hip misalignment?

Willow had her two month checkup today. Though she is 10 weeks old, this is the first time we’ve gone to the pediatrician since she was just a week or so old. For some reason, we were told to come at two months rather than one month, then that appointment was delayed a bit.

Other than curiosity at how much she weighed (12 pounds 3.5 ounces, higher than my guess of 10-odd pounds!), I wasn’t in any particular hurry to return to the doctor. I was expecting a clean bill of health.

So I was surprised when we left with a prescription for an ultrasound of her hips. The doctor thinks they may be misaligned, based on the unevenness of the fat rolls on the back of her legs.

Mark had commented he thought Willow might be bow-legged. He’s especially on the watch for leg issues since I had some kind of issue (pigeon-toe?) that required casts on my legs as a toddler and I believe breaking my leg/s as well.

I didn’t notice anything in particular, though now I’m starting to see that perhaps there is a wide space between her legs, perhaps her legs turn out too much.

The doctor said that if caught early, treatment is easy and consists of wearing special pants for 4-6 weeks. She said if it’s caught late, then it requires surgery.

I made the ultrasound appointment as soon as I got home, but it will take a couple of weeks to get in. In the meantime, I’m plagued by nagging thoughts. What caused this problem? Was it something I did or didn’t do during pregnancy? Is is genetic? Is it something we can treat and she’ll never remember or it is something that will affect her life?

“You’re just full of genetic defects,” Mark said to her this evening. Admittedly, this is number two (the tight frenulum being first) in ten weeks. I try to keep in mind the many more serious issues that parents have to deal with and feel lucky we don’t have to go through that. But being told that anything is “wrong” or “abnormal” with my baby is hard to take. I want her to be perfect because I think she’s perfect and I want her to be perfect for her sake.

Now I look at her and am fearful that perhaps I’ll do something to worsen the condition. I wonder if it’s my fault that she has it.

Overall, she’s a chubby, happy and healthy baby. So I take comfort in that and will try to not stress too much until we’ve had the ultrasound and understand the situation better. I’m glad I have the time off to deal with anything that needs to be done and that we have access to a diagnosis and early treatment. Even so, I feel a certain sadness at knowing my baby has to go through things (her frenulum being cut, the exposure to radiation from an ultrasound), that incredibly strong and healthy River didn’t have to experience.

At the same appointment, she received her first vaccination, DTP. Unlike River’s miserable two month appointment, where we got five shots at once, I only let her get one and she took it like a champ. We’ll be going to the doctor’s on a monthly basis to get her shots gradually, one at a time. It will take a bit longer, but she’ll eventually get fully vaccinated. I feel better knowing that we’re not asking too much of her immune system.