A New Journey - Tuesday, September 16, 2014

I have taken a small hiatus from the blog but that doesn't necessarily mean bad things! I actually DID have a followup appointment back in July with Dr. Millis and sadly forgot to update the blog then! There really wasn't too much to report from that appointment. I had a couple questions for him which we didn't really address directly but basically everything looks fine. I was given a script for a shoe insert to help with my leg length difference which is leading to slight discomfort on my right leg (the longer one). Because that leg is longer, when I step on my left leg it's putting "sideways" pressure on my right hip causing it to not be overly comfy. I do wear an insert on the daily but it's not high enough so I got one for 3/4" to help a little more. Not much else CHB or Millis can do for me. Except, the one last "rule" Millis sent me away with was "babies". My new goal was to get pregnant and have babies. Well....Dr. Millis, your wish is my command!

Kevin and I found out we were expecting a little bundle of joy over Fourth of July Weekend - which was actually 3 days after my appointment, so I guess technically I was already pregnant at my appointment - no messing around here! Today, I am 14 weeks 3 days and the above ultrasound picture was taken two weeks ago.

I hope you'll all come along with me for this joyous ride and see how pregnancy puts these healthy hips to test. I am currently 3+ years post LPAO and 1+ year post RPAO. I got pregnant at (almost) exactly 3 and 1 year dates and I can say it's been a good ride so far. Around the 4-6 or 7 week mark my right hip was absolutely giving me a pinching sensation. Being that early, I'm not sure I can really say it was pregnancy related or just coincidence with some tissue issue that was already going on within my socket. But since then I have felt great. We went on a beautiful family vacation to California mid-July, did a lot of walking and the hips felt fine. Now being into my second trimester they are holding up very well. I haven't had a problem since. I'm not living my days on high alert of my hips waiting for something to happen at all. I AM sleeping at night with my Snoogle - typically with it between my knees/legs and it is amazing. As I lay on my back in bed, I can put my legs out (think Indian style) to the side while laying down and it doesn't bother me one bit - I believe this, now, is a result of the Relaxin which is a pregnancy protein hormone which causes your joints to loosen up to make way for baby. This is also something to be aware of so we don't hurt ourselves.

I am still working out, trying for 2-3 times a week with light cardio and weight training. Working out while pregnant is more of "maintaining" versus "losing" or getting in shape. You just want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, stay strong and keep the stamina up to boost the breathing for later in pregnancy when we carry more weight. However, working out can also be dangerous. The Relaxin I mentioned earlier causes the joints to loosen so while running/jogging it could cause you to lose balance or the legs could give out and cause you to fall which is not something you want to happen with a belly. Aside from falling, while stretching is very important when pregnant and working out, it's easy to over-stretch and hurt those joints. My advice is just go easy. You aren't here to break any records or try new things. Always remember something you could do 3 months ago is something that is not a good idea at this point moving forward.

13 Weeks

If requested, I can post my workouts and what is helping me, my hips and my belly! I hope you will all enjoy this new 'hip' journey and if you want to know more about our personal life and other aspects of pregnancy such as meal plans, nursery ideas and motherhood must-haves, please visit my other blog Living Laroche Life and join me on the non-hip related journey. If you subscribe to my blogs you'll get automatic updates when I have a new post. As previously stated, I want this blog to stay strictly HIP related. I want you all to see what things you can do post-op, how life changes (for the good) and how we get on with life and family - and hope that my pregnancy is as natural and normal as possible having been through 3 PAOs within a short period of time.

Please leave comments with anything you want to know or specific topics you want me to touch on related to hips, doctors, pregnancy or anything else. Wishing you all happy recoveries, positive thoughts leading up into surgery and a HUGE thumbs up to ones who have been newly diagnosed with hip dysplasia. This is why we go through with surgery, for the better things in life!

14 Weeks