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...
Monday, 29 July 2013
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
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!"
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!
Monday, 22 July 2013
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*
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*
Sunday, 21 July 2013
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!
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
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.
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.
His foot is still a 1, and just needs its tenotomy to let the heel come down further and it will be officially corrected.
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
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...
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!
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
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...
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.
Monday, 1 July 2013
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!
Saturday, 29 June 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
8th week of treatment
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.
Monday, 17 June 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
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. :)
Sunday, 9 June 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
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.
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.
Friday, 24 May 2013
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!
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!
Monday, 20 May 2013
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)