At the start of this journey, I never thought that we would make it to this day ~ 6 weeks seemed like forever to us. Well, we made it! :) On Friday Lauren will be taken to the OR to have her body cast removed and a new spica cast put on. This new cast however, will now only go to above her knees, I will finally get to see her little legs again! Then, our new 6 week countdown will start!
Over the course of the past 6 weeks I have learnt so much about Lauren and even more so about myself. As parents, we perceive things to be weighted more than they are ~ I felt that in the beginning Lauren took to this whole new situation far too easily and I needed to be the one to grieve the loss of her mobility for her. It took about 2 weeks for me to get over the fact that this was happening and that really, it wasn't making much of a difference to her quality of life and that she was ok. Lauren was still the happy go lucky little girl that wanted to be loved, played with and cuddled. I had said from the start of this journey that as long as she was doing ok, I would be ok with everything going on, but I wasn't. Why did my child have to be different than all of the other children? Why can't she run and jump and play like the rest? At the end of the day I needed to realize that this was more of a frustration to me and not her! Lauren loves being carried around, watching and laughing when other kids are being silly and she really hasn't been too bothered that she can't run after anyone with her own two feet. Even though I had been told many times that she was going to be fine throughout this process, I had to accept that all of this was ok, it isn't forever, it is just for a short period of time in our lives and that eventually we will go back to our old "normal". And more importantly, we are doing this so that she can run around, jump all over the place and keep up with the other kids without pain in her hips, back or legs. So, I now make sure that we focus on the positive, such as the things we can do together. Lauren and I still twirl and dance together, we still sing goofy songs together, chat back and both like we both know what each other is saying, we belly laugh at each other while playing and I recognize that this is still the same little girl behind the fiberglass cast ~ she's still my little princess. Finally getting to this place doesn't make this journey any shorter, it's still going to be a long one with windy roads; only now we make sure that each day is filled with fun activities, friends and family and lots of love and cuddles! :)
One big positive out of all of this is, since being casted, we have noticed that because Lauren isn't able to work on her gross motor skills, her fine motor skill and language have both developed quiet rapidly over the past few weeks. She is now able to play and entertain herself for longer periods of time while sitting at her table, use a fork or spoon to feed herself and she can now count to 7 (with a little help)!!! Her new favorite word Grandma taught her is "yellow" ~ she loves to say it with her little lips all squished together, it is too cute!
As a family and with the support of our extended family and friends, we are getting through this one day at a time! Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the past 6 weeks!!
Our Kids
Our Family
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Wednesday 12 October 2011
...4 Weeks Down...
It's hard to believe that Lauren has been casted for 4 weeks now! We are getting excited for this upcoming cast change (2 weeks away) not only because of the new freedom Lauren will have, but because of the nice clean fresh scent it will bring as well! :) As some of you know I am a little, tiny bit crazy when it comes to keeping things clean and tidy and as well as the cast has held up from my daily washes and scrubbing with a toothbrush, it is time for a fresh start! We will hopefully have details on when the OR booking will be by next week!
This Friday Lauren will be meeting with a certified Infant Development Consultant. When we were originally offered this service by our community health nurse I jumped on it. This consultant will come to our house and assess Lauren and make sure that when needed she is referred to physio, they will work with Lauren to help advance her in other areas of development and also work with us to help adapt play for her (we've already done that, but any extra help would be appreciated). Garry and I figured if we are going to be offered extra resources within the community why not jump on it!
It's amazing that the horrible image of what I thought our life was going to be with Lauren casted really hasn't happened. We have had to make adjustments to how we do things throughout the day; however we have been able to adapt most activities to accommodate her cast. It really isn't as bad as I thought. For instance, we didn't think that eating out would have been an option for us while Lauren is in this particular cast because she doesn't fit in a conventional highchair. Well, with a little creativity and the eyes of a wonderful friend that loves to shop, we were able to adapt a portable cloth high chair seat for Lauren to sit in. Once secured to the chair, we place 2 phone books under where her bottom would go so that she is elevated and her legs are accommodated. Here is a web picture of what it looks like; however, I will post a picture of Lauren in the harness in a few days.
Our little man is growing up too quickly. While at the Dr's last week for his two month shots, we found out that he is now 13pd 12oz! That is a pound heavier than Lauren at this age!! Brayden has just blended into this family wonderfully, he is such an easy going baby that just loves to snuggle, smile and eat. It's weird that I honestly can't imagine life without him now, it feels like he has always been a part of our family.
This past weekend was a special weekend for Brayden ~ it was his Baptism! We figured that Lauren had a special Baptism date ~ Father's Day, so it seemed appropriate for Brayden's special event to fall on a holiday weekend ~ Thanksgiving! Brayden did wonderfully and didn't make a peep while up at the front of the Church, we were so proud of him! I think it is pretty special that Lauren, Logan (cousin) and now Brayden have all been baptized at the same Church as Heather (sister) and I; there is a lot of family history in that Church and I hope it continues for many years to come! Our Church family has been such a wonderful support to us, specially over the past few months.
After Brayden's Baptism on Sunday our family came back to our place for a ham lunch. After lunch we decided to head outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and take the kids for a walk. While on our walk my brother in law suggested we take this photo with all the kids - I love it and thought it was just too cute and needed to be posted - enjoy!
Abbey Road Jr.
This Friday Lauren will be meeting with a certified Infant Development Consultant. When we were originally offered this service by our community health nurse I jumped on it. This consultant will come to our house and assess Lauren and make sure that when needed she is referred to physio, they will work with Lauren to help advance her in other areas of development and also work with us to help adapt play for her (we've already done that, but any extra help would be appreciated). Garry and I figured if we are going to be offered extra resources within the community why not jump on it!
It's amazing that the horrible image of what I thought our life was going to be with Lauren casted really hasn't happened. We have had to make adjustments to how we do things throughout the day; however we have been able to adapt most activities to accommodate her cast. It really isn't as bad as I thought. For instance, we didn't think that eating out would have been an option for us while Lauren is in this particular cast because she doesn't fit in a conventional highchair. Well, with a little creativity and the eyes of a wonderful friend that loves to shop, we were able to adapt a portable cloth high chair seat for Lauren to sit in. Once secured to the chair, we place 2 phone books under where her bottom would go so that she is elevated and her legs are accommodated. Here is a web picture of what it looks like; however, I will post a picture of Lauren in the harness in a few days.
Our little man is growing up too quickly. While at the Dr's last week for his two month shots, we found out that he is now 13pd 12oz! That is a pound heavier than Lauren at this age!! Brayden has just blended into this family wonderfully, he is such an easy going baby that just loves to snuggle, smile and eat. It's weird that I honestly can't imagine life without him now, it feels like he has always been a part of our family.
This past weekend was a special weekend for Brayden ~ it was his Baptism! We figured that Lauren had a special Baptism date ~ Father's Day, so it seemed appropriate for Brayden's special event to fall on a holiday weekend ~ Thanksgiving! Brayden did wonderfully and didn't make a peep while up at the front of the Church, we were so proud of him! I think it is pretty special that Lauren, Logan (cousin) and now Brayden have all been baptized at the same Church as Heather (sister) and I; there is a lot of family history in that Church and I hope it continues for many years to come! Our Church family has been such a wonderful support to us, specially over the past few months.
After Brayden's Baptism on Sunday our family came back to our place for a ham lunch. After lunch we decided to head outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and take the kids for a walk. While on our walk my brother in law suggested we take this photo with all the kids - I love it and thought it was just too cute and needed to be posted - enjoy!
Abbey Road Jr.
Thursday 6 October 2011
...Half way through the first cast...
Wow, when I first thought about making it to this halfway point it seemed so far away!
So, today Lauren celebrated her 3 week mark by taking a 3 hr nap and then having an awesome playdate with GG (Great Grandma); I however chose to celebrate with a nice glass of red wine!
The kids have just been awesome lately. Little Brayden put himself on such a great schedule a couple weeks ago, he is off to sleep around 8:30-9:00pm and then up around 4:30am for a feed, right back down and then up around 7ish. He is such an easy going baby, lots of smiles and cooing during the day and wonderful snuggles in the evening! I am really enjoying every moment with him, it's so different with the second baby - in a good way!
We have been keeping Lauren pretty busy with playdates, outings, walks and shopping! She has fully adapted to having this cast on and is just enjoying what she is able too, I am still shocked how well she is doing! Lauren was sick over the weekend with a fever/flu so we stayed pretty close to home and once that cleared up she came down with a cold, hopefully the cold will pass quickly!
It's amazing how Lauren is still able to move herself around with that heavy cast. Garry and I were shocked to see her at the other side of her crib this morning - with the nursing pillow still under her legs! And, while placing her on her tummy on the ground she is able to move in a circle motion and get around to grab stuff. It will be interesting to see what she is able to do with the next cast since it will only go to above the knee.
It's nice to finally feel like we are settling into a routine and we are on the road to getting our little girl all fixed up. Although I still wonder why it was us that had to go through this and the life lessons that will come out of all of this - I am grateful that Lauren was diagnosed when she was, as the timing couldn't have been better for Garry and I!
So, today Lauren celebrated her 3 week mark by taking a 3 hr nap and then having an awesome playdate with GG (Great Grandma); I however chose to celebrate with a nice glass of red wine!
The kids have just been awesome lately. Little Brayden put himself on such a great schedule a couple weeks ago, he is off to sleep around 8:30-9:00pm and then up around 4:30am for a feed, right back down and then up around 7ish. He is such an easy going baby, lots of smiles and cooing during the day and wonderful snuggles in the evening! I am really enjoying every moment with him, it's so different with the second baby - in a good way!
We have been keeping Lauren pretty busy with playdates, outings, walks and shopping! She has fully adapted to having this cast on and is just enjoying what she is able too, I am still shocked how well she is doing! Lauren was sick over the weekend with a fever/flu so we stayed pretty close to home and once that cleared up she came down with a cold, hopefully the cold will pass quickly!
It's amazing how Lauren is still able to move herself around with that heavy cast. Garry and I were shocked to see her at the other side of her crib this morning - with the nursing pillow still under her legs! And, while placing her on her tummy on the ground she is able to move in a circle motion and get around to grab stuff. It will be interesting to see what she is able to do with the next cast since it will only go to above the knee.
It's nice to finally feel like we are settling into a routine and we are on the road to getting our little girl all fixed up. Although I still wonder why it was us that had to go through this and the life lessons that will come out of all of this - I am grateful that Lauren was diagnosed when she was, as the timing couldn't have been better for Garry and I!
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