Goodbye Cast, Hello Squishy Baby!!

It's official! We're CAST FREE!!!

After 12 long weeks, we're proud to announce that Violet is free of all contraptions tonight - no cast, no brace - nothin' but her regular-kid PJ's (shirt AND PANTS!!!) and a diaper. We can hardly believe it ourselves!

We went in to our doctor's office at noon today. I admit I was having a hard time - were they going to take it off? Or did we have 2 more weeks to go? The nurse didn't help my fears when she told us that cast removal was not on the paperwork. Luckily they decided to send her to x-ray, and it came out great! Jon went in with her, and the nurse told me before he got back that it was coming off. I was literally dancing around the room! :)

She did really good with the removal - luckily she likes the sound of a vacuume (we had been practicing!) - she only cried when we had to turn her on her sides to get the back pieces off. The cast came off in about 20 little pieces, so we didn't end up with it as a souvenier (it was rather stinky anyway!). When it was off and I got to pick her up - it was the best feeling ever!! And really weird! She lost 2.5 lbs of fiberglass, but she had GROWN so much since the last time we saw her without a cast on that it was hard to get used to. She doesn't look like a little baby anymore - she's a toddler!

We washed her up and the doctor came in to take a look. Her hips looked great (he commented that she'll be great at yoga later on!) and the biggest surprise - no brace! We were originally told she may have a brace for a few months, which was fine with us. But hearing that we got a totally apparatus-free baby out of the deal was just too much! Yay!!

As per usual, Miss Violet has taken everything in stride. She started kicking her legs by the time we got home and hasn't stopped since :)

Here is a video of her about an hour after we got home:


(p.s. it does sound like she answers "yes" at the end of this video. She does this pretty often but I'm still not 100% sure she knows what she is saying. If her first word ends up being "Yes" and not "Obi No!" like I had predicted, that would be pretty funny!)

I put her on her tummy right after this video. She was so funny! She is so used to having to push SO HARD to get going that she kept flipping herself over onto her back! It was pretty graceful and she didn't mind a bit. I think she's figured it out now - she hasn't done it since! She is still army-crawling around but she is starting to get up on her knees already. It won't be long until we're in BIG trouble! Mobile kid!

Here are some pictures of her this afternoon:

Oh yes. Pants. A novel idea.

What I call the "spica splits" - you would not BELIEVE the angles she can get her legs in!
Showing off her post-cast legs. Very white. Very flaky. And still in spica pose. We wouldn't trade them for the world!
And she had a BATH tonight! Geesh - a lot of gunk can accumulate on a baby when you don't bathe them for 3 months. I think we got about a pound of dirt, dry skin, and who-knows-what off of her!
So we're thrilled beyond belief. It's still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that she's OUT of the cast and DONE with it. I'm so incredibly proud of her for being such a trooper throughout this whole thing. I have no idea how people do this with kids who aren't as easygoing and laid back as Violet. She's my hero!

And just for good measure, here is the last spica cast picture you'll ever see me post! :) From yesterday:

Good-bye spica cast. We will not miss you at all. Thanks for our squishy kid back, Dr. Hotchkiss!

If you found this blog searching for info on Spica Casts,
please visit this wonderful and incredibly helpful forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/
Also, please take a look at my Spica Cast Survival Guide, which you can download here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/files/
It's the first thing on the list.
Sending lots of good hip healing vibes your way!!