MRI results

Last week I got the results of my MRI.  The doctor said the MRI didn't show a labral tear, but it's very possible there is still one that just didn't show up.  I do definitely have FAI which is the likely cause of the pain. He said to give the cortisone a few weeks to see if it would help (as of yet, it hasn't helped) but he felt like it was unlikely it would do much.  If and when I give up hope on the cortisone, he referred me to another doctor who's specialty is hip surgery.  So, unless by some miracle the cortisone works wonders, I'm looking at surgery.

I also have been talking to my sister a lot about this because she works at a doctors office where one of the orthopedic doctors is somewhat of an expert on this particular surgery.  I've sent my scans over to her because the doctor wanted to look at them and give me her expert opinion.  I'm feeling so lucky to be able to be in contact with this surgeon.  From what I hear, it is absolutely important to find a good surgeon who knows what they are doing when it comes to the hip.  Hip surgery's are much more complex than many of the other joints.  If it's not done correctly, you could end up with more problems then before the surgery.  It also sounds like the recovery from this surgery can be long and slow.

So at this point, I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Colton, 9 months old

Colton turned 9 months this week.  He had his well check and everything looks good.  The only hiccup was that his iron levels were a little low, so I had to take him to the hospital to get some more blood work done.  The Dr says its probably nothing, but just to be safe we still needed to get the test done.  We are still waiting for the results.

He is:
29 3/4in tall-90%
Weighs 19lbs 2oz-25%
Head 46cm-75%

What's new with Colton?

• He now rolls both ways all the time.
• He scoots on his tummy, but only backwards, or in a circle.
• He loves those little puffs cereal for babies.  Like really loves them.
• He is able to feed himself finger foods.
• He has a favorite blanket, which he sucks on the corners when going to sleep.
• He doesn't really get up onto all fours, and hates it if I force him to, so I don't see him crawling anytime soon.
• He doesn't seem to have stranger anxiety at all.  He's the only one.  Both the girls screamed if anyone other than me or Cam even looked at them.  So that's really nice, because I've found that with him, I'm needing more help than ever, especially at church.  Luckily it seems like there are people lining up willing to help me with the kids when Cam isn't at church.  I'm always so grateful for such wonderful friends!
• His bedtime is at 7pm.  And he doesn't like to deviate from that time at all.  

Colton is my little handsome guy.  He's a real joy to have in our family, and the girls absolutely love him and are always willing to help out in anyway they can.

Running/hip update

Since I know everyone is just dying to know how that's going ;) I thought I'd share the latest developments.  The pain in my hip came back a couple of weeks ago.  I had kind of decided to give up, and thought that maybe running just wasn't meant to be.  But, I was reading on the internet and found a less than common running injury, a labral tear, that really seemed to match my symptoms, and then in talking to my sister (who works at an orthopedic office) kind of decided to go to the Doctors one more time and see if they could find the problem.  I found this Orthopedic and Sports Med Doctor that is also an amazing runner and made an appointment to see him.  So, when I got to the appointment, they took some x-rays, then I told the Doctor my long story (I've been having this pain for the last 2 1/2 years) he pretty much knew right away what the problem was, and when he looked at the x-ray, it just confirmed his suspicions.  He is fairly certain I do have a labral tear, which is caused by something called FAI, which basically means that bone in my hip socket isn't completely round and there is little bump.  So as the bone moves around in the hip joint, it has probably torn the lining of the joint, or something like that :).  Next week I have to go in for an MRI to find out for sure what the joint looks like.  At the same time that I get the MRI, I'm going to get a cortisone shot, so I will hopefully be pain free for a little while :)  The cortisone shot is only a temporary solution, and the only way to fix the problem is surgery.  The doctor also said that as far as running goes for now, I can run if I want to.  Running won't make the injury any worse, and resting won't make it any better.  So if I can tolerate the pain, I can pretty much do what I want.

I'm finally feeling like there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but at the same time, I'm a little nervous for what this all could mean.  I'll be honest, I'm already really nervous just to get the MRI and injection, so the thought of surgery kind of freaks me out.  Hopefully by the end of next week, I'll know more what the long term plan is.

All pink for Valentines

Abby had a little Valentines Party at preschool today, and she has been so excited.  This morning I asked her if she wanted to pick out an outfit that would be pink or red for Valentines.  This is the little ensemble she put together.

She must be pretending like she can't stand to get her picture taken, cause we all know  how much she loves the camera ;)

I was trying to get an "action" shot, and told her to  leap in the air when I took her picture.  I thought it was the coolest picture and started laughing after I took it.  I must have embarrassed her because she left the room and refused to take anymore pictures :(  

A trip to the park in February

Last Friday, the weather was unbelievable.  It was in the 50*'s.  I knew we had to take advantage of the warm temps and I took the kids to the park.  It was such a treat.