Bowed Leg Problems (Update)

Hey luvs!

Thank you all for your kind words yesterday as I dealt with my emotions behind there potentially being a problem with my lovebug’s little legs.  I truly appreciate your continued support and encouragement.

Yesterday’s appointment literally lasted less than ten minutes and it turns out that Baby O isn’t bowed leg after all.  All this time what I thought were cute little bowed legs are really what the medical profession considers to be “internal tibial torsion”.

What’s this?

Per John’s Hopkins...“Internal tibial torsion is a condition in which the tibia (the larger of the two bones going from the knee to the ankle, forming the shin) is rotated inwardly (internally) or outwardly (externally) along its long axis. The rotation of the tibia also causes the foot and ankle to be rotated. Such rotation is seen throughout the course of normal development, but too much rotation is considered a developmental abnormality.”

How does this affect Baby O?

In Baby O’s case her tibia is on the abnormal spectrum. The doctor informed us that her tibia is rotated inward quite a bit. A normal person’s tibia would line up to their 2^nd toe while Baby O’s is lined up to her 5^th toe on her right leg and past the 5^th toe on her left leg. Keeping her message to us very positive she informed us that some of the inward rotation will self-correct over time, however she didn’t suspect it would be enough to eliminate future issues down the road :(.  

What’s next? With the diagnoses above she informed us that we had two options.

1. We could do nothing and see how she continues to develop over time.
2. We can try having her sleep in special shoes (braces) for the next 4 months.

The specialist presented her options with no pressure and totally left the decision to Dom and me. However, I left secretly more stressed than when I went in, I think it was because she was very technical and spoke in medical terminology the entire visit, so I was unsure what all this really meant. This is why I was truly thankful that Baby O had her 15 month appointment with her normal pediatrician later that day. During her checkup I discussed her condition in detail with her pediatrician; she broke it all the way down for me. I left feeling relieved and decided that for the severity of Baby O’s internal tibial torsion option 2 was the best way forward. 

Guess I’ll be updating y'all on her progress over the next few months :).

Bowed Leg Problems

As I sit here nervous as ever for Baby O's 9:40 appointment with a pediatric orthopedic specialist I can't help but pray that the outcome of today's visit is no different than the last...

A few weeks ago I received a frantic call from her teacher saying that Baby O wasn't acting her normal self. She informed me that she had a really bad cough and there was a coughing virus going around the class. With her not sure if the virus was contagious I immediately chucked my co-peeps the deuces and headed to get my baby to take her to the doctor.

Turns out her allergies and asthma were just acting up so she'd have to start breathing treatments again... Thank God. However, as Baby O was walking out and blowing kiss bye to the staff the doctor stopped us in our tracks. She noticed the bowed legs y'all and begin to express concern. Just like that my I'm a good mom high was blown, and the ever so concerned mom reared her ugly head. Leaving the doctor stressed as hell with breathing treatments, allergy medication, a referral to the dentist (for all those damn teeth), and a othropedics specialist was just too much.

Powering through the anxiety I made the appointment. We arrived with me expecting the worse (from my web md research) only for him to tell me that in his opinion she was growing as she should. Yes! her legs didn't concern him, may baby was clear until he hit me with a... However. Since children weren't his speciality he'd prefer I get a second opinion from someone who only sees kids. 

So now I sit waiting on more good news hopefully :). Even tho, I Lost all eight hours of sleep lastnight and woke up concerned, watching my active lovebug play this morning reminded me that no matter what this doctor says she's perfect.