First Leggy

This came in the mail as I was literally walking out the door to go to Atlanta for my doctor's appointment. I was soo excited. Even though we were already running late, I ripped open the box and shoved the entire contents into my overnight bag before leaving.

Here is Anna's first leggy!

I think it is so cute. The reason the foot is a different color is because they only make that size baby foot in one color. Obviously Anna's skin is much darker. We will have more feet to choose from when she grows a little.

Anna handled the new leg so well. She didn't mind it at all. She didn't cry. She just kind of looked at, pointed to it from time to time, and then tried to get around like usual. She has learned to be flexible and adjust well after her short leg, casts, bandages, etc. I am so incredibly proud of her! She likes to hug the leg and play with it, too. I have to keep her from chewing on it, though.

She definitely doesn't quite have the hang of using the leg yet. It's a little like watching a baby deer trying to stand up on their wobbly legs. She prefers to crawl because she can get around much quicker.

The difficult thing is that the leg keeps falling off. We tried using different combinations of prosthetic socks to make it a tighter fit, but then the leg doesn't slide far enough up her leg and it ends up being a good inch longer than her other leg. So getting the leg to stay on is a real challenge. Right now we are having trouble using it at all (once we realized the leg was too long with the double socks we didn't want her to develop bad gait habits so we are kind of at a stand still with it). The CP is sending us a sleeve that might help it stay on better. She said it's more work to keep clean since it's made of a gel that sticks to the skin and adds another layer to her already 3 layers of 'stuff', but I'm really hoping it helps the leg stay on. I think if we could just get it to stay on better, she would learn to use it quickly.

I would like to give a shout out to... me! Because I survived an entire month of being a single parent. Yes, a whole month. Ben spent the last month in south Georgia on a rural medicine rotation. I didn't mention it to many people for obvious safety reasons. It was a rough month. Combine first trimester pregnancy exhaustion and nausea with actually getting sick, then Anna getting sick, allergies, a trip to Shriners and an overnight trip to Atlanta and you have a very, very helpless, exhausted parent. I was literally at the end of my rope the last week. Thankfully, Ben is back and after 24 hours of help (like that crucial hour where he plays with Anna when he gets home plus a little help with the dishes) and I already feel 75% better. I have a lot of respect for single moms.

In other (bad) news, Anna appears to be developing more allergies. We now have to cross off more foods on the list thanks to some recent reactions: strawberries and BEANS and other legumes (the allergist said some kids who are allergic to peanuts also have problems with the entire legume family). None of those gave her a problem before, but they do now. I am really upset about it because we eat a lot of beans. We don't eat that much meat, and beans are our inexpensive protein that we use all the time. I don't know what I'm going to do now- cook meat every night? Buy expensive seafood for a protein? UGH!!!!!!! NOT HAPPY! That brings her list of no-nos to include: milk/dairy, eggs, peanuts, nuts, strawberries, peas, beans, lentils and according to the allergist, possibly citrus and tomatoes because they have the same bothersome chemical that the strawberries have. At this rate, we will be eating rice and meat for the rest of our lives. Before Debbie Downer signs off, I will end on a positive note.

Ben had an interview this week and he has another next week. He has an edge in both places because they need someone who is fluent in Spanish. We are hopeful that he will find the right job and we will know where we will be moving soon! It's a little tricky with timing, because most places who are actively looking for a PA want someone who can work soon, and Ben can't work until August or September when he completes his boards so he has to find someone who is willing to wait for him. But we are hopeful. We are really limiting our options only considering places that are part of the rural health federal program, but we feel it will be worth it in the long run.