Another Update...I can't think of a cool title

Well, Nicole got her second set of casts this week, and we were already able to see some improvements. Here are some pics of what her feet look like now.

You can see that now her feet aren't turned in so far and her arch is lower. Here is a picture of our doctor, Dr. Stotts, working his magic.

We didn't end up signing or drawing anything on Nicole's first casts, so we have been trying to make up for it with this set.

Nicole has been an amazing baby throughout this whole process. She did have a little more difficult time as they put her casts on, but after the initial discomfort wears off (about 24 hrs), she returns to her little, peaceful self again. We are so grateful to have her in our family.

Vanessa has also made us very proud lately. She is growing up so fast. Up until about a month ago, she was terrified of slides at the park. However, lately she isn't happy until she gets to go down the biggest slides at the park all by herself. Here is a picture of her ready to go.

She has also started to kind of roll her eyes at us. It is really cute now, but I can see it not being so funny later.

And finally, we planted some stuff in our flower bed/garden. As an early birthday present, we took Lisa to Home Depot and let her pick out a bunch of flowers and vegetable seeds. I wish we would have taken a picture from when we moved in, because the before picture I have now is still 100 times better than it looked at first. Anyway, here is our progress.

Although it took us until 12:30 am to finish, we are very happy with our work. It will be really fun to grow some veggies too, especially my jalapeno plant!!

And lest we forget to recognize the woman responsible for all our clean clothes, clean dishes, rock-free soil, happy daughters, and our sanity, here is a picture of Mama (Lisa's mom) with the girls.

Update

I hope this post will answer any questions any of you have about Nicole's condition, progress, and future treatment. Lisa and I both struggled quite a bit at first with the news that Nicole's situation might be a bit more severe than we had expected, but we are now both feeling very reassured and confident that everything will work out.

For those of you who don't know, Nicole was born with a form of skeletal dysplasia (similar to Vanessa) characterized by shorter limbs. One of the most notable abnormalities is that both have shortened ulnar bones, causing their hands to turn out slightly. However, Nicole was also born with club feet. If any of you are unfamiliar with club feet, here are some pictures of Nicole's feet. They will probably illustrate better than I can explain.

We had our first appointment today with our Orthopedic specialist, Dr. Stotts, at Primary Children's Hospital. He examined her feet, knees, and hips. Before the appointment, we had been told that Nicole possibly had problems with her knees and hips. Dr. Stotts looked at her knees and explained that she is currently hyper-extending her knees when she straightens her legs out. He said this is very normal because she is a 5-day-old girl and is very flexible. No concern there. He also said her hips felt normal, but that they will do an ultrasound in 4 weeks to confirm that they are developing normal. He has seen the x-rays of Vanessa's hips (which were also a concern) and said they look great.

As for her feet, he said they look like a normal case of club foot. He is trained in the Ponseti method, which is a non-surgical method for correcting club feet. He explained to us that she will have several casts put on her feet with the intent of returning her feet to correct position. She got her first set of casts today, and will have them changed weekly for 4-6 weeks. Here are some pictures of her first casts.

You'll notice that her feet are kind of positioned like a ballerina. Dr. Stotts explained that the first cast is designed to lower the arch of the foot. You can see in one of the pictures of her feet that her arch is very high. After she has had casts for 4-6 weeks, they will make a minor incision and snip her achilles tendon to loosen up her feet. They will then recast her feet and leave the casts on for 3 weeks for the tendon to regenerate. Following that, she will wear a brace--which is basically a metal bar with two shoes strapped onto it--for 23 hours a day. This will go on for 3 months. After the 3 months, she will only have to wear the brace for about 12-14 hours a day--mainly just when she is sleeping--until she is about three years old.

Even though she will be in a brace, everything we've heard leads us to believe that her development (crawling, walking, etc) won't be slowed down. Here are some more pictures of our sweet little girl.

Throughout all of the poking, prodding, and casting, Nicole has been and extremely patient baby. We know she has a very strong spirit, and will be able to face the challenges that are ahead of her. I was able to give Nicole, Vanessa, and Lisa blessings tonight and it was very clear to us all that not only is Nicole a valiant and courageous spirit, but she has been blessed with a big sister who will be an incredible strength to her and a mother who has been prepared to care for her in the way she requires. We already feel so blessed to have Nicole in our lives and look forward to seeing her grow and progress.

I also wanted to add that Vanessa has behaved extremely well amidst many changes--a new sister and a move. Here is a shot of her getting away from all the chaos and watching "Seeping Booty" (Sleeping Beauty).

We want to thank everyone for their surprise visits (thank you so much Angelene!!), supportive phone calls, prayers, and service during our crazy time of transition. Family and friends are truly some of the greatest blessings we can have. We love you all!

Nicole Elizabeth Brown

Couple Communication

For the past few weeks, Lisa and I have been teaching a couple communication course on campus as part of our certification. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with this program, but it is really cool. It teaches couples how to more effectively communicate and collaborate while dealing with difficult issues.

It has been really fun to do this together as a couple. The first two nights, Dr. Larson (my advisor) and another graduate student taught the lessons, but tonight Lisa and I were able to teach lesson 3, which discusses 8 steps involved in mapping an issue (which is basically understanding the issue completely, discussing wants, and committing to certain actions aimed at resolving the issue). Teaching together tonight made me excited for our future together as educators in this field. I have also really enjoyed working with the couples in our class and watching them come to understand each other better through improved communication. We still have to teach 10 more couples before we are officially ceritified. We are hoping to offer another class later this summer, but we'll see how that goes with two kids.

Happy Mother's Day!

I just want to wish all a happy Mother's Day! I especially want to thank my own mom and my sweetheart's mom, for giving all the love and sacrifice they did for us (My thoughts and gratitude to them are too personal to fully post on a blog). While I don't have pictures of them to post, I want to post pictures of those that have enabled me to become a mother:

Vanessa Marie, my first sweet little girl, then and now

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Nicole Elizabeth, whom I can't wait to hold in my arms!

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And Matt, my sweetheart and one of the best daddies ever!

Speaking of books...

Since our blog has turned literary for the moment, I have to share a little something with those who might be interested. While Matt has been absorbed in his Lord of the Rings, I have been reading various things (mostly non-fiction stuff about childbirth and parenting). The other night, envious of Matt's more exciting reading, I perused our bookshelf for any fiction I hadn't yet read and I actually found one.

I knew nothing about the story before I started and felt silly reading a "Christmas" book, although the beginning didn't seem to really be about Christmas. Well, I went to bed, not thinking much about it. At 4am, I was wide awake again with no hope of more sleep, so I decided to read more. I got hooked. It was a fascinating book about a book the author wrote and his experiences with it. And it really wasn't about Christmas. As I read, I felt like there was I reason I read it when I did. I let you know if/when I discover why.


After I finished that book that morning, I really wanted to read the book that created this experience. I checked it out from the library and quickly read it that day. It was short and sweet, and it made me cry. It is called The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. Without giving too much away, it will be touching for anyone who reads it, but particularly for a particular group of parents. (I really don't want to say more, it spoils the magic).



The book about this book is called The Christmas Box Miracle by the same author, but read it after the other book. They are both fairly short and are worth reading outside of Christmas time. Once you do, let me know what you think.

My Precious

Call me a nerd (I used to think people who were in to Lord of the Rings were Dungeons and Dragons freaks), but I can't put down the Lord of the Rings. I started reading it a couples of weeks ago, and here are some of the conversations that have taken place in our house since:

When I get home from work

Lisa: How was your day?

Me: Good. Do you want to know something about Lord of the Rings that isn't in the movie?

After putting Vanessa to bed

Lisa: Do you want to hang out?

Me: Sure. Do you want to sit next to me while I read my book?

In addition, the book has become the most protected piece of property in our apartment. It travels with me to work, nicely wrapped in a plastic bag to protect it from any unseen danger. It never sits within 4 feet of the ground. And it is never seen near any liquid or food.

I'm a nerd.