Carissa's Hip Update

I thought I would update everyone on how Carissa is doing with her hip dysplasia. Today we went to see her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Siegel. Just writing the word "surgeon" freaks me out, and yes, surgery is always a possibility for her. Let me recap what has happened with her hips recently. At almost three months old we were told that Carissa could stop wearing her harness altogether, her hips looked good. At six months old we were told that her right hip ball hadn't formed from cartilage to bone, and therefore her hip angle wasn't coming along as it should; she would have to wear a brace again only at night. I also had her wear it during naps, too, since she slept so well with it on. Today Dr. Siegel said her x-ray showed both hip balls had formed bone, and her right hip angle had come from 29 to 24. The goal is to get it to below 20 by age two. Her left hip is already at 20. In Dr. Siegel's words, her hips look, "gorgeous." I am particularly worried about Carissa's gross motor skill development. She seems to have no interest in moving around. She won't scoot, crawl, creep, pull up, or stand with my support. She sits. Dr. Siegel said not to worry, at all. In fact some babies don't walk until 18 months! She reassured me not to worry unless she's still not pulling up at 12 or 13 months. "Listen to how vocal she is, though," Dr. Siegel said. It's true. My little girl is a talker. She babbles and coos constantly. At birth she could say, "agoo," and it's just built from there. Today I asked her for an orange she was playing with with my hand stretched out and she gave it to me. I think she's doing really well where language is concerned. And she may be a gymnast! Because of her hip dysplasia, she is incredibly flexible. When I lay her on her tummy sometimes her legs go straight out to the sides in the splits. Dr. Siegel also said this was totally normal for babies with hip dysplasia, nothing to worry about and she would probably be flexible for the rest of her life. Lucky her. Thank God for orthopedic surgeons and for hip checks at birth. I asked what the consequences of hip dysplasia were. She said that if hips weren't formed perfectly then there could be degenitive arthritis and hip replacement surgery at 30 years old. Wow, that's scary. She also pointed out that even though her hips look good now, there is no guarantee that her hip checks later on will turn out great. So keep praying!