All the Cool Kids Wear Harnesses

We had our first doctors appointments for Kate on Friday. Our visit with the pediatrician went very well. All babies lose a little weight after birth and then are expected to gain it back over their first couple of weeks as they get their feeding schedules established. Kate weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz at birth and she was 6 lbs, 10 oz on Tuesday in the hospital. At the doctor on Friday she was already back up to 6 lbs, 14 oz. Everything else looked great as well!

Also, the pediatrician that examined Kate in the hospital ordered an exam of her hip joints. Since Kate was breech (head up instead of down) and her feet were up by her head for so long before she was born, it is common for babies to have hip joints that aren't formed properly at birth. The ultrasound in the hospital showed that hers needed to be further examined by a pediatric orthopedist. We met with the orthopedist on Friday as well and he did diagnose Kate with hip dysplasia. Since they were on top of it from birth, this should be fully treatable and taken care of before Kate is even 8 weeks old. She now wears a harness at all times (except when she takes a bath) to hold her hips in a position that will allow her hip joint to form properly. To adults, the harness may look like some sort of torture device, but sweet little Kate couldn't be happier with it on. She is still as laid back as ever. Daddy has decided that he likes the harness as well because Kate doesn't feel so fragile anymore. It holds everything in place and makes her easier to carry. We just know that our "followers" may notice a difference in her pictures for the next several weeks because she looks like she has football pads on under her clothes so we wanted to let you all know. No need to worry though, this is no big deal at all.