The Twins Have Had it Good.
For the most part our twins are healthy. We were incredibly lucky to have an uneventful, although unplanned C-section. Lawson had some struggles at first. He wiped himself out trying so hard to keep up at feedings that his temperature dipped. That was the incident that landed him in the NICU for a week and a half. Even so, both babies have grown and developed and become very happy. But there was something about Gwendolyn’s birth condition we never mentioned.
As we have shared in the past, Gwendolyn has suffered time and again, difficulties with digestion, and irritating eczema. All with a smile, mind you. She is the one who had trouble sleeping at nights and kept us up with cries. She is such a sweet girl but it hasn’t been easy for her.
We Never Mentioned This Before.
As bloggers we have shared a lot about what it’s been like for the last 8 (nearly) months. Raising these two sweet, beautiful people is a blessing that overflows my heart with joy. As good as our twins have it, there is one thing about Gwendolyn we have never shared. We noticed it from the very beginning and even the dr. told us it should go away. It hasn’t, and while Lawson is charging around on all fours like he owns the place, Gwendolyn struggles to crawl, because of her feet. They are drastically curled inward and she can’t straighten them on her own.
Is It Club Feet?
We looked it up and found a wide range from extremely curved, or twisted feet, much more than what Gwendolyn has to minor, much less severe than what Gwendolyn has. It has to do with the way she sat in utero. Because she was breach, the doctors worried about her hips, which are actually fine, what nobody mentioned was the way her feet angled inward. She can’t straighten them out on her own and when she tries to crawl, her feet get tangled up and she can’t quite get around it.
Crooked Feet are Normal in th First Few Months…
The doctor. told us that it will clear itself up as she starts to put weight on her feet, but that is a long way off and it’s effecting her, now. Sara and I did the google search thing and got sufficiently anxious about the whole thing. We don’t want her to fall behind. She and Lawson have always been very close in their individual growth. We did find some exercises we are supposed to do about five times per day to get her feet to flatten out and point in the right direction. We do them at every meal time and she seems to be making some progress, though we don’t expect anything right away.
Nearly 8 Months Old
Gwendolyn wants to crawl. We see her try and topple over on her side. She is such a trouper, though and we are doing what we can so that hopefully we won’t need something drastic like a cast.
Lawson looks like such a big boy, I don’t even think of him as a baby sometimes. Gwendolyn is still very baby like and quite content to remain so. They both sit and play together so well. They are eating well, babbling, smiling– I’ve even added a teaching time into the mix with some 6+ month learning toys/books/flash cards. So far, they are not very attentive students. More on that another time. For now, we work my baby girls feet and practice crawling so she can be zooming around like brother and send us into even more of a panic.
They are both so precious. I am certain both will crawl soon. I love all the pictures and videos.
I was almost in tears reading your piece. So sorry to hear about Gwendolyn’s problem.
I have flat feet and when I was young, my parents had me wear specially made boots which I just hated. It was very embarrassing being the only one going to school wearing boots. I think I was 7 or so years old!!
I had 2 boys who walked at 8 and 9 months. My daughter didnt crawl until 10 months and didnt walk until 14 months. Not always but usually boys are more physically inclined.
I am a grandma now and has been the same with my grandkids. I have taken your two babies as my new grandbabies since my kids have stopped having any. They are beautiful babies. Love and just love them!