Santa Came!
She was debating 2 different types of orthopedics. The first just covered the foot up to the ankle and could be worn with regular shoes and be barely noticeable. The other would come to just below her knee. At the time she wasn't really sure what she would need and wanted to hold off on ordering them at that time, especially since they are very expensive.
Again, even though this is not the worst news (we've had worse!) it was still very unexpected. Ally has been doing so well physically; at the time she could even get to her knees and was trying to pull up and stand but wasn't quite there yet. I just found it shocking and so hard to believe that she may begin to show delays with this. And to think she would need orthopedic braces her whole life? Strangely enough I immediately thought of shoes. It seems Ally has a liking for shoes- we often have to pull her away from the shoes stacked by the door and keep her from putting them into her mouth. If she has a shoe fettish (not inherited from her mother!) will she be able to wear any type of shoes with braces on her feet? Heels? Wedges? Strappy sandals? (Again, most of which I do NOT wear.)
This is why the photo below was so exciting to me- and everyone else (including many of you, since I've already shared it on facebook). Ally had been trying to pull up and stand and I caught her standing by the tub while running the bath water one night. It may not have been the very first time, but it was the first one I managed to photograph. It proved to me yet again that Ally was going to defy the odds. She may still need braces, but hopefully the least noticeable ones and maybe not forever.
The next physical therapy appointment was just last week for the month of January. Since she was doing so well, the physical therapist said she wanted to hold off getting the orthopedics to see what she could do without them. She also really wanted to avoid getting the ones that come below the knee (especially since they are more expensive) and see if she would really need them. The goal is to possibly start her in the ankle braces, then as she gets older and better with walking move her down to just orthopedic inserts. This made us feel so much better! Not to mention that one day while at work I was in the copy room waiting for the machine and a co-worker asked me how Ally was doing. As I was telling her about the possibility of orthopedics another teacher (who is about 10 years my junior) using the copier said, "If it makes you feel any better, I wear orthopedics."
"Really?" I said. "What kind?" I'd never noticed anything on her legs or feet before.
"Just inserts," she replied. "I had scoliosis as a child so I wear them for that." It really was nice to hear. I would never have guessed it.
Just in the past few weeks Ally has been pulling to standing more and more. Our next goal is to get her to start 'cruising' along the couch both directions. Our physical therapist also noticed that she often sits in a W figure with her legs which is really bad for your joints, so we are to correct her from doing that whenever we see her sitting that way.
Ally has been doing MUCH better with both eating and sleeping. While I was out of school over the Christmas break we 'broke' her of her nighttime habit of getting up and eating, since she really didn't need to be doing so anymore. We are ALL getting much better sleep now! She is also eating more times a day and eating better at each meal. She's moved up to eating things like yogurt, cheese, cheerios, and puffs now, along with purees of fruits and veggies. She only gets 3 bottles a day, which will soon hopefully be cut back to 2. I did, however, stop pumping about 7 weeks earlier than intended. I was disappointed that I couldn't go the full year, but with exclusively pumping I think my body handled it much different than with mainly nursing the boys. Plus, many moms can only make it a few weeks or months so I knew I had done the best I could and with pumping 3 times a day and getting only 4-5 oz. per day it just didn't seem worth the time and hassle anymore.
The only other exciting bit of news we've had this month is from neurosurgery. A month had passed since her seemingly unsuccessful head sonogram and I hadn't heard any findings from neurosurgery. I finally called over there to try to get the scoop on what was coming- did she need an MRI or not? I finally got the word that they were able to see enough through her soft spot and an MRI will not be necessary at this time. I was ecstatic! No sedation or hospital stay for us anytime soon (planned anyway)! We go back to neurosurgery in April for a follow up.
There shouldn't be much more to update in the next month or so. Maybe if we get a decent SNOW I can put up some photos of Ally's first snow adventure- but unless something unexpected happens things should be fairly quiet until our girl turns 1 in about 5 weeks! We will definitely be posting pictures of the celebration!
Thanks so much for your continued support and prayers! Ally- and our whole family- could sure use them. Below is a picture I just took yesterday. We had a friend make this sign (in the Dandy-Walker Alliance colors!) from this quote that I found and love. I think it perfectly sums up our tiny DW/hydro warrior and I can't wait to hang it in her room! (Notice the gray ribbon at the end- gray is the color for basically any brain disorder.)
This is my fierce face!
