RitchieRoad: Wet Noodles

So as you can tell from the countdown and our previous posts, Cecilia is finally out of her cast! It has been a fun couple of days for us all. I've been surprised how happy she is to have it off. She kicks her legs and laughs. I thought she would be more nervous to have so much free movement. Sometimes she forgets that she has to control them all the time, and when she relaxes them they spread out like a frog, which is a little creepy. We were warned about the "noodle" legs and would have really been freaked out otherwise. Luckily we have this brace that fits around her pelvis and upper thighs. This helps give her some needed support, while still allowing her lots of freedom. We keep it on her most of the time, but will wean her off it once she gets more leg muscles. Then she will only have to wear it while sleeping, much like a retainer for your teeth after braces as my sister astutely observed.

The first bath wasn't as bad as I expected. I got in with her which I think really helped, we needed someone to hold onto the jello legs after all. She cried for only a few minutes and then was ok after that. Today we took her third bath and this one she really started to enjoy. I continue to get in with her and help support, but honestly I do it mostly because enjoy it. We filled the tub all the way up and stayed in until the water got cold. Cecilia splashed and splashed and kept trying to eat the water by grabbing it with her hand and putting it in her mouth. I laughed pretty hard at that. After we got out, it felt like we had gone swimming. We were both famished for lunch, just like I always am after swimming. On a side note, Cecilia and I are going to take a mommy/toddler swimming class starting next week. It lasts 13 weeks, just over the amount of time she was in the cast and is our reward. I can't wait. I hope it is as fun as I expect.

Another thing I love is, she grabs my arms when I pick her up, hugs me, buries her head in my chest, and giggles. Oh how I love that! I missed hugging her so much, it is hard to not be able to get close to your daughter. We have started tummy time again and yesterday she totally scooted backwards. I was so impressed she she moved at all! Maybe she won't skip it and go straight to walking. I have also put her sitting on the ground with a toy. I put some pillows around her because sometimes she forgets there isn't a cast to lean back on. She had a good time playing on the ground with her toy. It is so nice to have variety in her play time again, not just in the spica chair. Hopefully she will be able to play longer by herself again :) Here are a couple of pictures.

Last picture with the cast! Notice she isn't smiling, she is a smart one and knew something was up. I tried to set her down when no one else was in the room and she totally started wailing. Once she sees someone in scrubs, she is like a hound dog hunting, knowing torture is near.