Hip Update

Today was Emily's follow up ultrasound on her hips, and we had gotten such great news last time, I guess we sort of expected the same thing today. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as planned--Emily's ultrasound showed that her left hip is still shallow, meaning the ball isn't as deep in the socket as they'd like. The bone doesn't move any more when the doctor applies pressure, which is a good thing; however, they measure the angle of the hip bones and look for 60 degrees or greater--her right hip is over 70, but her left hip is between 56-58. That's the same angle it was a month ago, so there wasn't the continued improvement we were hoping for.

The doctor has put Emily in a Pavlik Harness for what we hope will turn out to only be a month or two. She'll have checkups every two weeks, and ultrasounds every four weeks until her hip is where it needs to be. This thing actually looks a little like a medieval torture device--I'm quite sure it hurts me more to see her in it than it does for her to wear it. She fights really hard as it's being fastened on, and seems a little uncomfortable, but I'm sure she'll get used to it. It makes it very difficult to breastfeed, since she cannot lie on her side (she has to stay in this position with her legs apart at all times). I've held her in my lap with her legs straddling me and that works okay, but she's obviously not nearly as comfortable, and I really miss that snuggle time we had together. It's also very difficult to change her diapers because the harness is supposed to stay on all the time.

As easy as it is to complain about this and wish she didn't have to wear it, we know it could be so much worse, and we really are grateful that she has two beautiful little legs, and this will help her hip grow perfectly. We know it's the best thing we can do for her right now, so the inconvenience seems a small price to pay.