Murphy's Law

I swear, every time I start feeling like I've got my life in order... something goes wrong.

I was just getting the hang of things, I exercised (thats a BIG deal), cleaned the fridge, and was feeling like I was finally on top of things so I could sew or something...

and then I got sick.

And then it all happened again the next week.

I have come to the conclusion that exercising made me sick --both times. And i'm stickin to it. 

...too bad I know better than that, or I might just quit (feeling guilty about not) working out :)

So....

Hopefully I'm not jinxing it, but as soon as I get my house clean (ha!) and my camera charged, I plan on posting some things (and perhaps going for a run).

Cross your fingers!

Also....

The shop is stocked. Go check it out :)

Where in the World?

** Be warned, this one gets pretty personal **

It seems as though I've dropped off the face of the Earth... 

Having babies seems to always throw me for quite the loop, and this time around was no exception.  Nursing was miserable (that's probably a mild description) for the first ten weeks.  And Big Sister gave us a bit of grief after we shipped her across the county, moved her away from grandmas and cousin, stuck her in a big girl bed, took away her binky, and potty trained her.  Oh and brought home a baby sister who occupies much of the time and attention usually given to her. Wow. Poor girl. I'm only now fully realizing how rough all must be for a two-year-old.

So the first three months were a bit of a roller coaster.  After Christmas, I was finally feeling mostly like a normal person again.  I was bound and determined to get my crap together.  You know, keep my house clean, exercise, lay off the treats, and maybe blog every once in a while. 

Then I was thrown for another loop.

At Baby Sister's one month check-up, her pediatrician had noticed a click in her left hip. She said it was probably nothing, but she was going to send us to the Shriner's Hospital "just to be sure."

Our first visit at Shriner's was encouraging. The doctor said he couldn't feel anything wrong. There was no clicking, no dislocating. But he also told us to come back so he could do a sonogram "just to be sure."

I took her in for the sonogram about a month later. On the screen, her hip socket looked very shallow.
The doctor seemed a little baffled. He recommended that we come back in another month for an x-ray. By then, she would be old enough for the socket to develop more, and the x-ray would be more accurate.

Five weeks ago, Baby Sister went in for her x-ray. It showed that her hip sockets were in fact quite shallow and that the joint was not dislocated.

The condition is called hip dysplasia. It occurs most often in firstborn girls, and babies who are breech or have a high birth weight. In young babies it can be remedied with a simple harness. If it is detected later, surgery and a cast are often required.

After seeing the x-ray, the doctor outfitted her with this baby:

It's called a Pavlik Harness and it is designed to push the head of her femur deep and squarely into the socket. This puts enough stress and pressure on her pelvis to cause the socket to grow and harden around the femur.

She wears the harness all day, except for feeding and changing. She will be in it for at least three months, maybe more.

The day she got her x-ray and harness, and those following, were pretty tough for me. I think I ate a whole bag of M&Ms that first day. It was so hard to learn that my perfect little baby was broken. It felt so overwhelming to think of all the extra effort and care she was going to require. I was really in mourning for a few days.

With the harness, she doesn't fit in a swing, or a bumbo, and she can't even use the new jumper she got for Christmas. I mourned over the toys she couldn't play with.

She can't wear pants or even pajamas while wearing the harness, so she sleeps in a long sleeved onesie, and she's wearing 6-12 mo. dresses most days (because she's a little chubby, and the harness adds some extra girth :). She completely skipped most of her 3-6 mo. clothes. I was afraid her fat little legs were going to freeze and I mourned over the cute clothes she wasn't going to get to wear.

She had a really hard time sleeping the first few nights. She had been such a good sleeper, but with the harness on she woke up literally every hour and I was afraid my little sleeper was ruined. I especially mourned over the sleep I wasn't going to get.

I was so scared to have to go through all of this here, away from our family, where I'm alone with the girls most of the time. I didn't think I could handle it on my own. It is completely up to us to make sure she wears the harness. If I give in and don't make her wear it, then it will be my fault if she has lasting complications. Her treatment and healing is almost completely my responsibility. That was a lot of weight on my shoulders. It broke my heart every time I strapped her in, but I knew I was doing what's best for her.

Fortunately, after the first week things got a lot better. The harness has become part of our lives. It's just part of the normal routine now. She still fits in the bouncer, and the frontpack. I bought her a brand new baby-gym-thing-with-the-hangy-down-toys and she loves it. Since she's wearing bigger dresses and her legs are pulled up toward her body, they usually stay covered pretty well without too much effort on my behalf. After about four bad nights, she started sleeping a lot better and she's back to her old self.

She's such a happy baby, the harness barely phases her.  I seem to be bouncing back more slowly than she did, but things are looking up.  Hey, I even found some time to blog :)

We're so blessed that the pediatrician noticed a problem that was so subtle even the specialist didn't think anything was wrong. If the condition hadn't been found until later, the treatment would have been much more complicated.



This little girl is so strong and healthy. I believe that's the reason the doctor couldn't dislocate her hips. If the joint had been dislocated, she would have had to wear the harness 24/7, we wouldn't have even been able to take it off to give her a bath for an entire month.

While I'd rather not have to deal with all of it, I'm so grateful that we are being watched over. I know that Heavenly Father loves each of us. He is aware of us, and doesn't put us through more than we can handle. It's hard and lonely being so far away from our home and our families, but if we were sent to to this place simply to fix her little hips, then it's all worth it.

We sure love this little girl. We can't wait to get her out of this thing so she can roll and play and wear real jammies :) But most off all we're just excited to get to snuggle her properly again!

Baby Quilt

This little beauty:

Recently came in the mail (the quilt of course... not the baby) from my sister-in-law.

I. Love. It.

It's perfect for playing on the floor, and it will look great in the girl's bedroom.

This little girl likes it too.  Though you may not guess that by the number of times she's puked on it... :)

Thanks Abby!

She's Here!

Baby Sister was born two weeks ago. 

She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long.

We are loving having this sweet little girl around. I forgot what it's like to have a tiny person around....  We spend a lot of time snuggled up on the couch watching movies, and much less time doing things like sleeping or cleaning or cooking.

Crafty projects are pretty non-existent at the moment.  The budget is tight, my sewing machine is broken, and I'm busy snuggling a baby :)  But I've got a few ideas swirling around in my head, and I'll be sure to post them if/when they happen!

We're finally semi-settled here in Pennsylvania. 

So far, I have a love/hate relationship with the humidity.  When it's cool and breezy, I really love it....  But when its hot and sticky and smothering... I really really hate it. Especially at night when I already have trouble sleeping comfortably. The good news is we haven't had too many of those awful hot nights, and the AC does the trick during the day.

The trees in PA are amazing.  They're thick and dense and all over the place.  I'm used to seeing lots and lots of pine trees, but these green leafy trees are just too cool. I can't wait until they start turning colors this fall. 

I really like our new place.  I have a dishwasher and garbage disposal, and a new washing machine is going to be delivered today.  I can't wait.

We're a little short on storage options, but there is a ton of space to decorate and add furniture.  My handy husband built us a table and a bench and I LOVE them (pictures to come later). I'm really looking forward to prettifying our home, but due to the lack of time, energy, and cash flow I expect in the next few months, it may be a while before that happens.

Driving in the place is a different story.  Oh how I miss the nice square, North-South East-West running, numbered streets of Utah.  I remember thinking they were boring and lacked character when I first moved to college.  I was wrong.  Genius, is the best word to describe that grid system. Genius.  It's so much more complicated finding my way around this place.

Not to mention the lack of elevation in this place. With no mountains to use to orient myself, the driving issue is only compounded.

Overall, I'm really excited to be here.  I can't wait to get settled in a little more and have some routine to my life again.  The husband started school today and baby sister should be here within the next month. I CAN'T WAIT to be not pregnant, and I'm nervous and excited to have a new little girl in the house. But I still have so much to do! (like maybe buy some diapers that will fit the poor girl)

Big things to come

I'm still prgnant,
it's still hot,
I still live in not my own house,
and I keep pushing the buttons on the laptop with my ever-growing belly every time I lean forward. 
Awesome.

Someday, hopefully not too far from now, all will be back to somewhat normalness.
Except for the part where we'll be living in a new strange, cold, humid place and learning to live with a newborn again.
Wish me luck!

Can't Beat the Heat...

So I've been feeling significantly less than motivated these days.  I think I'll blame it on the heat.  I really hated the long, cold, wet spring we had, but now I'm missing it. And feeling grateful it lasted as long as it did. And wishing it would come back. 

I've got all kinds of things I need to be doing. Important things, like finding a place to live and potty training a little girl and exercising.

I also have lots of things I SHOULD be doing. Like laundry, and getting ready to move and keeping the little girl out of grandma's makeup.

I even have things I'd like to be doing. Like sewing or visiting my friends before I leave.

What HAVE I been doing?

I've been playing a lot of tetris. And doing puzzles on the internet. And wandering around the house. And snacking on stupid things because I'm too lazy to find something good to eat.

Oops.

I even made a list today. That usually helps me accomplish things.  So far, I've crossed off one item of business.

Maybe my list was just too long.

Maybe I need more sleep.

Maybe it's just too dang hot.