Saturday, November 27, 2010

Still Growing!

Well I haven't gotten around to posting Ruth's 4 month update with photos with everything going on this last week, but I thought I'd post this quick one.

Ruth at 2 months old (left), 3 months old (center), and 4 months old (right)


She is definitely still growing!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Rolling Over!

Tummy time just got a lot harder! We started on our tummy time today, only to have her ROLL OVER every time I put her back on her tummy! So, after about 10 repeats, I think it's safe to say she is now rolling from tummy to back :-)

She was pretty proud of herself!


It was hard to capture on video, because she was too quick! As soon as I turned the video camera on, she would be already rolling over. Stinker!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Clubfoot Casting #4

Yesterday Ruth had her fourth casting for clubfoot correction. She had this past cast on for two weeks instead of the one week like the previous casts.

We arrived early. All our appointments seem to be first thing in the morning, which means Daddy is left getting ALL the other girls to school/preschool, and I have to fight Dallas rush hour traffic. But it's so worth it - Scottish Rite is amazing.


She is never impressed when they remove her casts, but doesn't complain too much.


Her feet looked black and blue and swollen (poor thing!), but are responding VERY well to the castings.




We were hoping to be done with this stage of the castings, and have the heel cord lengthening surgery today. The doc came in and said one foot was ready, and one wasn't quite there. Since we cannot come in next week due to my knee surgery, she will have that surgery in two weeks (after Thanksgiving). I hate that I am the reason she will have one extra week of casts, but it's better than not enough time. Mee-Maw is coming in town to take care of the girls while I am down and is staying until this appointment (SO grateful for her help!). I am looking forward to her getting that part done, but also dreading it. The heel cord lengthening is minor in the world of surgeries, and is done under local anesthetic, but Momma is kicked out during the procedure. :-( Knowing how much she hates the castings, I worry about this. But it will keep her feet from reverting after the casts are done.


So, he casted her again. She was NOT HAPPY at this point. She does not like being pinned down. The orthopedist mentioned more than once how strong she was. He couldn't believe how strongly she was fighting him (trying to kick her legs). *Grin*. I know how strong she is, but it's nice to hear the doctors say it too!

Ruth's onesie got dirty from the plaster, so I changed her into her too big very cool SB t-shirt. Which I also happen to be wearing, so we matched, haha. :-)



We were hoping to meet up with another family we've connected with online, that was also there for treatment, but it didn't work out (we got done too quickly I think!). Next time!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Therapy

Due to Ruth's diagnosis, and also being premature, she qualifies through ECI for in home physical therapy.


Last week they came out to start her first session. I was actually a little late (see side note), but Grandma was here for the first part and said Ruth was a rock star for the therapist! By the time I got there, Ruth was tired and hungry but they told me what to work on.

Which was basically play. More tummy time, with a toy in front of her to look at. Support her chest and have her push up with her arms. And work on rolling over (I get her started, and she finishes the roll). Not much to do at this age, but I was grateful for the help!

She sees the physical therapist once a month until she is older.

So, we've been doing our play therapy whenever Ruth is in a happy awake mood.




She can hold her head up good when on her tummy, and is even rolling from tummy to back. Although I'm not sure she is meaning to roll, or if it is more of an accident.




Side note: I managed to tear the miniscus in my knee, and was at an ortho appt getting it looked at which is why I was late for Ruth's therapists. Unfortunately I will need knee surgery, which is currently scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving since I will have some extra family here to help me with the kids. The recovery time depends on the type of repair they do, the quick recovery means the repair wasn't as good, so I'm not sure what to hope for. How did I manage to do this? I'm not really sure, but I'm blaming the hills in San Francisco.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

UTI #2

Saturday morning, Ruth just didn't feel right. She was too sleepy, too fussy, and felt warm (even tho the thermometer didn't show anything at that point). I tried to brush it off as maybe just gas or tummy troubles, but that didn't explain the sleepiness. A little later in the day, I took her temp again and this time it came back at 99.9.

Since she showed no signs of a cold, I was worried about her having a UTI, since her urologist told us any time she runs fever to check for one. I cathed her (sterile technique so I could use the same urine to send off to the lab). The last time I suspected a UTI I was able to take her into our pediatrician, and I ended up doing her cath for the urine sample anyway because the nurse had difficulties, so this time I felt getting it at home with less germs would be best.

Unfortunately this of course, happened on a weekend. Her urine was cloudy, so I took her in to the Urgent Care down the road. The doctor there checked her over, did a quick test on her urine (which showed several things indicative of infection), and sent it off for culture. They started her on antibiotics. She was pretty pitiful.


Monday morning I called her pediatrician and also urology over at Scottish Rite. I ended up taking her in to see her pediatrician since she was only seen by urgent care, and they felt everything was ok. The urologist wasn't concerned about one UTI, especially since her fever never got super high, so we will continue to do nothing. She still has her DMSA test next month to test for any kidney damage. That will tell us the most about what her treatment should be, if we can continue to do nothing, or if we need to start back on the meds/cathing routine.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Clubfoot Casting #3

Ruth had her 3rd set of casts put on today at Scottish Rite. First they sawed them off. They did much better this time not nicking her foot, although I think they did a little bit. She did not seem to mind it at all this time, and even smiled at her grandma.


Still pretty swollen and bruised, but much straighter!



They came and examined her feet. The doctor said he is very happy with how well they are responding to the castings.


The casting process went SO MUCH better this week. She was sleepy and took just a tad of a bottle, and relaxed through the whole thing. No screaming and kicking like the last two weeks!


The plan now is to keep this cast on for TWO weeks, and come back for one more cast that will stay on for one week. After that cast, they will do the heel cord lengthening surgery, and she will be in another cast for 3 weeks. So a total of 6 more weeks of casts. After that she will move to the brace (shoes with a bar in between) for 3 months, 23 hours a day. But at least with those, she can take baths!

Monday, November 1, 2010

One little ladybug

Ruth was a ladybug for Halloween.


We hung out at her Aunt's house for a great party, although Ruth slept through most of the excitement.


She did enjoy trick or treating, was wide awake and taking all that walking in.