Hadley's brace

Hadley's brace

So, I finally got a chance to give a quick update on Hadley. She had her appointment last Wednesday to get her brace. The appointments went very well and she was very cooperative. She of course did not like the brace, but she was so good. The Dr. said Hadley is to wear the brace at all times except when she is obviously getting a bath, swimming, or if she has fever or flu.

It was after the apt that didn't go so well. To keep this quick I'll give you the short version of her updates.... On Wednesday we left the Hospital with her wearing her brace, but as soon as we got to my sister's house to get Mianna, we took it off because Hadley had a temperature of 103 and it was still rising. We thought her ear infections had come back since she just got off her antibiotics, so we went to get them checked out by her Dr and he said they looked perfect. So, it came down to teething. For those of you who don't know, Hadley got her first bottom tooth maybe 3 wks ago and from teething she had fever for like 4 days, would not eat nor drink, and was miserable. (up every 1/2 hour crying at night). So, this time it was bottom tooth #2. She was the exact same way. And the reason she had such a high fever is because she was wearing the brace... because it holds the heat in. So, she didn't really get to try out her brace until Saturday since she had a constant fever. (she was miserable).

Of course, Hadley did not like her brace and neither did Andy and I. She was so cranky, uncomfortable, and just not her happy little self! It made me so sad to see her this way and not able to help her! She at first had a hard time crawling. She kept falling over. And same with sitting. She did get very frustrated, but she was a trooper :)

Sunday she was miserable for Church, but then later in the afternoon, was starting to be herself again. She's starting to get used to it a little bit more. She is such a good girl and I'm so proud of her for doing so good. She's doing better than me.... that's for sure!

With this brace, Hadley is a lot more work, which is stressful for Andy and I and is going to be an adjustment! Already, we have been so stressed and just feel helpless to her! One thing I know is were going to need a lot more date nights and a lot more breaks! Of all the stresses with this brace, being helpless to her is probably the worst, but there are a lot more.... changing her diaper takes twice as long... and of course at Church she had a huge poop, that went all the way up her back.... I think she planned that just so I could take off her brace ;) She's constantly hot and has constant heat rash all over her body! (I'm not looking forward to summer with this) She is a lot more fussier than usual as well, which is frustrating too. She is not eating very well and definitely not sleeping good! So, theres a lot of sleepless nights involved! I think Andy and I can honestly say, we DO NOT like this brace, but it is something that we have to do for her!

One of the hardest things to see is your child is pain or uncomfortable crying for help and not being able to help her! I have been having a really hard time with this! I often feel like a failure as a mother not taking care of my child's needs. Though, I am taking care of her needs, but she just can't see that yet! I just wish Hadley didn't have to go through all this! I worry constantly what if this brace doesn't work. Technically, I looked up curvature degrees and Hadley is in the category of surgery.... I just pray God works a miracle through this brace and corrects it!

Even though, it has been a horrible wk, I am trying to look at the positive in all this. Through Hadley's situation, I pray this brings Glory to God! Already, I feel as if I'm depending on him more and more everyday. He gives me the patience I need, the love, and helps me with my anxiety! Only God knows the outcome of this situation. Through all these thick dark clouds, will soon be the sun. Its just a matter of how long!

Please continue to pray for Hadley and her adjusting into the brace! And also for Andy and I... This is probably harder on us than Hadley!

Thanks again for your cares and prayers! Sorry for the delay in updating you! I hope you can understand this was my first chance in being able to do that! Hadley has another apt in 3 months, I'll keep you updated. But until then, I think I'll start putting more of the positive adventures of our life on here!

Coloring Easter Eggs

Today I colored easter eggs at work with Mianna and Mya while Hadley was asleep. They had a blast with it! They were so careful, patient, and very proud of their eggs. Here are some pictures...

Hadley started crawling!!!

Hadley started crawling on Monday!!!! She's been wanting to for a long time and finally coordinated her legs to work with her arms :) This is a video of the first time she crawled on Monday. She's already going much faster and is more confident! This is such a praise because in another couple wks(March 19th) she will be getting her brace and I was so worried that it would delay her development. But now that she knows how to crawl and by then will be an expert at it, the brace wont stop her! Now that she crawls, she's into everything! But that was to be expected! :) She's getting so big!

Hadley's 9 month appointment

Hadley had her 9 month appointment today.
She is 14 lbs 14 oz, which is in less than the 3rd %
and 26 1/2" long, which is in the 15th %

Everything else is healthy! She's developing great except her back!
The doctor was concerned a little wiht her weight! So we will have to do another weight check in 6 wks! I dont understand how she could be so low. She loves to eat and eats a lot!!!! Ugh! More stress!

Were just thankful to have a happy little sweetie like Hadley!

Hadley's update on her back

I finally got a chance to get to my parents' so i could give you all an update on Hadley's back. She had her apt 11:30 wednesday. We went pretty confident thinking that her back looked better; however, we left leaving scared and sad. The results were not good. First Hadley had her x-rays, which are always hard for her. We fought through it and she did ok. Then we saw the doctor. They had her x-rays up on the screen and Andy and I looked at each other while waiting for the dr wondering if those were her x-rays or some other kids because they looked horrible. The nurse came in and said they were hers. She said that Hadley's back worsened. Her curve went from a 30 degree curve to a 55. It pretty much doubled. Her spine was in a S shape and now makes a C shape. Andy and I were obviously wrong. I didnt understand. How could this be. She seemed like she was doing so well. At this point, I was doing everything I could not to break down in tears. Finally, the doctor came in. He explained to us what her x-rays meant. This obviously meant she needed a brace. The nurse had thought maybe their was an extra peice of bone in Hadley's back that could have been causing this, but the dr said it was too early to determine anything like that because Hadley's bones were not all formed yet. He said that if they did think something like that in the future, she would need to get a cat scan, but for now, that is not needed! Thank God! The doctor said there is no cause of this. Some kids get better, some stay the same, and some worsen. I asked how seriuos this was... He said, if you were to ask somebody on the street, they'd probably say, pretty serious and uncommon, but to him, it was not seriuos. He was very confident and said, we will fix her back one way or another! I asked, is surgery in the picture. He said, I am hoping this brace will fix her back and if it doesnt, we'll try another brace and then another and then another, then a cast. Surgery is the last resort. He said he has a lot of tricks up his sleeves before she has to have surgery. That was pretty reassuring! I also asked the dr if this was going to be a struggle she deals with for the rest of her life. He had no idea. Even though i was scared out of my mind, it was reassuring to have such a confident doctor. After Hadley's apt, we had to go to another clinic to get her fitted for her back brace. By this point, Hadley had enough of people touching and picking on her. Everytime the guy tried measuring her or even came close, she screamed. I felt so bad for her. There was nothing we could do. She had just had enough! The type of back brace she will have is an older brace, but has had very good results. There will be a brace on her shoulder, thigh, and then on one of her sides pushing the curve in the other direction hoping to straighten it out. The good thing about the brace is it shouldnt effect her mobility and development too much. She will hopefully get used to it. The bad thing is she has to wear it all the time and can only remove it for bath time. (we'll be taking long baths for her sake)! The doctor also does not know how long she will have to wear it for. She will have to get x-rayed every 3-6 months to see if it is helping. The brace is being ordered and will be done in 2 - 3 wks then we have to go back to fit it on her and get more x-rays! I feel so bad seeing my little baby having to go through all this, but God is in control and thats all we have to know and remember! He's taking care of her. There are a lot worse situations we could be in! I have added some pictures so you can see the before and after pictures of Hadley's spine. And also her future brace! Please continue to keep Hadley in your prayers! I just pray that this brace will correct her spine so we can be done with all this! Also if you can just keep the whole situation in your prayers! The time it takes away from work to travel to Children's Hospital, the stress it adds on our lives, and of course the finances! I got a call yesterday from the brace place and and they said because we havent met our deductable, they will not pay for any of the brace! Of course, already being emotional, I teared up on the phone to the lady so i didnt want to go into it too much. The brace ALONE will cost $600! Thats only the brace.... We are paying a ton of dr bills and x-ray bills too! This is just more to trust God with! He will take care of it! I just pray as well that through all this, we can just learn to depend more on God and trust him with all this! We are going through this trial for a reason only God knows! But through all it, I hope to gain a stronger relationship with him! Thanks for all your cares and prayers!!!

Hadley's 1st x-ray taken 3 months ago:


Hadley's 2nd x-ray taken wednesday:




The Brace:

This is an idea how it will fit on her little body

First, Mianna got her 1st 'real' haircut

We had a fun day on Saturday! Mianna and Hadley got pampered. We started the afternoon off getting Mianna's 1st real haircut! She loves it! She was so shy so she didnt show much emotion as she usually doesnt, but when the haircut was done, her face lit up! She got to sit in a red car and watch a movie while she got it cut. It was such a cute place! When the cut was finished, the beautician styled her with 2 free barrettes and some 'princess glitter' as she called it. Mianna felt pretty special. She said she has hair just like mommy now! That was so sweet!

...and then Hadley got her ears peirced

After Mianna got her new stylish hair cut, Hadley got her ears peirced so she could be just like her big sister! She did really good. She cried for a couple seconds afterwards and then forgot all about it!

Getting ready

Right after it was done!

...and then we went to McDonalds!

After a long day of pampering the girls, we decided to take them to Mcdonalds! What a great day we had with them! These are my favorite days!