Cast number one part 2

This morning we got the second cast put on. Well...technically it's still cast number one since number one only lasted 3 days! The doc was out of office all week last week so this was the earliest I could get in. So far so good. I do have to admit I am on edge since the last round went so badly. I went to the zoo this morning and walked around. He actually slept in his new Tula carrier and it's working perfectly with the cast. We did have a few tears putting him in but he got comfy pretty quickly. He has already slept a lot more this time around. Let's hope this time we can keep in on!!!!

70 hours

Cast number one lasted 70 hours. By Saturday morning at 10 am, I was soaking that sucker off. Of course I was a wreck. On one hand I want my little boy to be happy and comfortable and on the other hand I know he needs his leg to be fixed. I finally had enough when he was refusing to eat and the cast was beginning to cut the inside of his thigh. I'll probably get a lecture by the ortho office but oh well.

The first 48 hours

This casting thing is a little harder than I thought it would be. I honestly thought it would only really be inconvenient for me...yeah a little selfish I know. The little man has been having a really hard time adjusting to the cast. The first 5 or 6 hours he was good but once he realized it does not come off, he started screaming. That night he slept for 30 min then screamed for 30 mins...all night. The morning I dug out the infant Tylenol I was given at my shower (thank you Tim and Sarah!) and started giving him half the dose he should get. After trying all day...and failing...I went up to the full recommend dose. That stuff is magic! He slept from 8:50pm to 3:44 straight! We are still trying to figure everything out but I think he is finally getting used to the cast. The good side of all of this is that I sewed him some super cute baby leggings to protect his bare leg! I love my sewing machine!

Sad day

Ok I am probably just being dramatic but my little one had to be casted today. We got X-rays done 2 months ago and his leg was at a 45 degree bow. The X-rays today show the same. His body is not correcting it quick enough. The cast will help his leg grow straighter from now on...hopefully. The doctor wants to do 4-6 casts that are changed every 2 weeks. Hopefully he will get used to this extra baggage for the next few months. If this doesn't work he will have to have a surgery where they break his leg and reset it straight.

I'm trying hard not to stress but the cast makes everything real. For the past 3 months I've had a completely normal little boy. The only thing abnormal about him is that he is toooo damn cute!!! At least that's what the average onlooker sees. Now with this cast it's a neon light shining "look what's wrong with me!". Not just to everyone else but to me. It was so easy to ignore until we hit this point.
The positive idea I have to keep repeating in my head is that once his leg is fixed, by cast or by surgery, his leg will be completely corrected. He won't walk funny, he will be able to do any sport he wants to do, and he won't have a neon sign shining "look what's wrong with me.". I love my little man so much. I hate the idea of anyone seeing him as less than amazing.

Update

Ok I have been neglecting the blog. Being a new mom is amazing and stressful all at the same time. So here is the dish on Nolan's latest treatment.

On Jan 5th my husband and I started the trek to LA. While driving up I called Aetna to get his insurance number and tell told me I wasn't covered. I began frantically calling my hr department to get everything figured out and we found that when I called to add Nolan on to my insurance my open enrollment info was changed back to kaiser. My hr told me they would get everything straightened out in a few weeks. I took the opportunity to tell them I wanted to stay with Kaiser. It felt like one of those moments where it was meant to be. Now we are back with Dr. Shoemaker.

A few weeks ago I went to our 3rd appointment with Dr. Shoemaker. He was very upfront and honest with me which I appreciated. He explained to me that casting is the preferred treatment option but there has been no studies to show casting will improve his condition. He also told me that movement is important for proper growth and development. The other option is the stretching exercises we have been doing since has was a few weeks old. The decision was to take baseline X-rays, continue stretching exercises, and take X-rays again in 2 months. Currently the bow of his leg is at a 40 degree curve. As long at it is corrected to 35 degrees or less in 2 months then Dr. Shoemaker is ok to continue with just stretching. In the meantime we are stretching and hoping we do not have to do serial casting!

Doc visit #1

For the first time during the journey I feel like I have made a mistake.  On thursday Cameron and I went to see Dr. Shoemaker to get his evaluation of Nolan's leg.  He confirmed what Dr. Zionts told me a few weeks ago.  He has a bowed tibia.  Even though I felt extremely uncomfortable with Dr. Shoemaker treating a clubfoot case; I felt very at ease with him examining Nolan and going over what general treatment would be.  I really regret changing my insurance now.  He would have been a fabulous doctor.  Now I am having second thoughts about seeing Dr. Zionts.  He has been AMAZING to my husband and I throughout this whole mess but I no longer feel it is necessary to drive 6 hours round trip.  Clubfoot treatment is such a precise art and I was willing to travel to find the right doctor.  Now that his prognosis is not as delicate,  I want to explore what our options are here in San Diego.  At least I took the time to research every pediatric orthopedist in the Southern California area before Nolan was born.  Finding a pediatrician seems daunting enough now!  The standout option is Dr. Pring at Rady's.  She specializes in limb lengthening, shortening, and straightening.  I think the plan as of now is to make an appointment with Dr. Zionts and with Dr. Pring and make our decision after we have seen both doctors.  I feel bad changing doctors after everything Dr. Zionts and his team has done for us but I need to think of what is best for my own sanity.  Dealing with a newborn is hard enough right now.  I don't need to make my life harder if there is a doctor here in San Diego who can treat my son.  

Nolan is here!!

Nolan Parker Westfall arrived on 11/27 at 3:41 am. He was 6 lbs 13 oz at birth and was 18 inches long. He is healthy, strong, and absolutely perfect (except for his little left leg of course.) He was born after only 5 hours of labor and I was able to have him completely naturally! Recovery for me has been pretty quick. I came home from the hospital within 24 hours and I've been out and about since day 3. In fact Cameron and I took him out to San Diego's big Christmas festival at Balboa Park today and he was a champ! He is super chill and nurses well pretty much anywhere.

Now for the not so great news...he doesn't have clubfoot. I honestly don't know if what he has is worse or better...but it is definitely different. At the hospital the Kaiser orthopedist said it was still clubfoot even though the deformity looks much different. I was extremely skeptical and sent a pic to Dr. Zionts once we got home. He called me within the hour and said I was right, it isn't clubfoot at all. We have yet to get an official diagnosis but what Dr. Zionts believes we are dealing with is tibial bowing. His curved foot supposedly will straighten on its own but there is a good chance we will have to have a surgery to correct a leg length discrepancy later in life. We are still planning on seeing Dr. Zionts in LA since he is the only person so far to give us real answers. I was so impressed that he called so quickly and took the time to look over the pictures. I'm not even officially his patient yet and he has been more caring, compassionate, and helpful than any of the doctors I have seen. Don't get me wrong, Kaiser has been amazing for my prenatal care and my birth. I just don't trust their orthopedists. However, I do have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Shoemaker to get his opinion on Thursday. I know it will do little good in the long run but I feel kinda weird not using the resources that are currently available to me. More info to come on Thursday!