Good Checkups

We went to Baltimore last week to get a second opinion about Alder's feet. Last time we mentioned his feet, I said that he was walking on the outside edge and that I was worried about a relapse. Thankfully that only lasted a couple of weeks. However, we wanted to keep the appointment with Dr. Herzenberg, a very well-known clubfoot specialist, to get a second opinion on how long Alder should wear his brace at night. Our doc here says we should waer the brace no more and I have read that Dr. Ponsetti recommends that kids should wear it until age 4....the internet has surely democratized medicine for any parent or patient that wants to dig deep enough and who can decipher junk from science. Dr. Herzenberg appreciated my digging and agreed that our biggest threat, at this point, is complacency. Because Alder's feet look so good (yeah!) that slacking off in brace wear can very likely lead to relapse at this age. So, we are very excited to get this confirmation.It was also nice to go to this doctors office. Friday's are dedicated to a clubfoot clinic, so all children there are at various stage of treatment for various degrees of clubfoot. This was very cool to be around other parents in the same boat we are in. During our short visit we saw other children where things were going really well, as well as a case that needed more attention at age 4. This was a snapshot to prove to us what we have read - that every case is different regardless of who the doctor is. We feel very fortunate.

The doctor visit was the primary reason for the trip, but we decided to make it an adventure and vacation while we were at it. We took the train. Alder's infatuation with trains turned out to be less so from the interior of one, but it was nice for us to not have to drive and I think he really enjoyed the whole deal.

Talking about all the things passing by out the window, taking a nap, and just hanging out. Let us put in a plug here that the train is a fantastic altenative to expensive, cramped airplanes, when the trip allows.
Also, taking the train meant that we relied on hotel shuttle to chouffer us around Baltimore :]. Fun part about this is that Alder really got into the drivers. He learned their names, asked about them when they were not around and insisted that they help him down the steps of the bus. At the end of each ride, he waited there on the bus at the top of the steps, until the driver came around the help him down. Funny.

After his doc visit we were planning to go to the national aquarium, but $30/person, no strollers and the unexpected behavior following no nap led us to choose option B: Port Discovery!We also had several meals out, each of which was an adventure in itself. Alder go to practice his restaurant manners and we got to be "those people" disrupting all the nice evenings and lunches others were having. As usual though, when we find ourselves wrestling with such an undertaking in public, there are others to smile and tell us how they remember being there once. Alder turned down the gourmet mac and cheese for sweet potato fries in this pic.We also took Heath in for his 2 month check up yesterday. He is doing great and continues to be off the charts, weighing over 16 lbs, 3 oz. Interestingly, he is shorter and has a smaller head than big brother, but weighs 3 lbs. (almost 20%) more than than Alder at this age. Besides being enormous, he remains to be very sweet and happy. Another milestone, though we do not expect it to stick, is that Heath actually slept from 11 to 530 last night, when we woke him to nurse. We are calling that officially sleeping through the night. Otherwise, lately he has gotten into his own routine of waking once, on his own, to nurse and we are NOT complaining about that.
He also has Alder beat on the smiles! I caught this with my phone today. Alder was far from cracking a smile at this age.