A checkup for William

A couple of weekends ago, Dan, the 3 boys and I packed up and headed to Prince George.  The girls stayed behind in Smithers with friends, so we felt like we were having a little getaway with just the babies.  The real purpose of the trip was for William's appointment to see the specialist about his foot, but of course, we took some extra time to take advantage of the "big city" amenities...  you know, Costco, Wal-Mart, etc.  :)

We left early on Saturday morning.  It's about a 4 - 4 1/2 hour drive,  and about 3 hours in, the babies needed a bottle and diaper changes.  We descended upon (our primary mode of arriving anywhere, it seems) the Tim Horton's in Vanderhoof, and let me just say, we were the star attraction.  It's quite the production, getting 3 babies, well, anywhere, and it's not something that can be done very discreetly.  I'm not used to the attention we get -- probably because there are still very few times that we go anywhere with all the babies at once.  "Are they triplets?!!?!?!?"  "You sure have your hands full!" (Nevermind that the girls aren't with us...)  "All boys?  Are they identical??!?!?!"  And on it goes.  I don't usually mind the comments, because I know it's just an unusual sight to see, and people are sort of startled.  But at the same time, it sometimes feels like we're a side show at the circus.  And I don't always have the time or inclination to have entire conversations with complete strangers about the details of "how did that happen????"  (um, aside from the obvious....)   Really, though, it worked out very well.  The staff were incredibly helpful (one of the managers even came and gave one of the boys a bottle), and once we got settled in, the show was over and people happily turned their attention back to their coffee and donuts.

We stayed with some people we know, and it worked out wonderfully. We were a little nervous how the boys would do with their sleep schedule, etc., especially because on top of travelling, it was the time change weekend.  But we must have tuckered them right out, because they slept really well.  We enjoyed a little time to ourselves, visits with friends, and shopping.

sorry, blurry photo, but it gives an idea

On Monday morning, William saw the specialist about his foot.  Just a little recap:  William was born with clubfoot.  His left foot was turned completely in at birth. (see the photo at right -- that's what his foot looked like when he was born)

At just a few days old, he started on a series of casts, which corrected the position of his foot.  (Aw, look at his little scrunched-up self with that tiny little cast on!!)

At about 6 weeks of age, the last cast came off, and he began to wear corrective shoes with a brace in between, for 23 hours a day.  Anyway, he's been doing really well, and the Dr. was very happy with his progress.  So now, William only has to wear the brace for 12 hours a day -- basically for overnight and naptimes.  The Dr. thinks it's a pretty mild case of clubfoot, and William will likely get a very nice correction as long as we keep up faithfully with his brace.

The photo of William in the bumbo chair (please ignore the fact that it's on the table... it was just for the picture, I promise) shows his bare feet.  He still holds the left one a little curled in occasionally, like he was in this photo, but overall it looks great.  Once he starts putting pressure on his foot by playing in an exersaucer, pulling himself to standing, and eventually walking, that will all help with the correction as well.

So, all in all, it was a great little trip.  A super checkup for William, a nice change of scenery for us, and a treat for the girls to sleep over with people they love.