Hold habbits die hard...

Mabel is having a hard time saying good-bye to the cast. You can imagine how strange she is feeling since the last three months have been encased in that hard shell. All these new sensations and this new brace has been a lot for her the last few hours. Hopefully the adjustment period will be brief. She has been crying a lot when it comes to diaper changing and the brace has to come off. I can't blame her, I mean it must feel so weird right now. I realize there will come a time when it will be the other way around and she'll fight us as we put it on her!

I thought if I could change a diaper in a spica the brace would be a breeze...well...the brace isn't that easy either! There are straps, Velcro and foam to deal with and a baby that right now doesn't want to have any of it. There will be an adjustment period. I'm hoping that by the end of this weekend I'll have a method that seems to work, otherwise it is a comedy of errors watching us manipulate that thing, especially last night in the dark! Yikes, poor Mabel must be wondering what the heck have we traded her cast for?

It is funny, you know we were living for this cast coming off and I'm so excited about it, it almost feels like a dream that she isn't in it anymore. She feels so light and even in the brace so squishy and soft, but you forget that your baby doesn't have these same feelings as you. From Mabel's point of view this may be a loss for her, she had security and comfort in that cast. She'll adjust, but it is still a hard time for her.

We've had a few disappointments. Footie PJ's don't fit with her legs needing to be in that crazy position. We even tried a size up. I was so sad, I really was so excited about those PJ's. I think I can alter them, but I was really looking forward to not having to do that anymore. Also, I was hoping she could wear regular clothes again, but this brace is pretty much like her cast just less bulky. Her legs are still in that crazy shape so no, she can't wear the cute little things I've got in her closet...but I do have a lot that are larger so maybe in a couple of months? The brace is a pain, don't let anyone say it isn't! Right now the only thing that makes this better than the cast is it can come off so we can give her a bath. Other than that it is a crazy device with hooks, pulleys and straps that makes life hard. It has a plastic bar across her legs that hurts when I hold her on my hip or belly. The legs are set at such an extreme angle that I don't see how she would ever be able to sit up or learn to stand and that is disappointing...but lets put it in perspective here, this is the next step. It is a step slightly up and soon it will get better as she heals she'll need it less and less and I'm sure we'll get use to it as we did the cast...we have to right?