***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[ImSoTired]

Scooby I hope that things turn out well. I know what you're feeling and I just hope it's not as bad as it seems. Are Camden's leg rolls uneven as well? When Cait was smaller her leg rolls were very uneven they look much better now though.
Our pediatrician would only push Caits legs and hips around to check for any movement or clicking and told us the pediatric orthopaedic surgeon would take care of the x rays, ultrasounds, treatment, etc. Our regular pediatrician actually said he didn't think there was that much movement and that it would likely correct itself. The ortho actually showed me that although it didn't seem bad it wasn't just looseness it was actually that her socket was way too shallow and that's why Cait had to wear her harness for so long. At her xray last year, the ortho said her hip looked matured and that it was in the socket and not migrating at all but that I would have to take her for a follow up and that is what we are doing in August so fingers crossed all around for hip dysplasia free babies!

 

[scoobydrlp]

I have been trying to look at the leg creases and they seem to be pretty much symmetrical, although she won't stay still long enough for me to get a really good look. I hope Cait's xrays come back normal! If they do then are you done forever, or do you have to go back for yearly rechecks?

Edited to add - I just logged into our patient portal online and viewed the referral. It lists abnormal gait, limping, and assymetric thigh folds. So I guess the doctor saw something that I didn't.

 

[ImSoTired]

Scooby, The doctor said a year after she got the all clear, which will be our August appt, and then again around the age of 5 if that x-ray turns out alright. And then no more treatment unless she has pain and by then she will be able to tell me if something hurts. Fingers crossed everything is all well. I hope that Camden's turns out well also.

Cait has officially learned to climb the couch and I am constantly chasing her and keeping her from falling off. She is also throwing tantrums like crazy when she's told no. Her teeth are still slow at coming in but besides that things are going well.

I hope everyone is well

 

[Beanonorder]

Scooby and IST I hope you both get good news from your x-rays.

IST when Amber learnt to climb on the couch we just spent some time showing her how to get off safely. She did fall off a couple of times but she quickly learnt! Thank goodness she is naturally cautious so she doesn't just take off without regard.

I thought we were passed explosives poo's but no! While we were out today she had a terrible one and I had nowhere to change her. I ended up having to just go to the side of the pavement and change her in the pram (stroller). Thank goodness my friend was with me so we could get it done quickly.

 

[ImSoTired]

Thanks, bean. I hope I can get Cait to be more cautious when climbing the furniture. She can be rather rambunctious. Sorry about Amber's explosive diaper! I dread having it happen in public but it still happens from time to time.

Scooby, yesterday I examined Cait's legs and her little rolls are still uneven. It just looks better because there aren't as many rolls as when she was younger. I also worry about how she is walking from time to time. Her legs seem to be the same length and she loves running so she isn't in any pain. I'm just worried. My husband and mother in law seem to have a strange gait though so I'm hoping it's just that and nothing to do with the dysplasia.

Cait had a playdate yesterday that went well. Besides the fact that they kept taking toys out of the other's hands and crying about it they played well. We have another with a different friend next week. This child is a little older so it should be interesting.

Cait is still throwing a ton of tantrums lately. I'm thinking maybe teeth or a growth spurt? She seems tired and grumpy a lot and has been waking early in the mornings. I am also going to start reading up my material about toddler discipline because I find myself giving in to Cait a lot to avoid the tantrums and I don't want it to get out of hand.

I hope you're all well!

 

[Chloe597]

IST, if you have a good book to recommend about toddler discipline, please share! I need to do some reading. I haven't bought a book since the what to expect in the first year book. I'm a bit out of that now! Luckily i haven't had many issues google couldn't solve, although I'm seriously scared of potty training and probably need a book for that....

Bean, yeah, those explosive poos still creep up on me every once in a while, thankfully much less often now tho.

Scooby, I hope everything goes well with the xray. Did it get scheduled yet? its good you noticed it early tho, since its so much easier to fix when they are young. or it could turn out to be nothing.

 

[scoobydrlp]

We have our ortho appointment scheduled for the 22nd. It seems like years away! Ugh, the anxiety is really getting to me. It's all I can think about.

IST- hopefully Cait just has a different gait. Is it worrying enough for you to request X-rays early? I reread our referral description and it says asymmetric gluteal folds, not thigh folds. I checked and see exactly what they mean, when she's laying on her stomach with legs straight out behind her the left butt cheek is noticeably higher than the right. Seeing that today just increased my anxiety 10 fold.

 

[Beanonorder]

I'd also like to hear if you find any good info on discipline! And Chloe you aren't the only one worrying about potty training! My friend told me they are staring next week - and her son is two months younger than Amber! I was shocked as I don't think he is anywhere near ready. She told me she was potty trained before a year and that in her family its a taboo if babies aren't trained by 2! I think that's awful but I guess its each to his own.

Amber is doing so well with her walking. She can stoop down and pick things up without falling over and she can now get up from a sitting position without any help. She is also starting to run and does really well going up and down grassy hills. I'm really impressed with how she has caught up.

We fly to South Africa in less than a month now. Two 9 hour flights with a 3 hour layover in between! I'm not too worried about the first flight because we leave Shanghai at 1am and land in Abu Dhabi at around 7am. So Amber should sleep for most of that. But the next flight we leave at 10am and land in Johannesburg at 4pm - which means its completely a day flight. They're six hours behind us so at least the jet lag won't be too bad.

 

[scoobydrlp]

Bean, when you fly with Amber do you get her a seat of her own? We'll be flying next week (although not nearly the distance you are) and will just hold her. Not sure how that's going to go over, but luckily it will only be about an hour and a half I think. Also, glad to hear Amber is doing so well walking now! She sure caught up quickly.

 

[Beanonorder]

No we didn't get her, her own seat. I would have loved to but it is just way too expensive! This is the last time we will be able to fly with her on our laps though so I guess we'll have to find the money in the future!! But we will be debt free after the summer (until we buy a house one day!) so that will free up some cash for that extra seat.

 

[ImSoTired]

I have a bunch of school books from when I worked in the daycare about early childhood education. They all say redirection instead of any real type of discipline. However I believe that's also intended for children that aren't yours. I am trying redirection quite often with Cait, and it works maybe 25% of the time. She is very headstrong.My books also say to give choices but I feel as though Cait may be too young to understand a lot of choices and it may overwhelm us both. I have been told by a few people to read, 'Making the 'terrible' twos teriffic!' by John Rosemond. He also has a potty training book I believe, so I may be downloading them both soon and reading them. If any of you read any helpful materials I am always open to suggestions.

Cait has a case of the sniffles which may explain her crankiness and waking early lately. I'm thinking it may have to do with teething or seasonal allergies. The pollen has been crazy thick here and DH and I both have some allergies.

We still sit Cait on the potty every now and then but she seems so uninterested still. I just don't think she is ready. I also don't feel like she's ready for a toddler bed but I'd like to maybe get her started with that because I'll need the crib for the new baby we may be conceiving soon. I don't want to rush her out though and new baby would likely sleep in our room for the first 6 months or so anyway.

Scooby I'm unsure if Cait has a limp or whether it is just an odd walk (or possibly it's normal and I am just paranoid because we've been worrying about this since I was still pregnant with her). We do have her 18 month appt coming up in June so I think I will discuss it with her pediatrician as well. He has been a doctor for many years and is a friend of the family (he was DH's pediatrician also) so I think he would have seen a few kids with dysplasia before and be able to tell me whether or not to worry. Besides the walking...which I don't know if it's just my paranoia of really something wrong, the uneven thigh folds, and an occasional click, which may be normal, she has no other dysplasia symptom. When I called to get her x-ray appt it was meant to be for July but her doctor left the practice and the other doctor was on maternity leave. So I got in touch with yet another doctor but they had no appts open in our area until August, so that's the soonest I could get her seen without driving 2 hrs for the appt. And I may just be overly paranoid so I am hoping the August appt is good enough. If I see that she is in any pain I won't hesitate to have her seen at urgent care and demand x-rays.

Bean, best of luck with your long trip coming up! I hope Amber sleeps and behaves well for you.
I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[bbygurl719]

Hey all sorry I have been mia for so long. Have had so much stuff going on its crazy. My 2.5 year old has been diagnosed with G6PD deficiency which is a very rare anemia, eczema, and developmental delays. She now has early interventions thru a program called early steps. She has a early interventionist that comes 1x a week. We took her to a speech evaluation on the 20th and they want a speech therapist to see her 2x a week, than June 19th we have physical therapy evaluation set up for toe walking, and July 22nd we have a occupational therapy evaluation set up for sensory issues. As foraAngel she is walking and running and keeping up with her older sister. She talks so much, has ton of teeth, our biggest thing is she's had two ear infections in a month and I think the course of antibiotics did work as she is spiking a fever again. How are all u n if little ones.

 

[Beanonorder]

Wow bbygurl, you've really been having a tough time! *hugs* Its good that you are getting everything sorted now while she is still young. Hope Angels ear infection clears soon. I have to admit that ear infections are something we have managed to avoid so far (touch wood!)

Not much else going on here. We're still not getting a break from teething - Amber's first molar is trying to break through. Getting very excited for our trip home - only two and a half weeks to go!!

 

[scoobydrlp]

Wow bbygurl, so much going on with your LOs, hope things settle down soon!

So we saw the ortho surgeon (2 actually), and everything is fine with Camden's hips. They said her gait isn't anything to worry about, she'll outgrow it. So that's a huge relief! We're scheduled for recheck xrays in a year, but they don't expect to find anything abnormal.

 

[Beanonorder]

That's great news scooby! I'm so glad there was nothing wrong. Must be a huge relief for you!

Amber is getting her first molar and she is not a happy girl! Apparently she is fine when I'm not there but as soon as I get home she cries and clings to me. I'm starting to feel like its me who makes my baby cry! And of course her nose has just gotten worse. I just want these damn things out now so her nose clears up!

 

[ImSoTired]

Yay, Scooby! You must be so relieved. I thought that if she'd had an ultrasound they would have picked up on it. And as for the walking, as I said, Cait has an odd gait sometimes as well and I'm not sure if it's related in anyway to her hips. I did notice though, that in certain shoes she does it more than others and when she is tired she looks limpy.

bbygrl I hope that everything goes well with your babies. You sure do have a lot going on

Bean, poor Amber! Cait is still getting teeth 5 and 6 and she has been rather clingy. I can't imagine when the molars come through. I hope she feels better soon. And also hope you have a safe and great trip home.

Not much new here. Cait is saying new things all of the time and get this -starting to throw less tantrums and follow simple directions! Yay for a major breakthrough!

I hope all is well!

 

[Chloe597]

oh bbygurl, sorry about all your troubles! that is good that you caught your DD's problems early tho, so i hope everything works out!

Scooby, so happy there is nothing wrong! That must be a huge relief for you!

I hope teething eases up for you molar crowd Maybe I was lucky having gabby get all 4 at the same time. She was cranky for a short period, but honestly it couldn't have been that bad since i don't even remember it anymore. She has just now popped tooth #12! and to think she didn't get her first tooth until she was 1 year old!

Funny story. Gabby now knows how to say poo poo before she goes (1 step closer to potty training!) but she doesn't know the difference between poop and pee, so she just says poo poo for both. Well, she was in the bath tub, and we were just finishing, water was draining, and she looks at me and says 'poo poo'. Horror struck my face and 5 seconds later a good 8 balls of poop just shot out of her butt into the water. it was funny and horrifying at the same time. this is only the second time she has ever pooped in the tub. so then i had to take her into our other tub to rinse her off. quite an adventure! but i'm excited that she can now tell us when she goes, so that should be one step closer to successful potty training. i have put her on the potty several times after she says poo poo but she doesnt do anything. she actually stood up from the potty and then peed on the floor right by the bathtub the other day. sigh....

Hope everyone is well!

 

[Beanonorder]

IST that is exciting about less tantrums! Amber is also starting to follow some instructions. Its quite amazing just how much they understand!

Chloe thats so funny! Amber (touch wood!) has not pooped in the bath yet! She is definitely nowhere near being ready for potty training. But with the impending travels and then a big move when we get back I'm not even going to think about it until we are settled in our new apartment. It would just be far to disruptive at this point.
Amber was also late getting her teeth and she is just flying through them. I can now see she is getting both molars at the bottom. Not sure about the top because she won't let me look and if I stick my fingers in her mouth she clamps down and it is so painful!

So IST, it looks like we'll be ttc at the same time! We have had to postpone our trying for a couple of months because I have decided to take out an insurance policy to cover the birth this time. That way I can give birth in an expat hospital and not go through the same experience I did last time! But they have a ten month waiting period so I can't fall pregnant before July if I want it to be covered. Ruins my plans for 3 months maternity leave and 2 months summer holidays but I really need to have a better experience than last time!

 

[ImSoTired]

Chloe, oh my about the bathtub incident! Caitlyn hasn't pooped in the tub yet either but has peed a few times. Gabby is so clever knowing when she is about to go potty, sounds like training will be a cinch! Cait is not very interested in the potty but she will come and let me know when she has a dirty diaper

Bean, Dh and I sorta started ntnp this past cycle. I'm in the tww, actually but I have no hopes for it. I don't know if we will be ttc again this upcoming cycle or not but we will definitely be once July comes if not pregnant before. I'm excited to start for real!

Cait had her first haircut today. Just a trim. She was so well behaved. No crying and no trying to run away. Attached is a pic. Not much else new.

I hope all is well.

 

[scoobydrlp]

IST - adorable pictures of Cait! She's so cute!

Chloe- Camden does the same as Gabby, calling both pee and poo "poop". I do think it's a great step toward potty training! Luckily we have not had a bathtub incident....yet.