Seven Weeks with Nora

Nora in her "hip" harness

It is hard to believe that Nora is already 7 weeks old today. I feel like I just brought her home from the hospital. It is a constant reminder to cherish each moment. Nora is a sweet and mostly happy baby. She sleeps wonderfully at night, but is fussy during the day. She can get quite gassy and lets us all know. She really likes it if we undo her diaper and just let her do her business out in the open! I know, I know - TMI. :)

She's starting to notice her surrounding and gives us smiles. At Nora's first pediatrician's visit, the doctor found a very obvious "click" in her left hip. I had heard of this because all babies are routinely checked for hip dysplasia by ultrasound in the Czech Republic. Adela was checked at about 6 weeks of age and was fine. So, when Nora was 2 weeks old we were sent to Brenner Children's hospital in Winston for a hip ultrasound and then a visit with the orthopedist. They told us that she has "hip dysplasia" which occurs in about 4 out of 1000 births. It basically means her hips were dislocated at birth. The doctor fitted Nora with a special harness called the Wheaton-Pavlik harness. You can see a picture of it here and read more about it if you are interested. http://www.wheatonbrace.com/products/wpharness.html She wore this for 4 weeks and we just returned from her 3rd visit to the orthopedist yesterday. This is a picture of her above in the Pavlik harness. The right hip responded well to the harness and will basically be alright. But, her left hip is being quite stubborn. It is pretty much completely out of the socket and could possibly need surgery and a cast. We received a new type of brace for her as well. This one is more rigid and fits over her diaper. We can bathe and change her now. I actually preferred the harness because I feel terrible taking this brace on and off her. It just looks uncomfortable. The doctor said that we will try this one for about 3 weeks and then discuss the next step.

Nora looking a little grumpy. :)

We praise the Lord that this was discovered so early. I can't imagine how hard it must be to do this with a child who is already walking for example. Please pray that this brace will work and that Nora will not need surgery or a cast. I trust the Lord has this in His hands and His will would be done. We'd really appreciate your prayers for Nora and that the doctor would be correct in his diagnosis.