I just returned from the doctor and learned that my 2 month old daughter has Hip Dysplaysia. I see the orthopedic doc next friday. I am concerned as I am sure you all were about the basics: breastfeeding, bathing, sleeping, will she fit in her swing, carseat etc. I'm upset but at the same time grateful that it's not worse.
Cailinhsmom - Welcome :-) It's all a bit overwhelming at first, isn't it? I would love to help you out with some hints and tips but my little girl was 11 months old when she was diagnosed, so I'm probably not the best person to help out with how to cope with such a little bub. What I can say though is that the mums on this forum are such amazing women with so much knowledge and support to share, and there is sure to be someone who can help you out with some specific hints and tips. Stay strong for your little bub and visit here whenever you need to vent or just need some support or encouragement.
Well, we are now 10 days post surgery (who's counting though?!?!) and I wish I could say that managing the cast was easier than I thought it would be. The surgery went as well as we could have hoped for with an open reduction to relocate the dislocated right hip. It had started to form a small socket about 6-7cm above the correct position, so we consider ourselves lucky that we didn't need a femoral osteotomy.
Our little girl has been truly amazing and has adapted better than we dared to hope for. The first few days post surgery were really tough for her and she developed a real fear of strangers as everyone that came near her was poking and prodding her. She would burst into tears the moment she heard the door open. It was quite heartbreaking. She seems a little better with that now though so fingers crossed we might be getting through that problem.
Managing the nappy changes in the cast is proving difficult as the surgeon left only a very small gap for the nappy. The nurses kept commenting how small the gap was, which didn't bode well for me managing nappies at home...lol... The surgeon was adamant that she could not be put on her tummy even just for nappy changes, which the nurses actually questioned him on as it is so unusual. He stuck to his guns though and I figure if it means a higher chance of success, I will follow every single challenge he throws at me. Because there is so little room for the nappy though, we have had a few small nappy accidents which I have been really upset about, but I am trying everything I can think of to minimise the chances of that happening.
I have ordered a "Cast Cooler" from the US which gets great reviews for keeping the inside of the cast dry and helping with itching and smell. I will let everyone know whether it makes any difference. The inside back of our cast stayed quite damp because of the no tummy time rule as air wasn't able to circulate. I'm willing to try anything to keep my little girl comfortable and her skin as good as possible for the 12 weeks she is in the cast.
We have our first X-Ray on 4th October so I am desperately hoping that everything has stayed in place and has started to develop as it should by then.
Must run as fish and chips have just arrived. Yum!!
I've had a name change, but I'm still here, same old, same old
Karma - Yay for DD! They just seem to adapt some how, don't they? And we battle along. The Cast Cooler sounds like a great idea. For the smell, we tried to rub baby powder into the plaster (avoiding the openings) and when that didn't work anymore (or we became accustomed to that smell too), a squirt of perfume on my hand and then rubbed onto the cast would help. Very weird that you can't put DD on her tummy for nappy changes, but your doctor obviously has his reasons.
Cailinhsmom - My daughter was the same age as yours when she was officially diagnosed - they noticed that she had a clicky hip at birth, but it wasn't until she was 7 weeks old that the diagnosis was made. Bathing will depend on the severity of her hips - for the first four weeks of our brace, and then into our plaster cast, we were only allowed sponge baths. The brace wasn't to come off at all. Breastfeeding I found to be easy. Still in the same position, but with her legs splayed apart. I would put one leg between hers so that she could rest the leg on top and the leg below I would let dangle - sounds terrible, but after a few days of it and me being stressed and anxious, I realised it wasn't bothering her at all. Sleeping - we put a flat cot pillow under her legs so that they weren't stuck mid air and if you're still swaddling her, we had to transfer into a sleeping bag. After a few nights DD was totally fine with it. In her first brace, she was still little enough to fit into her basinette, but once the plaster went on, she was in her portacot as she was still in our room. As far as the swing and carseat goes, and your pram too will depend on the brace and the size of these things. DD still fit into her carseat in the brace, no problems, not so well in plaster. The pram, we had to convert ours from the pram with the basinette bit on top, straight into the stroller style instead, if that makes sense, as her legs were too wide for the basinette. On our pram we had to remove the handle that goes over their legs (you see toys and things hanging across it), and without that, she fit no problems. Get yourself some socks - children's sizes, not baby sizes and cut the toes off - these will wrap around the bits of the brace that touch her legs and will provide a thicker buffer between the brace and her skin than the gauze strips the orthotic people will give you. Where abouts are you hon? I'm in Melbourne. Big to you. Keep coming in here with your questions, to vent, to cheer, whatever you need.
Calinhsmom - The logistics of it all will depend on the type of brace your daughter is in. My DD1 was diagnosed at 6wks and went into a Pavlik Harness. DD2 went into a DB bar at 12weeks. It depends on their size what they go into. BAthing generally they will not be allowed a bath for at least the 1st 6wks (sponge bath only) then depending on how the progress is may be able to come out for a bath but just depends on the progress and the Dr's preference. Carseat I found Pavlik harness was a little more flexible so DD1 was still able to fit into capsule but DD2 couldn't but did fit into a different rear facing car seat. Breastfeeding I now issues with it just finding a comfortable position - but it does look odd when feeding with a leg sticking up in the air. You will work it all out just takes time.
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to you. Keep coming in here with your questions, to vent, to cheer, whatever you need.
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