Our story (why Pregly has not been updated for a long time)
We became parents to a beautiful baby girl on August 27, 2011. Although we weren’t exactly “new” parents who needed to figure everything out for the first time, we were definitely still struggling.
We bought a new house when I was 4 months along in my pregnancy, but it needed a lot of renovations. It was scheduled to be finished in 2 months, but in the end, it took twice that time to finish.
It wasn’t over though; the stress and hormone levels at home were sky high. We were still setting up Ikea closets and taping newspapers to windows as makeshift curtains when Elena announced, by way of water breaking, that she was coming – two weeks before her due date!
I soon gave birth to Elena at home, just as we hoped. She was a beautiful healthy baby, but was born with a clubfoot.
The weeks before the birth were already hectic, with Martin working hard to finish our home as soon as possible, but after Elena’s birth, they got crazy bad. Tristan had to adjust to not only a new home, but also a new baby. And though he liked her, she couldn’t do anything and needed a LOT of attention. After being diaper-free for an entire summer already, he began wetting himself again, having very bad nightmares, and stopped wanting to sleep over.
Because of Elena’s clubfoot, we were in the hospital with her just five days after her birth. And while I wouldn’t wish a club foot on anyone, as far as deformities go, this is a relatively mild one which can be treated and fixed, provided you commit to it wholly.
The treatment consists of slowly turning the foot to its proper position with the use of a cast. This is done once a week for about six weeks. They then clip the Achilles heels and put the feet in a cast for another three weeks. After this, braces (orthopaedic shoes) are placed on the legs. These braces are worn all day every day for three months, save for bath and changing time.
If after three months, there’s a marked improvement, the wearing time is reduced to 12 to 15 hours a day; or only during nap times. After four or five years of wearing the braces, the gene that causes clubfeet “switches off” and the foot then remains in the correct position.
The cast wasn’t much of an issue, but we had a lot of problems with putting on the braces. In the first two months, there were several blisters, which were horrible. They eventually healed and are now just scars, but it made me fear the braces.
Every time she cried, I thought she was hurting; but looking back now, I don’t think she was actually in pain because of the braces. There is so much that could trouble a baby and cause her to cry, and it’s so frustrating not knowing what it’s about. She hardly ever had the braces on at night, after the first three months that is, for any more than six hours. Lucky for her, she is doing great now and her foot seems to be okay. Of course, only time will tell.
So, for those months following the birth, our two children weren’t sleeping well and we were exhausted. Initially, I was supposed to begin work after three months, but I just couldn’t. I eventually left my position, whereas Martin had already quit his job six months before.
We were able to hold up for four months but the renovations had pretty much depleted our savings until there was hardly anything left. Martin needed to get a job... any job. These were stressful times, but eventually, he found something.
So then, Martin was working and only sleeping four hours a night, and I was taking care of the kids and only sleeping 2 hours a night (Elena woke up every 1 and a half hours for months). We were burnt out.
It’s only now, after 18 months of toiling, that we are finally able to say that things have become manageable. There remains to be only one person in our family who sleeps a good solid nine hours a night and that’s Tristan, but Elena is steadily getting there, so Martin and I will soon be, too ;-)
And so that is what happened to us. It was nothing major or life-threatening, but as you know or are about to find out, sleep is everything and it’s one thing you will probably not have enough of during the first few years of parenthood.
However, Pregly is very dear to our hearts and we’re finally able to direct our time and efforts to continue it again.
We bought a new house when I was 4 months along in my pregnancy, but it needed a lot of renovations. It was scheduled to be finished in 2 months, but in the end, it took twice that time to finish.
It wasn’t over though; the stress and hormone levels at home were sky high. We were still setting up Ikea closets and taping newspapers to windows as makeshift curtains when Elena announced, by way of water breaking, that she was coming – two weeks before her due date!
I soon gave birth to Elena at home, just as we hoped. She was a beautiful healthy baby, but was born with a clubfoot.
The weeks before the birth were already hectic, with Martin working hard to finish our home as soon as possible, but after Elena’s birth, they got crazy bad. Tristan had to adjust to not only a new home, but also a new baby. And though he liked her, she couldn’t do anything and needed a LOT of attention. After being diaper-free for an entire summer already, he began wetting himself again, having very bad nightmares, and stopped wanting to sleep over.
Because of Elena’s clubfoot, we were in the hospital with her just five days after her birth. And while I wouldn’t wish a club foot on anyone, as far as deformities go, this is a relatively mild one which can be treated and fixed, provided you commit to it wholly.
The treatment consists of slowly turning the foot to its proper position with the use of a cast. This is done once a week for about six weeks. They then clip the Achilles heels and put the feet in a cast for another three weeks. After this, braces (orthopaedic shoes) are placed on the legs. These braces are worn all day every day for three months, save for bath and changing time.
If after three months, there’s a marked improvement, the wearing time is reduced to 12 to 15 hours a day; or only during nap times. After four or five years of wearing the braces, the gene that causes clubfeet “switches off” and the foot then remains in the correct position.
The cast wasn’t much of an issue, but we had a lot of problems with putting on the braces. In the first two months, there were several blisters, which were horrible. They eventually healed and are now just scars, but it made me fear the braces.
Every time she cried, I thought she was hurting; but looking back now, I don’t think she was actually in pain because of the braces. There is so much that could trouble a baby and cause her to cry, and it’s so frustrating not knowing what it’s about. She hardly ever had the braces on at night, after the first three months that is, for any more than six hours. Lucky for her, she is doing great now and her foot seems to be okay. Of course, only time will tell.
So, for those months following the birth, our two children weren’t sleeping well and we were exhausted. Initially, I was supposed to begin work after three months, but I just couldn’t. I eventually left my position, whereas Martin had already quit his job six months before.
We were able to hold up for four months but the renovations had pretty much depleted our savings until there was hardly anything left. Martin needed to get a job... any job. These were stressful times, but eventually, he found something.
So then, Martin was working and only sleeping four hours a night, and I was taking care of the kids and only sleeping 2 hours a night (Elena woke up every 1 and a half hours for months). We were burnt out.
It’s only now, after 18 months of toiling, that we are finally able to say that things have become manageable. There remains to be only one person in our family who sleeps a good solid nine hours a night and that’s Tristan, but Elena is steadily getting there, so Martin and I will soon be, too ;-)
And so that is what happened to us. It was nothing major or life-threatening, but as you know or are about to find out, sleep is everything and it’s one thing you will probably not have enough of during the first few years of parenthood.
However, Pregly is very dear to our hearts and we’re finally able to direct our time and efforts to continue it again.
Comments
We are trying to work as much as we can in between, well everything. And it looks to be working :-) We are almost there.
Elena is doing excellent. She is a rascal, without the little. Her being the youngest I don't know how she is able to boss us all around, including her sweet natured brother of four, hahahaha. I had to cut her nail this morning because Tristan is sporting some major cuts due to Elena's no no no. She not only says it but she underscores with a poke/scratch.