Allen's Blessing...Yeah I know that was a couple months ago.

So I realized I never wrote about Allen's Blessing. It was on May 8, 2011 which happened to be Mother's Day. It meant a lot to me to have Larry bless him and officially give him the name Larry "Allen" Balsmeier III. I'm sure his grandpa (Larry Allen I) was one of the angels standing close by. Allen was given a really nice blessing. Among other great blessings, he was blessed to someday serve a mission and marry in the temple. I'm so proud of Allen already. He is such an amazing little boy and I'm just so grateful to be his mom!  Here are some photos of that day. He was cute little stud in his blessing outfit. Instead of going with the traditional white, I found him a vested suit. Sooo handsome!

Okay, so this was actually taken another day. He was sooo tired after his photo shoot with Emily.

Cast signing isn't the typical activity on blessing day...but it was a good opportunity since our family was there. He got the casts off the next day. They were his sixth and final casts! (Loretta took the pics from here down)

My little man

How cute is he?!

One of my notes to him. "I love you little foot."

Daddy writing on Allen's casts. Poor baby was wondering why we took his pants away and wrote all over his legs!

All in all, it was a great day and a very special first Mother's Day! I couldn't be happier to be my sweet little boy's mommy.

Adventures with Club Feet

It was late September 2010 when my long awaited ultrasound arrived. I was 18 weeks pregnant at the time.We found out we were having a little boy and we were so happy! But then the ultrasound tech mentioned that he appeared to have a club foot. Hmm...a club foot. It sounded familiar but I wasn't sure what it meant. The doctor was called in and confirmed that he had not one, but two club feet. I must say, they looked pretty darn cute. However, it was pretty overwhelming for both of us to learn about everything club feet entailed. In no time, Ponseti, castings, AFO's, tenotomy, Shriners Hospital, and bilateral club feet were just part of our vocabulary.

Left club foot on ultrasound at 18 weeks.

One of Allen's club feet on ultrasound at 30 weeks

When I was pregnant with Allen I nicknamed him "little foot" because he was always sliding one of his little club feet along my side...even to the point of bruising me! Anyway, I was glad that I knew about Allen's club feet from the start. It was really helpful to be prepared and know about the typical treatment plan. When Allen was born I noticed his adorable little feet right away. They were so cute!

I thought Allen wouldn't be able to wear cute little footed PJ's with club feet. But he totally could before and after the casts! Before the casts they just turned in all cute...hence the club feet.

Check out his monkey feet...

While Allen was in the NICU we applied to get into Shriners Hospital and were quickly accepted. We scheduled his first appointment when we weren't even sure if he'd be home from the hospital yet, which ended up being just a few days after we finally took him home. Shriners Hospital's club foot clinic became a part of our lives in no time. It doesn't seem like a doctor's office or anything. It's more of a fun little place. The doctors there are great. Allen got his first set of casts just one day shy of his two week birthday. His regular doctor at club foot clinic, Dr. Woiczic,  evaluated his feet and went right ahead with casting. He also saw other doctors there like Dr. Santora. He was really entertaining and would tell jokes and sing cowboy songs while doing the casts.

The casting method used is called the Ponseti method. It's named after Dr. Ponseti who developed the non surgical method of club foot correction. It involves a plaster cast that goes from the tip of the toes all the way up the leg to the top of the thigh. They simply position the foot where they want it and hold it with the casts. The serial casting was done weekly to evaluate the feet and reposition the feet how they needed to be. They over correct the feet a bit because club feet want to be club feet and will try to turn in again. The Ponseti method has great results and one of the best things is that it doesn't cause long term effects like surgery would; like stiffness or scar tissue in the feet. The tenotomy surgery that's usually involved is just a minor surgery that is done before the last set of casts. It allows more flexibility in the otherwise tight achilles tendon. Okay, explanation of club feet treatment over ;)

The first couple days of the first couple sets of casts were rough. Allen was pretty fussy and wouldn't eat much. But with time, Allen got used to them and tolerated them well. He even learned to have fun with them by banging them together and lifting them as high as he could. The casts weigh more than a pound so he got some strong legs!  At first, Allen's casts made it a little awkward to do things like hold him or change his diaper, but I got used to it in like a day.

Allen always tolerated getting the casts on really well. The doctors and nurses often commented on what a good boy he is. He'd just chill while getting a bottle or sucking on his binky. He'd get a little nervous when they used the loud electric saw to cut the casts off on cast change day. But he even handled that well!

Just another set of casts...

Every Monday, we went to Shriners for cast change. The routine involved getting the casts sawed off, clinical pictures to record his progress, giving him a real bath in the sink, slathering him up in lotion (those casts can cause some serious skin irritation and dryness) and recasting. He always had that new cast plaster smell about him on Mondays ;) His feet changed very rapidly. I was surprised how fast they were corrected!

Allen's feet after one of his first sets of cats. Amazing!

The repositioning of his foot caused this crease in his foot. Luckily the doctors said it probably didn't hurt.

 The casts just became a part of our lives...

They turned the feet outwards to over correct them. Looks pretty uncomfortable to me!

Allen on casting #4

It's not easy having to be extra careful about keeping those casts clean. One day he had a huge diaper blow out (actually this happened twice). It was really nasty and got all down in the casts and all over them. I'm amazed I was able to get him cleaned up as well as I did. Let's just say baby legs became our best friends. They were more than a fashion statement, they were little cast heroes!

In addition to having to keep the casts clean, I had to be extra careful about keeping Allen super clean. Mustela Stelatopia No Rinse Cleanser was another one of my best friends! Although Allen got a weekly bath on cast change day, he also got sponge baths at home.

At the fifth casting he had x-rays to determine if he would need a tenotomy, the procedure where they cut the Achilles tendon to lengthen it so it's not so tight. The x-rays confirmed that he would need the procedure. When Allen was 7 weeks old he had his surgery done. He was completely awake for it as it only required local anesthesia. Being the good little boy he is, he didn't cry at all. The procedure itself only took a couple minutes. The rest of the time was just for putting on his LAST set of casts! So Allen got a total of 6 casts. The final casts stayed on for 3 1/2 weeks to allow the surgical site to heal and hold the feet in position.

 Waiting to go back to surgery...

He passed the time by riding around in a fire truck...

When I got him home I found that my baby still had a label on his back...gotta love my baby with a bar code!

The final set of casts seemed to last awhile. I was so excited to have him be done with them! I'm sure he was excited too. I mean he's the one who really had to deal with them! On his blessing day we had everyone sign his casts...

It says "I love you Little Foot! Love always, Mommy" Remember, that's the nickname I gave him while he was in utero ;)

I really enjoyed getting to know other parents with club foot babies. Club foot clinic was a bustling place. I'm surprised how common it is. It's actually one of the most common birth defects. Almost all of the babies/kids in club foot clinic were boys...it definitely seems to be true that club feet are twice as common in boys than girls. Anyway, we were able to share our experiences and such, which was nice. The day Allen got his casts off we met like three more babies getting their first sets of casts on. The parents were asking us for advise and what our experience was. Having been through the adventures of club feet it was great to be able to tell them that, although it's a bit of a nuisance, it's really not all that bad. In fact it's much easier than I anticipated.

Oh and just a couple funny things as a side note about our experiences...Let's just say little babies can have some seriously stinky feet when they've had casts on! Also, we know by personal experience that people do in fact stare and look at you like horrible parents. Yes, we were asked more than once why his legs were broken. We got used to the simply saying, "he was born with club feet."

When Allen was 11 weeks old the day finally arrived. He was done with the casts! It was so awesome not having to do the recasting part of our little ritual. And his feet looked GREAT!

So excited to see what's under that fluff!

Tada! (The ouchie looking area is where he had his surgery)

So happy to be free!

Getting his final clinical photos done

It's amazing what they can do. I'm REALLY grateful for modern medicine and great doctors. They really made it a decent experience for us. And I'm so grateful that my sweet little boy will be able to walk and run like anyone else. I've contemplated how, if it wasn't for this treatment, he would be crippled. It's so sad to think about.  What a blessing that modern treatment is available to us. Oh and I'm also so grateful for Shriners Hospital. They doctors and nurses are great and treatment there is 100% free. Amazing :)

Well, the next step after the casting experience is the AFO's, which are made up of a Ponseti bar and Mitchell Shoes that hold the corrected feet in place. So after getting a nice, long awaited bath in the sink, we headed on over the orthodics to get fitted for his brace. They looked pretty cool, kinda like a snowboard, and Allen didn't seem to mind them at all. They also felt MUCH lighter than those heavy casts. I had read a lot, like on my club foot support group, that the bar was a real hassle. But we have found that it's really not. We like them a lot better than the casts. (Oh and the casts weren't as bad as I thought they'd be either) Anyway, Allen loves being able to bend his knees with his AFO's on. He wiggles around like crazy, slides his feet up and down, and slams them on the ground. Funny boy!

These are pretty cool mom!

Snowboard Dude

I have loved having the AFO's because I can FINALLY see my little boy's feet again! Who knew feet good be so lovable? We're allowed to have the shoes/bar off for one hour a day. That's our happy time! Allen doesn't complain about the shoes/bar but he LOVES having them off. It makes me emotional just seeing him kick his feet and smile. I also love being able to hold him without any extra equipment! From the day he was born until he was 6 weeks old he had wires, monitors, oxygen tubes, etc. And from the time he was 2-11 weeks old he had the casts. And now, 23 hours a day, he has the bar/shoes.

During the hour of free feet time I massage them and let him kick around. And I get a precious hour of holding my baby and JUST my baby. I love it so much! I hope no one takes such seemingly normal or little things for granted. I also got emotional when I got to give Allen his first real bath in the tub at home during his one hour of free time. You know, like filled up with water that he could splash in. And that's exactly what he did. He smiled and excitedly kicked his feet. I think I cried happy tears!

Yay for bathtime!

Well, the plan now is that Allen wears his AFO's 23 hours a day for three months straight. After that he'll wear them for just naps and nights which ends up being 12-16 hours a day until he's about four years old. We have to strictly follow the guidelines or he could relapse...and we don't want that. It's been quite an adventure. Our sweet little boy has been such an example to us. He's handled it all so well with a smile on his face. His patience and positive attitude through everything he's been through, club feet and beyond (he was sick the first 6 weeks of his life) has been inspiring! My little boy is truly an example to me. I love my baby boy!

Being silly during "bar free" time

Tummy time is much more comfortable now!

And here they are now...Allen's club feet are no longer club feet! Though I must say, I actually miss those little crooked, turned in feet. But I'm glad they're all better now so he'll be able to walk, run, and play like every little boy should!

Allen's beautiful, perfect little feet

Life with Allen at Home

Allen has been home for six weeks now. We brought him home Thursday, March 3rd. He was 9 days old and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz at discharge. Kodi was so excited to meet Allen when he came home.  He gave him tiny kisses in his car seat and was speedily tiptoeing around trying to be gentle. It's crazy that it seems like such a long time ago that we brought him home, and yet it also seems crazy to me that he's already almost two months old (8 weeks tomorrow). It just seems unreal that time is flying and he's growing up so fast!
The day he came home, my sister Emily took some more photos of him. They turned out really cute of course.

I just loved having him home in his nursery. When I was pregnant with him, I sat in the rocker and anticipated having my little boy in the cute room we prepared for him. Now he was there! I didn't imagine the monitor with alarms, oxygen tanks, etc. in there, but hey, he was home! We got settled into having him home. It was so nice. And actually, if I remember right, kind of weird having the freedom to do whatever we wanted and take care of him as we wanted to.

So cute :)

Baby Bear

One and a half weeks old

He was so little

That weekend we gave Allen his first bath at home. We put him on his turtle sponge in the tub...he really liked it! That's the one and only time I've given him a "real" bath at home.

Excuse me mommy...I'm taking a bath here.

Then Monday, when Allen was two weeks old, he had his first appointment at Shriners Hospital. When we got there, Dr. Woiczic came in and looked at his feet. She said the left was considered severe club foot and the right was moderate club foot. She explained everything and made it all sound really easy. And then she put casts on him. Simple as that! Allen didn't cry and took it like a champ. It was awkward having him in the casts at first but we all got used to it pretty fast. For the first couple days Allen cried a lot and was pretty fussy. With time, he adjusted pretty well though.

Allen in his first set of casts at 2 weeks old

That Tuesday, Allen went to the Pediatrician for the first time. His regular pediatrician was out of town for three weeks so we saw a couple of the other doctors during that time. The first one we saw told us to go ahead and take Allen off oxygen and see how he does. Totally didn't do well without it! So I tried to wean him off. Still didn't work. He saw another doctor there. She said to just leave him on it as needed.

That Friday, Larry had major surgery at St. Marks. Great timing huh?! It had to be done though and I was aware that he'd have the surgery around that time. We put in an address change since we lived there. Just kidding ;) Allen had only been out of there for a week.  Anyway, Larry's ileostomy (surgery back in Nov) was giving him a lot of trouble and it got to the point that he was miserable, it was like infected and stuff. So he had his ileostomy reversed. They also had to take out more intestines. Poor guy. It was a rough surgery but it went well; and he got like 30 staples! So Allen and I trekked back and forth to visit him while he was in the hospital.

Snuggling with Daddy at the hospital

Ouch

During the time Larry was in the hospital, family members started coming by more to visit and bring meals. We really appreciated it!

Allen with Mamie (my mom)

Once Larry was home, we were finally all together again. Between February 21st and mid March, all three of us had been patients at St. Marks! Anyway, once Larry was home, we got back to regular life outside the hospital again.

Allen and his bear friends

Allen got his second set of casts the following Monday (so when he was three weeks old), this time with Dr. Santora. Sometime after that Allen went back to the pediatrician. Turns out, he was losing weight. It was hard to gauge his weight because of the casts though. And Shriner's scale broke for the first time in 10 years when I tried to weigh Allen after bath in between the old and new cast. Just my luck! They fixed it for the following week, but anyway...Allen was losing weight so I had to start supplementing a few bottles a day. The boy loves his formula. He started gaining again.

He had to go to the pediatrician one or two times a week in addition to his weekly appointment at club foot clinic. He's very used to doctor's offices that's for sure! He's such a flirt with the nurses; always smiling and cooing for them and never complaining. Everyone loves him!

Such a good boy for casting! - 3 weeks old here

When Allen was four weeks old, we met his actual pediatrician, Dr. Broadbent for the first time. I liked that he's laid back and agreed to circumcise Allen without hesitation. Finally. I mean the kid was a month old. The other doctors wouldn't do it at the earlier appointments because he was too old, on oxygen, had been losing weight, and had casts. Turns out, Allen was the first baby in their practice to be circumcised with bilateral casts. I know...isn't he special?! ;) So the procedure was a little trickier, but it went well. Poor kid is going to be mad at me later for telling these stories.

Anyway, Allen was so preoccupied with the nurse. She dipped his binky in cherry syrup and kept going like, "nummer nummer nummers" all excitedly. It was funny. He learned that when he spit out his binky he got more cherry syrup on it. He wasn't allowed to eat beforehand and so he hadn't eaten in like two hours. He didnt' even cry through the entire 25 minute procedure...no not once. Not even with the needles or anything. That's my tough guy!

He did, however, cry and throw a hissy fit when I got him dressed afterwards. He healed up really fast, like surprisingly fast in just a few days. He hasn't had to go to the pediatrician since. He needs his shots soon though.

Cracking that cute smile ;) 4 weeks old

That boy loves his Daddy!

At the end of March, when Allen was five weeks old, Larry's mom came out to visit. She hadn't met Allen yet. I know she enjoyed getting to know him! We went to her brother's cabin in Scofield for the weekend. It was really pretty but kinda threw me off because it was a winter wonderland! Allen had just started getting sick with a cough when we left. Because of that, and probably the elevation, we had to keep him on oxygen constantly again. (He had been weaned to just sleep time O2 use.)

Meeting Grandma Kathi

When we went home he was able to go back to sleep time use. His cough got really bad one day (to the point that the pediatrician’s office said to take him to Primary Children's. He had a major coughing episode where he coughed til he threw up a bunch. But it like, magically disappeared when we got ready to leave. He was suddenly all better.

That Monday, Larry went back to work. He'd been off for like 6 weeks because he had paternity leave when Allen was born and then disability for a few weeks after that for his surgery.

5 week old

On April 4^th, I had my 6 week postpartum appointment with Dr. Watts. I couldn’t believe that time had come already. He said I was doing great. I don’t have to go back there for a year. I was sad to say goodbye for a while! I love Dr. Watts and my pregnancy and becoming a mom has just been such a happy chapter in my life.

Allen at 6 weeks

On April 5th, Allen went to Primary Children's Riverton office. We had scheduled it when he was like two weeks old but that was the soonest they could see him. The doctor just took a look at him and talked about things to try and figure out why he still needs oxygen. He ordered a sleep study for him, which consisted of going all night off oxygen while on the monitor. He also had chest x-rays. If I understood correctly, the doctor said he looks almost all better, but did seem to indicate that he had a little fluid/pneumonia.

Sweet baby

I went back to work April 9th. I love being home with him but it is kind of nice to work one day a week. Larry stays home with Allen and they enjoy daddy-son bonding time. Larry takes such good care of him. I just love watching them together.

Spending time with Dad

On April 14th, when Allen was 7 weeks old, he had his minor surgery to lengthen the tendons on his feet. I'll write about that in my next post, all out about his cute little club feet!

Taking a nap while waiting to go back to surgery - 7 weeks old

And that brings us to today. It's crazy to think of how the NICU seemed to last forever. Now it seems like he's been home for a long time (yet time is passing so fast!) We're back to life as normal, except now we have his little treasure that brings so much joy and excitement. I've adjusted to being a mom and everything is going great. Allen has done well off oxygen 24/7 all week. I need to call the PCMC doctor to talk about his oxygen results still, but the monitor says he's doing well at least. Oh and he weighs 10 lbs 10 oz now!

I love being a mom, especially Allen's mom! He's such a sweet boy with so much personality. He smiles a lot and loves to be talked and sung to. I just adore that boy.

We love having Allen in our lives and it's been wonderful having him home. I love snuggling with him and taking care of him. It's fun dressing him all cute and doing his hair. I just love that boy! I could kiss his squishy cheeks all day.and I do.

Not too happy about Mommy's constant kisses

He's really such a good baby. The boy really likes to be awake and looking around. He's so smart and curious. He hardly sleeps at all during the day but I've been learning what works to get him to sleep so I can do stuff like chores around the house (like wearing him in the sleepy wrap. He goes right to sleep!)  Until recently, I'd be up in the middle of the night with him quite a bit; but I enjoy cuddling him and feeding him no matter what time of day it is.  He's sleeping more during the night now though. Last night he slept 6 hours straight!

Monkey!

Well, that's pretty much all I have to say for now...ha, I know it's quite a novel. But now I'm caught up, finally! So my posts won't be crazy long anymore. Well, my next post will be a review of his casting and club feet experiences but that shouldn't be too long. Then I'm just going to do regular cute posts about our baby boy and the happenings in our lives :)