Big Boy Means Big Changes

March 1st, 2012 was a day that we have been thinking about since Liam was 6 days old and counting down to since his last visit to the Orthopedist, in September.  March 1st, 2012 was the day that we could finally say that Liam was finished with treatment for his club foot, finished treatment that started when he was only 6 days old.

In the three years that he has been wearing his Denis Brown Boots and Bar, we have gone through three pairs of shoes, from the little tiny ones that wouldn't stay on his feet because they were too big to the biggest ones, that we soon going to be too small.

We were all thrilled to be able to put the "sleepy shoes" away forever!

The end of the sleepy shoes for Liam meant that it was time for another change.  Even though he was already 3 years old, Liam was still sleeping in his crib as we didn't want him trying to walk in his boots and bar.  However, the last few months, he's been asking for a big boy bed and it would break my heart every time.

Last night sleeping in his crib!

Last night sleeping in his crib!

The first Friday after we were done with the sleepy shoes, we set to converting the crib to a toddler bed.

Liam was excited, not only to be getting his big boy bed, but also to help Daddy!

What is this piece for?

I wasn't sure how the transition to a bed would go.  I have heard lots of horror stories of kids who wouldn't stay in their beds, wouldn't sleep in their beds, parents who would sit outside the bedroom door for hours to keep the child in the bedroom, I could go on and on.  

But, really, Liam has been amazing!  He stays in bed, even when he is upset and doesn't want to go to sleep, he doesn't get out of bed.  He stays in bed in the morning until I go in to get him up.  Even after his afternoon naps, he doesn't get out of bed until someone comes in to get him!  Not sure what we did to get this lucky!!'

Trying out the newly assembled toddler bed.

First night sleeping in his Big Boy Bed!

Sound asleep like he'd been sleeping in a bed for months!

My sweet little angel! 

Club Foot Update

**Note** Liam was born with a club foot and has been dealing with treatments since he was 6 days old. First was a series of six casts over six weeks, then a tendon elongation followed by a final cast for 3 weeks. Then came the really fun stuff . . . Denis Brown boots and bar . . . Liam had to wear these shoes 23 hours a day for 3 months and now continues to wear them at night.

Last week, Liam had his annual appointment with his orthopedist, Dr. Jarvis, at CHEO to have his club foot checked.  And we can finally say that the end of treatment is in sight.

At the end of February after: 2 months of casts, a tendon elongation procedure, 3 months of wearing his Denis Brown boots and bar for 23 hours a day and 2 years and 9 months of wearing them every night, Liam will be finished with his "sleepy shoes".

He will still need follow up appointments at CHEO to make sure his foot stays straight as he continues to grow.  We will still have to watch him as he plays to ensure that he is sitting on his bottom, not on his knees.  But other than that, everything looks good.  Dr. Jarvis was very happy with the progress Liam has made and so are we.

When we watch our little boy run around and play it is hard to believe that there was ever a problem, a problem that caused us so much concern, a problem that we have dealt with every day of Liam's life.  

In five months, the "sleepy shoes" will be a memory in the closet to show him when he is older.  We will no longer have that daily reminder of how scared we were when they told us, at just minutes old that there was something wrong with his foot.

Tonight, as I took Liam upstairs and lay him in his crib, he looked at me and said, "I need my sleep shoes because it is bedtime."  I look forward to the night when I can finally tell him that he doesn't need to wear them anymore.

Club Foot Update

**Note** Liam was born with a club foot and has been dealing with treatments since he was 6 days old. First was a series of six casts over six weeks, then a tendon elongation followed by a final cast for 3 weeks. Then came the really fun stuff . . . Denis Brown boots and bar . . . Liam had to wear these shoes 23 hours a day for 3 months and now continues to wear them at night until he is four.

I took the day off work to take Liam to an appointment with Dr. Jarvis, his orthopedist at CHEO.  And I am thrilled that everything is progressing as planned.  Dr. Jarvis was very pleased with the range of motion of Liam's foot and his walking.  And Liam was very eager to show Dr. Jarvis his cars!

Of course, we are still dealing with the Denis Brown Boots and Bar every night, however the doctor did say today that protocol for this is to continue for 3 years.  I am not going to get too excited about the duration being shortened by a year yet.  Since we started the process we have been told 2 years, then 4 years and now 3 years.  As far as I am concerned, we'll wear then until the doctor tells us to stop wearing them.  Fortunately since my last club foot post, he has gotten much better about wearing the shoes.  We still have the occasional night that is a struggle, but most nights, he sits nicely while I put them on, sometimes even giving them to me so that I will put them on.

Things have come a long way since the nurse in the special care nursery told us that our tiny little premature baby had something wrong with his foot and that he would probably need surgery.  I am glad that she really didn't know what she was talking about!  

No Matter What I Choose, I Feel Like A Bad Mom . . .

**Note** Liam was born with a club foot and has been dealing with treatments since he was 6 days old. First was a series of six casts over six weeks, then a tendon elongation followed by a final cast for 3 weeks. Then came the really fun stuff . . . Denis Brown boots and bar . . . Liam had to wear these shoes 23 hours a day for 3 months and now continues to wear them at night until he is four.

Now that you have the back story, here is the problem. Just before Liam got sick the last time (ear infection) he started having difficulty sleeping at night. He would wake up and nothing I could think of would settle him. I wondered if it was the shoes, but then he got sick with a fever a few days later, so I assumed that it was just that he wasn't feeling well. When he is sick or otherwise bothered by something, he has absolutely no patients for the boots and bar, so it came as no surprise that during his illness, he had difficulty sleeping with them on. Knowing that sleep is very important for a sick baby, I would leave the boots on for as long as I could each night, but if he really wasn't sleeping, they came off.

I expected things to go back to normal as soon as he was feeling better. I was wrong. So, the next logical thing to do was to make an appointment with the orthopedics place for new shoes and an adjustment to the bar. Because of the open toe design of the shoes, he was still wearing the same ones he'd stared with in March and his feet are much bigger, and were sticking out the ends. Last Thursday, Liam and Daddy went and got brand new bigger shoes and had the bar adjusted for his current size.

Again, I expected things to be better that night. Again, I was wrong. Maybe, I thought he just needed some time to "break in" the stiff leather of the new shoes, but here we are a week later and things are no better. Liam goes to bed like an angel, going to sleep without any fuss for about 2 or 3 hours and then he starts fussing, crying, tossing, turning and waking up. No matter what I do, he won't settle for more than an hour at a time after that until I give up and take off the boots.

And that's my where my dilemma comes in. If I take off the shoes every night, we risk a recurrence of the club foot (which looks completely normal right now) but we all get to sleep. If I leave the shoes on, the boots do their job and keep the foot straight but nobody sleeps. It is a no win situation. No matter what I do, Liam isn't getting something that he needs. All I can do for now is put the shoes on every night and keep them on for as long as I can stand it. Once we are on Christmas holidays (no daycare for Liam and I from December 25 to January 4th) I am going to have to throw some tough love at him and let him cry it out a bit more during the night and hopefully get used to the new shoes. If that doesn't work, it will be off to CHEO in the new year to beg the orthopedist for help . . .