I'm not so sure about this bath thing! ...Is that really me? ...Thanks for the chair Grandma!

6 Months Old Already!

We went to see Devin's Ortho doctor Tuesday. Thanks to our wonderful Care Coordinator Nurse Kristi, we have a projected date of about 6 months for the current splint. They are very happy with his hips. They are very stable but Dr. Winterstein is hoping that the longer she can keep them stable now, the longer they will stay stable. Because of muscle imbalance in children with Spina Bifida, the hips can become unstable later. We have graduated from going to see the Ortho every 2 weeks to every 2 months (yeaaaaaaaa)! I will try to post some fun pictures in the meantime.

ILFELD Hip Abduction Splint

I took Devin to the doctor this last Tuesday. He is now in a Hip Abduction Splint. They utilized the same upper part of the harness and attached a metal bar type thing with brackets that go around his upper thigh. The cream going from his toes up is a sock I put on to protect his skin under the splint and behind the knees.

It would seem that he has more freedom as his lower leg is not actually in anything but the brackets go out just behind the knee and it does not look comfortable at all for him to bend his knee. We also had to go search for a new car seat as his legs are too far apart for the infant car seat. We were going to have to do that eventually as all of ours are expired but it just happened a little sooner and in colder weather than we were planning for.

Although I did not ask at this appointment, I believe he has about another 1 1/2 months in this devise. When he got his cast off, she indicated some kind of brace/harness for 3 months. I guess we'll find out more as that time gets closer!

Devin officially took his first bath today (more like a shower) since he was born! With the initial surgeries and the harness and casts we have only been able to give him sponge baths. The Ortho doctor gave us the O.K. to take the splint off for diaper changing and bathing.

Jump Man Devin

Devin had an Ultrasound and Orthopedic doctors appointment yesterday. The ultrasound technicians had not seen him since before his 2 spica casts and had trouble comparing ultrasounds because he has grown soo much. Once they reorientated themselves, they indicated that his hip sockets were not moving around at all (meaning they were staying in socket). This is a very good thing and the Ortho was please with this as well. As I understand it, he will have the Pavlik brace on for about another 2 months just to keep them stable.

He squirms around quite a bit while we are trying to change him. He also kicks around a lot when I take his leg out of the brace (one leg at a time) to give him a sponge bath. I have trouble getting the brace back on him because he is so busy kicking his leg out of the brace.

Make A Snowflake!

Hi Filzens!

Adoring young. This is a picture from an August 2007 trip to visit the Filzen's.

Sunday, December 30, 2007 11:03 PM

It was brought to my attention that I had not sent a picture of the Pavlik Harness. I went back and found the pre-cast Pavlik picture and am sending it along with some more current Pavlik pictures. I don't really have any new information but thought you might enjoy the pictures.

Friday, December 14, 2007 10:43 PM

Attached you will find our Christmas letter and a condensed version of what we have been through with Devin the last 6 months. As the letter explains he just had his Spica Cast removed on Thursday and we are all adjusting to life without it. He is back in the Pavlik Harness.

Thursday, November 15, 2007 9:22 PM

Including today, we have been to Gunderson 5 times in the last week! The long and short of all of it is that Devin was the first child our Orthopedic has had to out grow a Spica cast within the 6 weeks. I guess that means he's really growing. Most of it seems to be rolls of baby fat. He really wants to be moving but with the Spica that is pretty much impossible. I have attached pictures of Devin and his new cast. I am including Cooper's design plans for the cast because I think he did such a nice job. The hat was a creation by the surgical team (stockinet with a rubber band and cotton ball at one end and colored with whatever red marker they had available).

Dr. Wintersteen (our Orthopedic) indicated that everything is doing really good, especially the right hip. The right hip was the first one detected as bad at birth, which means it was probable worse than the left but now it seems that the right is doing better than the left. I think some of that goes back to the Pavlik Harness. When he was in the Pavlik, he would pull one leg up more than the other. When he pulled it up, it would roll out of socket.

Because Devin out grew the first Spica cast in about 4 weeks she is planning for just 4 week on this cast as well. She is hoping to be able to put him back in a Pavlik Harness at that time. If the Pavlik does not keep things stable enough she will again consider the Spica cast. They have done some blood tests and an ultrasound on his renal and kidney areas within the last week, all of this has come back good.

Devin continues to observe his environment. He has developed a nice "social" smile, as a variety of sounds and loves to watch all the excitement that is our home. He frequently has his fist or thumb in his mouth. As determined as Cooper and Allie are in life, I think Devin will surpass them in this area.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 1:09 PM

Thought you might enjoy a picture of Devin's Chromosomes. I really don't know much about them, but was expecting a picture with a little more detail. I just got them in the mail today from Gundersen. They had offered them when they did them in April (as part of the amniocentesis).