Less Than Ideal

Yesterday I took Leah to the doctor for her 6 month well-baby checkup and shots. Her appointment was at 3:30, so all day I had my "smiley mama" face on, trying to seem at ease so she wouldn't sense something was going on. (Poor thing..... When I scheduled her appointment two months ago, 3:30 in the afternoon was a good time to have her out and about. She didn't take a long nap at that point, so it was no serious disruption to her schedule. Now, though, her afternoon nap is becoming crucial. Combine that fact with the fact that she's teething, and yesterday afternoon all the poor little girl wanted to do was sleep and her mama wouldn't let her fall asleep in the waiting room. She was a pretty unhappy camper.)

The appointment seemed to be going well enough for awhile. She was sleepy and fussy, of course, but I was entertaining her with the alphabet wallpaper on the wall and a couple of silly songs and all was reasonably well. Her weight was terrific (16 pounds, 13 ounces - 75th percentile) and her height was, too (26 3/4 inches - 90th percentile). We were chatting amicably with the doctor and I was expecting much the same outcome from this appointment as from all the others - the declaration that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her.

As the doctor examined her legs, though, his brows became furrowed and he muttered something under his breath. This got my attention, of course, and I asked him what he saw. He pointed out the folds in her legs and the fact that they were asymmetrical. I couldn't really see what he was talking about; they looked fine to me, and I wasn't really understanding what he was concerned about. He pointed right at what he was seeing, and I could see then a little bit of unevenness in them. I asked him if that's bad, and he said, "It can be." He lifted her legs up so we could look at the backs of them, and it was even more obvious from the back. I asked what that means, and he said that it could mean she has congenital hip displacement, and that he's going to refer her to a pediatric orthopedic specialist to have it checked out. He made sure to tell me that of all the markers for this particular problem - clicks and pops in the hips, uneven knee height when bent, and the leg folds - she is only showing one, which is a good thing. He said that it could be nothing, but that it could be something; if it is this hip displacement, it needs to be treated sooner rather than later. Treatment at this point is just the wearing of a brace for a couple of weeks. Later, though, it could require major surgery.

Generally, I'm okay with all of this. I figure that it's a very good thing that he saw this (if it's anything at all) now, rather than a year from now, so it can be treated. I'm also thankful it's her hip and not, say, her heart or her eyes or something like that. The hard part for me, though, is hearing that my perfect baby girl might not be perfect after all. Do pray, though, that it's nothing serious and that it can be fixed easily. She's not in any pain or anything, but I just want to put this behind us.

Pray too, for her today - the vaccinations that she had yesterday have given her a bit of a fever today, and she's just not feeling very good.