That Spica...

So it has been an amazing week watching Mabel cruise around the furniture standing up all big and tall. Her cart that I ordered for her arrived on Wednesday and it was like Christmas when I got home from work as I put it together for her - she was so excited when I came in with the box! As you can see she loves it, although it is misleading from the pictures, she can't use it unassisted, she can however stand up on her own and look like she's using by herself! I know in the next couple of weeks this cart will really help her as she learns to take some steps. She's a cautious girl and this will give her the support she needs as she takes the leap to trying to walk.

I was so excited to go to physical therapy and show the doctor Mabel's new moves of cruising. I was waiting to hear the excitement and praise that she would have for Mabel. She was quite excited, but she also noticed that Mabel is really turning out her right foot and not moving the hip joint. She said that right now Mabel is swing her whole hip to move her right leg instead of using the hip joint and it is still because her lower back is so tight. She said that the spica really did a number on her lower back and hip alignment when it comes to her stance. I have to say I was disappointed, I really thought everything was all moving forward and it is, but that darn spica is still haunting us! I'm glad she's in physical therapy this way we can work out all these "kinks" now so it won't cause possible problems in the future. I had noticed the foot thing (you can kinda see it in the pictures) and of course tried to look it up online, there isn't much about it in hip kids, just the basic stuff you read on baby websites and it can be a normal thing with kids learning to walk. I asked the doctor about that and she said it is something you see in kids that don't have hip problems, but in Mabel's case it is a bi-product of that cast and she's going to try to correct it. Our homework this week is holding Mabel a special way to help her walk and try to get her to move that right hip. She doesn't want to do it though, just keeps saying "down" and wants to crawl - as the doctor says it isn't worth trying to argue with a one-year-old, so we keep trying it.