First Week

The first week of the new year is officially over.  I had a pretty great week and I hope you did too!  Harlow was so excited to get back to school.  Harlow also started her new violin lessons.  She did really well.  She can name almost all of the parts of the violin.  Next, she is started to work on beats to actually start playing it correctly.  She was pretty shy with her new instructor but after a few weeks she'll be running circles around him lol. 

On Friday, Derek & I went to the AHL Outdoor Classic game in Philadelphia.  We made a day trip out of it and stopped at King of Prussia mall for some shopping <3 <3  We had a lot of fun.  The game was good, the Phantoms pulled out an overtime win against the Hershey Bears - YAY!  Our seats were really great, we could see everything.  It was pretty cold, but I made sure to wear lots (& lots of layers).  There was a couple in front of us who didn't have such a great time because they were fighting the whole game :-/  I definately would not have want to been riding in their car on the game home hehe ;-)

I just finished up year ends for 2011! Woo-Hoo!!! Now I can start taking photo's of all my completed work and get it up in my Etsy store.  Then I can add new pieces as I make them :-)  I can't wait to really try out my new Sony NEX N5 to take the photos.  I've only gotten to take a few pictures during Christmas but it works great and those pictures are all really nice so I can't wait to see how my items look.

Hoping you have a Fabulous Week 2 of 2012!

Welcome 2012

Another year in the past.  Was it a bad year?  Definitely not!  Some people might say it wasn't a great year for us because Harlow had hip surgery, but I don't look at that as bad.  The surgery was successful.  She is doing great!! She doesn't have another follow up until July.  Her walking is very, very good.  She can even run now.  Another great thing about 2011??  Harlow got accepted to Christian School of York!!  We couldn't be more happy with her progress at school.  She is doing really well.  She started in PreK2 but we ended up moving her to the PreK3 class and she loves it!! We couldn't imagine her ever attending another school. 

I'm excited for a new year.  I try not to make resolutions for the new year.  I just try to make the best of every day. Harlow will be 3 in February (I know, 3 already!!!).  She loves LaLaLoopsy & is having a Loopsy party at York Arts.  I think the party is going to be awesome.  In March, we are going to see the Fresh Beat Band in concert.  She is so excited that she talks about it every day :-) 

I am going to be opening my Etsy store next week again, finally!!!!  It's been too long since it's been open, but I was just so busy with making items for donation and the holidays.  I will be having lots of embroidered infant/toddler shirts, hair clips, hair flowers, hats, tote bags ~~~ all of which I can customize for you! 

2012 is going to be an incredible year!  If you are pessimistic, than you probably won't have a good year, so instead of always looking at how things "could" be better, think about how blessed you are to have the things that you do have.  Make everyday fantastically awesome!

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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