Toygaroo

Toygaroo is awesome!!

www.toygaroo.com

They are an online toy rental.  They have a no YUCK factor for toy cleanliness so you don't have to wonder what germs they might contain.  The toys are steam sterilized, then cleaned with a safe cleaner that is used in NICU's, & then they are shrink wrapped to maintain the cleanliness.  They have a few different packages regarding how many toys you get and if you keep them for one or two months.   The nice thing is they pay for shipping (one shipment during your monthly fee).  You can keep toys as long as you like, but don't get new toys until you return the ones you currently have (so if you get 6 toys a month you can keep 2, send 4 back and they will send you 4 new ones - so you will only have 6 toys at once).  If your child really likes a toy you can even buy it at a discounted price! 

Now I'm not a "used toy" shopper.  I'm always thinking "what germs might have come in contact with that toy".  So I wasn't sure about this but I'm tired of spending loads of money on toys that get played with a few times and then forgotten about.  So I decided to try it.  I signed up for the Boomer Plan (approx $260 worth of toys a shipment), which is 8 toys a month.  We went through the online toy catalog and added about 17 toys to our "pouch".  Toygaroo then picks 8 toys from the pouch to send us.  We got our first shipment in less than a week after signing up.  They arrived shrink wrapped, they had detailed picture list of every item and how many pieces it should contain, & a return shipping label to send them back (you just fold up the box they received in until you are ready to send them back).  I unwrapped each toy and inspected them.  They were all clean, no signs of wear, no stinkiness, no harsh cleaner smell, & all had working batteries (if they took batteries). 

Harlow was super excited to have an entire box of new toys to play with.  She liked everything we got.  She still plays with all the toys.  I keep them in a separate toy bin so we always know where they are.  I also only allow her to play with one toy at a time to make sure nothing gets misplaced or broken (we do this with all of her own toys though too).  We've had the toys for 3 weeks now.  The other day we sat down and added a few more toys to our pouch so we are back up to 19 toys.  They suggest you always have at least 2x the amount of toys in your pouch than you get a shipment.  This way if something isn't available there are plenty more choices to be filled.  At the end of this week we will pack up the toys we have and send them back to await our new shipment.  I think she might actually keep a toy or two from the shipment for another month because she likes them so much. 

Overall I love Toygaroo.  It's awesome.  It's affordable.  It's fun.  Harlow loves it.  Mommy loves it. 

I found a coupon code POSH5 for $5.00 off your monthly subscription fee.  I also have a referral code: ref2JZW34OLH75 that you can also enter in the referral section to get an additional $5 off your first delivery.  If you try it let me know if you like it!

August

Ok, Ok, I know it's been FOREVER since I've written.  I'm sorry!  It's just been SO busy! So let's have a little catch up...

Harlow has been wearing her hip abduction brace all month.  She learned to walk about two weeks ago.  When she walks she doesn't bend her left knee (she had surgery on the left hip).  Since she was always keeping that leg tense she was waking up at night screaming that her knee hurts.  So yesterday she went back to see Dr. Hennrikus.  He decided to give her a week off from wearing the brace.  Next Thursday he is going to re-evaluate her and see if not wearing the brace helps her start walking on her leg correctly again. To sum that up, the brace might be doing more harm than good.  He thinks she might just go to part time in it which is about a month and a half earlier than she was scheduled too - YAY!

Today was Harlow's first day of pre-school.  She looked so cute in her little white uniform polo & hot pink leggings w/ a navy cardigan, & her Pottery Barn Kids pre-school backpack.  Derek & I walked her into school and told her we'd back in a little bit & she was like "Ok Bye" lol!  This was GREAT!!  I thought she might cry because the only people other than us that she has been babysat by is Grandma's & Grandpa's.  She only goes for 3 hours, 2 days a week.  Derek & I went out for breakfast together, stopped by Toys 'R Us to get her a special little "first day of school" gift, & then went to Best Buy to pick up a few things.  We were headed to the school about 15 minutes before it was time to pick her up & the school calls....  She was bawling for about 15 minutes and saying "blankie" repeatedly.  They called just to make sure we didn't think she was in pain because today is her first full day without her brace and she was walking around class all day & even playing on the playground.  That was so nice of them to call just to make sure we didn't think something may have caused her pain --- she was just tired though.  So, we picked her up.  She was excited to show us the awesome picture she drew in class today and as of now she says she stills wants to go to school (we'll see how she feels when I go to drop her off next week lol).

Since I can't make the pacifier clips anymore I decided to take up machine embroidery.  I got a sewing machine/beginner embroidery machine this month.  It's AWESOME!! I love it!  I've already had a big business order & some other orders.  It's hard to find time to embroider with a toddler, so I mostly do it during nap & bed time.  I have a ton of new designs to get samples made for infants/toddlers.  If you aren't a fan of my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Whimsical-Lo/113773698646073 then check it out NOW!!!

I'll check back in soon so there isn't so much to update you on!

<3

Weird

It's weird seeing my 2 year old stand up. What's even weirder is typing that lol. I mean it's been since April since we've seen her stand up. The other day she stood up all by herself when we were at Grammy & Pap's. She was very proud of herself and amused that were all clapping at her. Today she realized she could stand up & turn our one low light switch on & off....and on & off.

She has an appointment with her pediatrician on Wednesday for a check up. She hasn't been there since before her surgery & since she lost some weight they are just going to make sure all is well.

We traded in our little Jaguar for a Lincoln SUV. Ever since we got it she keeps saying "I like our new car". When we showed her it has a built in DVD player she didn't know what to do. She was actually speachless for a moment....that never happens with her lol!


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Getting Back to Our Normal...

It's been almost a week since Harlow got her cast off.  Things have been going really well.  She still isn't walking, but every day her legs get a little stronger.  She can actually crawl almost normal now, in the cast she sort of did a frog hop crawl, but now she has more leg movement and can really go...fast!  She is also climbing.  She can climb on her bed and on chairs.  She can stand holding onto something.  She can walk it you hold on to her, so it's only a matter of time until she really gets going on her own. 

I'm so glad to be done with the spica cast change.  I really, really, REALLY hope we never have to go through that again.  Even though it wasn't that tragic, it's not something I would wish on anyone.  Harlow has still been sleeping in her bean bag, well up until today that is.  I took it from her and put it away.  She can lay down flat in her brace and she can roll over just fine, so there is really no reason for her not to sleep in her bed.  I gave her a few days after the cast came off to adjust and get used to the brace, but now it's time for the bean bag to go.  She was so exhausted today I put her in her bed, she mentioned the bean bag and I told her that it was time for it to go bye-bye & that it was just here visiting with her while her cast was on.  She didn't mention it after that and quickly fell asleep.  So fingers crossed she sleeps all night without the "bean bag of beans" (as she refers to it). 

Today I also finally switched out the Hippo car seat and put back in her car seat.  For the first few days she kept her legs the way they were in the cast, but now she can close them more so it was time to get back in her own car seat.  I'm going to give it a few days and make sure it's comfortable for her and if so we are going to return the Hippo seat to the hospital.  I hate using it because it's a $450 car seat and if it gets ruined we have to pay for it.  It's not an attractive car seat at all.  It's huge, bulky, blue, & ugly so I do not want to pay for it because it's not something I would voluntarily put in our car lol. 

Now that it's been a week, it's time for us to get back to our normal....however normal that is I really don't know lol.  It's time to change my blog title back from the spica cast.  I will always continue to update our journey and if anyone ever wants to read our story all they need to do is browse the blog history starting in April. 

I got an embroidery sewing machine this week & it is AWESOME!  It's the greatest sewing machine I have ever owned.  It sews so nice, it's actually smaller than my regular sewing machine and it is just GREAT!  It has an automatic needle threader and sews pedal free - that's like heaven for a sewer.  I made a skirt on it last night which turned out really cute.  My next project is to practice embroidery on a few of Harlow's onesies.  Once I get the hang of it I'll be adding lots of fun embroidery items on my Etsy store.

Cast Off Day

This morning when we woke up, we asked Harlow if she was ready to get her cast off today.  She looked at us, crawled into her bedroom, shut the door, & yelled out "It's mine!" Deep down I know she really wanted it off...lol

We arrived on time to our 11:40am appointment only to be told the doctor was running 30 minutes behind schedule.  This is shocking news.  Everytime we get to there, we are told the doctor is behind.  Thankfully, I came prepared.  We had lunch right before we got there and I made sure everyone had charged iPads.  Harlow played games on her iPad while Derek & I played Battleship on our iPads (he beat me 2 times in a row - darn!).  So while we were playing about 30 minutes passed and the front office receptionist yells out to the waiting area that the doctor is now running 1 hour and 20 minutes behind schedule. Talk about annoying!  I understand this is the best hospital in the area, but really get the timing a little better.  We kept waiting because there was no way I was leaving that office with a kid in a cast!  Finally, at almost 1pm we got called back!!!! YAY!!!

We get back to the room and right away the nurse started to cut Harlow's cast off.  They just have a little hand saw.  Nothing to big and scary but it is a little loud.  Harlow took it very well.  She did fuss a little but no screaming or thrashing around.  She was very tired as 1pm is normally her naptime.  He got the cast cut off without any problems.  He cut up the sides of each leg and then up her hips, so it could just pull right off in two pieces.  Shockingly, she wasn't hardly dirty at all (not too stinky either).  She didn't realize it was really off right away.  I got out the soapy wash cloth I brought along and wiped her down.  Putting a normal size 4 diaper on her skinny little butt was so weird!  Putting her pants on was a little hard because she wasn't ready to move her legs from the position they were in for twelve weeks.  We got them on though - pants for the first time in 3 months!!

The nurse came back in and took us to weigh & get her height.  She weighs 20lbs and is 34 inches tall.  She lost over 5lbs while in her cast.  Before her surgery she weighed 26lbs. With the last cast being tighter around her belly she wasn't eating as much, so I know she'll gain it back quick now that she is free.

Next, a man from Orthotics came in with her new brace.  There really isn't much to it.  It has a plastic mold around the back of her hips and her back.  The rest is just some foam as padding and some velcro straps.  It keeps her legs in a similiar position as the cast did, to give them more healing time but also time for her to adjust to the cast being gone.  She has to wear the brace for basically 24/7 (except bath time) for 3 months.  Than she will go back and as long as everything looks good she will only have to wear it to bed for a year.  When we were leaving she said "Where's cast?" We replied, "Your cast is gone."  She says, "Cast all done!"

Once we got home she was pretty eager to start playing with her new found freedom.  She can walk with her hands and feet on the floor (like a bear), but not just on her feet.  Once she starts building the strength up she'll be able to walk on her own again. She got in the bath tub for the first time since getting the cast on.  She was so excited!  She played for a good 45 minutes before she was so pruned she looked like a raisin.  Once I got her out and dried off she was asking to get into her bean bag.  She was sound asleep by 6:30pm! 

To finish off this great day, Derek brought me home a $5 Phillies lottery ticket tonight and I won $100!  The craziest part is today is the 18th and almost all the winning #'s on the ticket were 18's!  My psychic did say 8 is my number for the year :-)

Getting her cast cut off. You can see how little the saw  is.

CAST FREE!

Just got her new brace put on.

Front view of the brace.

Back of cast.

Trying to stand up!

Spica Cast Tips

It's been awhile since I've given some tips to living with a Spica Cast.  Since we are finishing up that stage I thought I would go over a few things and add some pictures since it's been awhile. 

I've found that umbrella strollers work nice for the cast.  Also the Baby Jogger City Mini stroller also works nicely.  You need a stroller that the sides don't stick out further than the seat.  I must say in general I really, really love the City Mini stroller. You can get lots of cool add-on's for it (like a little cooler just perfect for sippy cups or bottles).

Standard Costco Umbrella Stroller

Harlow in the Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller while we were at the beach.

We've discovered that sponge bathing next to the kitchen sink is much easier & more fun than a boring old sponge bath on a towel on the floor.  Harlow loves to lay next to the sink and splash around in the water.  She thinks it's the next best thing to a real bath.  She always asks for "tubby on sink".  Being able to rinse her hair with the sprayer on the sink is also much easier and cups full of water.  

Spica Cast Version of "Tubby Time"

 I'm so happy I found this booster seat at Target.  I was picking up some Organic fruit packs in the baby department when I stumbled upon the My Booster by Soft Gear.  It works perfect for the cast.  She can use it on the floor, on the stools at our table, on a chair/booth at a restaurant, anywhere really!  It is really awesome. It's a Spica Cast must!

Ready for Dinner! Sitting in her My Booster by Soft Gear.

My most important tip!  Just because your child is in a Spica Cast doesn't mean the entire 12 weeks (or however long) has to be miserable.  We've had good days & bad days, but the good days really outweigh the bad days. I feel like everything I've read on the Internet whether it's been blogs or information sites always make it seem like this is going to be such a hard time and your child isn't going to be comfortable or happy.  It's really not like that though.  Don't get me wrong we've had sleepless nights, screaming fits, painful knees, & some other problems, but we've had many more good moments.  She is happy 98% of the time.  The cast is part of her life.  She acts like it's always been there and she doesn't let it stop her from doing what she wants to do.  She learned to crawl in the first week. She learned to sit up it. She learned to pull herself into her bed.  She's been trying to stand on it (although she's not allowed and we don't let her).  If you're reading this because your child needs a Spica Cast do not go into it thinking it's going to be the worst time of your life and your child's - It's NOT going to be.  You will have a lot more work and it will be harder, but it's not going to be sad & miserable, unless YOU make it that way.  I mean do these pictures look like a miserable 2 year old a Spica Cast or a 2 year old who is happy & silly?

Who says a Spica Cast has to be miserable?

"My Spica Cast hasn't stopped me from being silly!"





Shopping

Today we went shopping.  Harlow got to pick out new bath toys and new sneakers.  I don't keep bath toys more than a few months because of them getting icky from being wet and all, so when Harlow got her cast on I threw away all her bath toys since they wouldn't be used for so long and they would just get gross from hanging in her frog toy pod.  She picked out some dolphins that you try to throw through rings, 3 little turtles that each have a different feature but they can connect together, alphabet & number foams, & catepillar cups.  Now she just has to wait for her first bath on Monday evening to use them! Then in the afternoon we went to look for new sneakers because she outgrew the ones she had prior to surgery.  She picked out some of the Skechers that light up and then a pair of pink/gray Nikes.  They are both super cool ;-)

Less than 36 hours till the cast comes off!

Winnie-the-Pooh

Today we went to to see Winnie-the-Pooh in the theater.  It was a cute movie.  Harlow seemed to enjoy it.  She, however, isn't a child who sits down and only watches tv.  Even in her cast she doesn't just lay around, watching tv, & doing nothing else.  She is always doing something.  She played on her iPod Touch a little bit, but for the most part she watched it...while bouncing around, eating a snack, & pointing things out about the movie.  

Last weekend for the cast!  Only 3 days left!!!  I'm cannot wait until Monday!  I'm ready for this dirty, icky cast to be gone for good!  Harlow doesn't realize that her cast is really coming off for good finally so I can't wait to see her face when it comes off.

10 Days...

Only 10 days left until Harlow gets her cast off!  Hip-Hip-Hooray!!  She will get her brace on the same day the cast comes off, but she will be able to walk and take a bath in the bath tub! Right now she thinks taking a "bath" by laying next to the kitchen sink and splashing around in the water while I sponge bath her is so fun.  When she can actually take a real bath again I may never be able to get her out.  Although, once the cast comes off she may not stop running around (once she builds the leg strength up) for days on end too. 

I'm trying to think of really fun to do or get for Harlow right after her cast comes off...I only have 10 days I better think fast :-)

Our Trip

I wrote a post on our way home yesterday, but as I was posting it it somehow disappeared...boo!  We had a great trip.  The only downfall is it ended up being hotter than the forcast said the day before we left.  It wasn't too hot on Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday were too hot to take Harlow out with her cast.

Sunday we got up and went to the outlets in Rehoboth Beach.  We got lots of great deals. My favorite purchase was a new Coach bag and Coach sneakers.  I saved $300 off the regular price!  Yippee Skippee!  After our outlet adventure we headed back home and got cleaned up.  Harlow stayed in with her Gram & Pap for the evening while Derek & I got to go enjoy the town together.  We went back up to Rehoboth Beach (we stay near Fenwick Island).  We had a nice dinner, walked around and shopped some stores.  We then went to the arcade. Ok juvenile I know, but it was my idea and it was so fun!  They have a cool arcade. Although I didn't win an Angry Bird, Derek won Harlow two stuffed crayons (which she loved).  We had a great time.

Monday, it was just too hot to really go anywhere for more than a short time.  If Harlow gets too hot than she gets a heat rash in her cast which hurts and is a pain to get cleared up.  So we basically stayed at the house all day and just hung out.  We did have a picnic inside with the a/c, lol.  Then I took her down to the park for a little.  We got to swing, slide, and go around on that little spin thing (you know the metal on that the kids sit on and someone pushes it around).  She wanted to stay longer but it was just too hot.  She saw all the people swimming in the pool and said she wanted to get in the "tubby", lol. When we got back I let her get in her tubby...the kitchen sink.  She likes to lay alongside the sink and play in the water.  It's her version of a bath right now. When she gets her cast off I may never get her out of the real bath tub!  After the bath we walked down to the canal and watched the 4th of July Boat Parade.  It was kind of lame actually, like 6 boats.  The first boat was the best, but the 3rd boat had bubbles, which she really liked.  Shortly after that a thunderstorm rolled through which, thankfully, cooled things down a little.

Since it cooled off right before evening we headed up to Rehoboth again.  Did a little more outlet shopping and then made it in town right as the fireworks started.  We didn't make a big deal out of watching them because Harlow is terrified of them.  She rode in her stroller while covering her face with her blankie.  Once or twice I caught her peeking out going "Ohhh", but when a really loud on went off, she hated them again.  We decided to take her for a "special treat", as she refers to it - ice cream!  That helped get her mind off the fireworks.  After that we walked around a little and then headed home for bed.

When we got up Tuesday morning, we decided just to head home that way we could get home and get everything unpacked and cleaned up and we would still have Wednesday to enjoy before Derek goes back to work.  All in all things went great. I can't wait to go back in October! 

Only 12 more days until Harlow gets her cast off - That's less than 2 weeks!!!!

We are headed to the beach! I drove the first half & Derek is now driving the last half. I think we have less than an hour! Thankfully we didn't hit traffic...yet. It's supposed to be in the upper 80's the whole time, so ?I hope Harlow's cast doesn't bother her too much. I have some fun things planned to keep her busy :-)


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Location:On our way

Vacation

I'm bad, I know. I'm sorry. It's been a week since I've written. It's been a busy week. Like right now I should be sleeping, but I'm not. Derek isn't home and I really don't like going to bed without him. I'm tired and I have to get up early, but I'm trying to wait, so I'll catch you up.

Last weekend we finally got to see my niece Raegan for the first time. She is so cute & tiny. Harlow, my Mom, & I went to see her, her big sister, & my brother on Friday night. I wanted to see her sooner but she was born right around Harlow's first surgery so it was crazy. We also went to a picnic at my parents on Sunday. That was fun too. Harlow had blast with my cousin Sarah & she also loved the chocolate cake.

This week I've been getting ready for our vacation over Independence Day weekend!! I've been gathering supplies, cleaning, making lists, packing, organizing, etc etc lol! Before we go away I always end up cleaning and organizing things I've been wanting to do for awhile. Like today Derek cleaned up our porch & I reorganized my clothing and cleaned out my closet - fun!

We are going on vacation for the first time in 2 years. It's not super easy for us to get away so I'm super excited. I have been busy researching things Harlow can do since she can't go on the beach or swimming. I just hope it's not too hot and that she sleeps well down there.

Only 18 days left until the cast comes off!!! I promise not to go missing for an entire week again :-)



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Let the countdown begin...

Harlow had a post operative appointment today. They said her cast should be as tight as it is and that will be fine...darn I was hoping for an early take off lol.

What they did say though is the day she will finally get her cast off - drum roll please.....Monday, July 18th! So about 25 days left. That's less than a month! She will go into her Hip Abduction Brace when the cast comes off and that she will wear basically 24/7 other than bath time for 3 months and then bedtime only for a year. Seems like forever but it can't be as bad as the cast so we are very happy!


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Paint

I decided that Harlow's room needed a change.  Before she was born we decided to paint it yellow because we weren't 100% that she was in fact a girl, so we went gender neutral.  The yellow was great while she was a baby, but now that she is getting bigger and deciding what she likes and doesn't like the yellow really doesn't go with a lot.  So, Saturday I painted her room white on Saturday.  White will always go with everything and we can easily add some color to the walls with decals and such.  I order her a name monogram & a cute saying decal off Etsy.  It too ALL day on Saturday to paint. Then when the whole room was finished except for the closet I rain out of paint :-/  I got more paint yesterday so tomorrow I will finish up the closet.  I did get her room rearranged and back together though, so it's all finished...except the closet lol. 

Yesterday we spent the day with Daddy for Father's Day.  His race team won on Saturday night, which was a nice Father's Day gift for him.  We are debating on going to the beach for July 4th, but we aren't sure yet.  It's not as easy to pack up when your child is in a cast.  We have to pack some extra things for her and take into consideration the heat and she can't get sandy or wet.  Her cast should come off about 2.5wks after July 4th, but it seems really tight and I don't think it's gonna last till then.  She has an appointment on Thursday and I'm going to discuss it with them.  It's really tight around her belly when she is sitting up.  Yesterday she burped and spit up which NEVER happens and I'm beginning to think its because of the cast being so tight.  I don't think she eats quite as much now either.  Maybe they will decide to take the cast off sooner - hahaha, well I can dream right??

What's Shakin'

Harlow says "What's shakin'" all the time. Today she said it to the girl at the bank lol. Her new cast is much nicer since we've had it fixed up. We are down to about 5 weeks! Hip Hip Hooray!!! Next Thursday we should find out exactly when it will come off.

We've decided to re-paint Harlow's room. We painted it light yellow before she was born and it was nice while she was a baby. Now that she is getting older I want her to have something more neutral that will go with everything. Today we went and picked out a nice "snowy" white. I was debating on doing some bright pink & green stripes but I think I'll wait to get the white done and then see. I'm hoping to get it painted in the next few days.

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No More Stinky...

This morning I called the Orthopedic Pediatric Nurse and had to leave her a message.  While waiting for her to call back I took Harlow for her Red Laser Treatment and then over to her Grammy & Pap's.  Of course just as we pull in Grammy & Pap's the nurse calls back.  I went over everything with her and she agreed that it shouldn't have happened and asked me to bring her in today.  The only time she could see her was 1pm and it was already almost 12pm.  So we had to quickly get up to Hershey since it's almost an hour drive.  Finally we get up there and waited a little and then we got to go back.  They were able to re-pad the inside of the cast and put the good moleskin around the edges.  That helped take away the smell of pee - YIPPEE!!!  They also cut out a bigger diaper hole in the back of the cast.  Harlow did great, even though the cast cutting machine is loud she didn't seem to mind at all. 

The only thing they didn't seem concerned with is how tight the cast was around her belly. They said she has enough room....yeah for now.  He moved her appointment next Monday to next Thursday, so until then we will see how it goes, but I will definitely be bringing the issue back up with him. 

For now though things are good again :-) YAY!

Annoyed

So on Friday I chose to leave out some of the things that I am really annoyed about. First off, when you diaper a spica cast you cannot simply just put one diaper in the cast - doesn't work.  When I went to change Harlow's diaper to leave the hospital - with our own diapers because they never even thought to ask if I wanted to change her for the hour car ride home, her cast was ALREADY soaked with pee!!!!  When they did the cast change they left all the cotton stuffing hang out the diaper hole to keep the cast edge from rubbing they didn't think to tuck the ONE diaper they used inside the cotton.  Needless to say when she pee'd instead of it soaking into the diaper it soaked into all the cotton and just sucked right up inside the cast. I was pretty mad at the hospital and even the nurse couldn't believe they did that.  So when we came home I tried to pull out as much of the cotton and pee soaked insides as I could and then I dried the rest with a cool hair dryer though.  What makes me really mad is that because of their sheer laziness in the operating room my child now smells like pee and it will only get worse in the next 6 weeks.

My second complaint about the cast change is that the Post-Recovery area was out of moleskin.  Our nurse only discovered this after I asked if I could get the moleskin to wrap her cast.  You need moleskin to wrap all the edges of the cast because without it the edges are sharp and will scratch skin but also snag on everything.  So, she told us we would have to wait at LEAST an hour for someone to bring the moleskin up.  I was not about to make Harlow sit in the hospital for at least an extra hour because they aren't prepared.  I luckily had a little moleskin left at home and then Saturday I went and spent $22.50 on more moleskin at a local medical supply store.

Thirdly, her diaper hole is about 2.5" inches wide.  How is she supposed to poo and not get it on the cast with a diaper hole that small.  I mean seriously you idiots!  Clearly the person putting the new cast on has never had to clean a sh*tty diaper. It was very clear to me this time that a medical student did the cast and was not properly supervised (WTH!!!!)

Oh yes there is one more complaint (Sorry!!).  Her new cast is just as tight on her skin as her old cast was at 6 weeks.  She has no room to grow in the cast.  Her first cast was bigger around and gave her more room to grow.  She was starting to complain about some parts of her old cast getting tight during the last week. So I can only imagine how quickly she will be outgrowing this one. 

I fully intend on calling her doctors office tomorrow and having a royal fit with them on all of these items.  It is absolutely ridiculous!  She isn't supposed to have a post-op appointment until next Monday but they will be seeing her this week. Ugh! They drive me insane!!

Harlow had her Child Dedication last night at Church.  It went really well.  She was so cute!!! She was quite talkative last night, but thankfully after the service everyone kept saying how cute she was and how she has such a sweet voice!  I was so embarrassed when the Pastor asked to hold Harlow to pray.  All I could think of was that he was probably wondering why she smelled like pee!!  Well, Pastor Hall if you are reading this then you now know why, because her cast was not properly taken cast of during the change - not because I don't keep my child clean! 

Madness....Complete Madness going on here this weekend!

New Cast

We made it to the hospital for 6am. The admitted us right away & sent us up to the pre-surgical area immediately after admittance. Of course we had to wait there for awhile. Finally, they gave her some medicine to make her loopy so she wouldn't get upset when we had to leave her. Shortly after that we carried her to the operating room doors and they whisked her away.







They told us she was scheduled from 7:30-9am. She entered the O.R. at 7:21am & Dr. Hennrikus came to see us at about 8:20am. He said everything went great. Her hip is stable, which means it's now properly growing in it's socket & didn't pop out when the cast was removed - YAY!

Right after the doctor saw us we could go up to recovery. She was just waking up but didn't cry once the entire time. She was super mad that she had one of those IV boards on her arm, but other than that she was back to herself in no time. She must have remembered she had to eat & drink before she could leave because she drank half her juice right away & then had a popsicle, cookies, & applesauce! She was determined to leave ASAP. They didn't have any moleskin to wrap the edges of the cast & said it could be at least an hour until they got some...umm no thanks! So I just said I would take care of wrapping it with the moleskin I have at home.

Finally we got the all clear to leave at about 11am! She has been doing great at home. She doesn't use her left leg much yet because it's been so long & at first she didn't realize the cast was shorter. Her legs aren't out quite as far as before so she has to move around a little different than with the last cast, but overall she is doing great & as sweet as always - Thank God!

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Cast Change!

Tomorrow!  Tomorrow Harlow gets her cast changed!  Wednesday was officially 6 weeks since she had her first procedure.  I am SO excited for a new cast.  This one is so dirty and stinky.  No matter how much you try to keep them clean they still get dirty and stinky in 100F weather.

The Red Laser Treatments that we have been having done on her incision have made such a difference!  The incision is almost completely healed - there is no redness to it anymore.  I'm hoping that it has been healing the tendons as quickly as the incision.  Dr. Hennrikus doesn't know about the treatments so I'll be curious to see if he comments on how healed up she is already.  Maybe if we have a miracle tomorrow she will be healed enough to go straight to a brace...so not getting my hopes up tomorrow.

We have to report to the hospital at 6am.  This means we have to get up at 4am to leave by 4:45am because it takes about an hour to get there and I prefer to be early than cutting it close to being late.  I had to laugh when we got home today because the hospital called and left this on the answering machine, "Hi, I'm calling from Hershey Medical Center for Ashley Gloster.  I see Harlow has already been to our Center for a previous procedure and tomorrow is just a cast change.  So since you already know the routine I'll just leave the time on here.  Please be at the main hospital by 6am tomorrow.  I'm sure you know Harlow isn't allowed any food or drink after midnight but if you have questions just call."  LOL I just thought it was funny that she was basically like "you know the deal, be here at 6am".  It sucks getting up so early and I'm always afraid of oversleeping but I'd rather be there early and hopefully get out at a decent time then going in later and getting pushed back because of other procedures before her taking extra long.  We'll just have to nap if we can tomorrow.

Rash

Harlow has a rash on her right leg. The cast is above her knee on her right leg and she has a rash on her leg around the edge of the cast. It's red and looks painful, but she doesn't fuss about it unless it's when I touch it. I know, don't touch it, right? I have to so I can keep neosporine cream on it. I'm going to call the doctor on Monday to see if I need to do anything else for it.

On the plus side I got Harlow the cutest dress for her Child Dedication next weekend. A Child Dedication is an act of prayer that the child will grow to serve God & a dedication by the parents that we will raise our child To foster spiritual & emotional health. We will commit to raise her the best way we know how. I found her this gorgeous off white satin & tulle dress at Baby Gap tonight. I let her choose between that dress and another, I was hoping she would pick it but I didn't think she would, but she did!! I'll be sure to post pics :-)

Tomorrow I have a reading with Corbie Mitleid. I can't wait. I can't wait to see what's in store for me. She is in town for just a weekend & I can't believe I was lucky enough to get a reading.

Pre-Operative Appointment #2

Today Harlow had her pre-op appointment for her cast change.  She will always have a "pre-op" appointment before any procedure.  Her appointment was supposed to be at 10:40am.  My mom went along with us and we got there about 10:30am.  My mom watched Harlow while I went to check in.  The lady at the desk told me that  it was going to be at least an hour and forty-five minutes because Dr. Hennrikus got called to the operating room for a trauma.  So I asked her if that was for sure because I was going to leave and come back.  I mean I can't expect Harlow to sit in her stroller for probably what would end up being over 2 hours until all was done.  The lady called down to check and see when Dr. Hennrikus would be back up and thankfully he was already headed back to his office.  So it ended up being about an hour until he finally saw us.

I asked what the chances of her not needing another cast and he said only one percent - boo!  I figured as much though, so I really wasn't getting my hopes up.  He did say 80% of kids only need two casts though, so this next cast will probably be her last...only time will tell though.  She is scheduled for next Friday June 10th for her cast change.  It is considered a surgical procedure because she is given anesthesia.

Once she is under anesthesia they will cut off her current cast and scrub her down (thank goodness!!!!).  They will then take an x-ray and see how her hip is staying in place.  If removing the cast doesn't cause it to pop out of socket again than they will just put the new cast on and that's it.  However, if they take the cast off and her hip comes back out of socket they will try to do a closed reduction to put it back in but if it doesn't work then they will have to make another incision and it will be just like her first procedure.  I'm pretty confident it won't come back out of socket.  The first procedure went very smooth, better than the doctor anticipated.  They only needed to make one incision and just a quick snip and it went in.  So I think it is going to be healing well enough to stay.  Maybe I am being over confident, but I'm really not worried.  I am hoping it is so healed she won't need another cast, but that's just being unrealistic.

I was surprised that the doctor told us when her cast does come off she will need to wear her hip brace for 22 hours a day for 3 months.  He originally told us only for one month of 22 hour days and then just at night time.  Today he said 3 months of 22 hour days and then just nights for a year or so.  Who knows!  Things change at every appointment, so we will just wait and see!  There isn't anything else to do ;-)

5 Weeks

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because my Internet was being oddly slow.  So this is for yesterday :-) ....

5 Weeks. It's been 5 weeks. That's over an entire month, 37 days to be exact.  One week until she will get her cast changed! Thank goodness because she is getting stinky.  She made it over 3 weeks without getting any pee on her cast.  Then suddenly one night from all her moving around the pee leaked off the diaper layers and onto the cast - yuck.  I scrub her cast every time she gets a bath.  I've changed the moleskin, but you can only change it a few times because when you take the moleskin off it pulls out the inside lining of the cast.  I've been Febreezing her.  No you don't need to re-read that last sentence, yes I said Febreezing her LOL!  I simply lay a washcloth on her butt and spray her cast.  It works pretty good.  My mom gave me the idea to try vinegar too, so I have also resorted to using that too.  They both help, but it's getting to the point that nothing is working great.  She is kind of stinky, but only when you really sniff her cast.  Her cast is also filthy, the dirt is getting stuck down in the little cast cracks and no matter how hard I scrub it doesn't come off.  I really cannot wait for this cast change!!!!

We never made it to the zoo.  It was supposed to be in the 90's again and I didn't want her to get even stinkier.  She had a chiropractor appointment in the morning for another laser treatment, so until that was over we would've gotten to the zoo too close to lunch.  So we'll make it another day.

I asked for some models on my Whimsical Lo Facebook page.  I needed an infant, toddler, & tween model to take pics in my 3-in-1 flower hair clips.  I was able to get 4 models, I'm so excited!  I cannot wait to see ALL of the cuties wearing my items!  As soon as I get the photos back I'll be posting them on my Facebook page for everyone to see!

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a safe & happy Memorial Day weekend!  We had a great weekend. On Saturday, Harlow, my Mom, & I went and picked up a canopy and a Step 2 Sand & Water Adjustable Activity Table.  I thought it would be something fun for Harlow to play with since she can't play in an actual sandbox or go swimming because of her cast.  She absolutely loves it!  She played with it almost our whole picnic yesterday.

Last night I thought we would have a "Family Movie Night".  I thought Harlow might like the movie, Cars, so that's what we watched.  Let me note that "we" refers to Derek & I.  Harlow was too busy playing & doing more important things.  I suppose it a very good thing though that she isn't into sitting around and watching tv for an extended period of time.  Next family movie night will occur in about 3 years lol!

Tomorrow we are taking Harlow to the Hershey Zoo.  I've been wanting to take her to the Philadelphia Zoo, but I'd rather save that zoo for when she can walk and really enjoy it.  The Hershey Zoo is pretty lame.  They only have animals found in North America - this means no monkeys, no giraffe's, no kangaroo's, no lions, no tighers, etc.  They have things like buffalo, owls,  & coyote's.  Oh well, Harlow will at least like to see all the different animals, so I'm sure she will enjoy it.

3 Diapers Everytime

Don't complain about how many diapers you go through until your kid is wearing diapers in a spica cast. This is what we go through every diaper change....

First I rip the tabs off a size 2 & size 3 diaper. Next, I place a Poise Pad in the size 2. After I get Harlow's old diapers off and her cleaned up I then stuff the size 2 diaper into the back of the cast (she is on her belly) & then I stuff the size 3 diaper into the back of the cast overtop of the size 2. Then I roll Harlow over & I stuff the size 2 into the front & then the size 3, making sure both are securely tucked in the whole way. After that I take a size 5 diaper and put it on her, on the outside of the cast.

Three diapers & a pad for one diaper change. Sometimes not all are dirty and I can reuse the outer layers once or twice. So when you think you go through a lot of diapers be thankful it's not as bad as it could be.

On a plus note it's been over 4 WEEKS! A full month we've made it! Yay for the Gloster's! I'm so proud of Harlow she has been doing so great.

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Keeping A Cast Clean

Hahaha. It is near impossible for the cast to not get dirty. Harlow crawls everywhere in her cast, but the crawling is more dragging her legs along behind her. This means the cast is getting dragged along carpet, grass, playground stones, etc. We try to put her on a blanket and she crawls off. How do you tell a child who already can't run around and play not to go off the blanket? I mean, really, that's just cruel. So needless to say, we have a dirty cast.

I've been scrubbing the cast with soap & a wash cloth everytime I sponge bath her but it's to the point it's just not coming clean. It's ok to clean the cast lightly, but remember not to submerge or pour water on the cast.

Changing the moleskin due to pee getting on it is a whole other cleaning issue that I'll save for another day, but be warned, it's so not fun. ;-)

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Red Lasers

Sorry, it's been too long. There has been lots going on. We've almost made it 4 weeks. In almost 2 weeks she will undergo her cast change. If we are super lucky she won't even get another cast, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Last week we started having red laser treatments done on Harlow's incision. Red laser treatments are known for there healing. They will heal up her scar quicker and with hope she will eventually have no scar at all. The red laser will almost help heal the cut tendon quicker. With luck it may heal it enough to eliminate additional casts. She will have 4 treatments before her cast change but her fourth treatment is the day before the change. So we will just wait and see how things play out.

Our new puppy, Minnie, is doing just great. She has adjusted to her new home great this week. She is fully litter box trained. She has an accident on occasion, but 99% of the time she using the boxes. She eats like a piggy & her upper respiratory infection is almost gone. She has a great personality.

I never mentioned my business before, but I make baby & toddler item. Most pacifier clips, but I'm venturing out into some other items. I have a few hair clips posted on my etsy store Whimsical Lo. I just made 2 little boy ties. I sent them to some friends with boys to test them out and give me feedback so I can't wait to hear back so I can make any needed adjustments and get more made. There isn't a lot out there for boys, so I hope these go over well.


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New Puppy

Meet Minnie, our newest addition.




Ok, Ok, maybe we didn't need another pet because we already have 2 dogs, 1 cat, & 1 guinea pig. Everything happens for a reason & she is the perfect addition to our family.

Harlow loves her! This pic was taken right before Harlow's sponge bath. Minnie curled up on her back for a little puppy snooze.



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2 Weeks

It's been 2 weeks since Harlow had surgery. We have survived 2 weeks of the spica cast process. Only 4 more weeks until the first cast change.

This past week has gone pretty well. Sleeping has been going well the last few days. I hope it keeps going well! She has been sleeping in her bean bag.

Her Pappy made her a scooter and a special table. She isn't strong enough to scoot around on her own but she loves when you push her across the floor on it & when you spin her on it. She loves the table. She can sit at it perfectly in her bean bag. Plus they made it with a white board top so she can write right on top of it. It also has little containers screwed on for all of her "necessities".

Hoping for a quick 4 weeks coming up :-)

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Sleep

We're back to not sleeping as well....darn! Friday not was not good at all, last night wasn't too bad except for her being wide awake at 5am lol. Hopin tonight is a good night.

Today was a great day. My birthday & Mother's Day! My Mom, Harlow, & I went to the street fair together. It was fun, but they keep getting less crafters every year. After that, we came home and spent family time playing outside on the playground. Overall, a perfect day <3


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One Week Completed....

We've made it a full week! Things have been going very well. It's really not as difficult as we thought it might be. Most of the time she is just as happy as she was before so it's not bad taking her out and trying to be as normal as possible. Possibly only 17 more weeks to go! Hopefully a lot less than not, but not getting my hopes up.

If you're reading this because you have a child who will be going into a Spica Cast or know someone who will be, I thought I'd give you a few tips of what has really helped.

1. Definately have a bean bag chair. Harlow has been sleeping in it at night, it seems to be more comfortable than lying in bed. She also eats in it & watches tv in it.

2. Spica Casts differ greatly in how they are put on, but an umbrella stroller works great when they are "frog-legged". We fold up a blanket and put in behind her lower back so keep her from sinking back into it.

3. Get back to your normal routine as soon as you can. When you make it seem like the cast isn't a big deal, your toddler will too.

4. Encourage your toddler to learn to crawl. So them how to army crawl. You might not think they will be able to pull the big cast, but you will be pleasantly surprised. Harlow was crawling just 4 days after her surgery. Now it's been a week and she is crawling like its no big deal.

5. As much as you want to give into their every want, don't. You cannot let them throw all the discipline they've already learned out the window. I'm not saying they can't have more special treatment than they used too, but don't give in to everything. Harlow is very spoiled and I won't lie, she's more spoiled now that she's in the cast. However, she is still expected to use the manners she was taught. She still says "Please", "Sorry", & "Thank You" when appropriate. She also isn't allowed to hit, smack, or bite when she is frustrated. Some things are never ok.

6. Be sure to stock up on lots of activities that they can play with laying on the floor or sitting in a chair. Coloring books, white boards, little toy figures, books, etc. Toddlers get bored quickly and they get bored even quicker when they are just sitting around all day.

That's all the tips I can think of at the moment, but I'll continue to add more throughout this journey.

Yesterday was a good day. We had a fun family Sunday. My wonderful husband let me sleep in while he had Daddy/Daughter time with Harlow. Harlow did really well yesterday. She didn't have any major frustration breakdowns. Sleeping even got a little better last night. She slept for 4 straight hours at one point. We put her bean bag next to her toddler bed just in case she flips over and accidentally falls out of bed she won't fall to the floor, she'll land on the bean bag. Well she was sleeping in her bean bag and then next time she woke up crying I went over and she was in her bed! She must have grabbed the toddler bed rail and pulled herself in lol! Kids sure adapt fast.

Today Harlow has her post op appointment this afternoon. When we got there the lady couldn't find our appointment. Then they announced the doctor was running an hour behind! Finally we got called back. The nurse put Harlow's pink on her cast, so now is happier that she has a more fashionable cast to sport around. Dr. Hennrikus gave me an A+ for keeping her cast so clean - Yay me! I asked him about her not sleeping & he told me most times kids will not sleep through the night in the cast....so basically many weeks of lacking sleep - no Yay for this.

I asked if he thought she may not require a full 18 weeks but as I expected he didn't want to predict sooner. He said it's better not to get our hopes up just in case she needs the 18 weeks plus we'll be much more excited if we don't know it's coming off earlier.

She will go back June 2nd for a prep op appointment and then get a cast change on June 8th. Cast changes do require anesthesia but she will get to go right home once she wakes up.



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Location:Spica Cast Day 5 & 6

Crawling

Tonight Harlow learned to crawl in her cast! I'm so happy for her because she was so happy to be mobile again. I thought she would learn to crawl, but not in just 4 days. It was right after her Daddy left to go watch our Thundercar race, so I am so excited for him to see her crawl tomorrow.

Remember how I said having a toddler in a spica cast is like having an infant again? Well, this is another example. We never thought we would be excited that our child learned to crawl - for a second time.

Sleeping still isn't going very well. She is waking up about every 2 hours or so. I don't exactly know why because even thought she has very good communication she just can't tell me what the problem is. It could be muscle spasms in her legs, discomfort from the cast, or just pure frustration because she still can't understand why this happened to her. I think she is just mad. She can't tell me what's wrong when she is upset. She wants held and then she doesn't. She wants her blankie and then she doesn't. Whatever she says she wants she refuses once you give it to her. She will cry for a few minutes and then she will just stop and relax and snuggle back in with her blankie.

No one ever said having a toddler in a spica cast would be easy, but it's not all bad either. Other than the moments of pure frustration Harlow is still the happy little girl she always was. When the moments are bad you just have to remember the purpose of the cast.


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Spica Cast Diapering

Diapering in a Spica Cast is a huge pain in the butt!...literally lol! The cast doesn't leave a large opening & there isn't a lot of space between cast & skin. When diapering you have to use a smaller sized diaper with a feminine pad in it & that you actually push up into the diaper. Then you take a normal size diaper and put it on the outside of the cast. Basically the point is to not let anything get on the cast. Hahahaha talk about impossible. It's all about trial & error. We are on day 3 & we are still erring lol. I think we'll get it tonight though. We are going down another size & putting size 2 diapers inside with her 5 on the outside. The hospital said use size 3's but they are just too big for Harlow's little butt.

I thought we were done with the baby stage, but a Spica Cast really takes your toddler back to the baby days - diaper issues, not being able to walk, & even middle of the night diaper changes.




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Day 3

Last night was very dramatic. Harlow was beyond mad at the world. She couldn't sleep. She was crying, screaming, beating on her cast, & I'm pretty sure she would have been using ever 4 letter word had she known them. She was so mad she didn't even want her most prized possession....blankie! She prefers regular Tylenol over her prescription Tylenol #3, but at 5am I got her to take the prescription & she finally slept for almost 4 straight hours & was much happier in the morning.

The day has been good. We planted her Miracle Gro Indoor Greenhouse Vegetable Garden. She had a previous one, but it accidentally got knocked down & ruined. We are excited to see how big the vegetables grow until her cast comes off. She has Sweet Peppers, Cucumbers, Small Red Tomatoes, & Easter Eggplants. I highly recommend the Miracle Gro kids planters. They are fun & so easy to do!

Sorry to say we missed the Royal Wedding, but we hope they live happily ever after.

Harlow having belly play time today.




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Spica Cast Day 1 & 2

Harlow's surgery was a success. The Doctor came out & told us it couldn't have gone any better. He didn't have to do as much as he thought. She has a very tiny incision. He had to snip one tendon & then her hip went right back into place. She even got to come home the same day!

After her surgery she was really out of it & upset. Finally she got some pain medication & she calmed down. We went from post-op to recovery & got to just relax for awhile. Harlow was doing well watching Disney Jr. However, every time she would start to fall asleep the nurse would come in and start messing with her. Then Harlow would get upset and till she was almost asleep again the nurse would come back! Ugh! We could've left earlier than we did, but Occupational Therapy was screwing around on getting us the Spica Car Seat (Hippo Seat). Once we finally got it we headed home! She slept the entire ride home. She was in a much better mood at home. She had some chicken nuggets & cookies :-) Her Grandmas stopped by to visit for a little.

She slept all night! I got up & checked on her about 4am & she was sleeping. At 5 she fussed a little, but I think all the lightening woke her up. She went right back to sleep & then woke up at 7:30.

All day she was in a great mood. She watched Blue's Clues, played with some little figures, colored, did some puzzles. Her Grammy & Pap came to visit & she was laughing & carrying on like her old self. We even went for a walk with a rigged up stroller!

Hoping for another quiet night & great day....one day at a time though :-)

Here is a pic once Harlow came home & was relaxing with a Popsicle.




Here is another pic from our walk



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Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

As I sit here typing this our 2 year old daughter is in the operating room. They are correcting her DDH. DDH or Developmental Dysplasia of the hip is An abnormal formation of the hip joint. Harlow's occurred prior to birth. She was breech from 24-35 weeks when she was born via c-section. It wasn't diagnosed at birth however because her hips seemed to be where they should with no clicks or limited movement.

Harlow was diagnosed shortly after her 2nd birthday. Her left leg appeared shorter than the right. Her pediatrician sent her to an Orthopedic Pediatric Specialist who diagnosed her from a x-ray. He then referred us to an Orthopedic Pediatric Surgeon which brings us to Today...

Harlow is having her left hip corrected as I type. They will put her in a Spica cast for up to 18 weeks after I correct the hip. Follow along with us as we take the Spica cast journey and see how we survive :-)

Here is a pic of her right before she headed to the operating room.