Happy Feet

Here goes with a zillion pictures...

I have a thing for baby hands and baby feet.  This post is all about the feet.  Kidlet feet are less cute but we LOVE the comparison.  :)

One interesting note about the toes of some people with Trisomy 21 is that they can have a larger gap in the space between their big toe and the next one.  Charlotte has a bit of the gap but it is not as pronounced yet.  Janelle and I were talking about some of the features that Charlotte has that are Down Syndrome markers and when I mentioned this one, her response was fabulous.  "Well, that just means her feet are MADE for flip flops!"  You must know that Janelle is the child you will see running around in 20 degree weather and flip flops.  To her, they are footwear for 365 days a year no matter the climate.  Not. kidding.  She is thrilled to have a sister ready made for her favorite shoes.  :) 

This is Charlotte newly hatched.  Egads - blue.  DARLING as all get out, but blue.  This was always a sign for us if she was having trouble.  Like with eating...she'd start getting dusky blue at the toes and it would creep up.  Yeesh.

She never was super blue in our eyes but that was because of the pulmonary hypertension that was keeping her from congestive heart failure.   Also - we didn't have a good frame of reference.  :)  She looked wonderful because we didn't have anything to compare it to.

This is her getting her anti-bacterial wipe down the morning of surgery right before we left home.  The bad (4:45am) lighting adds to the odd coloring but it's close.  

I remember one of the first things I noticed when I REALLY looked at her in the PICU after getting past seeing just the machines keeping her alive.  It was her toes and thighs. They were sooooo creamy white and the tips of her toes were PINK.  Shockingly pink.  All the sudden I realized how dusky and grey/blueish she had been (which frankly, wasn't as bad as some other kiddos I've seen and know of).

Since the hospital we feel like we have a new baby.  She's wiggly.  She's busy.  She's crying when she's hungry.  She's awake.  She's still pretty pink.  She's gaining weight.  She's GROWING.  What a difference a well sealed off heart makes. 

We lined up the kids the other night and had a hilarious time taking pictures.  Charlotte would. not. hold. her. feet. still.  Everyone got to giggling and some of the blooper pictures showed her feet and legs in one big blur.  It was f.u.n.n.y..




Thank you Jesus for modern medicine and the fact that it's given us a busy, healthy, and happy Charlotte!


I wonder where her feet are going to take all of us?