Jackie - Bailey wore his brace 23.5hrs per day - every day for 6 months. We took it off and gave him a bath each day (and had a 30 min swimming lesson once a week in his brace free time but we weren't allowed to paddle his legs or anything - only movement that he made). Then we had an xray when he'd been in the brace for about 5 months and the surgeon said everything was going really well and to take the brace off at the 6 month mark and come back 3 weeks later to be xray'd and see how he was going brace free. So no, unfortunately the time in the brace didn't lessen, it was always the 23.5 hrs. We cheated though, the day we were supposed to take the brace off was a sunday, we took it off a day early so we could enjoy our first weekend brace free - so we were one day short of 6 months.
I know what you mean about feeling cheated, I still feel a bit that way, I'm annoyed and angry that half of my babies first year (and his first xmas and birthday) were spend in the brace. To be honest I think I'll always feel a bit this way. It's unfair and it just plain sucks! And yes, our lot in life could be worse, but you know what, this is the situation we have to deal with and at times it feels like the end of the world. Don't dismiss you feelings, they are completely vaild, and why shouldn't we all wish we had brace free babies with perfect hips? Its not too much to ask. Hang in there babe x
Today was another great day, I am SO happy that things are going good, I just hope it stays this way. My mothers group got together and bought Emma a Lamaze doll and some cute clothes to go over her cast. It’s so lovely to know people care.
Corelly- my back is already aching because of the weight of the cast, need to start doing stretches!! Last night 4 hrly nappy changes went well, but I agree, we will probably get to the stage where she could go all night. I hate going in to wake her, she looks so peaceful! Did you just use newborn nappies inside the cast or a poise pad (or similar) plus nappy overnight? Was the cast pretty tight by the end of her time in it? It’s a pity we can’t put photos up, Emma looks quite cute in her spica! I’m happy for people to look me up on facebook if interested, just search Rebecca van Geyzel.
MummyNaomi thanks for your message, it is an emotional time to know that your child requires treatment to fix their hips. After the 12 month check up, how often will you see the ortho surgeon and for how many years?
Jackie- I agree, this process can be harder on the parents than for the child. Emma seems to have adjusted quite quickly, but it breaks our heart to see her in the cast and not able to sit up, roll over or simply kick her chubby little legs. Yes we are lucky that she is still sleeping well, I don’t cope well at all with no sleep! We use a small pillow with beanbag balls, it does a great job of making her comfy.
We used newborn nappies on the inside of the cast with all the tabs cut off with a larger crawler size nappy over the top of the cast. We found that we could actually reach the inner nappy at the back through the top of her cast which made it a lot easier for us to get it into the correct position. The cast got a little bit tighter as she got bigger, but nothing major, she was only in it for five weeks and we didn't have any growth spurts in that time.
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