Hip Dysplasia Update

My brave baby boy is 4 months old now (19 weeks). Three weeks ago (3/8), the cast finally came off. They gave us bad news, only one of his hips is back in the socket, the other one is still completely dislocated. He will have hip surgery in little less than 2 months from now. You can kind of guess by now how upset I was after hearing this. It scares me that even after surgery, it will not be better and that more surgeries will come. For now, I try not to think about it, because I'm trying to deal with one little problem at a time.

(In the cast, a few days before they took it off)

After the surgery, he will be back in a spica cast for 6 weeks, which is the worst part I think. Right now, he is wearing a Rhino Cruiser brace. He is way more comfortable now (I think) and I can take it off for diaper changes and for baths. The only inconvenience is that he gets really upset for almost every single diaper change and bath. I don't know why he cries (and kicks and wants to scratch himself all at the same time). I thought maybe he was in pain, but sometimes I give him small breaks from the brace and he is fine, it's only when I'm changing his diaper or giving him a bath. 

(Rhino Cruiser brace)

The other problem we are having right now is dealing with his eczema. The pediatrician prescribed an oil (after trying lots of other creams) that needs to be applied on damp skin, that's another struggle to apply it, just like diaper change time. Some days his skin looks fine, but he still tries to scratch/rub his face all day long! It's really exhausting keeping him from rubbing, because even with his mittens, he still irritates his skin pretty quickly. 

(Sweet silly boy, trying on hats)

We think Andrew has more bad days than good. He still cries a lot for no apparent reason. Surprisingly, he is really good when other people are around, ha! joke's on us I guess. I'm still trying so very hard to not get so angry and try to be patient, but it's just so hard! Other people don't seem to get it, they tell me to stay calm because the baby senses it, etc etc. It makes me feel worse, because I can not stay calm after a few hours of non stop crying, a good mom would keep her cool right? ha 

 (Happy baby game day!)

But, he does have some good days, and those are so nice! I can actually cuddle with him, read to him and do all those fun things you are supposed to do with a baby. He also smiles more. The good thing about the brace is that he can wear pants and shoes, and I can take it off for pictures yay! :) We have an appointment with his ortho next week, so we'll see if there's any updates. Thanks for reading and letting me vent, not having other friends with babies is pretty lonely.