Hip Dysplaysia Support Group #2

[jacksnjeff]

Hi girls,

We ended up having a pretty crappy weekend. Isabelle reacted to her immunisations and has been fighting temps of 39.5 all weekend and she has an ear infection the poor munchkin. I am thinking we have turned the corner today. Hope everyone else had a good weekend?

Furgurnie - Fantastic to hear that everything is going well. It sounds like you have a great attitude. It took me about a week to stop feeling sorry for our situation and come around. Maybe this was partly cause everything was so rushed. Pretty much the whole time Izy was in the cast, it near brought tears to my eyes looking at her. But, she is such a happy baby that it truly didn'y seem to worry her. I think in the end this also made it easier for hubby n me. With the nappies we too used newborns and completely cut all the tags off and trimmed all around the nappy leaving about 1cm outside the padding of it. We also put a size bigger over the cast. Psychologically for me, I think it made it look "prettier".

Madcat - That is what I am finding, that her hip journey is always on my mind and when will it end. From things I have read and heard, I believe that quite possibly we could be having check ups until the teen years, which is along time to carry this around. How remarkable that your 5 year old has the coping stategies for everything she has been through. What a precious girl....

liddy105 - The exact same thing happened with our DD's thighs. Her skin had just started to break. We had to use a fungal cream to prevent any infection and gauze. We used quite a bit of the gauze to give extra protection. After about 2 weeks everything was totally fine and haven't had to use anything since. In regards to sleep, my DD was 6 months of age and was starting to get active. We were told that her sleeping would decrease as she isn't using as much energy as her movement was limited. I imagine this would be a bit different with an 8 week old. We tried various things similar to what mummynaomi also mentioned. I found it was a case of trial and error and I gave each different thing a couple of times to see if she adapted to it. Good luck with the sleeping. I so don't cope with no sleep and both my girls are massive sleepers. When Isabelle went into the cast we had crap sleep pretty much the whole 6 weeks and then into the brace after the first few nights she has gone back to normal sleeping.

Hello to everyone else and hope you're all going well.

Warm wishes
Jackie

[liddy105]

Thanks for the tips So far her skin is okay under the leg cuffs but she's getting red grooves from the bar on the very top of where her leg meets her bum at the back (so not from the cuffs). I feel like this might mean it's already to small for her, I don't see how things will improve during the next 4 wks between appointments as she's only go to keep growing? Sorry for the confusion guys, it's hard to explain in writing.

[wysiwyg]

Hi my dd had the db brace and I don't think the bar touched her at all, we always had a follow up appointment a couple of days after brace fitting (RCH MEL) for any follow up concerns, if you don't have a follow up I would give them a call and explain your concerns and see what they say. We were using cloth nappies which gave a lot of padding and coverage but also meant bar very curved so less likely to come into skin contact.

[liddy105]

Thanks so much wysiwyg, I was wondering whether the bar was meant to actually be pushing into their thighs like it has been. We were also using cloth nappies but had to switch to disposables because the bar is so close to her bum I can't even feed them through.
I rang this morning and am going in this arvo to the RCH Melb for a checkup. Thanks for your help!

[wysiwyg]

No worries, we specified about cloth so they bent the bar more so could fit, not sure if you are doing this but we used to find easier to put her on front to feed through and she got extra tummy time.

[MummyNaomi]

No worries, we specified about cloth so they bent the bar more so could fit, not sure if you are doing this but we used to find easier to put her on front to feed through and she got extra tummy time.

We also changed nappies face down, MUCH easier to get the nappy on (with a few flips from back to front). We'd start with Bailz on his back, clean up as much as possible, then flip him over to clean from the other side and then feed the nappy through, flip back over and do up the nappy - we soon became experts at it

[liddy105]

Oh great tip on the nappy change, I gave the tummy flip a go tonight and it worked great
We had our visit at the RCH this arvo and they ended up needing to bend the bar a bit and also got us to practice putting it on and off while we were there which was really helpful, I wish they'd done that at the first fitting!

[wysiwyg]

Glad the tummy flip worked - I found that when CJ had the brace taken off I was so used to the flip that I initially kept flipping her even though didn't have the brace any longer!

[furgurnie]

Hey everyone,

One week down, 5 to go!
Emma is still doing really well in her cast and Sean and I are becoming pro's at this nappy business! We are now doing 6 hourly nappy changes over night and this seems to be working well.

Jackie- how is Isabelle now? Ear infections are nasty, hope she is all better soon.
I am definitely surprised at how well we are coping with Emma being in a cast, I prepared for awful days and nights with an unsettled and frustrated baby, but have been pleasantly surprised. The hardest thing I find is the extra weight I have to carry around now, my back is already quite sore.

Liddy105 – glad to hear that your visit to RCH was very much worthwhile. Hope your daughter is more comfy now in her brace and hope that her legs heal quickly.

Madcat – good to see you on facebook. Have you got pics of your daughter in her cast on there?

Hope all is well with you all.

[Madcat]

Great Work on the nappy sharing ideas guys, back in our nappy days we just puddled through, and never thought of the flip idea! Wish we did, it would have been loads easier!

Kira is having her cast off tomorrow!!!!!! Hopefully!?! We cant wait, we are all over it. Back and arms need a rest! Cant wait to see her walking again.

Well wishes to you all

[furgurnie]

Good luck tomorrow Madcat, hope all goes well. Kira will be running around again in no time and the cast will be a distant memory

[Leigh26]

Hi Girls,

I'm just after a bit of advice. My bub is 6 wks old and was born breech. Because of being born breech the Paed told me it is compulsory for her to have a scan on her hips at 6 wks to see if she has hip dysplasia. I am wondering how many of your bubs were breech and if there were any signs of them having hip dysplasia before you actually found out they did? She has her scan tomorrow.

[Miss.September]

Furgurnie - whoo hoo to one week down already! Won't be long before Emma will be off again!

Madcat - how exciting! Fantastic that your cast days are just about over!

Leigh26 - Good luck for your scan. My daughter wasn't breech and didn't have any of the risk factors and had hip dysplasia. So although your baby was breech, you could quite easily get the all clear, so try not to worry hon. And if it is worse case scenario, it will be caught early. Fingers crossed for you, let us know how you go!

DD is almost there, almost walking. I think it will break my heart the day she does, to see that she has finally gotten there.

[jacksnjeff]

Hi girls,

Hope you n the kiddies are all doing well? We have had a crap 2 weeks, my bub had a nasty reaction to her MMR immunisation, coupled with an ear infection and teething. We finally turned the corner yesterday (again) after nearly two weeks.

Furgurnie - into the second week already!!! Wooohoooo. Cannot believe how quick it has gone. Have you felt it has gone quickly?? Yep, I hear you about the weight of the cast. If you can, I highly recommend treating yourself to a couple of massages.

Liddy105 - Great to hear that everything is now going well. It must be a weight off and peace of mind.

Madcat - Fantastic to hear that Kira will be out of the cast.... How did it all go?? What happens with Kira from here?? Is there anymore treatment??

Leigh26 - My very good girlfriend had 2 kids who were both breech and both bubs were and are totally fine... It is good they are doing a precautionary as it's better to pick it up sooner than later. My DD also wasn't breech or have any of the indicators, we have been put down to hereditary, yet can't find anything concrete in our family histories... Fingers crossed all is alright for your bub.

Corelly - What a wonderful milestone to see your daughter walk. I cannot imagine that bittersweet moment and cannot wait until we are where you're at.

We too did the changing of the butt on the tummy, it was sooooo much easier. My little miss is pulling herself up and standing in the brace, which I truly did not see how it could be possible. I am nervous about weight bearing, but her paed ortho assured me it was ok. Can't wait until her appointment, just over a week to go. I am just getting more and more nervous. I am hoping we go to night time only. Fingers crossed!!

Hi to all the other mummies and have a great weekend everyone.

Jackie
xx

[Leigh26]

Hi Corelly and jacksnjeff, thank you both for your replies. My bub had her scan today and sonographer couldn't see any problems with her hips, I was very relieved. We still have an appointment with the paed on Wednesday to discuss the results.

[furgurnie]

Leigh26- my daughter wasn’t breech but she did have a few risk factors – family history (I was born without any hip sockets), being a first child and also being a girl. I noticed her skin folds on her legs weren’t even before her 6 week scan, this can also indicate hip problems. Keep positive, they are just being thorough and like Corelly said if it is worst case scenario it’ll be picked up early and it can be fixed. I will be thinking of you and your little girl tomorrow, let us know how she goes.

Corelly- I can’t wait to see Emma walking, it will be such a relief to know what she went through was worth it. You must be holding your breath each time your daughter looks like she is taking her first steps!

Yesterday I bought some Poise pads to put inside Emma’s newborn nappy at night to see if they’d absorb more, I was so pleased this morning to find they worked really well. Looks like Emma will get to have her uninterrupted sleep overnight again This might help you PinkFairy!

[jacksnjeff]

Hi Corelly and jacksnjeff, thank you both for your replies. My bub had her scan today and sonographer couldn't see any problems with her hips, I was very relieved. We still have an appointment with the paed on Wednesday to discuss the results.

Hi Leigh26, I just noticed your ticker and you DD name. We are looking at TTC number 3 and if we have a girl our names are either Lexie, Charlotte or Abbey!!! May I asl what your other 2 daughters name are?? Mine are Caitlin and Isabelle.

[furgurnie]

Leigh26- My message was sent a few minutes after yours, so didn't see your update! That is great news about your scan, I can imagine how wonderful that felt to hear all looked good.

Jackie - yeah time is flying by, the cast will be off before we know it. I like the idea of getting a back massage, that would be a lovely treat for me!

By the way, how does everyone get their birthday countdown ticker thing on here, I have tried so many times, there must be a trick to it??