Re: beginning bar length for a 3 1/2 month old

[Guest guest]

My son is 18 months old and at a 8 3/4 inch setting middle bolt to

middle bolt(he wears the markells). We tried to lengthen him to the

heel/heel ratio and it made him uncomfortable. Since he sleeps through

the night-I figure he is a happy camper!

take care,

kathleen

>

> In reading posts about bar length, I was wondering what length of

bar

> most babies start out at and feel comfortable with. is 3 1/2

> months old and is in the FAB at a length of 8 inches,

> measured from the middle of each heel. It is at the shortest

> setting. She is still adjusting to the shoes but seems comfortable

> during the day anyway. I tried briefly lengthening the bar at the

> beginning of the adjustment period, but it seemed to make her

angry.

> Just curious what other people have found that works to see if we

are

> within the norm.

>

> Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the tip on how to put the shoes up to the baby's shoulders. I find

it really hard to actually measure 's shoulders. Babies' shoulders are so

rounded! is tall, too, so I tried lengthening the bar by about an inch

tonight, making it about 9 inches and she screamed the house down so I put it

back to 8 inches. Although she is not sleeping well at night, who knows if that

is because she is just a tiny infant or because of the shoes/ bar length/etc.?

She is more restless at night than my other babies were and I suspect that it is

because of the brace, but I think that is just our lot in life at this point

until she gets a bit older. She is in bed with me and nursing on demand so she

would probably not be a great sleeper anyway...but the reason she is in bed with

me is because she has had a " hard life " with casts, etc. and I feel sorry for

her...plus she is my last baby so I think I would have indulged her more than

the others no matter what. Anyway, it is hard to separate out what the cause of

her restlessness is at this point so I will just keep trying new and different

things.

Carol

Re: beginning bar length for a 3 1/2 month old

Carol,

It varies so much from child to child because they are all different

sizes and shapes. One person's 3 month old might be the same size as

someone else's 7 month old, weight and height may play a factor but

ultimately it is shoulder width that matters. My son has broad

shoulders and is tall (95th percentile), he started off in a 12 " bar

(with his heels 10 inches apart) at around 2 1/2 months. Now, at 16

months I couldn't tell you the measurement, I just widen the bar as

needed when I see it is getting too narrow.

It usually seems more comfortable for the babies to err on the longer

side, too short almost always causes discomfort and slipping. The

main problem with TOO long is that it won't hold dorsiflexion.

I think the absolute easiest way to measure this is to have the baby

sit up, facing away from you and hold the brace up to their back,

heels facing in. There's a picture of this in the tips document,

which if you don't already have it, you can see it here:

http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles\

/fab_tips_10_05_05.pdf<http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil/sitebuilderc\

ontent/sitebuilderfiles/fab_tips_10_05_05.pdf>

If the shoulders fit nicely between the heels of the shoes you are

probably right on.

There is an ongoing discussion about where to measure from, is it heel

to heel, bolt to bolt, or what? The global-help booklet says " The

distance between the heels of the shoes equals the width of the baby's

shoulders. " My son seems to like his just tiny bit wider than this.

Night waking caused by the shoes is almost always a bar length issue

if the baby is otherwise comfortable during the day. You might try

widening the bar right before you put her to bed and see if she sleeps

better with it wider and then how she adjusts to it the next morning.

Hope this helps,

>

> In reading posts about bar length, I was wondering what length of bar

> most babies start out at and feel comfortable with. is 3 1/2

> months old and is in the FAB at a length of 8 inches,

> measured from the middle of each heel. It is at the shortest

> setting. She is still adjusting to the shoes but seems comfortable

> during the day anyway. I tried briefly lengthening the bar at the

> beginning of the adjustment period, but it seemed to make her angry.

> Just curious what other people have found that works to see if we are

> within the norm.

>

> Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05

>

[Guest guest]

Kathleen,

That sounds short for his age so he must like it that way since he is

comfortable and sleeps well. It is good to hear your experience. I will

remember it in the future in case is one of those who like the bar a bit

shorter. Thanks!

Carol

Re: beginning bar length for a 3 1/2 month old

My son is 18 months old and at a 8 3/4 inch setting middle bolt to

middle bolt(he wears the markells). We tried to lengthen him to the

heel/heel ratio and it made him uncomfortable. Since he sleeps through

the night-I figure he is a happy camper!

take care,

kathleen

>

> In reading posts about bar length, I was wondering what length of

bar

> most babies start out at and feel comfortable with. is 3 1/2

> months old and is in the FAB at a length of 8 inches,

> measured from the middle of each heel. It is at the shortest

> setting. She is still adjusting to the shoes but seems comfortable

> during the day anyway. I tried briefly lengthening the bar at the

> beginning of the adjustment period, but it seemed to make her

angry.

> Just curious what other people have found that works to see if we

are

> within the norm.

>

> Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing your experience. didn't seem to like her bar any

longer than 8 inches. I like how they are all different, even the same age

babies! And is in the 95% of height and weight so she is a big baby!

Re: beginning bar length for a 3 1/2 month old

Carol, my little guy started out in the s and the distance of the bar

was about 8 " . Since he has been out of this last correction cast, I lengthened

the bar by another inch. So now it's 9 " long from center screw to center screw.

I did this because I noticed he was a little more irritated with the shoes than

he had been before he went into the last cast. It really seemed to do the trick.

He's no longer kicking his legs in frustration and is a lot happier. He, too is

3 1/2 months old.

Carol wrote: In reading posts about bar length, I

was wondering what length of bar

most babies start out at and feel comfortable with. is 3 1/2

months old and is in the FAB at a length of 8 inches,

measured from the middle of each heel. It is at the shortest

setting. She is still adjusting to the shoes but seems comfortable

during the day anyway. I tried briefly lengthening the bar at the

beginning of the adjustment period, but it seemed to make her angry.

Just curious what other people have found that works to see if we are

within the norm.

Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05