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!!