Hemihypertrophy

Talin has a condition called hemihypertrophy. It's where one side of the body is larger than the other. It's something that happened when he was growing inside me, and it's not genetic. In his case, it only appears to be the legs and a little in his tummy. In some people the face can also become misproportionate (sp?)(which I hope and pray doesn't happen!) His right leg will always be slightly larger than the left, but they will both continue to grow at the same pace. So it's not like the right leg will continue growing and the left will stop. This often can cause back problems and can be corrected by surgery if need be. In some cases the spine doesn't develop correctly or there are hip problems, but his spine and hips are good! The nurse reassured us that Talin's case is mild, which is wonderful to hear. However, Hemihypertrophy can also cause tumors. It's very rare though and only happens in 2-5% of kids who have it. We just have to take him in every 3 months to get ultrasounds until he is 7 or 8 years old, just to make sure no tumor is developing. He had X-Rays and an ultrasound done today...no sight of a tumor! Yay! He was so cute at the doctors and smiled at all the nurses. He didn't like the X-Rays though and cried and cried. It made me so sad. When they did the ultrasound he kept squirming around (he is very active and never holds still), so the technician gave us some cherry syrup to put on his binki and he LOVED that. It calmed him right down. He loves sweets, just like his mommy haha. He is still so adorable and happy as can be. This is just a minor little thing he will have to deal with throughout his life, and hopefully it doesn't worsen over time!

My poor baby

So a couple nights ago I was getting ready to give Talin a bath. I give him one every night as part of his bedtime routine. Anyway, I had him undressed and he was playing and smiling at Brandon and I. I looked at his legs and noticed that his right leg is bigger than his left leg. Then Brandon held his legs straight out and we noticed that the right leg is also longer. We had never even noticed this before! We were so worried that we scheduled an appointment to see his pediatrician. My mother-in-law babysat for me on Monday and she pointed out that when you stand Talin straight up he puts all of his weight on the right leg and lifts up the left one. He just favors that right leg. Well we just got back from the doctor's appointment a couple of hours ago and sure enough, his right leg is 1 inch longer than the left! We are supposed to see a bone specialist at Primary Children's on Friday. He might need to wear a brace or have surgery to correct it. I'm so worried about my baby. You just hope that your children are healthy and have no problems and something like this we never expected. I just hope everything turns out okay and that this can be fixed so that he can live a happy, normal life. :(

One Month

It's hard to believe that Talin is almost 5 weeks old already. He turned one month last Saturday! He is such a strong baby. When I hold him on my chest he will lift his head up and stare right at me for the longest time. He loves to kick and flail his arms around (a lot like how he was inside me). He is very curious and loves to look around and see things. He also loves to be held. In fact, I can't set him down for very long before he starts crying to be held again. He is sleeping so much better through the nights which I am LOVING. He is such a great baby!! Here are some pics of him at one month old.

Almost a smile!






I thought I would also share a few photos that were taken of him at 1 week old by my friend Sherry. I think they turned out so cute!!