baby hip health week 13-19 march!

[Me, My Girls & I]

i know its the end of the week, but i've meaning to do this all week! its a subject really close to my heart and i think there should be so much more info out there!

as many of you know, my eldest has hip dysplasia (DDH) she was diagnosed really late thanks to our health visitor who forgot to refer her! this time last year, she was in a hip spica, which is basically a plaster cast from her waist to her ankles! she stayed in this until sometime during the world cup! it wasn't as bad as i expected it to be, but it was a very long, drawn out process! thankfully now, a year down the line, she's finally found her feet she only took her first unaided steps over christmas, she was 25 months, but seeing that was one of the most special moments of my life!

the signs to look out for are:

-one leg appearing shorter than the other

-extra creases in the legs (doctors only routinely check the front creases at the 6 week check, but in katie's case, and many others, the extra crease was at the back!)

-crawling with a leg dragging or walking with a limp or waddle

having these signs doesnt necessarily mean there's a problem, and there are other signs aswell, but these are the main ones that crop up!

When we found out, it made me realise how many other things were so obvious and pointed to DDH!

We're still not 100% out of the woods, and we still have to go back every 6 months for checkups, but, it looks like we're finally getting somewhere! I'd urge anyone that notices any of the signs to atleast see your doctor or health visitor about it, chances are that it's nothing, but you can never be too sure!

if you take a look at www.steps-charity.org.uk there's tonnes more info too! gona share a few pics of my little lady too cos i'm just so proud, and the pics show aswell how unaffected by it she was, it really is harder on the parents!

1st pic, a few hours after she came out of theatre and happy and smiling away
2nd - with her sister watching telly
3rd - her 2nd plaster, this one came down both legs, but stopped at the top of her legs so she could sit up and stuff!
4th - again in the 2nd plaster, it didnt stop her at all!
5th - eventually we got her walking with a walking frame, was very slow progress, but we got there!

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

and a year later, she's running (well, walking) round the garden playing football

 

[Mamafy]

Thank you hun

K has done so well

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

aw thanks hun! i'm so proud of her! its funny, even now little things make me well up, like this week shes learnt to climb onto dining chairs! which doesnt seem much, but its something that shecould just never have even thought of doing!

 

[Pudds86]

aww bless her little cottons! She looks so happy. Well done you for coping so well xx

 

[Pudds86]

Hey Alice, I was just googling the condition and found a picture that demonstrates the symptoms you listed quite well xx

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

aw thats a really good pic, thanks hun!xxx

 

[Rayoflight]

Blake has his ultrasound two weeks today.

I am absolutely shitting it. His crease is both front and back. One leg looks shorter, try stand him on his feet and one leg always comes up.

When he was newborn my OH would stand him up on his feet and even let go! It made me so upset and caused blazing rows, even one between him and my mum. When he was about a month old, he did it again showing off to his mates and I just lost it - full on screams and tears and as far as I know he never did it again. I now have this horrible feeling that if something is wrong with baby's hips could my OH have caused this?!

Also, I feel like I need to know EVERYTHING before I go info the appointment. My OH would rather bury his head in the sand and keeps saying that it's rubbish and there is nothing wrong with him.

Alice- how long was she in the cast for? How did you cope with it? Especially nappies?!

Are there any really important questions I need to ask at the appointment?

 

[Mamafy]

My little ones appointment is next thursday, there's an xray or scan and a a consultancy appointment 15 minutes later for the results.

Rayoflight

 

[Rayoflight]

So by this time next week we should both have some answers. fingers crossed for our boys! Xxx

 

[Elfs Mummy]

Maisie had her hip scan today and it's not great news she has immature hips so they are giving her a re scan in 3 weeks then i should know more xx

 

[Mamafy]

Awww hun hope it goes ok

Have they said what it'll mean?

 

[Rayoflight]

Oh hun, thinking of you and Maisie. have they said what immature hips means? X

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

I buried my head in the sand before the appt, mervsmum's little girl was having checks at the same time as K and I wouldn't read her threads on it cos I didn't want to worry myself about something that wasnt going to happen after we got the diagnosis tho, I read absolutely everything i could! I wanted to go into it knowing absolutely everything I could!

Katie was in plaster from the start of march to the end of June, during the world cup! She did have one cast change during that time cos she literally broke the first one into about 4 pieces the usually don't change them in my area tho, although other hospitals change them every 6 weeks or so!

I actually found it a lot easier than I expected!! My mum and everyone made out like it was going to be really hard, but I've got the attitude of, well it's happening, I can't change it, so I'll just have to get on with it! I found it really hard to come to terms with at first tho and just didn't know what to say to anyone about it! I was kinds in shock that my "perfect" little girl wasn't quite so perfect! I had a bit of a triple whammy tho cos I was thinking about leaving fob and was also heavily pregnant! One of the reasons I stayed at my mums so long was that everyone said I'd need loads of support, so I decided to stay there til she was out of plaster... By the en of match I'd already found my own flat

Nappies werent that bad, the only problem was that exploding poos were very hard to clean up and by the time it came off, she stank of wee cos you can't get rid of any leaks! But I was really proud at her check ups that they said it was one of the cleanest casts they'd seen there is a knack to changing them and I did it slightly differently to te advice I was given! If Anyones LO does end up in plaster, ive still got 10 packs of te pads I used cos she came out sooner than I expected and I'd bought in bulk! I'd be happy to pass them on!

The main problem was hair washing! I stocked up on dry shampoo ad she had a hair wash once a week! This was possibly the most traumatic part of the whole thing! It took 2 of us and we had to pin her down on the draining board and force her head back over the sink whilst the oter washed! Wasn't exacty a fun experience!

If they are diagnosed, the only questions I'd really ask would be about support in the area, what exactly the procedure involves (I was never told anything, just that she had a problem and needed an operation!) and more questions will probs cone to me, but I'll come back and update if needs be!

The only thing is, until they get them into theatre, they don't know exactly what they're dealing with so they can't tell you exactly what's going to happen! I saw a little girl come back From theatre with nothing done cos she needed more complex surgery basically when they get them into theatre, they inject dye into the joint so they can see exactly whats going on with ligaments and stuff as well! Katie was lucky, it was a case of just manipulate it back into place and set in plaster, but sometimes they can have to make a small cut in the ligaments or do even moe than that!

Ooo whilst I remember, if needs be, ask to make an appt to see a hip spica nurse! I only got to see one by chance and she was fantastic!

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

That was super long so decided to take a breather

Monkei, you know you can pm me any time! And katies story I was telling you about, There's a link in mamafy's thread! She was about 4 weeks early tho wasn't she? That could be why its still immature

Gemma - my OH always had her on her feet too and ive always blamed him! His mum and dad are of the opinion tho that babies should be on their feet from
Birth although, a more likely explanation is that I'm 5'1 and she was 9lb12 and there simply wasn't a lot of room for her! The consultant said this could be the cause too! Although there is a slight family history, so who knows!!

Good luck to you all in your scans and I hope I didn't chat too much in y last post

 

[Elfs Mummy]

thanks hun was planning to reply to your message, she was 9 days early so there shouldnt be a problem she asked me about 10 x if she was prem. i hope that when it comes down to it they will just say she'll grow out of it idk ? its really reasuring to know though that K was fine with it all and has come out the other end a smily happy beautifull little girl xx

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

Why did I think she was so early?! A lot of them do outgrow it! Fingers crossed shes one of them zxx

 

[Rayoflight]

Thanks for the reply Alice, it really helps xxx

 

[Me, My Girls & I]

I didntrealise how lon it was haha but I know how worrying it is and I hope reading how we got thru it kinda eases the worries slightly! If I can do it on my own with a newborn, anyone can haha!

 

[megsmeadow]

Thanks for posting this Alice, you were a great support when my LO went for his scan. You must be so proud of your LO, she's a wee doll! Thankfully R's hips were fine but it was a stressful time. The consultant scanned him so was able to tell us straight away if there were any concerns and then we were right in to see the physio who pointed out a slight tightness on the left side of his neck!