run forest, run

we got another recommendation

from our pediatrician to see a physical therapist

for brette's gross motor skills.

we met with one in june because she still wasn't crawling

and that had such great results that i really wanted 

their opinion on how to get her walking.

i had some concerns about her left foot.

it kind of turns in at her ankle.

so i called first steps and within a week

we had someone here to check her out.

she said that brette is a perfectly healthy,

intelligent baby... with flat feet.

dammit ronnie.

this is all his fault.

he has the feet of a platypus.

flattest feet this side of the mississippi.

and now our poor baby girl has them too.

since her feet do not have the normal arch,

her legs are not lining up with her hips,

which in turn,

gives brette a feeling of unbalance.

i asked about braces,

 but she thought that 

brette's case was mild enough that 

shoe inserts should do the trick.

they will give her the arch support she needs

and hopefully that will help

get her lined up and ready to walk.

in fact, she said that most children that deal with this

(her daughter included)

start walking within a week or two of getting the inserts.

fingers crossed!

when brette is older i can run to wal-mart

and grab some dr. scholls,

but for right now we have to special order

pedicatric inserts that run about $60.

luckily brette's feet are a lot like mine and run small.

if her feet keep growing like this we should probably only have to 

order her one pair a year.

the PT also recommended that we only 

have her wear tennis shoes.

she needs something that will give her extra support

and something that has laces. 

apparently shoes that lace up to their toes gives them 

pressure at the top of their foot that helps

with the insert.

unfortunately this means all those adorable ballet flats,

sandals and moccasins are only going to be for special occasions.

this also means, i get to go shoe shopping.

so its a win/lose situation.

the PT suggested we do this until brette is between

the ages of 3-5,

of course i'm leaning toward 5 because i want her 

to be as stable and perfect as possible.

she also said that when brette gets older and starts

playing sports that she might complain of knee or back pain,

but it will most likely stem from her feet.

if that happens she said we should get her some more inserts for her 

tennis shoes or cleats.

i really think i should get ronnie some while i'm at it.

i'm pretty sure his back problems might stem from his platypus feet too.

ps- ronnie is out of town right now

or i would have totally provided you with a picture

of just how flat and weird ronnie's feet are.

 maybe a future post?