The Harness

The day she was born, the doctors evaluated Lorelei's hips, and determined she had severe hip dysplasia in both sockets. Because her bottom had been wedged into my cervix for an unknown period of time, the hips didn't form properly. The pediatric orthopedists at the hospital said she would have to wear a Pavlik harness for at least 12-14 weeks.

I was upset. I felt like it was my fault her hips were in that condition. If I had just gotten another ultrasound, or laid in bed differently, or did specific exercises, or lowered my stress level more, maybe she wouldn't have that problem.

The harness was a pain in the ass. Odd for me to feel that way about a brace that ultimately corrected the problem without surgery, but really, it was a pain in the ass. Clothes didn't fit properly, the harness materials (mostly velcro) scraped against my skin while I nursed her, the velcro sometimes caught on certain fabrics, it seemed to be uncomfortable for her while she slept. I had all these cloth diapers I wanted to use, but the logistics with the harness seemed complicated. Disposable diapers were the best way to go--the least bulky. But the worst part was that I felt like it was a barrier between the two of us. We couldn't really cuddle effectively; the harness made her body stiff. Where was the soft, cuddly baby I was expecting?

I knew she only had to wear it temporarily, and I tried to focus on that goal. It was either the harness, or surgery when she was a year old. In all other aspects, she was perfectly healthy. So I coped with it as best as I could. We could only take it off for brief periods of time, for baths, and we didn't really bathe her every day, so she was in it quite a bit. Her orthopedist, Dr. Phillips was great (I think L had a crush on him with his British accent!), and very supportive. After 8 weeks, she was doing so well that we could start to wean her from the harness. Naps and nighttime only, and then at 14 weeks, I threw the harness away for good! What a relief for all of us.

I don't have a clear picture of the harness, or L in it, but here's a shot of her at five days old with her cousin, Zach:

You can see the harness over her shoulders.

Birth Story...finally!

Welcome, Lorelei Brooke!

It has been a busy five months, and I'm just now getting to the birth story! It's been hectic, but fun, and here's how it started:

On my due date, January 17, I really didn't feel any different than usual, despite Jerry continuing to ask me if I felt any contractions. That got annoying. Around 10 pm, however, I started having some mild contractions off and on, with no regularity. After midnight, they became more regular, every five to six minutes, and lasted about a minute each. We weren't supposed to go to the hospital until they were every four minutes for at least an hour--or until my water broke. I was laboring in bed, timing the contractions, and Jerry was painting the fireplace (!). He said he wouldn't have the opportunity to do it after the baby came, so he might as well finish it up. I had started helping him earlier in the evening, because apparently I lost my mind so close to the end of the pregnancy.

Anyway, around 2 am, as I was laboring on my side in bed, I felt and heard a *pop*, and then a gush of liquid as my water broke. We figured it was safe for us to go to the hospital. While I got myself cleaned up and ready to go, Jerry dropped Chopper off at Ben and Dani's. After my water broke, the contractions got more intense. Thankfully, the hospital wasn't more than five minutes away. We were so excited! We got to the hospital with all our gear: suitcase, labor bag, laptop. We thought we had some time to kill once we were admitted, so Jerry planned on playing on the computer, and I had packed a book. Fools! Once we got to triage, they asked me some basic questions, then brought us both to a small room for evaluation and ultrasound. I used the bathroom once more, and noticed quite a bit of meconium discharge. I hadn't seen any at home, and I was in a lot of pain at that point, so I didn't really panic. I mentioned it to the nurse. At this point, it was about 4 am.

The nurse did an ultrasound and discovered that the baby was in a breech position, and I would need an emergency C-section. Since I hadn't had an ultrasound since the 20-week anatomy scan, this was a huge, not-so-pleasant surprise. While they prepped the OR for the surgery, the contractions got worse, and I felt the urge to push. I was miserable. I kept saying I didn't want a C-section, but I didn't have a choice. I didn't realize until much later how quiet and helpless Jerry felt; usually, there's not much he's scared of, but this was one of those times.

The nurse asked me if I had anything to eat recently. Now, because our Lamaze instructor said we should labor at home as much as possible, and have something to eat since we wouldn't be able to do that once we went to the hospital, Jerry had gone out around midnight to get me some chicken nuggets from McDonalds. I got in a bit of trouble from the nurse because of that, and they had to give me some special meds so I wouldn't puke during surgery. Once they administered the epidural, I felt better, but it made me shake uncontrollably throughout the entire surgery. They had to strap my arms down. I felt terrified as they wheeled me into the OR. I hadn't had any prior surgeries, so I didn't know what to expect.

I didn't feel a thing as they started the surgery, and I don't remember too much, but at some point I heard our little girl cry! She was born at 6:25 am. We were both relieved and overjoyed. Jerry did a great job with the pictures:

Our first meeting:
Our first family photo:

Jerry got to see the staff clean up the baby and prep her for my first meeting with her, and everyone noticed that as she was laying on the warming tray, her leg flew up and kicked her head! Since she had been in a breech position for so long, and since her bottom was wedged into my cervix, she developed hip dysplasia and had to wear a harness for the first 14 weeks. More on that in another post.

Jerry went to recovery with the baby, while the doctor stitched me up. Jerry said Dr. Vega was just what a surgeon should be: cool as ice. It felt like forever, but eventually they brought me to to recovery too. I couldn't wait to see her, and while we began our first nursing session, Jerry reminded me that we still didn't have a name. Originally, we planned on Caroline Betsy, but we had a couple other options just in case. We decided that since her birth was a bit of a whirlwind, we'd name her Lorelei, which means "siren". She was a feisty one right from the beginning! Her middle name is Brooke, which we thought went well with her first name, and we wanted it to start with a "B" after my grandmother, Betty. We were relieved that we were ok, and our little Lorelei Brooke was beautiful!