Hip Brace

When Mara was about 7 weeks old we had to get an ultrasound taken of her hips because of the breech position she was in at (and before) birth. They require an ultrasound for all breech babies to make sure their hips are forming correctly and that there isn't any permanent damage. Well...Mara must've been in this position longer than we thought!
The ultrasound showed that Mara's hips dislocate when pressure was placed on them; called Hip Dysplasia. It occurs 4 in 1000 births, is more frequent in first-borns, girls, and breech presentation. (well we hit all 3 didn't we?!) Earlier this week we had an appointment with an orthopedic specialist and he put Mara in a "Pavlik Harness." The harness holds her hips in place so that the head of the femur (or ball) can mold the acetabulum (or the cup). As the ball molds the cup, it deepens the cup, resulting in a stable hip. As you can see in the picture below, her hips are in a flexed position and "abducted" (to the side) of her body. How's that for a little anatomy lesson?!:)She can still move her legs, but cannot extend them-this is the only time she gets mad because she loves to lay on the floor and kick!
Needless to say, it's been a rough couple of days...mommy's cried quite often. It's been hard having to keep her in the brace 24/7. We only take the brace off for a quick change of clothes or bath. We can still change her diapers, but are limited on clothing with the position of the brace. We aren't sure how long she will need to wear it; we have heard anywhere from 1-3 months, and if this doesn't work then casting is the next step to re-set her hips.
We are asking that you please keep Mara & us in your prayers! It's hard not being able to do anything for your little girl-although she doesn't mind it & continues to be a content & happy baby! So we are taking it one day at a time. We are hoping to find out more information next Tuesday after 3 doctor appointments in the same day! Thanks for reading.

First Mother's Day

Mara came just in time to celebrate my first mother's day! We had a busy but fun-filled weekend! On Saturday, Justin & his brother Corey ran the 5K (3 miles) in the Avera Race against breast cancer and Elaine, Mara, & I walked the 5K. The morning started out chily & windy, but ended up being perfect for the race. You'll have to ask Corey or Justin exactly who won the race...and then who won golfing later that afternoon?! We spent the rest of the day at our house hanging out with the Justin's family & had a great time celebrating Corey's birthday & Mother's Day!
On Sunday the 3 of us went out for brunch after church to Spezia's-it was sooo good!:) The 1 hour wait was well worth it! We spent the rest of the day relaxing (aka napping & being lazy!!) and enjoyed the day together. Thanks Justin for making my first mother's day so memorable! I hope all of you mom's out there got to be pampered & enjoy a day celebrating how special you are! I've realized what a Blessing it is to be a mom & I'm loving every minute of being Mara's mommy!:)
I've added some pictures of Mara at 1 month old. I know...this girl has more pictures of her and she's only 7 weeks old!:)









Photography by Stephanie Van Dyke.

First Family Pictures

When Mara was about a week and a half old we had our first family photos taken. Here's a bunch of our favorites...it's so hard to pick favorites when she's so cute in all of them!!:) Taking pictures was pretty entertaining! Mara's umbilical cord dried and fell off and she peed on me 3 times! I've also added a link to a photo book we created & gave to our parents for everything they've done for us.

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/bookviewer.py?d=tq>y-cppl`je>3713485&_mp=ArYFR7IliDp3vnwlPGmoThfRAxvhEn8j

Catching Up

Mara now weighs 9lbs 1oz and she's about 6 weeks old. I took these pictures this afternoon-her shirt reads "I love mommy and mommy loves me!" Her newborn clothes are now too short for her arms & legs and she's finally fitting into her 0-3month outfits! She has a closet full of clothes--we literally could change her outfit 3 times a day and still have plenty of options left!:) Mommy never gets tired of it though!
We've been having so much fun with our little girl! She's becoming more alert and active everyday. You can tell she hears our voices and follows sounds when you talk to her. Lately she's been going through a growth spurt (or so we think) and has been napping 3-4hours, eats, and is awake for about 1-2 hours and is then ready to sleep again. Quite the life of a newborn!:)