Hip Dysplasia

[cannedemma]

Hi,
I know this thread is quite old but i was hoping to find out what happened with you daughter and her hip problems? My daughter is 6 months and has had 2 previous checks and they believed her hips were improving by themself so like you when we went on Monday and found there is a problem it was a big shock...

She has had the brace on since we went on monday and she seems to be ok with it but is having issues with sleeping as well... she is waking frequently during the night and i cannot settle her back to sleep in her own bed, the only way i can get any sleep is to bring her to my bed. I am finding this very distressing and am concerned about her development being delayed but also about her emotional development...

Do you have any tips for how i can help her be a bit more comfortable at night? Also i would like to know how your daughter is now? Was it a long process? Did she walk or crawl in the brace?

I hope that this gets to someone??

Thanks Emma.

[Suezt]

Hi Emma. Great that you posted on here. It's been awhile since I've been here.

Sophie is doing wonderful. She's been out of the brace 9 months now and within 4 months of being out of the brace she had totally caught up to her peers. Walking, running, jumping etc. Within 11 weeks she started walking. You look back now and you wouldn't have even known that she had any problems with her hip. She came out of the brace when she was 15mths old and we went back to the O/S when she was 2 years old and he gave her the perfect result we wanted to hear. I burst out into tears and cried all the way home! He said the only problem she will face later in life is with her children and that they are to be x-rayed no matter what at 2 months of age (boy & girl). He also said too, that h/d is more prevalent in first cousins.

Sleep was a problem at the start. I remember bringing her into bed with me too and laying her on my tummy which seemed the only way to help her sleep (not me though!!!). It only took 1 week - 10 days for her to adjust in her cot - in the end I had to get tough (as I was so sleep deprived!) and let her cry it out. She was sleeping thru before the brace went on - so I knew she could do it. Also, I placed a rolled up towel under her feet (under the sheet) as I found her feet dangled in the air without it. This just helped her feet rest flat. Also I introduced a pillow to make life a little more comfortable for her.

Sophie learnt to bum shuffle in her brace. It was so funny, but they do learn to adjust so quickly (more than the mum and dad) and get around in their own little way. Towards the end too she was pulling herself up to stand in the brace. She was in the brace 7 months total (8mths - 15mths). We did see a change in her personality once she came out of the brace (maybe that was just Sophie - not sure if the others had the same). But she just seemed to come out of her shell, be more happy, mischievious, smile etc. She was quite a serious little girl in her brace, with not too many smiles. I thought that was just her personality - but it obviously was having some effect on her.

The only thing development wise she struggled with was rolling. They can learn to roll in the brace (the o/s said they can do anything in the brace that other kids do) - Sophie just couldn't do it. When the brace came off (which too was hard - was just as traumatic as when the brace went on!) she struggled sleeping as she would move around in the cot so much (where as before she was just stuck in the 1 position) and get stuck in various positions and then was unable to get herself out as she couldn't roll. It only took a week or so for her to learn to roll - but like at the start (when the brace went on) it was very tough to get any sleep.

Now it's all a thing of the past. I'm so grateful now that they found the hip dysplacia when she was a baby and everything is fixed!

Hope I've helped. Feel free to ask more questions, cry with us, share, celebrate etc. I found this forum invaluable and the ladies on here are just wonderful.
love and huge humungous hugs
Susan
xxxx

[SJL]

My daughter should have had the brace when she was little but that never happened when she was with her birth parents so now that she is growing badly we are having a lot of issues and possibly facing surgery with in a couple of years (hopefully her second skin suit and AFO's (ankle-foot orthotics) will delay surgery or prevent it altogether, but unlikely).
So no matter how tough things get it is a lot better for both bubs and the family to go through the braces now as opposed to surgery and pain latter on. Your bubs wont remember the brace in a few years but if they have to have surgery they will have scares for life.


Good luck to you and bubs.

Sjl

[cannedemma]

Hi Susan!

Thanks so much for your reply... You have made me feel alot better about Charlotte's situation... So far she is not doing anything much in the brace and is not tolerating being on her stomach much...

I had a great night with her last night, i folded a big quilt up into 4 and put it under the sheet in her cot because the previous night she would not sleep at all and i, like you had to have her in bed with me... The softness seems to have supported her legs a bit and made her a bit more comfy and she slept right through!!

I think i have come to terms with the delays in development and everyone i speak to has advised me that they catch up really quickly so that is the main thing! I am still a little concerned about her emotional development like as you said with Sophie, Charlotte seems to have become a little less happy and i struggle to get her to smile and giggle now so i am hoping that this will improve as well.

I see a big change in her when i give her the hour a day without the brace, she is sooooo happy and playful and stuff... i am hoping that it is just an adjustment phase because it has only been 5 days...

Anyway! Only time will tell i guess so i will keep you updated and thanks again for your advice/ support! It really helps to know that Charlotte is not the only baby with this problem and having this brace!

Thanks Again!

Emma.