Saturday 11 February 2012

More Tips for Parents of Clubfoot kids!

So I thought of a few things that will be helpful to know before embarking on the adventure of having a clubfoot kid :)

I'll break it down into sections:

Cast Care: Babylegs, or leg warmers for protecting casts from diaper leaks! 
Slippers: For days when it was cold out, we put slippers over the end of her casts where her toes were sticking out to keep them warm :)
Babywearing: We used a Moby wrap. It supported the casts so that it wasn't putting pressure on her hip joints.
Clothes: For during the day, we wore a lot of dresses on her (with matching babylegs of course!) During the summer she wore a lot of onesies with babylegs. For colder weather she wore the same except with hoodies and sweaters as well. For night time She wore long sleeve onesies, babylegs, and a sleepsack. The sleep sacks needed to be a few sizes bigger as she needed room to have the casts in there too :) When she was in the boots and bar, we still wore a lot of dresses, stretch pants, footless tights! And for the most part normal baby clothes. We staid away from jeans for the most part and pants that were not stretchy. The reason for this is that though they would fit her while she was wearing boots and bar, we quickly discovered the difficulty of changing a diaper without taking off the boots and bar.
Equipment: Make sure that it doesn't have a cross bar for high chair, strollers, swings etc. It is very hard to get the casts out when you have to work around a crossbar as the feet are at an angle that gets stuck! These things will be important too for Boots and Bar wear as you won't have to worry about taking off the boots or bar to get them in and out of the same equipment. We had a Graco stroller that the tray lifted up on the front so it didn't get in the way. Our High chair was a safety first space saver that had a bump for in between the legs to keep Lilybear from sliding forward, and a tray that detached. For a swing, we had one that the tray folded down. During the boots and bar stage we left the tray down and Lilybear would balance her bar on the folded down tray so that it didn't have the extra weight pulling down on her feet.
Winter: We couldn't wear a snow suit on Lilybear for the most part in the winter as she was in her boots and bar. When she was in her bucket seat for the car we had a bunting bag for the carseat that was very warm. Most days we just needed a sweater, or a light jacket on her when she was in the carseat.
SOCKS: Make sure that the socks are long enough to go up past the top of the boots and bar and fold over the top. This will help keep the laces (if you have laces) tied and so that your little one can't untie them on you. Also it will keep the socks from sliding down on you. Other things to keep in mind when stocking up on your socks is to have lots! Changing socks is important to keep the feet dry and not sweaty! We changed Lilybear's socks every time we took her boots off. Also a good tip is to wear the socks inside out, and make sure that the seam is not pushing on the toes. I made the mistake of not making sure the seam was not rubbing on Lilybears toes once, and she got HUGE blisters! Also make sure that there are no grippies on the bottom of the socks. They cause blisters too.
BLISTERS: If you do end up getting some blisters on their poor little feet, Duo-Derm. It is a plastic sticky bandage that will cover and protect the blister. You can get it at Lawtons if there is a home care section, or ask your Dr. where you can get some!

That's all I can think of for now, but I will update the list as I'm sure there are somethings that I missed :) Hope it helps you prepare for your journey!

3 comments:

  1. I'm wondering how exactly you positioned her in the Moby wrap. I have one and my baby has casts on both legs. I'm very intimidated by the Moby wrap to begin with. Can you explain to me how you managed it? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Kristen! The Moby wrap was a bit of work to get used to the fort few times! I would Rex omens having a extra person there to help you practice a few times till you get the hang of it. Basically the wrap is the same positioning of the baby as you see on the YouTube videos on how to wrap a Moby, the difference is that I would wrap it with Lily in it! I would wrap the Moby around my waist, cross in the back, up over each shoulder. Then I would pick up Lilybear and lay her on my chest facing me. Then I would take the wrap on my left shoulder and wrap it over her back and bum, between her legs to my right side. Then take the right side of the wrap and cross over her back and bin, between her legs to my left side. Then wrap and knot to your back as tight as you need to so she won't move! This is why it helps to have more than one person. Then you pull up the kangaroo part on the front right over her bun and back and right up to support her neck etc...hope that makes sense!!!

      Delete
    2. Kristine!! Sorry about the name...silly auto correct!

      Delete