After 11 weeks of treatment the time finally came for "the brace" This is the part of the treatment that I have been dreading. And after 13 days of use, (I'm a little slow at posting) I can honestly say that it is as bad as I had imagined. The day we got the brace the doctor had said that it would be a horrible week. I wish that he had warned us at the previous visit. I wouldn't have planned his blessing to be three days later and I would have had my parents come and visit after we had adjusted.
James screamed almost the entire first night. I could tell that he was in pain. (I can see why some parents suggest that treatment not start for a week or two after the baby is born. It gives parents a chance to get breastfeeding off to a good start and get to know the temperment of their baby.) I knew that James was a happy baby, not prone to crying for long periods. I knew that he was not only mad about his lack of movement, but also upset about his painful foot. The first time that we took off the boots we could see the red marks on his heal. It is only the club foot. The normal foot is doing fine. I'm not sure if that means that his foot is not entirely corrected. The doctors seemed to think that his foot had done great. We will have to see if I can wait the 4 1/2 more weeks until we go back to Children's.
It has gotten better the last 13 days. Mostly because James has a happy nature and really wants to be happy and not screaming. That doesn't mean that screaming isn't happening. It is just not as often. We can usually tell when he is in pain or just upset. If we take off the boot and give him a little break and make sure to get the boots on correctly it helps a lot. He hasn't cried about his foot all day so that is a good sign.
He has to wear the boots almost all day. He is supposed to wear them 23 hours a day, we don't make that goal. Some days we are close, other days it is more like 22 hours. It takes time to get the boots off, clean his feet, give him a chance to dry and stretch, and then put the boots back on. We have been taking them off a few times a day or when we can tell that they aren't on right. The number of times has been decreasing so the amount of time that he is in them is increasing. He still has a big open blister on the back of his foot. We are trying all kinds of tricks to help it heal: changing socks, mole skin, mole foam, band-aids, corn bandages etc. I'm sure that we will find a solution soon. (I'm hoping)
Another concern that I had about the brace was holding James. It is not as easy to hold him, partly because of his size. (He is a big boy!) The brace also makes it awkward to carry him. Jon likes to carry him facing out with his arms around James' body. I carry him more and try and change up the positions. My wrists are getting very sore though.
I did find a baby carrier that will work. I love baby wearing and was worried that I wouldn't be able to do it. My LLL co-leader has a carrier called the Pikilo. It is very similar to the Ergo, that I own, only you can cinch in the crotch area, so the legs are close together, and the baby can be facing out, so the legs don't get squished. I have been borrowing hers, but I ordered my own yesterday! It's a little tricky to get on since his legs are stuck together, but I am able to do it on my own. I don't use it much at home. I think that James is more comfortable laying on the ground or in a baby chair sometimes. At least he has lots of siblings to keep him company.
The width of the bar corresponds to the width of his shoulders.
The boots are attached to the bar with screws on the soles of the shoes. There are some models that just snap on. I'm going to need to beg for that! His right foot is set at 45 degrees and his left foot is set at 70 degrees. He looks like a snow boarder. He will be a natural.
This picture was taken after James had been in the brace for over a week. As you can see he is not upset at all. By the way, that is a 6 month size outfit, worn for the first time, that barely fits!
2 comments:
it's ok it really helps. my mom told me i had to were them when i was little and i'm fine now. i even still have them. trust your child has a great chance of growing up and being fine.
Do you have any pics of James in a carrier w the bar on? My sis is looking into carriers for her son who wears Mitchell shoes as well, but wants to see pics-- I can't find any tho. Any help would be much appreciated! She is considering the pikkolo.
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