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!:)

Baptism~04/19/09

On Sunday, April 19th, we had Mara's baptism at First Christian Reformed Church where we attend. She was 1 month old & it was Grandpa & Grandma Prins' 36th wedding anniversary! Needless to say, it was a Very Special & emotional day!:) Mara did wonderful throughout the long service, lots of people touching & holding her, and being out of her routine!! All of our siblings were able to make it, which made her day even more special. (here are a few pics-more to come as we get them from the grandparents)

Mara's Baby Shower

So I'm not very good at keeping this blog up to date! Things are slowing down a bit & I have a few minutes to get on the internet while Mara's taking a nap.
Mara is almost 6 weeks old already and we are having a blast with her! She continues to be an easy-going, content baby and loves to cuddle (gets this from mommy:) She loves to lay on the floor with daddy & be able to kick & swing her arms. She has long arms & fingers-we're finding a lot of her outfits are too short for her arms. We had to start her on Zantac last week because she has Acid Reflux-which has helped tremendously so far! I took her up to visit the girls at work and weighed her last week(with her clothes & a wet diaper on) and she weighed 8lbs 14oz! Subtract a few ounces-but she is growing & filling out more and more everyday. (when we left the hospital she was 5lbs 9oz-so this is about 3 lbs more!)
On Saturday, April 11th, some girlfriends of mine gave us a baby shower @ our house-we had over 30 people come! WOW-was it a full house! We received a TON of awesome gifts & it was great to see family & friends. Thank you for all the great gifts-we really appreciate them!!

It's a GIRL!!!!!

Okay...I finally found some "spare time" to update our blog! Sorry to all of you who've been checking it regularly, only to see a picture of me still pregnant! Today, April 4th, is our actual due date! Little did we know God's plan was much different than our own...
On Thursday, March 19th we had a healthy, beautiful Baby Girl @ 3:06pm. "Mara Jo Prins" was 6lbs 2oz, 19inches long and came into the world at 37 weeks and 5 days gestation. We had gone into the Perinatologist that morning for an ultrasound to see if we could turn her(she had been breech for quite some time). They could do this by doing a "manual external version" (flip her from butt-down to head down position) Well, our plans changed very quickly!! My amniotic fluid was very low, and she was still frank breech, so the version was NOT an option & we would be admitted to the Women's Center that morning (the floor I work on @ Avera). After talking things over, we decided to deliver yet that afternoon! You should've seen the look on Justin's face...priceless:)
Mara is now 2 weeks old and doing great! She's a VERY good, content little girl (must take after her daddy)! She is above her birth weight-weighing 6lbs 6 1/2oz. According to our pediatrician "She can hold her own":) Praise the Lord for a healthy, growing baby girl!
We are doing well at home, are adjusting to getting up ever 3-4hrs to breastfeed, and I am recovering well from the c/section. We have been SO BLESSED to have had both Grandma Van Dyke & Grandma Prins stay with us throughout the last 2 weeks!! (I think they might've enjoyed it more than we did). I am looking forward to having off of work until the middle of June-just in time for summer!
Well, I could go on & on but I suppose you're all excited to see some pics of our daughter instead. Here are a few from the hospital that our friends, Tom & Jessie Schoolmeester took-Thanks guys-you did a wonderful job!!
Thank You to ALL of you who have visited, brought meals and gifts!! We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful network of Christian family & friends surrounding our baby girl & us as new parents!! Thank You!!
"Every good and perfect gift comes from above." James 1:17