Today ends our Hip Chick's second week post-surgery. Wahoo- two down, 10 to go! It feels as though she has turned the corner. She has weaned off of pain meds and is eager for activity. Below are our recent thoughts.
1. Hip Chick's bed rest restrictions were lifted last Tuesday- how is her mobility now?
She has begun to crawl on the floor again. The shape of this cast makes crawling more difficult. The stability bar provides carpet drag and her legs' position makes her "crawl" with straight arms and on flat hands, as opposed to army crawling on her arms and elbows. She begs to walk, but the cast shape makes this nearly impossible. With the stability bar, she can balance a bit on her shins.
2. How are her sleep patterns?
They are somewhat erratic. We have begun to keep her up rather late for her age in attempt to avoid a 3:30am wake up. This is likely due to her drastic reduction in physical activity. Two years olds love to be active and her cast provides a lot of restriction. We are hoping a return to daycare will help tire her.
3. When is she returning to daycare?
We will attemp to reintigrate her into her class tomorrow. Her surgeon lifted mobility restrictions last Tuesday, she is off pain meds, and her swelling/bruising has receeded. These were the cues we were looking for to reintroduce her to her childcare environment.
4. Have we continued to take her out of the house and have we used the wheelchair?
Unequivocally yes! Mommy and Daddy have taken her out for two more meals (see top photo, above) and Mommy took her on a shopping trip with an extra helper. The shopping trip had three stops and we had no issues (dis)assmebling the wheelchair for each one. As mentioned in a prior post, the wheelchair was the best decision we made for this phase of her DDH journey.
5. How is she adjusting to the wheelchair?
She is starting to insist that she push her wheels on her own instead of us pushing her. She is still rather slow, but she is very independent and proud! She insists on retaining independent mobility however possible- it just looks a little different now.
6. What are we using to fill her time at home, now that this spica offers the least mobility thus far?
We recently received a handful of puzzles and a doodle pad as gifts. These are fantastic tools to enable independent play and stimulate her intellectually. She continues to be interested in giving "check ups" and talks about being a doctor. In fact, she seems to have swapped her repetition for tea parties with check ups. A new "Lambie" doll (from Doc McStuffins) has also driven the medical role play interest. The ability to take her on outings with the wheelchair is of great assistance.
7. How are we dressing her?
She is two years old. If the clothing has a tight fit, such as Old Navy tshirts, she is a size 4 or 5. If the clothing is loose and breezy, such as flowy dresses or tunics, she can wear a size 2 or 3. To protect her feet at daycare, she will wear shoes- but we keep her barefoot at home for now. The climate in which we live still offers highs in the 80's and the cast keeps her rather warm.
8. What do we find especially helpful at this stage in her plan of care?
Wheelchair aside, we pulled out the oversized, sparkly lapdesk from her traction days. Mommy is stretching time between hair washes with dry shampoo or leave in conditioner, as needed.
9. What do we find especially challenging at this stage?
Her erratic sleep patterns are challenging for the entire household. She has also been more temperamental in this cast and needed much more cuddle time. The cast adds additional complexity to the trials of the "terrible twos."
10. How do we fix her hair? She appears to be reclining or using a headrest all of the time.
I balance her in my lap.
11. Due to her age, will we try to potty train her in the cast?
We will wait until she relearns how to walk again.
12. What is her next milestone?
She will have a cast change and arthrogram in late October.
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