Brachial Plexus Palsy

Things have been busy since Kate was born over a month ago. Although Kate was not large when she was born (7 pounds 12 ounces), she got stuck when trying to come out. As a result, when the doctor pulled Kate out, he stretched her neck, causing shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia causes birth brachial plexus palsy.

The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves located under your collarbone. It controls your arm movement. Fortunately, Kate's shoulder was NOT dislocated and her clavicle was NOT broken. She has had x-rays to confirm.

The brachial plexus nerve has many different branches. The C5 and C6 nerves control your shoulder and bicep. C7 controls your tricep. C8 and T1 controls the wrist and hand. Kate has been able to move her wrist and hand since birth, so the C8 and T1 branches are normal. She regained use of her tricep (C7) within a week or so. However, Kate has not been able to move her bicep or shoulder yet, so we know the C5 and C6 branches are damaged.

There are three possible options for how the C5 and C6 branches are injured. We know it isn't normal. We are hoping it has not been severed (avulsion or rupture). We also hope it is not the neuroma option (partial severe). We would really like it to be neurapraxia, which means stretched. If the C5 and C6 branches are stretched, then we don't have to do any "repairs" (i.e. surgery). In 90-95% of infants that have birth brachial plexus palsy, by the time they are 3 months old they will be able to move their shoulder and bicep if the nerve was only stretched.

At this point, we take Kate to occupational and physical therapy each week. We have seen a pediatric neurologist and a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. We saw the neurologist first, and she suggested we take Kate to St. Louis Children's Hospital as they have a brachial plexus palsy center. We then saw the pediatric orthopedic surgeon. She was very familiar with brachial plexus palsy. We felt very comfortable with her, so we have not yet decided if we are going to go to St. Louis or not. Kate has follow-up visits every month with the orthopedic surgeon. If we go to St. Louis, they will also want to see her each month. We are going to see if our insurance will cover the medical bills there or not.

We are praying that Kate will bend her elbow. If she can do that, her nerve was just stretched and with therapy she should make a full recovery.

Acts of Love

Max is my sweet boy. He is very tender hearted.

 

I put Kate on the bean bag yesterday, and he wanted to give her loves. I did not prompt him or anything. He just gave her kisses and hugs.

 

Here he is making ice cream for his dad. He is smashing the Oreo's.

 

This shows the ultimate act of love. He is sharing his blanket with Kate. It was a sweet moment for me to capture on camerea.

 

Max has been adjusting well to life. He has done a fantastic job transitioning lately. Texas to Arkansas. Crib to toddler bed. Only child to big brother. I am so thankful for my Max.

Beautiful Girl

Kate is a beautiful little girl. She has been adjusting to life rather well. Typically she prefers to suck her thumb over a pacifer, as seen in this picture.

 

I like the pink background, but had a difficult time getting the shot I wanted.

 

For Christmas, she got this adorable hat. It is so soft. Her eyes are so big here.

 

I liked this one too.

 

Merry Christmas!

A Few More

Max doesn't mind holding Kate for a few seconds. He isn't sure what to think of his new sister. He knows her name, but he has no desire to "play" with her.

 

Today we changed Max's crib to a toddler bed. Rob put him down for his nap, and we could hear him playing in his room. When things finally settled down, Rob went in to see where Max ended up. He is asleep on the chair with his blanket on his head! Too funny!

 

Although Rob is not a huge fan of these pictures, I like them. It shows just how small Kate is.

 

I have seen this done in a collage where her feet are the V in LOVE. I thought it was a cute idea.

 

Photo Shoot

Taking pictures of a newborn can be tricky. I am going to do another photo shoot tomorrow, but here are some favorites from today.

 

 

 

 

Kate Jane

Kate Jane Madsen was born at 12:38 am on December 10, 2010. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces. She was 20.25 inches long. She has a head full of hair. We are so glad she joined our family. Here we are right after the birth.

 

Here is a picture of her first bath. I included it because you can see all her hair.

 

Max giving his sister a kiss.

 

Max saying hello to Kate. He is not sure what to think of her at this point. He knows to be soft, and he is amazed by her crying. I think he will be a great older brother.

 

Kate does have shoulder dystocia, which means that when I was trying to push her out, she got stuck! The doctor had to pull her arm or head (not sure which), and it stretched a nerve in her shoulder. She currently does not use her left shoulder or elbow. However, she is able to move her wrist and fingers. We will be starting physical therapy with her today. Hopefully she will be able to regain use of her arm completely.

I still need to do a photo shoot of Kate. I have been trying to catch up on sleep in my "downtime."

The Waiting Game

Today I went to the doctor. I am used to waiting at OB/GYNs, but I have now had several experiences of waiting in the waiting room for 2 hours (with Max) before being called back. It is very frustrating. I try my best to be patient. In the waiting room there are signs that instruct you to talk to the front desk if you are waiting more than 15 minutes. The front desk tells me that the doctor is doing his best, but will be a while longer. Oh brother! Today after my long wait in the waiting room, I was called back. The doctor examined me and I am extremely close to having this baby. I am dilated between a 4-5. Yes, you read that correctly. Between a 4 and 5! He said closer to a 5. I am 80% effaced and the baby is almost at a 0 station. Basically, this girl could come at any time. It is now a waiting game.

On another note, last night Robert, Max and I went over to Home Depot and got a Christmas tree. I started decorating the house yesterday for Christmas. It is so much fun to pull everything out. Rob is going to put the lights on the tree tonight. Hopefully we can decorate the branches too. Once we have the tree up, I will take pictures of the house (now that it is unpacked) and post them.