Rhino brace

Sadie's hip dysplasia had been improving up to her appointment about a month ago.  Unfortunately at her most recent appointment, no real change had occurred.  This left her doctor to believe that the Pavlik harness was no longer effective.  Her doctor has since moved her to a new kind of brace called a Rhino Brace.  It is the next step in fixing hip dysplasia.  Hopefully this will be the final one we have to try.  The Rhino Brace is a:

      Polypropylene hip abduction brace for treating children from infants to 3 years of age with hip dysplasia. Holds hips in the correct abduction position, but flexible enough to allow walking. Can be used full time or for night wear only. Commonly used as a follow-up to the Pavlik harness treatment, as the child begins to walk.

My first reaction to hearing that she needed this was tears, lots of tears.  Deep down in my heart, I had been hoping that the Pavlik harness was the fix and specifically, I had been hoping that her most recent ultrasound would show that her hip was now at the correct angle and that we could phase out the Pavlik harness and y'all that is just not what happened.  

When the doctor told me the next step, I had lots of questions.  Then once we left, I started to worry about her reaction, her development, etc.

The amazing thing is that once I was able to organize my thoughts, I invoked the help of my sweet prayer warriors.  Y'all, she is not missing anything, she has not had trouble adjusting and my anxiety is subsiding.  

Please if you will pray specifically that the angle that her right hip is in socket improves significantly over this next month.  That would tell us that the brace is working.  Please pray specifically for our patience as the brace does its job.  Please pray for Sadie to continue hitting those developmental milestones and to learn to do things differently so that she can continue to grow even while in the brace.

5 months

Sadie Leigh is 5 months old! I marvel daily and what she is able to do, how she is growing and how lucky we are to have her!

At 5 months, she:

*weighs 14lbs

*is 24 inches

*recognizes mom and dad

*smiles so big

*rolls over (easily tummy to back, has a few times back to tummy)

*pushes up on her tummy

*loves music

*loves her pups

*makes lots of noises

*blows raspberries

*tries to mimic sounds

*is getting better at holding up her bottle

*can get her own paci in her mouth

*likes to sit up

*loves sitting in her Bumbo and jumperoo

Picture observations

*she is moving a lot more..pictures are getting harder to take

*she is over laying on the Boppy Newborn Lounger (see fussy pics above), she wants to sit up

*her toes are awesome and way more exciting to watch than the camera

*she is adorable!

Colton

Welcome to the world Colton William! Cody's sister and brother-in-law welcomed this precious 8lb 4oz baby boy into the world on Monday.  

We got to meet our sweet nephew and Sadie's cousin on Tuesday night!

The cousins about 4 1/2 months ago

 

The cousins on Tuesday

4 months

Only 16 days late...can you tell that I went back to work?

Our Sadiebug is 4 (and 1/2..) months old!  These pictures were from the 9th though when she actually was 4 months.

At 4 months, she

*weighs 13lb 5oz

* is 23.5 inches long

*Loves watching her puppies

*seems to be observing everything

*loves to scream for fun

*talks a lot 

*can roll from her tummy to her back and from back to her side..not quite back to tummy yet

*is sleeping a lot less consistently (I'm blaming it on me working)...we are back to waking up 2ish times a night

*Is a happy girl and smiles a lot

*will grab onto any and everything she can

*still loves to hold hands

*fans and lights are still a love

*loves kicking, talking and playing in the bathtub

*prefers sitting to laying

*Loves music

*plays with daddy's beard

*loves attention

*is still wearing her Pavlik harness full time and taking medicine for acid reflux

How to bless a new mom

We have an amazing family and friends who loved and supported us beyond anything I could have imagined when Sadie was born.   These are just some of the ways our friends blessed us during the first few months with little girl.

1. Pray for them
Parenthood is hard.  You're tired, your body is healing from something major and you really don't know what you're doing.   Pray for patience, rest and guidance for your friends.

2. Ask them how, not if you can help
I don't like asking for help.  I would like to be able to do everything by myself, but sometimes you just can't. Offering to help by asking how you help is more likely to receive a specific response..it might even let you snuggle with baby while they do something as simple as putting on make up.

3. Help feed them
Sometimes as a new mom you forget to eat, which may also mean that they forget to feed their family.  For weeks, friends brought food, family cooked for us or we had frozen meals brought to be cooked at another time.  This was such a big help!

4. Bring them a treat
It's scary getting out by yourself to begin with and if you have a c-section, you aren't allowed to drive for the first few weeks.  My friends would bring me decaf lattes or caffeine free cokes and I cannot tell you how excited I got.

5. Visit them
It gets lonely during the day when baby is asleep and at first baby sleeps a lot.  Your friends miss you, go see them.

6. Be patient with them
I am not known for being on time to begin with.  Throw in trying to get out of the house with everything you need for baby or trying to end a feeding so you can get out the door and I can guarantee I will be late.  Be patient with them, they are trying. 

Egg Muffins

My Mamaw sent me this recipe.  Its similar to another one that I posted for make ahead meals, but I like this one becuase it lets each person personalize their breakfast. 

Ours before adding the egg mixture

Spray a muffin/cupcake pan w/ non-stick spray (Spray it generously..mine was hard to clean after, but it could just be the pan).
Fill with anything you want: ham & broccoli, chicken & carrots, spinach w/ feta & tomatoes, steak & bell peppers....whatever you have in the fridge. (Note: add all veggies RAW - they will cook during the baking process)
Mix approx 1 egg per/muffin in a blender w/ a splash of milk. Pour directly into each cup just below the rim.
Top with shredded or sliced cheeses of your choice.
Bake at 425 degrees for approx 20 min.
Let cool before removing from pan

I froze the extras and reheated them for about 2 minutes.  They're like mini omlettes!

Instagram Update

Of course they all involve Sadie...

Ready to meet her teachers

Busy on her playmat

Looking like a bunny in her bouncy seat

Sweet pup waiting for her baby to wake up

Morning Snuggles with Harvey Bear

Watching tv with daddy

Meeting Marianne

Saturday fun

All ready for church

Representing mommy and daddy's alma maters

Meeting a sweet boy

And here's a video with her current way of talking.  I think she is discovering all the sounds her voice can make