Things winding down... (or are they?) Recap on Dr Appt's

Well, Little Lady and I survived our trip to the hospital. I will honestly say, that those were the WORST three days of my life. Ever.
Once we had returned home, we spent time with our family trying to adjust. Adjust to all of the issues Little Lady has to endure, and adjust to having a newborn in the house, and adjust to a new house. It was quite and "adjustment period".
After the hospital stay, we tried to get life back to normal as much as possible. But, of course, Little Lady had lots and lots of follow up visits and other Dr appts. Here is a quick re-cap of them all, to get us up to date on Little Lady (and her progress) :

7/28/10: Visit with pediatrician. Well baby appointment/post hospital follow up. Weight: 6lb 12oz. Uneventful.

8/09/10: Visit with Neonatologist (for her GERD). We reviewed her progress on the Zantac (it wasn't working that well). Changed her RX to Prilosec in the compounded form. Weight: 7lb 4oz (FINALLY back to birth weight!!)

8/09/10: Visit with Pediatric Orthopedic for knees. Dr checked range of motion (ROM) in her knees. Noticeable improvement since birth. Still a "possible diagnosis" of Arthrogryposis, but in charts, it's "Lower Limb Anomaly". Dr wants Little Lady to remain in Pavlik Harness, as it's keeping her knees in a bent position. Also, we are to continue stretching knees many times a day.

8/09/10:  Visit with Genetics, to check for other apparent signs of Arthrogryposis. Took a history of Family Tree. Ordered a Chromosome Analysis, to determine if she has a genetic form of Arthrogryposis (which is more rare). Geneticist also diagnosed Little Lady with (yet another affliction) Torticollis. Because of the Torticollis, we are referred to Occupational Therapy (basically, physical therapy) to try work on her neck. Poor Little Lady... it's always something :(

8/26/10: Visit with Audiology. Little Lady didn't pass her "newborn hearing screening" in the hospital, so we had to visit the Audiologist for another screening. At this visit, Little Lady passed her screening from the right ear. She failed from the left ear. There could be hearing loss, OR it could have been because Little Lady wasn't in a good enough sleep.  The Dr tried to check for fluid in the ear, to rule out hearing loss, but by this point, Little Lady would not hold still, so the Dr couldn't get an accurate reading on fluid levels. The Dr gave us a referral to ENT (ear, nose, and throat) Dr.  So Little Lady has to go visit the ENT, who will then look inside her ears for visible signs of damage and/or fluid. Immediately following that visit, Little Lady will have an appt. with Audiology, for another hearing screening. *sigh*

8/30/10: Visit with Orthopedics, for knees. This appointment made me upset, and also made me question the Dr who is treating Little Lady. This was our 3rd appointment with this Dr (in addition to our consult in the hospital after Little Lady was born). At this appointment I started noticing that this Dr has a lot of inconsistencies in what she is telling me re: Little Lady's prognosis, diagnosis, condition... etc. Also, at this appointment, the Dr informs me that Little Lady is being treated for Hip Dysplasia. WHAT?!?!?!?! This was the first news I've heard of this... in fact, at a prior visit, we had been told that there was no hip dysplasia.
On this day, I decided that I was not happy with the care the Dr. was providing Little Lady. Too many inconsistencies, and not aggressive enough treatment... Since I am the one who has to be Little Lady's advocate, I decide to take action. (The next day, I get a referral from our health insurance for a 2nd opinion with another Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist out in Los Angeles. I also started the paperwork to apply at Shriner's Children's Hospital.)

9/09/10: Occupational Therapy. Similar to Physical Therapy. At this appointment, we learned some stretches to help Little Lady's neck problem (torticollis) and also reaffirmed the need for stretching the knees. This is a fun office to go to as it's full of toys and climbing things and stuff. Looks like a Gymboree center or something :)

9/21/10: Ultrasound on Hips. Ultrasound shows no shallow hips, indicating no hip dysplasia.

9/21/10: Orthopedics, Dr agrees that results of ultrasound do not show hip dysplasia (I've been here before, haven't I?) Dr states that she does not want to start serial casting on Little Lady's knees until she gets older. So, in the meantime, Little Lady is to remain in the Pavlik 'part time'.  (I'm sure ready for our 2nd opinion appointment. It's coming up this Friday, on the 10/01/10. I am going  to be pushing for more aggressive treatment of the knees. I want the casting done sooner, rather than later, as I believe that the younger she is, the better results we will see from the casting.)

OK, that gets us all up to date on Little Lady's journey. The rest of this blog will happen "in real time".

Little Lady in her Pavlik Harness. Mommy likes to keep it covered up with dresses.

My cousin gave me the great idea to dye the harness pink. Gotta accessorize somehow!