My little Maddy is now 8 1/2 months old, and I cannot help but marvel at how big she has gotten in what seems like a short amount of time. Knowing that she is my last baby makes me want to hold onto her a little longer. I don't mind rocking her to sleep every night (as opposed to putting her in her crib awake). I love holding her tight while feeding her a bottle. (I know soon she will be holding the bottle herself). As she sits on the verge of crawling, I am not in a hurry to push her along. I want her to be successful and prove to everyone that her casts and her brace will not cause her to be behind, but at the same time I want to hold on tight to the baby in her and watch her play with her toys as she sits happily in one spot. Maddy is so special to me not only because she is my last baby, but also because of everything she has been through with her beautiful little feet. I did not write the entire following paragraph, but I wish I had. The words hit very close to home...
We have finished the castings and are five months into the brace. I am amazed at how well my daughter (and I) have handled this whole ordeal. And I'm glad I didn't know everything that would happen before it did.
If they had told me before hand how far they would move her foot at each casting... I would never have taken my child to the doctor for such abuse..
If they had told me before hand how much she was going to hate having the casts removed and put back on time after time, I would have left the first cast on for life...
And if they had told me before hand that I would miss her turned in feet.. I would have taken a million more photos of them (the few I have are my favorites).
Although the road has been rough, and she and I have traveled it alone (without her dad), I have to say it has been worth it. My only regret is not taking enough pictures before it all started because I cannot wait to show her later just how far she has come, especially when she is a track star or ballerina.
