Sis and I had a lovely bath this evening... we've had one together every day bar one since his cast slipped and I'm so going to miss them once he's back in casts tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be for too many weeks, though...

Paediatrician Appointment

Today we saw Starbaby's hospital paediatrician.

Going to write quickly, just so it's all recorded, but I don't really want to dwell. Oh how I envy people who don't spent so much time at the hospital with their baby.

She asked me lots of questions about how he's changed over the 4.5 months since she last saw him, then examined him thoroughly. She confirmed he has hypotonia, most seriously affecting his arms, hands and legs and feet. His neck muscles have noticeably improved through the physio I've been doing with him. When she pulled him up by his arms from lying and instead of his head falling back, as it did until not long ago, it stayed 'solid' on his shoulders! Every time I pick him up or lie him down I incorporate an exercise the physio asked me to do... and it's made such a difference. Proud mama! His arms have improved a long way from where he started (little movement in his right, almost none in his right), again due to intensive physio from me, but are still very weak, particularly his left. It was hard to be asked "Can be do x? Can he do y?" and have to answer 'no' to  almost all of them, and as she examined him she mentioned several things he can't do (i.e. push up at all with his arms, push against pressure with his arms). 

Hypnotonia is just a symptom (muscle weakness/low muscle tone) so the next step is to try to get a diagnosis as to what condition it a symptom of.

She thinks he has a genetic neuromuscular disorder... that's what, in my layperson but googled-the-hell-out-of-because-he's-my-precious-boy opinion, I feel too. But even though I think it too, hearing it said by a doctor, and seeing how seriously she talked about various referrals was really quite upsetting. It made it feel real.

I guess I was hoping I might share my thoughts and she would say she didn't think he had a serious issue, but would make a referral to investigations to be sure. Instead, she was talking referrals before I even mentioned it myself.

Oh, my wonderful boy. You don't deserve this.

Next steps... MRI scan on his brain, blood tests, muscle biopsies and seeing a neurologist then once their investigations come back, a geneticist.

There are no available neurologist appointments at our hospital until February, but we may be able to see them at the hospital just very slightly further away sooner. I hope so. I know it may take a while, I know there's a chance we may not get a diagnosis... but if it's possible to know what Starbaby is dealing with, I want to know. I want to get an idea of what the future may hold for our wonderful boy and our family.

Yet Another Setback

.. but hey, we're getting pretty used to them now.

Starbaby went down with the sick bug on Sunday. My poor baby boy did the most impressive repeat projectile vomiting I have ever seen... all over me! We jumped straight in the bath as we were both covered... maybe that's why the Universe felt he needed to have this week cast-free?

We had hoped Daddy and I had escaped... but I spent all of last night throwing up, and Daddy joined in today. We really are the house of sick! I feel utterly rotten, as does Daddy, but thankfully the children are better now. I'm trying to keep drinking as obviously Starbaby is taking a lot of my fluids through feeding, and I've kept an oatcake and a slice of toast down today.

It means that we're not able to go to Starbaby's appointment tomorrow, as we'll still be infectious. So frustrating to have another setback... he will be 6 months old next week, has been on the talipes treatment rollwecoaster since he was 5 weeks old, and his foot still looks little different to how it did  after 3 or 4 casts. But I know this is going to be a long road... his club foot isn't the 'easily corrected' type so he's going to need a lot of treatment over the coming months, years and problem decade. And that's not including whatever will be going on as a result of his wider neuromuscular condition.

We're about to apply for Disability Living Allowance for Starbaby... his range of issues mean he needs a lot of extra care/support compared to other babies his age so we feel it's worth a shot. I'm not holding my breath as I know many people get turned down... but anything would be helpful as we're spending out so much on hospital visits and things he needs to help him at home. I have spent many hours working on the form, and now that's done I need to move onto putting together some further/supporting information before it's sent off at the weekend.

Well, that didn't work!

Today we should have been off to NewHospital to get a new cast put on Starbaby's slippy right leg... but Big Sis went down with a nasty sick bug overnight and spent all night throwing up so that scuppered that plan.

I considered going on my own with Starbaby but it's 4 hour round trip and he really struggled on car journeys, plus I was worried one or both of us would get sick while away from home.

I exchanged emails with our physio and the plan is to stay cast free too our normal appointment next Wednesday. Another setback... but we're getting pretty used to them by now!

What a few days

Yesterday Starbaby had his 15th cast put on. His 14th slipped a little - not enough to need removing, but enough to achieve little correction over the week.

The consultant thinks there's a chance we might still be looking at a standard-ish Ponseti treatment for Starbaby, possibly with the addition of a splint on his foot once he goes down to nights in BnBs. No free-feet time at all. That makes me sad. I want him to feel grass under his beautiful little feet next summer.

Soon after we got home I looked at his toes and thought they seemed a little further into his cast than when the cast was fitted. A couple of hours later and it was obvious the cast was slipping. I called the out of hours number which was engaged, so emailed our amazing physio-who-never-stops-working and got a reply very quickly. I'd sent her a couple of photos and she confirmed slippage, and said we should take the cast off as soon as Starbaby woke in the morning.

By morning his toes had totally disappeared inside, which actually made removing the cast fairly easy. He had a lovely soak in the bath, then I managed to remove the top couple of inches, then cut down towards the knee (with Big Sis' blunt scissors) and I hadn't cut much at all before I was able to slip the rest of the cast off his leg.

We couldn't get to the hospital today (it's a 2 hour drive away) as Daddy had an important work thing and my car was having its MOT, so we're heading up tomorrow. Big Sis will be at nursery again (she does Wednesdays and Fridays for her 15 free hours) which is handy, and Daddy will need to take another day of unpaid leave. It's really adding up, but we don't have much choice - Starbaby hates the car and needs me next to him to stand any chance of him staying calm, so we need 2 adults if we're driving. The train would be a 6.5 hour round trip, which I'll do if there's no other option, but the car with both of us is much easier. Thankfully his work have been very understanding and supportive, which makes a huge difference.

Hopefully Cast #16 will stay on for longer than 17 hours!

Check me out...

... in my funky paw print cast!

... and in my funky new chair to help me strengthen my muscles.

(Aged 23 weeks, in cast #14/1a)

Home in a Paw Print Cast (#14)

What a day! We left the house at 8.20am and were finally back home at 7.45pm.

Starbaby's new consultant was excellent and really treated him as an individual (rather than just 'a foot') and considered everything that's going on with him in addition to his talipes. She believes (which I had feared) that he has a neurological muscle disorder, and his talipes is part of that as opposed to being isolated. Whenever I raised the possibility with our old consultant/casting nurses that his foot issues might be part of a wider condition my comments were dismissed with a "we need to treat the foot first" comment. It was refreshing to have someone really, properly look at Starbaby and try to understand his issues and how they're linked.

It could mean he needs a different approach to his treatment to the standard Ponseti Method, and perhaps surgery down the line. He's in a cast now (complete with funky paw-print reinforcement to stop him bashing it to pieces on the floor!) and in a few weeks may have one foot splinted rather than the boots and bars which we were expecting. We shall see. It feels strange to think that his treatment might not be following the route we had got our heads around (casts, tenotomy, BnB) and that almost everyone who has a child with fixed talipes experiences. I don't know of anyone whose child's talipes has been deemed to be part of a wider condition and needing different treatment from the off.

Next step, neurologist referral for more investigations and tests (we see Starbaby's paediatrician in the middle of September so will be requesting that then). We could be staring down the barrel of a potentially life-changing diagnosis, but apparently it may take some time (perhaps even years) to get all the answers for our very special boy.

For now, I am incredibly glad I trusted my instincts which were screaming at me that something wasn't right with his treatment in his previous talipes clinic.

Big Sis and Starbaby were both superstars during the 11.5 hours we were out (only the last hour of the journey home contained several stops for calming-down-breastfeeds and a very unhappy little Starbaby at a few points), and it was great to be able to pop in on some very good friends of ours on our way home for a very late lunch and some delicious chocolate-star(baby)-cake.

Tomorrow's the day...

... that Starbaby goes back into casts.

We've had an amazing 3.5 weeks cast-free. Yes, his foot has regressed a fair bit, but my goodness it has been worth it. Baths! Freedom to dress him in whatever we want! No worries about his leg overheating! People not staring and asking how he broke his leg! A little taste of normality... it's been great, although bittersweet in a way as it's reminded me what we are missing.

We've had so many baths... some with just Starbaby and Big Sis but most with me as well, and a few on holiday with Daddy too (our bath at home is too small for all 4 of us, unfortunately)!

Starbaby has also progressed a lot physically in the last few weeks... perhaps it's coincidence, but I think not being hindered/focused on a cast on his right leg has really helped him develop in other areas. He has an as-yet-undiagnosed muscle condition which affects him globally, but especially in his arms, wrists, hands, fingers, neck and 'trunk' (back/front) but recently he has become a pro at rolling, been (with help, sometimes) holding things with his right hand and bringing them to his mouth, and is also pulling his head/upper body forward as if he's trying to sit up.

I hope that he continues to get stronger and stronger even with a cast on... he's going to need that strength come Boots and Bar time in a couple of months!

Wish us luck for the 4+ hour round-trip-with-a-3-year-old-and-car-hating-baby tomorrow...!

Two more days

Only two more days until Starbaby is back in casts. I feel a little choked up just writing that! The last three weeks of being cast free have been wonderful - baths every day, nobody staring or asking how he broke his leg, squishy little legs to snuggle... I feel really quite sad at the thought of him being in a big cast again. 

Despite the fact he's had a cast put on 13 times in the last 5 months, he seems so much older than he was when the last one went on nearly 4 weeks ago, and I think he is not going to be impressed to have his leg restricted. Thankfully, though, our new hospital encourage breastfeeding during casting so hopefully that will calm him during the actual casting process (our old hospital weren't supportive of it).

I'm trying to view the casts as a means to an end... hopefully within 6-8 weeks Starbaby will be done with casts and onto Boots and Bars. I know that will bring its own challenges... but thinking of the positives... it means we can have baths again!

Starbaby is quite a cranky little chap most of the time, but the place he is always, always happy is in the bath. That is the thing I will miss most when he's back in casts.

One day at a time, one step at a time, we're getting there...

Isle of Wight

On Monday we got back from a wonderful and very much needed 5 day break in the Isle of Wight.

Starbaby got to feel the sea and sand on his feet for the first time. He was intrigued!

It was great not to have to worry about keeping sand out of his cast. He's now 10 days into being cast-free and is due to have his next cast on (cast 14/1a) at the new hospital on August 28th.

I have been massaging and gently stretching his foot and although it has relapsed very slightly, it still feels quite flexible. Hopefully in 2 weeks we should be able to get an idea of how many casts it's going to take before he's heading into BnB. He'll need his tenotomy done again as any progress was undone by the last cast... I fear it may be under general anaesthetic as he's getting older, but I'm not thinking too much about that right now and just enjoying these few weeks of cast-less-ness.

All Change

No normal Tuesday cast-change update today.

There's been a lot of soul searching and instinct trusting going on in our household recently. And the result is that we've decided to move Starbaby's talipes care to a different hospital. It's going to be a 180 mile round trip to take him there, but the consultant is widely viewed as one of the top in the country (and seems very knowledgeable, caring and lovely via email), so we are willing to make that trip... we will do whatever we need to to ensure our little boy's special foot is being looked after well.

It's pretty heart-breaking to think Starbaby has had many casts over the past 3.5 months that might not have been necessary... but we have to look to the future.

I really feel like we have made the right decision. Both Daddy's and my instincts are saying that.

So, Starbaby is still cast free, until we (re)start treatment at our new hospital in a week or two. And since we're off on a mini-holiday to the Isle of Wight tomorrow, Starbaby will hopefully be enjoying his first paddle in the sea in a couple of days!

Unexpectedly Castless

Starbaby is unexpectedly cast-free today. I had had a niggling worry that his cast was slipping, but I was such a mess after Tuesday's hospital appointment that I didn't properly register exactly where his toes were, so I wasn't totally sure... but this morning it was very obvious that his toes had all but disappeared inside the cast. Definite slippage.

After asking advice from the lovely ladies on the Happy Feet Talipes facebook group (which has been an amazing source of support for me since last November) we decided to soak of Starbaby's cast in the bath. A slipped cast can result in sores and won't be correcting the foot as it should be.

Here's Starbaby's disappearing toes...

Starbaby thought all his Christmasses had come at once when we put him in the bath!  It felt very wrong to be getting his cast after 13 weeks of protecting it from the water... but it needed to be done.

Soon after I took this photo, I jumped in with him as it became obvious it was going to take a fair time and Daddy's back was starting to ache from leaning over. For a while I thought we were going to end up taking a trip to A&E with a sopping wet cast, but then I managed to find the end of the strip of plaster and after 25 minutes of (gently) yanking and peeling, his leg was free. 

His foot is definitely no more corrected than it was last Tuesday, and may even be worse. It is less swollen, thankfully... but I assume that is why the cast slipped. I questioned on Tuesday whether it was worth re-casting him when he was so swollen, but was told they didn't want to lose the work the tenotomy had done... but in casting a swollen foot, which then went down and caused the plaster to slip, we have ended up losing anything the tenotomy did anyway. To be honest, after seeing his foot last week I question whether the tenotomy did anything good at all... hmmm....

The top of his foot is more sore than normal - I think despite it having a dressing over it, the slipped cast has rubbed him there.

The bottom of his foot is still very curved... I don't feel we're close to full correction at all, yet now, nearly 2 weeks post-tenotomy, most babies are going into BnB.

Now we need to think very carefully about what to do next... 

Week 14 of treatment

And so the groundhog-day-feeling continues.

I used to feel quite content being in the casting change as Starbaby didn't seem bothered by his casts... but as his leg and foot have become more sore they seem to be affecting him more... which obviously affects me too. 

And as time passes I become more aware of how 'late' he will still be in full time Boots and Bar... as it stands, if he goes into them in the projected 4 weeks, he'll be wearing them just at night by Christmas. Nine months old. He may be trying to crawl in BnB... and given he has great restrictions in his arm/hand movement too, I worry so much that he'll get frustrated by not being able to move the way his brain wants him to.

I know it has to be done... but I wish his casting stage had been over in just a couple of months, as it is for most babies.

Here's a photo of Starbaby's feet at Tuesday's cast change. His little talipes foot is sore and swollen. :'( It still feels like the front of his foot is being moved up but the heel isn't moving as much, despite his tenotomy, resulting in his foot having a curved bottom. Hopefully his foot won't be swollen this week and we'll be able to get a better idea of whether it's improved. It has been graded a 1.5 recently (revised from the 1 we were told for several weeks... it seems his heel crease wasn't being assessed quite right). Seeing that it was a 2.5 after just 3 casts, you can probably see why we're a bit concerned...

Here's my wonderful boy in his 13th cast. He hasn't been happy at all the last few days, but I managed to capture a rare happy moment (encouraged by lots of the usual silly-Mummy-noises which accompany my baby-photo-taking)!

Thirteenth Cast

Yesterday Starbaby went into his 13th cast. We spent 4 hours at the hospital in the end - cast removal, bath, seeing consultant, x ray, waiting for results, seeing consultant again then casting.

Starbaby's whole leg is getting progressively more sore with every cast, and yesterday it was quite swollen so the consultant sent him for an X ray to check things out. The X ray chap was one of the nicest, most considerate members of staff we've met at the hospital (one or two could take a leaf out of his book) and went out of his way to make sure Starbaby was calm and happy during the X ray (no mean feat, considering he had just been woken literally 3 minutes into a much-needed nap in the sling). The X ray showed everything was ok... so it was back on with the next cast.

Things feel like they're going very slowly at the moment... there have been several delays for Starbaby (for logistical rather than medical reasons...e.g. annual leave) and it still looks like he'll have at least 4 more weeks in casts. This feels never-ending at times, to be honest. We were expecting the standard 6-8 casts, and instead he'll have at least 16 casts and 17 weeks in the casting stage. But we'll get there!

Starbaby has been coping with his casts amazingly... he was grumpier than normal towards the end of the last casting-week, which I think was related to his sore leg, but thankfully has been noticeably happier since yesterday's cast went on. It helped that we had a fab day out today with a friend and her children - he's always happier when we're out and about.

On the non-talipes front, we're continuing with his list of physio exercises - his right hand can grasp now, and that arm has fairly good movement. His left hand and arm is still very weak, but hey, if you're going to have one strong hand, better that it's your right, in a world that's built for right-handers, I guess?! The muscles at the back of his neck have improved massively since we started a new exercises after the last physio appointment, and his neck is now no longer 'pulled back' all of the time - it's amazing to see that change. I feel that at some point we're going to get a diagnosis that brings everything together... I think probably of a genetic condition impacting on some bones and muscles... but his improvement gives me hope that whatever the 'issue' is, it is not going to be something which has a massive impact on his life.

So proud of my boy. He's been through so much in his first 19 weeks in the world and is doing so wonderfully.

Sleep Regression

Tomorrow is cast change number... I've lost count... it'll be cast #13 so that means clinic visit #14 due to our 'lost week'. I think I'm going to have a big celebration the first Tuesday we don't have to go to the hospital!

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to see that Starbaby's tenotomy has done its thang and his heel is coming down. Fingers crossed.

We're in the midst of the dreaded 4 month sleep regression at the moment...

Yaaaaaawn.

Right, it's bed time...

Tenotomy Day

Starbaby had his tenotomy this morning... glad that one's over!

Big Sis spent the morning with her best friend, and had a wonderful time. It was good to know she was having fun, and for Daddy and I to be able to focus wholly on Starbaby.

First he had his cast removed as usual, and then we went through to the bathy-room for a quick splash in the baby bath - as usual, Starbaby loved being in the water. Now, at 4 months, he is quite the little kicker, and manages to cover the floor in water very quickly!

Once he was dry and nappied, one of the lovely Playworkers came in and put some anaesthetic cream on the back of his foot, and covered it with two transparent plasters-without-the-non-sticky-bit (if that makes sense!) to make sure the thick cream didn't leak out.

It needed 40 minutes to work, so we went for a little walk so Starbaby could have a sleep in the ring sling while we were waiting. Then we were taken to the treatment room, the plaster-thing removed, and the cream wiped off.

I lay Starbaby on the 'bed' and was given a little bit of sugar solution to help distract him from any pain. The consultant came in, and instructed his 'deputy' and the nurse on how to hold Starbaby's legs etc...by this point I wasn't really taking much notice of them, as I was totally focused on my little boy.

The tenotomy wasn't much fun - Starbaby got quite upset - but at least it was over quite quickly. The consultant did the cutting part (eeek) and then I heard them talking about putting steri strips on. As soon as it was done, I picked up him and fed him, while Daddy held a dressing onto the back of his foot to make sure it didn't bleed everywhere. It took a good few minutes to calm him down, but we got there in the end and then he had a lovely, snuggly feed.

While I was feeding him, the nurse put a permanent dressing on the back of his foot, as well as the standard dressings he now has every week on the top of his foot and back of his knee, as it's quite sore in both those places.

Then it was back to the normal casting room to have his cast put on, this time by the consultant and nurse, rather than by two nurses. Starbaby got quite upset, so despite the fact my hospital haven't been supportive of breastfeeding-while-casting, I leant over him and fed him - he was still in the position they needed him, but he was calm. In fact, the nurse didn't even notice at first! Then she said "I was wondering why he was suddenly so calm!"

Here's my beautiful little boy, post-bath:

... and his gorgeous foot (corrected bar the heel which needs to 'come down' - hopefully the tenotomy will fix that...

My two beautiful boys!

Tomorrow...

... Starbaby is due to have his tenotomy (assuming the consultant is back from his 3 week holiday)!

I've been trying not to think about it too much. He's due to have it under local anaesthetic (thank goodness... would be horrible to withold breastfeeding from him for even a few hours in this heat) but as his casting stage has taken a fairly long time, he's obviously now at a stage where he likes to move... a lot... so I'm a bit worried about him staying still.

My hospital haven't been supportive of me wanting to breastfeed him during casting... but if it's proving hard for him to stay still tomorrow, or he's getting distressed, I'm going to discuss it again. I'm sure they'd rather me dangle-feed him than risk cutting something they shouldn't because he's thrashing around!

Think of us all tomorrow morning.... *gulp*

Rock and Roll Baby

Here is my little air guitarist showing off his graffiti'd cast this week...

I decided to try out something with his cast this week... and so far it has resulted in MUCH more positive conversations than the standard 'How did he break his leg?' I think because after people have read it, they already know 'the basics', they have been more likely to ask different questions, which has made conversations much more enjoyable than having to do the broken record "He was born with talipes... club foot... and he has a plaster cast on to help his foot grow straight..." Any other talipes mamas identify?!?

I'd still much rather people asked a question (even if it's one that feels like they're asking if I dropped him or Big Sis squashed him...!) than stared. The stares are the hardest thing. I'm so used to Starbaby's cast that I often assume people are staring because he's gorgeous, or because I carry him in a sling... then I remember that it's probably for another reason.

And now for a couple of gratuitous 'cute baby' photos of my beautiful Starbaby at 4 months old!

I love him to the stars and back!

Physio success

Starbaby has been seeing a physiotherapist at the children's hospital every 3-4 weeks since he was just a few weeks old. When he was born he was completely floppy, and although over his week in NICU he regained some strength, he still has very weak muscles in some areas of his body (particularly his arms and fingers), both wrists are 'extended' (bent backwards) and he has muscle imbalances in a lot of areas, where one of the muscle pairs is strong and one weak. His neck has been particularly affected, which resulted in his head being pulled right back when he was upright.

We've had exercises to do with his arms, hands, fingers and neck, and were also asked to buy a selection of sensory toys to touch on his arms and hands to try to encourage movement.

Starbaby was 9 weeks old before he lifted his left arm when lying down, but a week later he was already clutching his hands together sometimes. A few weeks after that he started getting his right hand to his mouth occasionally, and these days (17 weeks) it's often in his mouth, sometimes bringing the left hand with it.

2 weeks ago his neck was still extending backwards a lot, so our lovely physio showed me an exercise to do with him to encourage the muscles to be more balanced. We've been doing it many times every day... and the last couple of days it's become very clear that his neck has improved a huge amount. It's not far off normal now - amazing progress!

Starbaby also started rolling over 3 weeks ago and is now quite a pro at it. I am amazed, really... he has such 'funny muscles' that I didn't expect him to be happily rolling at just 3 months old... I am so, incredibly proud. Milestones mean so much more when they've overcome difficulties to get there. Although his rolling is resulting in fairly disrupted nights, every time he does it, I smile.

His fingers are still fairly weak, the left hand more so than the right, but his right hand is becoming better at gently grasping things... such progress from the little baby whose fingers were completely floppy and didn't move at all.

He has come so far in the nearly-16 weeks since he came home from NICU, and I have no doubt that he is going to continue to amaze us. My wonderful boy.

Cast #11 is on

The end is... well, not nigh, but feeling like it's getting slightly nearer.

Today Starbaby had his 11th cast put on. Due to the heat of the last week his leg looked quite sore once his cast was removed... last time that happened, he ended up having a week our of casts and his foot regressed quite a bit, so I'm desperately hoping it's OK at the end of the next week. Today's cast is noticeably thicker than any of his previous ones... just what we want during a heatwave!

Starbaby has been ready for his tenotomy for a couple of weeks, but the consultant is away on holiday for three weeks - so frustrating! If it weren't for his setback and the consultant being away, he would probably have had 6 or 7 casts before his tenotomy, but it looks like he'll be tenotomy-ing next week, after 11 casts and 12 weeks of treatment. 

Boots and bars are apparently taking three weeks to arrive at the hospital at the moment, so it's probably going to be 4 weeks today that Starbaby goes into BnB. Although I know that stage will bring its own challenges, I am desperately looking forward to not having to go to the hospital every week and being able to see Starbaby's feet for an hour every single day... and BATHS!

No change from last week, but hey, here's a photo (from a new angle this time)!

His foot is still a 1, and just needs its tenotomy to let the heel come down further and it will be officially corrected.

Hand Surgeon appointment

Last week we had an appointment with a hand surgeon, having been referred by Starbaby's paediatrician.

She was really lovely, and carefully examined his hands and arms. Unfortunately she didn't have any clear answers for us - we were really hoping the appointment might be the start of getting to the bottom of the things Starbaby is dealing with other than talipes. She thinks (which I felt already) that he has muscle imbalances across as a lot of his body - some muscles overly strong, and some very weak. It's particularly apparent in his hands, arms and neck. Unfortunately there's no clear answer as to why it's the case, and therefore we have no idea of the long term prognosis. She talked of MRIs when he's a bit older, seeing a geneticist... but while he's young, there's going to be a lot more 'wait and see'.

She has asked for our next appointment to be with the specialist in congenital (from birth) hand issues, and he may have some more words of wisdom. Fingers crossed. It's hard living with these 'unknowns' because my mind just thinks of the worst case scenarios.

Into Week 11

Cast #10 is on (Starbaby's 11th week of treatment).

His foot hadn't really changed from last week... the heel probably  isn't going to come down any more until his tenotomy, but frustratingly the consultant is away for three weeks so the earliest that will be done is a fortnight. This is going on soooooo long! I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end. One day I will be showing Starbaby this blog and it will all be a dim and distant memory.

It looks like he'll have 4 or 5 more weeks in casts before Boots and Bars in mid August, at around 5 months old.

It's hard seeing other babies, both in person at our hospital and online, having their feet corrected in half the number of casts Starbaby has had, but I think his foot is a fairly 'extreme' club foot, so it stands to reason it's going to take longer than some. It's hard to think of him still being in full time BnB at 8 or 9 months old... but I guess we'll all get used to it, just like we have done casts.

We weight Starbaby today and he was 12lb on the nose! That's over double his dinky birth weight of 5lb 11oz - wow!

Now for this week's photos...

Starbaby's foot after 9 casts - scoring a 1 again.

Our gorgeous little boy.

Big Sis enjoying a biscuit from her favourite playworker at the talipes clinic.

Yummy foot... heel still needs to drop more, but otherwise... getting closer!

Talipes Clinic Visit TEN

Yes, TEN!

This was our first hospital visit of 3 this week... feel like we spent half our lives there!

After 9 weeks of treatment Starbaby's foot has finally reached the dizzy heights of a '1' (it as a 6, the most severe), which hopefully means only another month or so in casts (in order to reach zero), one small operation, and then he'll be into Boots and Bars. We're getting there!

So proud of my superstar for being calm and happy both when his cast was taken off and the new one put on today. He has certainly charmed all the nurses! Next stop, hand surgeon appointment on Thursday...

 

Starbaby's feet, just after his cast was removed on his right foot. The dressings are where he was sore - thankfully, although the skin isn't exactly 'happy', he has no more open sores.

Gorgeous foot!

Both beautiful feet.

Photos from 9th clinic visit

Here are photos from our 9th visit to the talipes clinic... Starbaby's foot had been in 2 casts since his week off, and was graded a 2.

Gorgeous foot... and in the background, the room where we bath Starbaby in between casts.

Beautiful boy! Castless!

Both of Starbaby's feet. His left foot has some muscle imbalance issues so it's a little 'pulled up' at the joint and the toes, so they won't 'match' totally when the treatment finishes... but isn't his little talipes foot looking fab?

Another angle. Cute foot!

He only gets to see this foot for an hour a week!

Groundhog Day

Tuesday this week (25th) saw our 9th visit to the talipes clinic since Starbaby's birth - it's getting to feel a little like groundhog day. When we finally have our first Tuesday without a hospital visit I am going to have to find something extra-specially-special to do to celebrate!

The top of Starbaby's foot looked a bit sore when the cast and dressing came off, but thankfully after a birth we could see that the skin wasn't broken. His foot was graded a 2, the same as it was a month ago, when he had his last cast before his 'week off'. I'm desperately hoping when his 8th cast is removed on Tuesday that the skin hasn't broken again.

Starbaby had a lovely bath... lots of smiles. It's so hard not being able to bath him at home, or bath with him, though. One day...

I'm finding myself quite jealous when I hear of other babies for whom the cast stage of the treatment goes more smoothly and more quickly. There are many babies on the facebook group who are younger than Starbaby and are already in BnB. I think we're looking at him being about five and a half months before he's in them full time, which means nine and a half months or so before he's down to 14 hours. That's a long time.

We'll get there, though.

This coming week we have three hospital trips. Talipes clinic on Tuesday, Hand Surgeon on Thursday and Physiotherapy on Friday. The hand surgeon appointment is one I am both looking forward to and worrying about. Having a diagnosis (or at least an indicator) of what's going on with his hands may shed some light on whether we're looking at a global condition for him, or just several different issues combined. It'll be good to have some more information but at the same time I worry what the news will be. Fingers crossed.

8th week of treatment

Starbaby is now in his 7th cast, and his 8th week of talipes treatment through the Ponseti method.

Yesterday's cast change wasn't much fun. The top of his foot is getting sore again and one of the nurses doing his casting upset me by saying a few things, including that it would 'get worse when he's in boots and bars'. :( I was feeling very fragile... it's hard going back to the hospital every week where there are reminders everywhere of Starbaby's tough early days... and felt very disheartened when his foot was graded the same as it was 4 weeks ago (2.5).

I think the nurse felt I was questioning the treatment he was getting, which I wasn't... I was just having a bit of an emotional-outpouring-moment about how hard it is to see my precious little boy hurting and with no end in sight for the casting stage yet. A little sensitivity would have gone a long way. This is hard.

I just hope next week his sore hasn't opened, meaning another week off casts, and another regression.. It's disheartening for his foot to be the same as it was after just 3 weeks of treatment, yet we have been going for 7 weeks.

Starbaby had a lovely bath. However, the clinic is getting pretty busy so we didn't spend too much time in the bathing room (which we were already sharing with one other lovely family) as we knew there were others waiting.

Here is Starbaby and his feet after 6 weeks of casts... getting there... slowly.

... and this next photo was was meant to be of his foot but my little point-and-shoot camera focused in the wrong spot (I usually photograph with my lovely SLR but use the little camera for hospital or quite capture-the-moment shots at home. But the reason I'm sharing it as it shows that Starbaby can now get his hands up to his face, and he's having a good go at sucking them!! He can't suck his thumb or fingers 'properly' because of the angle his wrists are at, and the lack of movement in his fingers, but he is really trying hard! 

There's so much that I took for granted with Big Sis but is utterly amazing this time round. He has major difficulties in moving his arms, hands and fingers but with lots of exercises and activities he's improving quite a bit. So proud!

One little foot, one big pressure sore...

Another angle... looking nice and straight again (after relapsing during our cast-free week) but still quite a way still to go to lift the foot up (if you look back to previous weeks you'll see we're around the stage we were after 3 casts now).

I just want to kiss this beautiful little foot! Comparing this photo to the 'sole' one from last week makes me feel a bit better. Even if his score didn't change, his foot did improve a little.

Week 7 almost done

My goodness, time is flying! My wonderful little Starbaby is nearly three months old. It feels like yesterday that he was born, yet at the same time like he's been here forever. Before he was here, life was wonderful, fun and busy, but looking back it seems relatively empty because he wasn't there. I love having two children and I feel so lucky that we got there in the end.

This week seems to have been OK on the cast front, although obviously we won't know how Starbaby's foot is doing until his cast is changed tomorrow.

I had been feeling like I wasn't in any rush to get onto BnB, but after the cast making his foot so sore, I am actually starting to get 'itchy feet' (!) to get onto the next stage. I'm definitely not looking forward to him being in BnB in terms of babywearing, but I am keen to get the cast stage over and done with so we can stop going to the hospital every single bloody week (sorry... but it really is getting hard to lose every Tuesday with my two wonderful children to a place I really hate going back to) and can start enjoying regular baths again. We might even get to go swimming with Big Sis and Daddy on Sundays!

I am probably going to get Starbaby weighed tomorrow. I'm totally confident that he's growing wonderfully, but I'm just interested to see how much he weighs because I suspect he may be around double his birth weight now. Amazing! I held his first cast against his casted leg today, and already there is a huge difference. My tiny 5lb 11oz little boy isn't quite so tiny now.

Last Friday we went into the local town to do a bit of charity shop shopping. It was one of the first times I've been out with Starbaby's cast very obvious... usually it's mostly covered by trousers or fully covered by a babygrow, but he was wearing shorts-dungarees. so in the sling almost his entire cast was obvious. SO many people stared at him as we were walking down the street. It was incredibly obvious... one person in a couple would glance our way, then a couple of seconds later, obviously prompted by the first person, their companion would look over as well, and then they'd start talking. Some people asked why he had a cast (generally "Has he broken his leg?" or "How did he break his leg?" - no, I haven't dropped him!!) and some people just talked about how lovely he was, ignoring the cast, which was nice.

Here are a couple of photos from just before Starbaby's 6th cast went on last week. Comparing with the week before, you get an idea of just how much his foot regressed during his cast-less week. I really hope his sore isn't back when they remove the casts tomorrow.

Casting Day #7 - Cast #6 is (finally) on!

We had an absolutely wonderful cast-free week - baths every day! - and as his foot is pretty much healed, Starbaby's right leg is now back in a cast. This is cast #6 but unfortunately despite spending a huge amount of time doing the stretches we were shown, his foot has regressed a fair bit (possibly due to his muscle imbalance issues), so his cast-free week will probably add another 3 or 4 weeks onto the casting stage of his talipes treatment. I reckon he might finally go into 'Boots and Bars' when he's about 5 months old in August. 

During the actual casting, Starbaby was flashing smiles at everyone - our charming little chap! He was grumpy afterwards but as the cast dried out, he cheered up a fair bit. Onwards and upwards! 

Also, the first of his little sensory toys I ordered on the request of the physio arrived today - a fab little spiky 'massage ball' to help stimulate his hands and arms to see if it helps him move them a little more. We spend most of his 'free' awake time doing exercises (Big Sis helps too) - there's been some improvement in his movement but it's a long road and we don't yet know where it'll lead. 

♥ my darling little superstarbaby. :)

Cast Free Week

Starbaby and I are enjoying our cast free week very much! Unfortunately, despite huge amounts of massage/stretching exactly as shown by the consultant, his foot seems to have regressed a lot, and I worry how many casts it'll take to get it back to where it was. But I can't change that... he needed a break from casts to heal his little sore foot, so we may as well enjoy it.

Starbaby has had a bath every day since Tuesday apart from today, as we have been out all day. We've had a bath just the two of us, and he's had a few baths with Big Sis and one with all three of us (Daddy couldn't fit in too, unfortunately)! I've moisturised his leg and foot every day, given his whole leg lots of massage, and generally enjoyed snuggles without that pesky cast in the way.

It's given me a taste of what we're missing, which makes me sad. Oh, what I took for granted with Big Sis! If we're lucky enough to have more children, I will never take for granted having a baby with both legs 'free', not having to go to the hospital every week etc.

Tomorrow we're at the hospital for Starbaby's monthly physiotherapy appointment, then back the next day for cast #6 to go on.

6th Casting Day

Well, Starbaby's 6th casting day had an unexpected end... we came home with no cast!

Starbaby's sore foot had got much more sore over the past week, and the skin was broken in one place (my poor poor little boy!) so the consultant decided it was best to leave his leg without a cast for a week to let it heal. He showed me how to massage/stretch his foot in order to help reduce the chance of undoing any of the good work so far and we need to do that as much as possible over the following week.

I am sad that his foot is so sore... but very very excited about a week out of casts! I am looking forward to bathing with Starbaby, massaging his leg, snuggling with him minus the cast, breastfeeding without a cast and getting to know his new little foot. And if the week doesn't reverse any of the casting process... win all round! I hope he adapts to going back into casts this time next week ok...

Here are a couple of photos of Starbaby's foot this week, after cast #5 was removed.

Cast #5 is on

Casting Day #5 was hard. A combination of his current foot position and the recent warmer weather has resulted in a pretty sore leg and foot for our precious Starbaby.

It broke my heart to hold him sobbing as they put his new cast on. Feeling very sad that my wonderful boy has to go through so much just to get something that almost everyone else (understandably) takes for granted.

Apparently it looks like he'll have about 6 more weeks in casts before moving into the 'Boots and Bars' foot brace (a special boot on each foot, joined by a metal bar) which will be part of his life until he is 5 years old.

Lots of cuddles for my lovely boy this afternoon... I think we both need them.

Other than being poorly-sore, his right foot is looking amazing! What a change from before his first cast only 4 weeks ago.

3 casts down... how many to go?

Casting Day #4 for Starbaby was on Tuesday.

His lovely little right foot is still progressing well and bathtime was a hit once again. I spent a while talking to a lovely mum whose son was about to get his 1st cast on... so good to meet someone going through similar to us. I hope we get to chat again next week.

Starbaby's foot is now a 2.5 after 3 weeks of casts. I'm really impressed, it was so stiff to start with. It started as a 6, went down to a 4 after 1 week, then 3 after another week. Progress is slower now they're bringing his foot up, but I don't think that's a bad thing... it feels better to do something like this gradually without any rushing.

I don't know how much longer we have in casts, but actually I'm in no rush to finish them as I think the BnB stage will be more... intense. Being in casts has been nowhere near as bad as I feared... not bad at all, in fact. Of course, I'd rather his little leg weren't in a cast, but in terms of how it's affected Starbaby day to day... well, apart from not risking as much nappy free time so as to avoid soggy casts, it really hasn't made a difference to his or our lives. I know BnB will be different, though, and I'm not in any rush to get to that stage.

Here's Starbaby's beautiful foot this week. The crease on the bottom of his foot which was so deep to start with has pretty much gone - amazing!

We weighed Starbaby in between casts and he is almost ten pounds now!! That's 4 1/4 lb up on his birth weight of 5lb 11oz and over 2lb gained in the last 20 days alone. After his rocky start he's now doing amazingly!

End of week 2

Here are Starbaby's feet last Tuesday... 8 weeks old and after 2 weeks of casts

3rd Cast on.

This morning Starbaby had his 2nd cast removed. He's been slightly crankier than usual over the past week and after today I think it may be at least partly because he was doing some major growing and it made his casted leg feel a bit uncomfy. As he had grown it was very hard for them to remove it due to there being no gap between his leg and cast. Starbaby was calm to start with (despite having been woken 5 minutes into a sling-nap... again) but a little unimpressed by the end.

Afterwards we gave him his weekly bath which again he loved. We had to be a little quicker this time as there was a baby 2 days younger than Starbaby waiting to have her bath after him, and we also had to fit in seeing the physiotherapist before his new cast went on.

We've been given further exercises to do with his arms, and his paediatrician has referred him to the hand surgeon as she is concerned that he still has very limited movement in his arms and hands. Yet more hospital visits :(

Starbaby's foot is now a 3. It was noticeably more 'normal looking' than last week and a world away from 2 weeks ago. It is now pretty straight but pointing downwards, so the next stage is to stretch it into a normal 'sole downwards' position. I think we'll be visiting the hospital every Tuesday for a fair while to come.

I'm writing this from my phone while Starbaby sleeps on my chest in the ring sling, so can't upload this week's photos yet but I'll try to get them online soon.