Ouch!

Addy has had a bandage covering the incision at her hip, but the tape has been peeling an we needed to go ahead and take the whole thing off. Poor kiddo was not happy about it at all. She's done fine with scooting around but tugging on the bandage was not pleasant for her.

That was this morning. The rest of the day she's been an unstoppable, playing, crawling, climbing, standing machine!

Latest Addy-isms

Some time this week Addy started saying "Oh, my eyebrows!" It's used as an expression of shock/astonishment (like "Oh, my goodness"), though I have no idea where it came from.

My favorite goofy thing she's said lately was overheard this morning: "What color are my pink toes? They're red!"

Stander, old friend

Addy has been begging for about the last week or so to get back in her stander again (her hip was such a problem that using it just wasn't practical right before her surgery). Today, she got her wish!


We still need to fine-tune her posture some, but it's the most straight that she's been able to stand in months. It makes the past couple of days of trying to keep her sitting still completely worth the hassle!

Post-op progress

Addy continues to do really well following her tendon releases. We (mommy and daddy) are trying to psych ourselves up for letting her slowly be more active and crawl/climb/stand again. Normally you would let a patient resume activities "as tolerated," but I'm concerned that her lack of sensation in her legs may allow her to over do things without realizing it. Everything is a balancing act here!

The lining is silver, right?

For the past couple of weeks Addy has been in a super climbing/standing mood. You didn't dare turn your back on her because as soon as you did, she'd be climbing up the back of the sofa or trying to head-dive through the window on her playhouse. It was great to see her so excited about these precursors to walking, but also a little bittersweet since her AFOs don't fit right (part of why she needed this morning's tendon releases) and she really needs the braces to keep her feet in a good position when standing. Besides which, I knew she would need to take it easy for a couple of days after her surgery and it seemed a little silly to get her all fired up about climbing and whatnot just to slam on the breaks and make her be still for a couple of days.

Well, here we are, less than a day after surgery and it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep Addy sitting and her right leg propped up. I'm glad she feels well enough to want to move and all, but she needs to hold still, just for a couple of days. Hopefully the enthusiasm for climbing doesn't fade while she's recuperating!

Surgery success

Addy had her tendon releases this morning and did really well.


Her hip is still pulling up some and the orthopedic surgeon thinks the existing scar on the left side of her back is the cause of that, so we need to talk to the plastic surgeon about revising the scars--a project for another day. For now we're relaxing and trying to keep Addy still while she heals. Easier said than done...

Big day Thursday

Addy is having tendon release surgeries on Thursday. While I hate for her to need surgery, this is about as minor a procedure as you can have for Spina Bifida. We've had boatloads of trouble with her ankle and trying to get her AFOs to actually fit right and her hip flexor is so tight that she isn't able to stand up straight and have both feet on the floor. So I'm actually really excited to see what all she's able to do with walking once she's all recovered from the surgery.

Doing things her own way

Nora seems to be teething--lots of thumb chewing and biting while nursing. What in the world does a 3 month old need teeth for anyway??

I don't care about growing big and strong

To try to entice Addy to eat her lunch this week, her nanny told her "You need to eat so you can be big and strong, Addy." Addy replied, "How about gorgeous?" So now we tell her that "This bite makes you smart," and "This one makes you beautiful," and "This one gives you long princess hair." It doesn't always work, but it at least makes her a little more interested in trying new foods.

Protective older sister

Addy was getting started with lunch today and Nora was starting to fuss in her bassinet. Addy called to her sister "It's okay, Nora! Mommy get you in a second!"

Christmas, New Years, and Germs: Oh My

Christmas was a fun, fairly quiet day at our house (2 weeks ago--ack!). Mommy and Daddy stayed up late to help Santa put together a playhouse for the girls. So far, Addy loves the "big tree house" as she calls it and it's a big hit with her therapist, too, with all of the shelves and fun things to pull up to or stand at.

New Years was pretty uneventful, but we did spend it wiping noses and trying to teach about covering sneezes. Thankfully, we seem to just have mild sinus colds; fingers crossed that we're able to avoid the flu this season!