Hip Dysplaysia Support Group

[nicoli]

Hi Isabella's mum. I hope you are coping as well as Isabella is - it is much harder on us parents! My daughter Scarlett hasn't been in a spica (yet) but we had trouble fitting her in the pram and car seat in her pavlik harness. We ended up folding up towels and putting them under her bum so she was lifted up out of the pram. She was effectively sittining on top of the pram instead of in it! As long as you can reach the straps of the safety harness arounf it it should be OK. I'm sure others on here will be ab;e to give you some better advice about this.

So when was Isabella diagnosed? Just after 3 months? That is the age my daughter was diagnosed and she went into a pavlik harness before going into a DB brace. Both have done the job of forming her hip socket (she never had dislocation), but our doc is still concerend that the angle that her hip sits in the socket is not right. 3 more months until we see him again so we don't know what is happening until then, but we've been told she will probably need surgery before she goes to school.

Nicole

[Tammo]

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for your response. Just had a look at your pics of Scarletts harness and brace. It looks like she coped really well, and might I add she is just the cutest thing ever!!! I have been onto some other sites also and had a look some pics. Looks like there are so many different ones!!! I guess we will wait until we have our next appointment in Syd on 11 Dec and I will ask then.

We still have not heard anything on the scan results. I think the doc here is waiting to talk to Dr Bellemore in Syd maybe, as we tried to call him and he was overseas at a conference. Still crossing my fingers!!!! Will let all you guys know when we know.

Hi Isabellas mum,

I too have a little girl in a spica. What a nightmare!!! We have a Valco three wheeler pram and we found that the easiest thing to do was to semi lay it down with a pillow underneath her and a roll under her ankles, so like Nicole said, she is basically sitting on top of it. This seems to be the most comfortable for her. And because of the weight of the plaster, she does not move all that much. Hope you are coping ok, as I know I am still adjusting emotionally, and this is Elenis third one!!!!

[cannedemma]

Hi,

I am new here and have been reading through a few of the posts and it is good to see there is some support.

I have a beautiful 6 month old daughter Charlotte. She was born with a foot deformity (which is fine now) so was automatically booked for a hip ultrasound at 6 weeks, the hip U/S was abnormal but being so young they wanted to give her time to see if she would heal by herself. We went for another U/S about 6 weeks later and it showed improvement so they did not treat her. Then we were booked for an x-ray which we went to just this monday and they say that she has DDH and both her sockets are shallow and she has to go into a DB brace for at least 3 months. As you can imagine both my husband and i were really shocked because she seemed fine was just on the verge of crawling and movement were all good...

Anyway, she seems to be ok with the brace but is not sleeping well, is waking several times at night when previously she sleeps 12 hours... I dont know how to make her more comfortable at night??

Also i am really concerned about her development now, she was doing so well was rolling all over the place and was just starting to hold herself up into a crawling position... now i feel like she is not going to be able to do anything and when i give her time on her tummy with the brace she gets really frustrated because she can't move much now. I guess i was wondering if anyone else's babies have managed to be mobile at all in the brace?

Also i am worried about the next appointment, they said 3 months but reading on here it seems that not many babies are better after 3 months and end up taking alot longer, i am so upset about this, it is horrible to see her so frustrated and she is soooo tired because she is not sleeping properly.

This is still all very new to me and i am still struggling with the basics like nappy changes and clothing, (most of her clothes dont fit over the brace)...

Anyway i know nobody can tell me how long it will be and reading on here she is definitely not the worst affected baby so i guess i can count myself lucky on that but i guess that makes no difference really, still a bit fresh for me so still finding it really upsetting...

Emma.

[sweetpea678]

Hi Emma,

I thought I would give you my expereince with the db brace. My second dd was not diagnosed with double hip dysplasia till she was 6 months old, I had to travel to Sydnet to get it checked properly as no one in Canberra would deal with her, (no private cover). At the time she was put in it she was rolling and doing the rock thing that babies tend to do before they crawl. She was checked after 4weeks to make sure it was in the right size for her and all. Then checked again at the 3 month stage her dr said it was looking promising and to come back in a month, I could not get an appoinment for 6 weeks, when I did it was all better and the brace game off then and there. She is now a happy 5yr old.

In terms of movement by the time she came out of it she was rolling in it, sitting up and even tried to stand. Within a month of being out of it she was crawling and cruising furniture. On the sleep front i used to put rolled nappies under her legs to help support the weight of the harnes this helped her sleep, though i still had to get up to her every 3 hours to move her a bit eg tilt to side slightly etc.

Hope this helps.

[cannedemma]

thanks for that message... it is good to know that it is not always ongoing for months and months, i am still vey raw about the whole thing and support is great...

i will try the rolled up nappy to help her sleep and hopefully she will be more comfy...

thats great that it didnt impede her development too much and she was up and about so fast, i hope charlotte can achieve the same...

thanks again...

[Damsbabe]

Hi everyone,
I just found this great forum as I am keen to learn all i can about hip dysplasia. My 18mth old daughter Sienna was diagonosed just after 12 mths with a dislocated hip. We have been waiting every since for her operation. Today it was confirmed for Dec 8th. She is having the dye put in and her hip put back in the socket then plaster for 3mths. I have read heaps about nappies - thanks for your suggestions and comments. I was however wondering how you bath/shower them???? I am assumming with plastic around them in the shower. Can anyone offer any advice. I am dreading her plaster through the summer as I have been told it smells and there is not much you can do with them with the warm weather. I am also worried she will get frustrated as she currently walks (runs) everywhere and loves her swimming - which she will miss for a while. We have bought her an Elmo beanbag - as she loves Elmo, so that will be a nice surprise for her when she comes home from hospital. I have also been looking at high chair(harness type things) options - any suggestions would be most welcome.
I am also 6.5mths pregnant and am dreading the weight issue with the plaster. Believe it or not I found out I was pregnant the week we found out about Sienna's hip. At the time I thought it would all be over by the 2nd bub, but with RCH(Melb) waiting lists it looks like she will still be in plaster or brace when 2nd bub arrives. Thankfully I have a great husband who does alot and just adores our little girl.
I look forward to reading and sharing with you all. This forum will be a great comfort for me.
Take care all
Paula