Re: I really need your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Hi Alba,

You poor thing, it is sooo hard when your baby doesn¹t sleep, we have had

the same experience in the past and know how draining it is emotionally and

physically for all of you!

(PLEASE FORGIVE THIS VERY LONG REPLY!)

Here are some ideas, I don¹t know what will work as every baby is different

­ these are just some from my experience with my son Jasper (who finally, at

20 months sleeps through the night, or with just one or two wakings).

Firstly, to rule out shoes issues... Does he always complain about the left

foot? When did this start? Are there any red marks on the foot? Do you feel

the foot is fitting in the shoe properly? If the foot is uncomfortable

because of a correction or fitting issue this will cause constant waking

through the night and you would need to speak to your doctor to check

correction. (Is the bar bent on the brace as it should be? If it is not

this can cause the discomfort)

Otherwise, is he in a cot/crib? Can he prop his foot up on something so that

he can sleep on his side? My baby also likes to sleep on his side and you

can hear him banging the bars of his crib as he finds a comfortable position

in the night. He leans his foot up on the bars. If you know which side he

likes to sleep on you can roll or fold a towel and prop it under his foot to

keep it elevated in a comfortable position (I used to do this for a few

months when my boy was just starting to sleep on his side).

If he is only learning to roll over by himself with the brace on it will

take a while for him to manoeuvre it easily so he can get into the position

he wants quickly, it is quite bulky and takes a while for a baby to be able

to lift and twist the brace to get themselves into a comfortable position.

If this is the case, he will learn how to get it where he wants it but it

will take time and it may help for you to watch him as he sleeps and

help/show him how to move his feet and twist his body for a night or so

(watching where he is trying to move and helping him achieve this) - awake

time wearing the brace helps as he will learn to push it about as he tries

to crawl/reach toys/move about.

There were some nights where he has ended up in our bed with the brace

leaning against my body as I helped him stay in his comfortable position on

his side ­ at one time it was the only way any of us got some sleep ­ but it

isn¹t ideal, for even though he slept peacefully I never really did...

I know of other people who use those mesh sided travel cot/cribs and have

had great success with this very issue as the babies can lean their boots

against the mesh walls and be comfortable, you would probably need to get a

softer mattress for them as they are very hard otherwise ­ I recommend

borrowing rather than buying one to try it, as it might not work for your

son.

Finally, do you think he could just be a difficult/light sleeper? My baby

is, the brace doesn¹t help, but I think he would have had just as many sleep

issues if he didn¹t wear a brace. There are some excellent books on sleep

training and nine months is a good age to learn about sleep as your baby

wont need to feed regularly through the night. How you put your child to

sleep is a very emotional issue and you need to choose the correct method

for you, your baby needs you happy and not tired, so try something which

gels with your beliefs. There are a heap of methods from really strict (the

Ferber method), to baby-centred approaches (like the Sears methods), and

many, many in between, (for example: Elisabeth Pantley). Things to keep in

mind are to have a night time routine which stays the same, a constant

bedtime, and also consistency in the method you are trying (unless you are

sure it is not working, then try something else). We have done a mixture of

methods, neither my partner nor myself are very good at listening to Jasper

cry, so we made up what we feel works best for jasper (after trying loads of

methods). If you can, have someone (friend/relative) help out during the

time you are trying a new sleep method ­ whether it is moral support or

helping with your other child (to comfort or keep your other child asleep).

((And on the worst nights, my final thought (exhausted and upset), was that,

at least he wont be crying through the night forever, he may stop when he is

18 years old! It always made me smile))

Good luck, & feel free to email me off-list for further ideas/experiences,

Tamsin

Mother of Jasper, 20 months, 13hrs DDB, bilateral CF

Sydney, Australia

> My baby is 9 months old and the doctor said that he is doing great

> with the braces. First he told me that has to wear the shoes

> until he is 2, now he told me 1 more year. That's not my problem, I'm

> a single mom, and lately I'm not sleeping because can't sleep.

> I have and older daugther her name is and she is 3, she is a

> sweet girl, and when cries at nigth, you can hear him from 2

> blocks away. That's means, can sleep too. I was wondering if

> there is anything that you can help me. I mean is any special bed that

> I can buy to help him feel more confortable, he complains about 1

> shoe, he takes the left foot of, because he wants to sleep on his side

> and the braces doesn't help that's why he complains, actually is 3:00

> am now, and he cries every 1/2 hour or so, and I want to cry too, is

> too hard for me deal with this, because I don't have any family here

> and I feel so bad for my baby, sometimes y blame my self for his

> problem. In my family or his father family there is no history of

> clubfoot so I dont now what to do. I'm from Argentina sorry for my

> english and I hope you can help me. Alba

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Alba!

What doctor is treating ? How many hours per day is he wearing

the brace now? Did he recently have a drop in hours? Is he wearing

it during naps at all? Has this constant waking been going on since

he got the brace, or did it just start recently? Can you tell us when

he went into the brace and how long he's been wearing it since then

(for example, started with the brace at age 3 months, then wore it 23

hours/day for 3 months, then wore it 18 hours per day for 1 month

etc.)?

Do you have the adjustable length red bar, or the gold bar? Do you

think the brace is too small for him? The inside edges of the heels

of the shoes should be at a distance equal to the width of his

shoulders. There's a picture of how to check this if you go to the

bracing page on this site: http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil

The more you can tell us, the more we can try to help you!

Hang in there!

& (3-16-00, left clubfoot)

[Guest guest]

Alba,

I hope others have answered with suggestions. It's tough being a single mom,

then to have this on top of it all.

It could be your brace needs adjusted. If your son has out grown it, it could

indeed cause sleep issues. Double check the fit of the shoes and the length of

the bar.

As for bedding - I have a couple ideas that worked for us. First, we took him

out of a crib and put him to sleep in a " play pen " - not sure what you'd call

that in your country but it has web / net siding rather than wooden or metal

bars. When the brace hits the net, it doesn't make noise to wake up the baby;

also, my son's brace would get caught in between the bars of the crib, waking

him up. With the net siding there is nothing to get stuck in or bang against.

The other thing was to use what we call a sleep sack, which is like a sleeping

bag that a baby wears to bed. It keeps him warm and cozy with no blanket to

tangle around his brace which might wake him up. It also covers the brace so

any noise it makes hitting a wall or bed frame is not as loud.

If he's complaining about a shoe hurting, certainly look in to what is causing

that. Could be lots of things - maybe shoe related, pain, bad fit, not put on

right, maybe that foot is trying to relapse or otherwise has lost correction.

It might be he just wants it off and has learned to cry enough to get his way.

It's always hard to figure babies out.

If we can help any more though please let us know!

good luck,

s.

I really need your

help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My baby is 9 months old and the doctor said that he is doing great

with the braces. First he told me that has to wear the shoes

until he is 2, now he told me 1 more year. That's not my problem, I'm

a single mom, and lately I'm not sleeping because can't sleep.

I have and older daugther her name is and she is 3, she is a

sweet girl, and when cries at nigth, you can hear him from 2

blocks away. That's means, can sleep too. I was wondering if

there is anything that you can help me. I mean is any special bed that

I can buy to help him feel more confortable, he complains about 1

shoe, he takes the left foot of, because he wants to sleep on his side

and the braces doesn't help that's why he complains, actually is 3:00

am now, and he cries every 1/2 hour or so, and I want to cry too, is

too hard for me deal with this, because I don't have any family here

and I feel so bad for my baby, sometimes y blame my self for his

problem. In my family or his father family there is no history of

clubfoot so I dont now what to do. I'm from Argentina sorry for my

english and I hope you can help me. Alba