Hip Dysplasia Update

It's been over 5 weeks since Alexis' hip surgery so here's the update:


We got home from the hospital and Alexis was very upset that she couldn't take her "hard pants" off. She was fine with it at the hospital and we had shown her pictures of spica casts and explained that she'd have to wear them for a while to fix her "boo-boo" (the boo-boo she insisted was all fixed and didn't hurt, etc...hard to explain to a toddler why something that doesn't hurt them now has to be fixed so that it won't hurt them later). Anyway, we got home and the first few weeks were rough. She'd have a fit when she wanted to sit on the floor but couldn't. Or wanted to sit on the couch and couldn't. Or wanted to walk or go potty in the bathroom and couldn't. She was very frustrated. She is an independent little girl and was having none of this. Oh, and she had really nasty sores/blisters on her butt/backside under the cast which were nearly giving me a heart attack since they were bleeding, gooey and gross...and being under the cast didn't help meaning they were hard to keep dry and hard to keep pressure off them. Made diaper changes painful for Alexis...they finally healed after about a week or two, thank God! We were really worried they'd get infected or something.



Luckily Alexis has come to terms a little better with her spica cast situation. She has less tantrums when she wants to do something and can't. Now she calmly says "I can't do that because I have hard pants on." I'm quick to tell her though, "that's right, but you'll be able to do that soon when your hard pants come off!" and she responds usually with a "Yay!" :)

So, less than one week to go! We are almost there! Hang in there little Alexis!

Yes, those are doorhangers on my arms! What's wrong with that?

Flipping over in the spica!

On the move!
Modified couch sitting position! Hey, whatever works!

Tea party with Dora!

Dora

'Nuff said...

Hip Surgery

As previous postings have noted Alexis' journey with hip dysplasia, the saga continues. Just took us a while to update here. Her pelvic osteotomy on February 2, 2010 went as planned and the orthopedic surgeon seemed pleased with how it all went. I'll spare too many details but here are some of my most memorable moments:

--The pink liquid sedative they gave Alexis before the surgery to relax her for the anesthesia part...why memorable? Because Alexis only swallowed half of it, so they still had to put the anesthesia mask over her face when it came time, but even with only half of it, she was loopy. And I don't mean silly funny loopy, I mean HILARIOUS loopy. So I'm holding Alexis and I sit down on a chair with her on my lap...she looks down at the floor and looks very concerned and says "Mommy, what are you sitting on?" Then she stares at my nose and touches it and says "nose" and starts giggling. I ask her "how many noses do you see on my face Alexis?" She says "two". We all start laughing at this point...until it's time to hand her over to the anesthesiologist anyway. Why is it that I still cried after handing her to the doctor, even though this was her 4th surgery and about the 7th time she has undergone anesthesia? Why doesn't it seem easier?

--It seemed like a very long 4-5 hours for us as we waited...but we looked around the waiting room and heard the conversations of parents who had children in surgery for last hope cancer tumor removals, for heart surgeries, for things that are a whole lot scarier than hip dysplasia.

--The sound of Alexis' cry after waking up from anesthesia...that hoarse painful sound...

--Alexis' first reaction of "take this off" referring not to the body cast as we thought she would ask, but referring to the IV cuff on her arm!

--Laying next to Alexis in her bed all night, watching her sleep, listening to her breathing and the beeps of the monitors. I didn't get much sleep, but it was a beautiful moment when she woke up, looked at me and said "hi mommy" and then went back to sleep for a little more.

--Alexis' love affair with hospital popsicles :)

ICE!

We went to go see ICE! at the Gaylord Convention Center at National Harbor. It was really Cool! (pun intended) They set up this giant tent in the parking lot and then bring in air coolers to keep the inside of the tent approx. 9 degrees. Everything is carved from giant ice blocks. They give you stylish blue parka's to put over your coat. Honestly, the cold wasn't that bad, except for my hands - I had to take my gloves off to take pictures.




ICE!



Reindeer



Walking over the ice bridge



Victorian era home.








Fireplace




Boy sneaking downstairs with his teddy bear
trying to catch a glimpse of Santa eating his cookies.



Riding on the ice sleigh.








Penguins!




Igloo entrance



Castle with slides



The ice slide



Helena and Alexis at the top left
getting ready to go down the slide



WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!



Santa!











Nativity

Christmas in Florida

Here are some pictures from our Christmas in Florida. (To see larger versions of the pictures click on them (If they are then too big you can right click on the large picture and select "View image" to have them fit on the screen))



That is a crazy amount of presents! Where's Alexis?
Where's the Christmas Tree?!



Grandpa reading "The Night Before Christmas"


Grandpa and Alexis


Alexis opening her first present on Christmas Eve


oooohhh...It's a farm!


Santa brought Alexis an easel



Alexis writing a note back to Santa thanking him.



Alexis helping Daddy open his present.



"Look what you got, Daddy!"



Trying on her backpack.



"I'm taking my baby for a ride."



"Now I can carry more of my toys all at once!"



Grandma likes her gift.



Grandpa opening his present.



Alexis opening her present.



She likes the baby doll.



Pushing the baby in the stroller.



Reading her book.



Daddy and Alexis playing with her Tag Jr.


Grandma and Alexis



Grandpa showing Alexis his "farm"