whoda thunk?

When we got a call after my 20 week ultrasound that it appeared both babies had club feet, we were a little shell shocked and began our search for information immediately. We figured out that we wanted to pursue the Ponseti method for non-surgical correction of their feet and we got as many ducks in a row as possible before the babes were born.

In the moments after the babies were born, we didn't even think to ask about their feet and were happy to learn that Abigail did not have club feet after all. Bethany definitely did and so we embarked on the Ponseti journey that has given her 'normal' feet. She is currently wearing her brace 12 hours a day, while she sleeps, and will continue to wear it until she is four.

I sort of wished at one point that both babies had club feet so that they could share in the experience, especially once they got a little older and might start fighting about wearing a brace every day. Bethany's had moments of resisting putting on her 'sleepy shoes' but for the most part she's very compliant. I figure there might come a time that Bethany will look at Abigail and say "why not her? why me?" But, who woulda thought that it might well be the reverse....

We just got a new pair of shoes for Bethany's bar and they are huge, compared to the ones she was wearing. When I pulled them out of the box, Abigail wanted to put them on. (Hmmm...really?) Her feet are a good two to three sizes bigger than Bethany's, and the new shoes were just right for Abigail's feet. I strapped her into them and she happily marched around in them for quite a while. She even asked for the bar to put between them. (silly) Bethany put on her smaller shoes and happily walked around with her sister.

I didn't think too much about it until bedtime, when Abigail wanted to wear her own 'sleepy shoes'. (what?) She thought they were hers. (oops.) Wearers keepers? Didn't occur to me in the least that she would assume that. I assumed she'd know they belonged to Bethany. (oops.) She was a very unhappy bedtime girl who just didn't understand that she didn't need sleepy shoes and that they really belonged to her sister. The compromise? Allowing her to wear a pair of canvas mary janes we got at Kohl's last week as her 'sleepy shoes'. And yes, she's been wearing them ever since.

Whoda thunk the non-brace girl would want to wear a brace. huh.