Cast Off!!!

The cast came off today and it went surprisingly well. X-ray shows Kaia's femer head is in the position they want it, and now it's just going to take time for it to grow into a proper hip joint. We go back for a follow up in 3 months, and depending on how she's doing at that point, it won't be for another 6 months after that! Whoo hoo!

I was so proud of Kaia today. I had heard that some kids freak out when the cast is cut off, so I was expecting a major melt down. It's understandable I suppose. The saw is loud and it vibrates the cast. One woman on babycenter said her daughter still shows fear of the hospital one year after having to go and have her spica cut off. When the ortho tech fired up the saw I braced myself...and nothing. Kaia just looked at her like "huh? What are you doing?" She cried a bit near the end, but it was for all of about 10 seconds and then it was done. The ortho tech said she wished all kids were that agreeable, and she gave me props on how clean and smell free the cast was. I credit Brian's puppy piddle pad idea and my dedication to sponge baths.

Kaia is definitely stiff and sore, but only complains when she's in positions she is unfamiliar with. Lying down on her back, tummy time and being held upright are all fine. Sitting? Not so much. She hasn't bent at the waist in months so I'm willing to give that one to her. The other thing is that we've been told not to try to 'force' her legs together. Kaia still holds them apart in roughly the same position they were in the cast. We're not suppose to put pressure on the outside of her legs as this could compromise the development of her hip. The stiffness of the muscles will help hold the hip in position while it's still growing. Basically any apparatus that causes her legs to come together (I'm looking at you Bumbo chair), is a no no. I haven't tried pants yet, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get them on without too much difficulty.

In other news, if you're a repeat visitor here you'll notice I've made a few blog design changes. I'm not sure I'm totally satisfied yet, but it's coming along. If I was an HTML wizard I'd design one myself, but I'm not (at all) so this will have to do. I felt I needed to add Kaia's picture to the blog header. This space is about me and my life after Aidan, and Kaia's a huge part of that so she needed to be up there. Plus she's cute as hell, so who wouldn't want to look at her?

That's all for now. I just thought I should document this monumental change of events!