Hip Baby Update

Today Alexandra had her cast changed, her first REAL bath in six weeks, and an x-ray of her hip.
This is her old cast. She loved putting her hands in the cast like some secret hidden pocket.

The girls and I had fun decorating her old cast. Now we will start again on her new one.

The cast is very useful when you don't want to hold your banana.

We finally found a chair that Alexandra can sit upright in at the table! Hooray!

I love her leg warmers (baby legs). We have so many pairs to choose from. She wears different ones everyday. They really make an outfit.

So proud of her new seat.

This is minutes after putting her in her new seat. She gave me the biggest smile. I think she is happier eating upright instead of lounging back like before.

Hiding in her sombrero

We now have another six weeks in the cast and then we will hopefully be cast-free! The doctor said that her hip is in place and does not click or come out. Now the cartlidge and bone just need to form around the femur more and she will have a normal working hip.

Alexandra has done remarkably well. She has not been grumpy at all about her situation. She is much better than I ever would be if I were in the same kind of cast. It looks painful but it doesn't even phase her. We have become so used to life in a cast, that I can hardly remember what it was like without the cast. I must say, my back, arms, neck and wrists do ache from carrying her. However, her new cast seems to be a bit more sleek and not as heavy. That will be a nice change. We are so proud of her for getting half way. She did much better coming off the anesthesia this time too. She settled herself fairly quickly.

One nice thing we have noticed about the cast is that she never wakes up at night. The cast does not allow her to move therefore, she never wakes herself up. She has been sleeping completely through the night since she got it on. We also get a lot of attention with a baby in a cast. Some days when I pick Abby up from school with Alexandra in the stroller, it seems like everyone I see in the neighborhood stops us to either ask how she is doing or ask about the cast. It has been a great way to get to know people. One particular day, we had a crowd of people all staring down at her asking questions about the cast and Alexandra just stared up at them all with big smiles, amused at everyone staring at her. Everyone comments on what a happy baby she is. We are lucky. Here is hoping the next six weeks go as smoothly as the first six!