My Mobile Mabel...

Mabel is just amazing! She has been successfully rolling over from her back to her belly for over a week or so now and she and I have been working on tummy to back and yesterday she did it! She just rolled that cast right over and boy was she proud of herself - and so was I. We clapped and cheered. She has just gotten so strong in her upper body, almost freakishly strong for such a little girl. The other day she was trying to get past her toy box and she just grabed it and slid it over out of her way! Wow, Wonder Woman! Her loose leg has also been getting a work out. We practice standing on one leg, I really think she could pull herself up to standing if given the right senario.

With all this new found mobility comes the reality that she needs to move to get all this pent up energy out. Her mind wants her to do these things, but her body can't right now. I think the inablity to really move like she needs to is what leads to bad sleep and cranky days. Mabel is typically so happy and well mannered, but Sunday and yesterday were tough days for her. I could feel some frustration coming from her. I know her tooth is tourturing her, but there was just something else bothering her. Her rolling makes her so happy and I learned the hard way, do no try to stop her from rolling, boy oh boy that makes her mad. I'm not being mean, she can't roll in the middle of a diaper change! This new ability also makes for no more pillow while sleeping. She now can move herself around and she can adjust her position so that is good, a few times she woke crying and moved herself back to sleep - I like that. She accepted no pillow very well and I feel better because it always freaked me out having a pillow in there with her.

It hurts to know that if she didn't have this cast she probably would have been crawling very well long before now, probably pulling herself up to stand and maybe even walking. I try no to think about that too much, otherwise I get sad. Zack's brother sent a video of his little boy first crawling, it was amazing and then we got sad thinking we never got to see Mabel do that. But like I said to Zack, most babies learn to crawl, but how many learn to roll themselves over in a spica cast?

So last night after a day of lots of tears, too little naps and tons of rolling over, Mabel couldn't fall asleep. I laid on the floor with her as she started to doze of and for 20 minutes she nursed as we laid on the floor together with her next to me, rolling her self towards me then away from me over and over again will waving. She's really practicing her new moves!

Practice makes perfect Mabel!

One Week Down - 11 to go...

Well, we are adjusting well (I think). Mabel is her old self, I'll be honest I was afraid being in a cast would change her. Today I couldn't have been more excited to find out that one of her pre-cast outfits still fits her. It is an overall set and the buttons down the legs makes it fit over the cast - the stretchy fabric helps too.

Last night I got her to sleep on her back. She has taken to wanting to fall asleep on me and then be put in the crib on her tummy. Before the cast she always moved around a lot in her crib and most of the time she was on her side or stomach, but I always put her in the crib on her back. It is so drilled into my head that "back is best" when sleeping that I've been a wreak thinking of her on her tummy in the crib the last few days. To add to my fears she also needs a pillow in there to prop her up - another "no-no"! She may be able to sleep but I can't. Now that she's on her back I'm feeling much better about the whole thing. She is also sleeping much better and tonight is the first night that she didn't seem to need Tylenol. Today marks a week since her surgery and cast.

Things I learned this week:

The diaper changes are not as hard as I feared. I think I mastered it the first time I did it since I read a lot of tips from parents online. I find that the newborn diapers the hospital told us to use does not work, Mabel had a leak day two (how upset was I!) so I've been using her #3 diapers from before the cast. I also figured out that her right side is problematic b/c there is quite a gap between her leg & the cast so after I tuck the diaper in I also put some cotton in the opening to create a dam keeping the diaper in contact with her leg. At night I use the cotton all the way around the opening. We also added waterproof tape on the inside of the diaper area opening making it easier to keep the inside of the cast clean. I had created a diaper changing table the day we got home with a pillow on each side of the table so that when we change her we start with her on her belly, I open the diaper from the back cleaning the bum first leaving the large outer diaper under her, that way if she does pee it goes down right on the diaper - she's peed a couple of times and this works perfect to catch it. I then tuck the new diaper in the cast, put the backside of the large diaper back on her and then I just flip her right over onto her back onto the other pillow behind her and I clean her front side and then finish tucking the diaper and cotton and closing up the large outer diaper. Works great and having the table set up really helps - I added a table cloth over the pillows to make it look better in the room (form & function). I came up with this system at the hospital. I had remembered one parent saying they used a pillow to elevate their little girl's chest to keep the pee from going into the cast - great tip!

Mabel is still Mabel. This has not changed her, but she does seem frustrated as I would imagine. She has started pointing a lot more, maybe related I don't know. She also has taken to crying if I take something away that I don't want her to have.

She wants to snuggle lots. She has always been a snuggler, but more so now. She just can't be too close. She wants to be held all the time, doesn't want to nap and wants to nurse all day. She never really napped well and we did joke that nursing was her hobby so...as I said above Mabel is still Mabel.

Nursing is easier than I thought it would be. With my trusty bobby she is just fine nursing away. My arms do get a bit more tired if she falls asleep on me - the extra weight, but a couple more pillows do the trick.

A balloon can be the best entertainment! Mabel has a balloon that Zack bought her, we wanted to get her one at the hospital but never got a chance. He got her one the day after we got home and ever since it has been her best friend. She rides around in her stroller "taking the balloon for a walk" around the house. It also keeps her busy during diaper changes.

Bath time can still be bath time even though there isn't a bathtub involved. My new bath system seems to make her happy and we are happy too. I hate that she can't take a real bath, but she is clean, sweet smelling still and we can pretend the bouncy seat is a tub for the next few weeks.

We miss the highchair. Mabel loved her high chair, but she can't fit in it anymore. It is a great high chair mind you! I loved the tray - it caught everything and was easy to contain the messy hand prints. Now she eats in her booster seat at the table, still fun but more work for us. Now that she is in the dining room and not the kitchen I put her in her stroller while I make her meal then we go into the dining room to get in the booster to eat. I made the mistake of trying to feed her in the stroller...bad idea. Our system is as follows. Mabel in the booster with her sleeves rolled up, covered in a smock with a bib and I took towels and sewed corners on them to fit over the arms of the dining room chair and ties on the back to hold it into place. This catches everything and keeps the chair and my rug clean. Overkill? Maybe...but it works for us, keeps her clean and the chair so I'm happy.

Clothing is out there and stuff can work. I ordered some rompers to get started that I love. I also found some pants on line. I got onesies and leg warmers and a skirt a few sizes too big. I think we're pretty good to have options. I love dressing her and I am determined to keep having fun doing it. I'll be honest it is depressing going to the store and seeing something cute and knowing she can't fit into it, but it is temporary so we'll buy it later.

I've learned to accept the whole thing...

I know there is a lot more to tell, but I can't think of any right now...I've also learned to "function" again on limited sleep...now the next challenge is going back to work and leaving her...that will be the hardest thing for me!

Our Not-So New Newborn...

Well, home life feels like we are starting all over again. It is almost like being the new parents of a newborn as we try to figure out the best way to do things.

I had always loved being Mabel's mom and taking care of her from day one, but the new challenges we faced as we got our techniques down I remember vividly. Mastering the diaper changes, figuring out what she needs, getting her to sleep, having all kinds of great baby gear that she doesn't fit into yet because she's too tiny...well, it is kinda like that all over again except now Mabel knows that we are doing things differently.

Overall Mabel's adjustment has been pretty good. She is in good spirits considering and to her credit she's been very "easy going". It is hard for us to keep her entertained all the time, she was always able to play alone with her toys and I know she'll do that again when she learns to accept the limitations of her cast. She gets frustrated when she realizes she can no longer roll over and move like she did. She has taken to pushing down on the top of her cast as if to try and get it off. She does cry in frustration, but over all she is doing well.

Sleep is another issue...she wants to sleep on mommy... which in turn means very little sleep for mommy, not that I've never done that before. Naps are pretty much non-existent, but she was never a great napper anyway.

Bath time has always been so much fun for Mabel, now it turned into the worst part of our day since she knows that we aren't doing what we once did, I'm confident I can work something out that will make her feel like it is normal. She always enjoyed a good "naked dance" time before her bath and now with the cast she looks at me like "Take this off too!" but I'm determined to make this fun again...I just have to figure out how. Not being able to bath her is just as hard on me as her, I feel like she needs a bath every night and sponge baths are not the same. We'll adjust, we have to. I look forward to her new first bath again...

Diaper changes are a lot easier than I had thought they would be, clothing is also easier thanks to some moms of other hip kids that started some clothing options. I found online some rompers that I love, they fit right over the whole cast. It made such a difference for us when it was painful to see her cast at first. I also have always loved the one piece sleepers for her b/c of comfort. I also found another site that sells pants that fit over the cast. I'm eagerly awaiting those, I got some cute onesies to go with them. I also found some baby legwarmers at Target in their baby section. Mabel will be a fashion nugget!