Stella's Hips

I once hoped that my thighs would be big enough for childbirth...only to discover that the hips are what need to be big. Our Stella has hip dysplasia - her hip sockets are shallow, and this brace is going to deepen them so that she will not develop arthritis as a teenager. She has to wear it 23 hours a day for 8 weeks. It doesn't seem to bother her too much, she is still full of joy! :)

I decided to get crafty...this way the harness doesn't look so sterile...I sewed on some ribbon to make it a bit girly.

Smile!

Stella has started smiling - I just love that! And cooing too, so much fun.
Leila is still adjusting well, but a bid for attention actually got me some ok pictures - she usually won't sit still for them.
We went downtown for street performers again, this time with two strollers, it worked well, Stella slept pretty much the whole time. The more I look at Stella, the more I am reminded of Leila - especially baby pictures, I almost need to check the hair to decide which is which.
Here we have the newer cousin pairing - Stella and Norah...7 weeks apart
Stella's hair is growing in a bit lighter, I am hoping that she doesn't lose it, it is so much a part of her - it is definitely the first thing anyone says when they see her. I think only one person has not commented on it - and we have seen a lot of people!

Playing Around

The other night we walked to the play area by our house and Leila enjoyed climbing on the jungle gym and going down the slides.
We finally got the pool out and blown up. Leila is dipping her toes in to test the water.
She decided it was nice and had a great time playing in it.
I finally finished Stella's name for her wall. I glued fabric to some wooden letters, then decoupaged over top to give it a more uniform appearance.
Stella likes to scoot herself down wherever she is sleeping. She is always at least 6 inches farther down than where I initially lay her.