Back on April 14th we found ourselves with a free weekend day and the sun was shining so we headed off for our annual visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. It was absolutely perfect and everyone had a fabulous time.
You can see all the pictures we took on our adventure here.
Dear Hadley,
Today you are seventeen months old. And today also happens to be Easter so it was a very busy day at the Bateman household! We hosted Easter Brunch and some of our family and friends came to spend the day with us. It was funny because a few people who don’t see you very often kept commenting on what a little person you are becoming, what with all the walking and talking (or rather, attempting to talk) you are doing. It just seems like you are growing up so fast all of a sudden.
This weekend you went on your very first Easter egg hunt. You and Ana have been hiding plastic eggs around our house and collecting them in baskets since we got the Easter decorations out, so your Dad and I were pretty confident you had this whole thing figured out. Sure enough, we set you down at the park and you beelined for an egg, picked it up, and put it in your basket. You were a natural.
This month your language has really taken off. I think you are up to about 25 words now. Since you have been attempting to communicated more and more we decided it was time to start working on your manners. You picked up on it right away and (with some mild prompting) you happily say “pees” and “tay oo.”
As your language is expanding, it’s interesting to see which words you are able to learn. You can now say “poop” and “butt” which your sister (and, who are we kidding, your father) find hilarious. One day you started saying them with such intensity, I thought maybe you wanted to do something about it. I asked if you wanted to go potty, you nodded, and headed for the bathroom. I was thinking “could potty training the second child really be THIS easy?” I took you in and you sat…and sat…and sat. Eventually I’m sure your bottom started to hurt, so I finally took you off. But that began your obsession with the potty. So I dug out the Baby Bjorn potty chair and you LOVE to sit on it. And rip off toilet paper and put it directly into the bowl. I am pretty sure all you think we do on the toilet is fill it with toilet paper.
Near the end of March, just before Spring Break, we had some crazy weather and it actually snowed enough here that school was canceled. We dressed you girls in your snow clothes and headed outside to play before it all melted away. You have been in the snow before, but this time you were mobile and got to walk around and really check it out. I handed you a little snow ball to play with and you instantly started to eat it (don’t worry! It was clean!). You made a series of silly faces… and then WENT BACK FOR MORE. You were hooked.
A day after the snow melted, the sun came out and it got warm, so as Oregonians we were obligated to get outside and play! Our driveway is a little steep and you weren’t sure how to get down to the flat cul-de-sac where your sister was busy learning to ride her bike. You couldn’t walk down without falling, but it wasn’t such a drop off that you’d need to go backwards on your tummy (like you do on the stairs). So, being the little thinker you are, you compromised, and scooted down the driveway on your butt! You were quite proud of yourself too.
You are still wildly obsessed with shoes. You are always trying on our shoes and walking around in any shoes you can step into. Boots are your new favorite because you can actually get them on your feet by yourself. Ironically enough, you spend most of the time we are at home trying to put on shoes, yet the second we get in the car (or the stroller) the first thing you do is pull off your socks and shoes. You, Hadley, are quite the enigma.
Your mobility is a blessing but it can also be a curse. Now that you know you can get around on your own you always want to get down and GO. Sometimes it’s not safe or convenient for you to be down so you are constantly telling me, “Walk! Walk!” and trying to wriggle out of my arms. I understand that you want to get down, so whenever I can, I let you walk on your own and explore the world around you.
As your coordination is progressing, we have started letting you use utensils with your meals. You love when we hand you a spoon or a fork with your food. You always give us this look of excited trepidation like, “Really? Are you going to let me use this? COOL.” Sure, it makes meal exponentially messier, but I figure you have to learn somehow.
Dolls are, hands down, your favorite thing to play with right now. You are such a little mama. I love seeing you cuddle and feed your babies. Whenever I see you going near the dolls I often find myself stopping whatever I am doing to see what you are going to do next. I see you cover them with blankets, give them bottles, and feed them. And it just warms my heart.
I often find myself hovering a step away as you bravely explore new parks or play structures. I know it can be frustrating for both of us having to be in such close proximity to one another, but I know that in no time at all you won’t need me to be so close. So for now, I will just treasure those amazing moments when you reach out and put your hand in mine.
All my love,
Mama
The other day we went met some friends for a play date at Play Boutique in Progress Ridge. The girls always have a great time playing with their friends, but without fail they always seem to make a little time to be together. I just happened to catch this sweet moment with the camera on my iPhone. I just love these girls.
Dear Hadley,
Today you are sixteen months old. And officially a walker. Like all you do is walk, all the time. Sure, you still fall. A LOT. And the more excited you get, the more you fall, but you practically refuse to crawl anymore. It took you awhile, but now that you can, and more importantly you know you can, you walk everywhere. It’s been so wonderful. On days like today, when it is sunny and warm, it’s so nice to be able to let you walk around outside. It’s like you equated walking with a new found sense of freedom and you know you can do so much more now.
You have such a wonderful, easy-going disposition. You are so mellow and relaxed that when you do occasionally get upset about something people are always commenting, “Wow! I think that’s the first time I have ever heard Hadley cry!” But rather than fussing or throwing a fit, you would much rather make people smile and laugh. You are such a ham and you make me smile a thousand times a day.
You recently started rubbing your hands together and at first I thought you had something on your hands or you discovered you could make a new sound, but we quickly realized you had made your own sign for washing your hands. Anytime anyone washes their hands or even mentions washing you start rubbing your hands together until someone helps you wash your hands too. I’d even dare to say you are a tad obsessed (and hoping your Mama’s mild ODC isn’t hereditary). The other day you discovered the bottle of hand sanitizer I keep on my diaper bag and you have been fascinated with this new form of “washing your hands” when we don’t have a sink handy. I keep catching you pretending to use it, and I gotta admit, I find it pretty hilarious.
Another thing you are obsessed with is dipping your food. You loooove to dip. You will dip everything into anything. Last night you happily dipped apple slices into ketchup. You are not particular. I’ve heard about children like this, but as Ana wasn’t a dipper, I never had to worry about it. But you are a whole different child. If you see us dipping any of our food, we better be prepared to get you some too. STAT.
You have officially reached what I like to refer to as the “copy cat” age. In other words, you like to mimic the things we do. I’ll grab a tissue to wipe your nose and you will quickly grab one to emulate the motion. You also like to reciprocate. If I am brushing your hair or washing your face, you like to return the favor and do the same thing for me. It’s incredibly sweet and gratifying to know you are so aware of all the things we do for you in your day to day life.
I think the copy cat behavior plays a huge role in your love for baby dolls. You are such a wonderful little mama. You are always carrying around a doll, pushing a baby in the stroller/shopping cart, or hugging your stuffed animals. It’s so cute to watching you pretend to spoon feed your babies when you can’t even spoon feed yourself yet!
You are starting to talk quite a bit more lately. You aren’t always easy to understand but there is generally some sort of commentary steadily coming from your vicinity. You have added several words to your vocabulary this last month: momo (more), beebee (baby), baybay (blankie), uh-oh, and sissy. There are few things more precious than when you hear Ana’s voice first thing in the morning. Your eyes light up, you squeal, “Sissy! SEESEEY!” and you take off to find her.
While you can often be a sweet little angel, you are still very much a curious, and often times mischievous, toddler. Case in point: you have recently started emptying your crib. Sometime you do this as a stall tactic before you fall asleep, other times you do it to entertain yourself once you have woken up. You like to toss everything out of your crib: pillows, stuffed animals, dolls, blankets. Once your crib is empty you will even start removing articles of clothing. Namely socks and shoes. For some reason, you like to throw all the items in front of your crib with one exception. You prefer to take your special lovey, your beloved blankie, and drop it behind the crib. The first time you did it, it took us forever to find it. I had no idea a blanket could even FIT down there. Now as soon as we walk in to your room you point to show us it’s back there. You little stinker.
Last week your dad took a quick trip to Bend and since you are quite the daddy’s girl, you were really struggling with having him be gone for two whole days. You kept pointing to the office and asking, “Dada?” Then as if I just wasn’t getting the message, you started pointing to every single picture of him and loudly stating, “DADA!” Finally your dad had a few minutes to chat so we used FaceTime on our iPhones. You could not have been more delighted. You kept squealing with glee and trying to kiss the phone. In fact, you even accidentally hung up on him a couple times in your excitement. But it was adorable and I know it meant the world to your father.
Hadley, I know I keep saying this, but you are just such a wonderful little girl. You are growing up so quickly and I can’t even believe the things you are able to do that you couldn’t do just one month ago. I love watching you learn and change. These moments in your childhood are so brief that I hope you don’t mind if I just pick you up, hold you close, and savor these fleeting moments.
All my love,
Mama
Well, it’s official! Hadley is now walking. She’s been doing it more and more over the last couple days. Now I’d say she is walking about half the time (she still crawls when it’s really far or when the ground is “questionable”). She knows she can do it and she is so cute as she just WALKS across the room. It’s been a long time coming (she’s almost 16 months) but considering her broken leg added a little bump in the road, I’d say she’s doing pretty great. We are SO proud of her!
Hadley had her 15-month doctors appointment this morning. Here are her stats from the appt:
Height: 31″ (75th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 2 oz (58th percentile)
Head: 46.5 cm (75th percentile)
Hadley has slowed quite a bit on her weight gain. Not enough to cause concern, but enough that the nurse had me take her back to the scale to weigh her again to make sure we didn’t record the wrong number. But she is still gaining so we don’t need to worry. The doctor said she is most likely just really active. You can say that again! I am constantly chasing her around this place. I shudder to think about what it will be like when she can actual walk!
The doctor and I talked quite a bit about her broken leg and he said it sounds like she is making an excellent recovery. He was pleased to hear (as I was also pleased to report) that Hadley just started talking a few steps again. He said while it’s great to encourage her and help her to walk, not to push her. She will do it when she is good and ready.
As part of his exam, the doctor asked if she knew any body parts. I said I hadn’t really been working on them with her so I didn’t think so. When he asked her about certain body parts her eyes quickly darted to them and when he mentioned “tongue” she stuck hers out for everyone to see. So despite me not teaching her the body parts, she is certainly learning them on her own! That’s one observant little girl I have. He remarked that while she isn’t saying the words yet (as she shouldn’t be), she is definitely comprehending them!
Then the nurse came back in to give Hadley her one and only shot. Hadley looked skeptical as we put her back down on the table and kind of glared at the nurse when she grabbed the needle. But the shot was over before we knew it and Hadley didn’t even fuss. She even gave the nurse a hug afterwards. I’m sure just to prove there weren’t any hard feelings. We go back in three months for her 18 month appointment. Man, how time flies!
Dear Hadley,
Today you are fifteen months old. And yesterday you took several steps! These were not your “first steps” (you took two steps back in December…then broke your leg the next day) but they were the first steps since you got that darn cast off! It was very exciting. Daddy was encouraging you to walk and when, much to his surprise, you actually took two steps he squealed like a little girl, scared you, and caused you to promptly sit down. We quickly did the same thing again and you took THREE MORE steps. But after that you were DONE and simply refused to play that game anymore. But you took steps. And we will totally take it.
The other big changes this month are in your ability to communicate. You are surprising us every day with new words or hand gestures to tell us what you want or need. You are very accomplished at pointing to things. You do this to show me things you want to eat or play with but also simply to draw my attention to something you find interesting, like, “Hey Mama! Do you see that dog?!” I love that you are able to show me things that are important to you and am always entertained by the things that fascinate you.
While knowing what you want is helpful, it is equally important to know what you DO NOT want. You have finally figured out how to shake your head “no.” Want another bite? Shake your head “no.”‘ You point to something in the kitchen. Do you want this? “No.” How about this? “Nope.” This? “NO.” THIS?! And then you squeal with delight. BINGO. It can be frustrating, and often time consuming, but it works.
Aside from non-verbal communication you are growing your actual vocabulary as well. You can say Mama (which, thanks to you having a five year old sister, more often than not is simply “Mom”) Dada, Ana (of course!!), Nana, wawa (water), bye-bye, go, up, baby, and you point to yourself and say “me me” which delights you to no end.
A couple weeks ago we had another first occur around here. Not just a first for you, but a first for our whole household. You fell asleep while eating in your high chair! I have never had a child fall asleep while eating before! Ana passed out once while playing on the floor but never while sitting up, with food still dangling from your fingers. In your defense you were a little sick and hadn’t slept well during your nap. Ana was reading a book to us during snack time and while I was helping her sound out the words (and not just guess based on the pictures) you just closed your eyes and went to sleep! I made sure to take pictures from time to time to document this momentous (and hilarious) occasion.
You are totally fascinated by shoes. Or slippers. Or boots. Any type of footwear, really. You love to put them on your feet, on your hands, or even hide things inside them. Once I even found one of your shoes INSIDE one of my shoes. I thought that was pretty sneaky.
You are also obsessed with the little pink “car” your Grandpa Larry gave you for Christmas. In fact, I was a little worried that it was going to keep you from walking because you simply ride anywhere you want to go. You roll from one point to the next, turning and maneuvering with the greatest of ease. You have even tried carrying things around while sitting down, but this proved a bit tricky.
When you realized the seat lifted up, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for you. Once day I caught you stashing your blankie in the trunk. You figured out you could ride around AND still have your blankie safely by your side. Clever, Hadley. Very clever.
Last weekend while Nana was staying with us, we decided to set up a little camp out in the living room. While you didn’t get to sleep in the tent (this time) you certainly had a great time playing in it. We left it set up for a couple days and you and Ana were constantly playing in the tent. The squeals of delight and constantly giggles coming from your little pink canopy let us know you were in pure heaven!
Hadley, it has once again been a wonderful month with you. You are such an amazing addition to my life. You give the very best cuddles and when you wrap your hand around my finger all the troubles in the world simply melt away. I love watching your eyes light up when we snuggle up in the La-Z-Boy to read yet another Blue’s Clues book (you are partial to the lift-the-flap ones). I can’t wait to share all my favorite books with you. Then one of these days you will understand why we have those round Harry Potter glasses you love to wear so much. Until then, I am happy to enjoy all the things that bring joy to you like you bring to me.
All my love,
Mama
On Friday I took Hadley back to Emmanuel Children’s Hospital for her follow up appointment at The Bone & Joint Clinic. Having never broken a bone myself, I had no idea what to expect. But I was hoping they would be removing her cast. We arrived a little early (what can I say? I was anxious!) and so Hadley got to play around for a bit in the waiting room.
When it was finally our turn a nurse called us back and explained to me that they would cut off her cast, take some X-rays to check on her healing process, and then we would go from there. We entered the casting room and the tech explained the saw to me. Knowing he does this for a living, I figured he knew what he was doing and so I wasn’t worried a bit. I took from his soothing over-explanations that most mothers do not approach cast removal with my same level of calm. He showed me where to hold her to keep her still but as soon as the saw turned on, Hadley’s entire body tensed. When the saw touched the cast Hadley screamed. I could see that he was only cutting through the tough exterior of the cast and knew she was scared and not in pain. The tech made several quick cuts and it was over. He pried the cast off of her leg and slid off the “sock” that was under the cast against her skin. Seeing she was no longer in harms way, Hadley instantly stopped crying. We then went to a different waiting room to wait for X-rays. While we were waiting, Hadley could not stop pinching her newly exposed leg.
I, on the other hand, was marveling at her little dirty foot. Considering her lack of baths for the past three and a half weeks, coupled with the fact that she was dragging that cast all along the ground, I was expecting them to be WAY dirtier. What I wasn’t expecting was the SCALES that had replaced her once baby soft skin! Her foot and leg were so dry it was shocking. (The doctor later told me a little lotion would get her back to normal in no time.)
Within a few minutes we were ready for X-Rays. As soon as I was positioned to hold Hadley still again she started crying. I can only assume the memory of the saw was all too fresh in her mind and she couldn’t imagine what they were going to do next! So we quickly took the necessary X-Rays and went into an exam room to meet with a doctor to discuss them.
The doctor came into the exam room and pulled up the X-Ray. She said her bones looked great. Everything was healing properly and Hadley would make a full recovery. She explained that it wasn’t totally healed, so we would need to take it easy for a couple weeks. In the mean time, Hadley might regress a little bit in her mobility while she re-learned to use her leg. The experts from Hale Law said that children who have had similar injuries that were able to vocalize their experience said their healing leg “felt weird” at first. In case you are injured, contact experienced lawyers for slip and fall charges to help you out. So we were to expect her to be a little clingy and not want to use her leg for awhile. All totally understandable. Otherwise Hadley was free to go and unless we had any problems, we didn’t need to follow up any further.
Once we got home Hadley wanted to GO. So we set her down but instead of standing she instantly crumpled to the floor. She didn’t want anything to do with putting weight on her leg, so standing and cruising were out. She would drop to the ground and crawl, still tossing her right leg far out to the side simply out of habit. This lasted for a few hours but by late afternoon she started trying to use her leg more and more. (In the picture below she is more displeased with the fact that I wouldn’t let her have my phone than she is with having to stand on her leg.)
That evening we were all so excited for Hadley to finally be able to take a bath! Sim lowered her into the water and she giggled with glee! We let her soak for quite awhile and when it was time to take her out, Hadley actually threw a fit. Apparently we weren’t the only ones missing her evening baths!
Hadley has now had her cast off for four full days and I am happy to report that she is back to her old self. She is crawling, cruising, and standing just like she was before the injury. She isn’t walking by any means, but after what she’s been through, I’ll cut her a little slack.
Dear Hadley,
Today you are fourteen months old. And what a lovebug you are becoming! You have recently started giving us kisses, huge open-mouthed, drooly kisses, that you once reserved only for “the baby in the mirror.” You light up with glee when you see our reactions to the kisses and you quickly turn from Daddy to me to Ana giving us all kisses over and over. It makes me so happy to see you so willing to share all the love you have.
The big news this month is that you broke your leg. I wasn’t even really aware that babies could break their bones. I was under the impression that you were practically pretzels, able to be twisted and bent any which way. But nooooo. Apparently if you fall at JUST THE RIGHT ANGLE you can easily break BOTH the bones in your leg. Which is just what you did. So we have spent most of the last month with your lovely cast. While it seems like it would be quite cumbersome for you, you have managed quite well with your new appendage. It hasn’t slowed you down a bit! Sure, there was the little mishap with the first (pink) cast which you crawled out of in under four hours. But now that you have the pretty purple one, things have been just fine.
Knowing the cast was not going to be very fun, we did the best to make an unfortunately situation more pleasant. I picked up an assortment of Sharpies and we let your family and friends all sign their names on your cast. You thought this was very fun and even tried to get in on the action a few times when I handed you a (capped) Sharpie of your own! And knowing your toes were going to be exposed most of the time, I painted your toe nails purple to match the cast. We even painted Ana’s toe nails purple too! Solidarity sister!
With Christmas only days after you broke your leg, there were a a few presents we bought for you ages ago that were simply not going to be fun while your leg was broken. We bought you a cute rocking chair…that you were unable to climb on or off of with the cast on. Your sister picked out a fun jogging stroller for your baby dolls…that you couldn’t push with your broken leg. But thankfully your gift from Santa, a Little Tikes 3-in-1 trike, was something that you could enjoy with or without your cast! As soon as we put you on that seat you were beaming from ear to ear. Once you realized it could MOVE, it was all you could do to contain your shrieks and giggles. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
But the gifts from me and your Dad weren’t all bad. Also, if you want the best gifting idea, you need to check out custom gaming mouse pads, which is unique. We got you a new Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, for those of you not up on Disney princesses) toddler doll. They recently came out with the “animator’s collection” line and they were too adorable to pass up. I picked out one for you and one for Ana. Trying to select dolls that look like you girls, I picked Belle, with her honey eyes and wavy brown hair for Ana, and Aurora, with her huge blue eyes and golden blond hair for you. Once you ripped the wrapping paper off the box, your eyes were glued to her. Then when we handed her to you you couldn’t stop hugging and kissing her. I had never seen you react that way to a doll and it was simply heartwarming.
Once Christmas was over, the decorations were packed up, and the last of the pine needles from the tree were vacuumed away, our house was able to return to normal. This meant that our little Ikea table could come out of Ana’s room and back into the living area. You girls have gotten more enjoyment from playing together at that table than I ever imagined. You have had numerous tea parties (some of varying themes, like the infamous “ballerina tea”), played restaurant, animal hospital, and of course, dolls. I love how one little thing can fuel your imagination in so many creative directions.
It’s a lot of fun watching you and your sister together. Ana is a great sister because she truly wants to be with you and keep you happy. And you simply idolize her and want to do whatever it is she is doing. I just love that, despite the difference in age, you and Ana are always able to find things to do together.
We do a lot of craft projects around here. Coloring, stickers, paints. You name it. But mostly it’s Ana and I working on the craft while you sit on the sidelines (generally in your high chair, entertained with a snack). But the other day we finally decided to let you try your hand at some art. I plopped you in your highchair, tossed a couple crayons and a giant coloring page on the tray, and let you go to town. You of course instantly stuck the crayons in your mouth.
You were not happy that I would not let you eat them. But eventually you did try coloring a bit. We got a few scribbles out of you before you figured out you could drop them off the side of the highchair like little Crayola torpedoes. Yeah, so we may try art again in a few months…
Well, Hadley, it has been another amazing month. We certainly had our ups and downs, but you have proven once again that you are an amazing child. Between the cast, a round of random throwing up, and being unable to give you anything more than a sponge bath to clean you for over three weeks, I would think you would have pretty solid grounds for being a little grumpy this month, but you were anything but. You are always happy, smiling, and eager for the next adventure, waving “bye-bye” and pointing at the door as if to say, “Come on, Mama! Let’s go!” Well I just want you to know that I will happily follow you anywhere and I eagerly await our next adventure together.
All my love,
Mama
Hadley woke up Tuesday morning and you would never know she was injured. She is one tough cookie. With the help of Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, all of her treatments were done on time and now she is fine and fit too. Literally the only time she ever fussed or cried was when she would try to stand on her broken leg. Here you can see her standing, but not putting any weight on her leg. She would allow her foot to hover above the ground, but never set down more than a couple toes for balance.
Eventually it was time for our appointment, so Hadley and I headed to Legacy Emmanuel Children’s Hospital to meet with the pediatric orthopedist. Hadley was thoroughly enjoying exploring the office and was especially fond of making quick attempts to escape.
Once we got into the office, I finally got to see Hadley’s X-rays. Doesn’t she have the cutest little bones?
Here you can see the front view of her leg:
And a close up of the break:
The break on the tibia (the larger bone) was obvious to me, but they assured me that her fibula (the skinny bone) was also fractured. I guess I needed to go to school for a few more years to see that one. But I trusted the doctors.
The side views weren’t as easy for me to spot the break, but I will include them as well for those of you with medical interest. Plus she has cute, chubby legs.
Then I talked with the doctor and he assured me the breaks were very minor. I asked about the growth plate and he said it was very unlikely that an injury of this nature would cause any lasting damage. She was very lucky and the recovery time should be very quick. We would need to put her in a cast covering her entire leg since sometimes babies can slip out (HA!) of the shorter casts, but she would only need to keep it on for 3.5 weeks. And with that, they started the casting process:
Hadley was an angel the entire time. She didn’t fuss or whine but simply stayed still and watched everything the techs did. (Seriously, can this girl be any more amazing?!) As I was setting up her follow-up appointment for the cast removal, I set Hadley down to see how she could get around with the cast on. She took off just like normal, with the cast dragging behind her like a zombie with a useless extremity.
Once she got to the wall she even pulled herself up and gave standing a try! She was wobbly and a little awkward, but she wasn’t in pain!
By the time we got out to the car, Hadley was loving her new cast! She was smacking it, scratching her nails on it to feel the bumpy texture and listen to the sounds it made, and even having fun trying to grab her toes.
On the way home I needed to make a couple stops for supplies. I wanted to pick up an assortment of Sharpies for cast signing and, knowing her leggings and skinny jeans were not going to fit over the cast, we needed to stock up on stretchy boot-leg pants. Hello, Old Navy! I also scored some awesome cozy socks that fit over the cast to keep Hadley’s tootsies warm when we had to go outside.
When I picked Ana up from our friend’s house, all the kiddos were VERY excited to get to sign Hadley’s cast. I had to make sure everyone understood that the Sharpies were only to be used on the cast and this was the only time it would ever be ok for Ana to draw on her sister.
Not wanting to be left out, Hadley too wanted to draw on her cast. So I handed her the Sharpie (conveniently leaving the cap ON) and let her go to town. She was thrilled.
Hearing that his granddaughter was broken, my dad stopped by to visit. He came bearing a baby doll with a little medical kit for Hadley to take care of her own sick baby. As we were chatting and marveling at how well Hadley was getting around with the cast, I happened to look down and her leg looked a little funny. Thinking it was just the cast and the angle it was positioned as Hadley sat on the floor in front of the fridge, I said, “Wow. That cast makes her leg look really long.” Then my dad said, “Actually, Care, I think something is wrong. Her leg is on backwards!” Then we picked Hadley up and sure enough, her cast was coming off! She was crawling right out of it. So I promptly, with more panic than I care to admit, called the hospital. They said I would have to wait until Thursday because they only have surgeries on Wednesday. I said there was no way I was going to be able to keep a 13 month old off this broken leg without a cast so they put me on hold to see what they could do. When the receptionist got back on the phone she said if I could get there by 5pm, they could get the cast on. It was already 4:30pm and the hospital was all the way across town. It takes me about a half hour in the best of conditions and since we were reaching the height of rush hour I was less than optimistic but I assured her I would do my best! I was not about to give up without a fight. So I threw the girls in the car, and waved good-bye to my dad as we peeled out of the driveway and set off for the hospital. Again.
I am a firm believer that the employees at Emmanuel must be saints because they were amazing. When it got to be 5pm they called my cell to see if I was going to make it. My heart sank as I was sitting on I-405 on the top of the Fremont bridge stuck in traffic. The lady said it was fine and they would wait for me to get there. At 5:10pm I pulled into the hospital parking structure, grabbed the girls and literally ran all the way to their office. They locked the door behind me, took Hadley straight back to the casting room, and I took a couple minutes for my heart to start beating again.
Ten minutes later Hadley was sporting a lovely purple cast. Ana was sure the purple one would stay on better. In further attempts to keep this cast ON Miss Hadley, the techs used “baby glue,” less padding, made it go up as high as possible on her thigh, and made sharper bends at the knee and ankle to make it harder for her leg to slip out.
As of today, Hadley’s cast is still on and she has been in wonderful spirits. She hasn’t fussed or whined all day and is doing fabulously with her new appendage. She even managed to successfully crawl up and down the stairs. This entire experience has really proved to me what an incredibly mild-mannered, mellow baby I have. She has been amazing and I can only wish to have a fraction of the patience she possesses. My kids is clearly a rockstar.
