It has been eight weeks since Squeaky went into his Palvik Harness.
It has been a steep learning curve and also lessons in empathy with my mother.
We learnt early on that pee socks are important with little boys when trying avoid getting pee on a harness you are not meant to take off. We have got very good at wiping him down instead of bathing him. Although this comes more problematic when there is a nappy explosion. More so if you are getting ready to out to a party and you are in your favourite party clothes. Note if you pick up a baby have the legs their babygrow squish under your hand. Call in reinforcements and all wipes you can manage. That particular night was a two person job and taking velcro off and sponging off poo was not as fun as it sounds!
We found dresses work really well especially with the tricky nature of nappy changes, to be fair nappies have been the bigest challenge.
Squeaky himself is pretty happy, he kicks his legs like a footballer and is happy. Holding him feels odd and you have to careful of where his legs are and we are no longer comfortable sitting in the rocking chair which is annoying.
Our first check up had been delayed a week and we arrived to a doubly busy clinic. Squeaky was scanned and it was felt that his right hip was improving but the subluxated left hip had not. This was gutting news. We took the harness of there and Squeaky was smelly, he had not had a bath for three weeks. We booked in the next consultation, feeling very sad and lots hugs given. Mr Gin and I headed home, with a smelly Squeaky, on a London bus in our own bubble of silence as we absorbed the news. On the way home one the surgeons we had spoken with rang, she had compared Squeaky's initial ultrasound with the one taken that day and said there was a small improvement. She asked that we come back in two days and get Squeaky fitted into a Harness again. We agreed.
We took him home and gave him a much needed bath. He was not all that happy as he stretched his legs out but the bath soothed his legs. Out of the harness he felt tiny and delicate to hold.
We returned to the hospital, early in the morning, to be refitted. Squeaky was a delight, smiling and giggling and proving that he is resilient by not changing his behaviour over the next two weeks as we settled back into harness routine. We went back to the hospital in two weeks and had another check, again they felt there was minimal change but compared the ultrasounds there in the clinic. They left in the harness and off we went, knowing that there was improvement but it was very slow and we were looking at a possible three to five months in the harness.
We had got good at removing the harness by watching the professionals and marking the harness. This meant Squeaky got a bath once a week and when we had a poo explosion a quick wash. A little more civilised.
We went back for the seven week check last week. Again another ultrasound with minimal change. Two surgeons went off and compared the four ultrasounds. The right hip is looking like a normal hip but the left is showing minimal change. It is still subluxated. They recommended that Squeaky come out of the harness and he is booked in for a closed reduction.
The closed reduction will occur in July. They will inject a dye into the joint and manually manipulate the joint into the right position. They check if there is ligament pulling at the joint, if it is, they will cut it. Then they will put him in a spica plaster cast, that goes from his waist to the ankle on the affected side, knee on the other. This is done under general anaesthetic.
We are currently harness free and having to do another wardrobe exchange as a lot of the clothing that went over the harness swamps him now. He is happy, chirpy self although the first night home in pain due to his legs stretching out.
It has taken me a week to write this because the escalation of Squeaky's treatment is upsetting. I am disappointed the harness didn't work, guilty that my genetics have bred so try and frightened about putting me precious little boy through this. He will be six moths old and having a general anaesthetic, scary. I really hope this works because I don't want him to end up like me and able to remember treatment because it went on so long.
Right now I am trying to focus on enjoying my delightful little boy and introducing him to his Australian grandparents. After they go, we focus on providing the best care and outcome for Squeaky, his hip and long term health.
Showing posts with label palvik harness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palvik harness. Show all posts
3.4.18
A new hippy family
Late Janurary Mr Gin and I had a bright, gorgous boy. He was born via a fairly uneventful c-section besides the theatre staff stopping to check out my hip replacement tattoo. It was a spinal procedure and Mr Gin was there by my side and got to cuddle his boy pretty much straight away.
We were home within 24 hours of this process and plunged into the chaotic world of new parents with an almost helpless tiny human with an incredibly loud and wide vocal range.
We have had our highs; solving why he is crying through the process of elimination, finding he is photogenic all the time, cuddles, gurgles and smiles, watching him grow and take notice of the world. Finding all sorts of things adorable including when he has the hiccoups and then squeaks. For this reason, for the purpose of this blog, his name is Squeaky.
We have had some lows too, we have had a struggle with breast feeding which has been very much helped by the resolution of a tongue tie but it took a while to gain back the weight Squeaky lost during those first few weeks where he was not getting enough food. We found this process very tough, me because I was the food source and Mr Gin because he sat through a lot, and I mean a lot, of crying, from me and Squeaky. Mr Gin's incredible support and amazing parenting as well as the wonderful support of the infant feeding team at Homerton we are on track with Squeaky's weight and he is feeding very well. But that was tough and I suspect just a taster for the tough times ahead raising a kid.
This blog has always had a hip focus and I really though that would disappear with the birth of Squeaky when in hospital his hips were checked and declared stable. We were booked in for a six week ultra sound scan of his hips, an additional check that is done for children with possible contributing factors such as a genetic predisposition and his late breech presentation.
So, I fronted up to the six week scan, not overly concerned and with a relaxed, well fed baby, so he could be stripped down and covered in clear gloop. I chatted with the staff and as there was a genetic history listed, they asked about my history. Cue mildly horrified faces. They looked at Squeaky's hips and found them to be shallow, not a surprising outcome and I had done research and spoken with Mr Hutt so was prepared with names and hospitals.
Homerton were not taking any chances, they knew my history so instead of waiting till eight weeks they referred Squeaky to the One Stop Baby Hip Clinic at the Royal London Hospital. Both the radiographer and the Paediatrician agreed that this was the best course of action even though most likely over cautious. Mr Gin and I were very happy with this and waited for the referral to come through. The Royal was a suggestion from Mr Hutt.
The referral was quick and we went to the long name clinic before Squeaky hit 8 weeks old. The paediatric imagining centre at the Royal London is new and swish, bright colours and laser cut plastic bones in geometric patterns. We arrived with a number of other parents with little babies waiting for the clinic.
Doctors began appearing, and Squeaky's name was called and off we went. Squeaky's hips were scanned by a doctor and observed by the head orthopaedic surgeon. I was fairly cool about the whole process until the doctor doing the scan said "That one is not in". I asked her to repeat the statement. His left hip was shallow and almost out to the socket, not sitting well. His right socket was shallow also but in the correct position.
We then dressed Squeaky whilst it was explained that Squeaky was going to being fitted with a Palvik Harness that day and that the harness had a 95% to 98% success rate in cases like Squeaky. We were to come back in 2 weeks to see if the the harness was working and the minimum time in the harness was 6 weeks and maximum was 3 months. The options after that point are a little more dramatic.
We waited for two hours for the fitting, when we got there Squeaky was fitted with something that looks like a costume from the Fifth Element. It holds his legs in the correct position to increase the depth of his sockets and coax the left one into the correct position. He charmed the staff who fitted his harness as he did not cry and was smiley and giggly. We took our little crunched boy home, feeling a little shell shocked.
We had wine that night. Being aware that we could have a tough night as he got used to the harness, we sat and cuddled our little lad. I spoke to my mother about the outcome and she was very supportive as she had been in the same position 43 years ago. In the end my father had the correct reaction to it all, that it was disappointing, we were all hoping that Squeaky would not have my bad hips. I was upset and Mr Gin was his standard sensible self, saying it is what it is and we will cope and it is not as bad as it could be.
The next day I went shopping for clothes to go over his harness because his current wardrobe won't fit over his harness. We felt that dresses would be an easy option and he went shopping with me in a dress I wore as a child! I bought baggy trousers, dresses and baby grows with openings at the bottom and not from the neck to ankles.
Squeaky himself has not shown any issues with the harness being very smiley and happy most of the time, no real change in behaviour including the first night when he slept really well, totally bucking the warnings the staff gave when we left the hospitial.
We are still coming to terms with this outcome and hoping that our visit next week shows that the harness is working and Squeaky only has slightly dodgy hips and not his mum's really dodgy hips.
We were home within 24 hours of this process and plunged into the chaotic world of new parents with an almost helpless tiny human with an incredibly loud and wide vocal range.
We have had our highs; solving why he is crying through the process of elimination, finding he is photogenic all the time, cuddles, gurgles and smiles, watching him grow and take notice of the world. Finding all sorts of things adorable including when he has the hiccoups and then squeaks. For this reason, for the purpose of this blog, his name is Squeaky.
We have had some lows too, we have had a struggle with breast feeding which has been very much helped by the resolution of a tongue tie but it took a while to gain back the weight Squeaky lost during those first few weeks where he was not getting enough food. We found this process very tough, me because I was the food source and Mr Gin because he sat through a lot, and I mean a lot, of crying, from me and Squeaky. Mr Gin's incredible support and amazing parenting as well as the wonderful support of the infant feeding team at Homerton we are on track with Squeaky's weight and he is feeding very well. But that was tough and I suspect just a taster for the tough times ahead raising a kid.
This blog has always had a hip focus and I really though that would disappear with the birth of Squeaky when in hospital his hips were checked and declared stable. We were booked in for a six week ultra sound scan of his hips, an additional check that is done for children with possible contributing factors such as a genetic predisposition and his late breech presentation.
So, I fronted up to the six week scan, not overly concerned and with a relaxed, well fed baby, so he could be stripped down and covered in clear gloop. I chatted with the staff and as there was a genetic history listed, they asked about my history. Cue mildly horrified faces. They looked at Squeaky's hips and found them to be shallow, not a surprising outcome and I had done research and spoken with Mr Hutt so was prepared with names and hospitals.
Homerton were not taking any chances, they knew my history so instead of waiting till eight weeks they referred Squeaky to the One Stop Baby Hip Clinic at the Royal London Hospital. Both the radiographer and the Paediatrician agreed that this was the best course of action even though most likely over cautious. Mr Gin and I were very happy with this and waited for the referral to come through. The Royal was a suggestion from Mr Hutt.
The referral was quick and we went to the long name clinic before Squeaky hit 8 weeks old. The paediatric imagining centre at the Royal London is new and swish, bright colours and laser cut plastic bones in geometric patterns. We arrived with a number of other parents with little babies waiting for the clinic.
Doctors began appearing, and Squeaky's name was called and off we went. Squeaky's hips were scanned by a doctor and observed by the head orthopaedic surgeon. I was fairly cool about the whole process until the doctor doing the scan said "That one is not in". I asked her to repeat the statement. His left hip was shallow and almost out to the socket, not sitting well. His right socket was shallow also but in the correct position.
We then dressed Squeaky whilst it was explained that Squeaky was going to being fitted with a Palvik Harness that day and that the harness had a 95% to 98% success rate in cases like Squeaky. We were to come back in 2 weeks to see if the the harness was working and the minimum time in the harness was 6 weeks and maximum was 3 months. The options after that point are a little more dramatic.
We waited for two hours for the fitting, when we got there Squeaky was fitted with something that looks like a costume from the Fifth Element. It holds his legs in the correct position to increase the depth of his sockets and coax the left one into the correct position. He charmed the staff who fitted his harness as he did not cry and was smiley and giggly. We took our little crunched boy home, feeling a little shell shocked.
We had wine that night. Being aware that we could have a tough night as he got used to the harness, we sat and cuddled our little lad. I spoke to my mother about the outcome and she was very supportive as she had been in the same position 43 years ago. In the end my father had the correct reaction to it all, that it was disappointing, we were all hoping that Squeaky would not have my bad hips. I was upset and Mr Gin was his standard sensible self, saying it is what it is and we will cope and it is not as bad as it could be.
The next day I went shopping for clothes to go over his harness because his current wardrobe won't fit over his harness. We felt that dresses would be an easy option and he went shopping with me in a dress I wore as a child! I bought baggy trousers, dresses and baby grows with openings at the bottom and not from the neck to ankles.
Squeaky himself has not shown any issues with the harness being very smiley and happy most of the time, no real change in behaviour including the first night when he slept really well, totally bucking the warnings the staff gave when we left the hospitial.
We are still coming to terms with this outcome and hoping that our visit next week shows that the harness is working and Squeaky only has slightly dodgy hips and not his mum's really dodgy hips.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)