Re: going from casts to DBB

[Guest guest]

Carol, I wish your dr. was more active in the bracing decisions...have you

asked him any of these questions? Some times dr's aren't aware there have been

some new styles and options made available recently until a parent tells them

about it.

Keep in mind though if it helps, the majority of babies do adjust to FAB life

just fine, and so do their mommies

I quit co-sleeping with my now-2-year old because of the bar - but it was a

mutual decision I think! He couldn't get comfortable sleeping with me anymore,

always tangled in blankets and stuff. I put him in a bassenet right beside me

though and began using a sleep sack, from there we all slept a whole lot better.

The sleeps sacks are miracle workers with these kids in FAB's! It lets them

stay warm but not tangle up when they move. We still use one.

Nursing was a little ackward at first too, but we figured it out and I did

continue to breast feed until he weaned himself around 20 months of age.

I'm 2 years in to the whole brace-thing and want to assure you the FAB won't

take over your life. Truthfully there could be a rough transition period, but

it's only a small period in most cases - but in general when you consider the

whole picture (3 or 4 years), the FAB becomes a very small part of your life and

more like just part of their pajamas.

We do use the FAB. Started with the Markell but had issues with it and

living so far from our doctor (Ponseti) we chose to change shoes rather than

fight it out. Lots and lots of babies have used the Markell with no trouble at

all though - for many many years it was the only option.

I realize it all looks rather weird and mysterious right now but you'll be

surprised how soon it'll probably become a no-biggie for all of you.

Best of luck and if we can help please let us know.

s.

going from casts to DBB

My daughter with bcf, age 7 weeks, will be going from the

serial casts into the DBB the first week of January, when she is

about 10 weeks old. I have no idea what to expect and need advice

about what to ask for. Our orthopedist will send us to a local

company which makes the braces and fits them. I don't know if the

orthopedist will fit them or the brace company people will fit

them. I like and trust the orthopedist but don't look forward to

putting my daughter into the hands of an unknown new person for

treatment (fitting of the shoes). Once she is fitted with the DBB,

how often does she see the orthopedist? I am full of questions....

I have gotten the impression that I should ask for the Markell shoes

with a hole in the heel and an adjustable bar. Is this correct?

What if they don't have these two things? Should I press for them?

Also, she has typical club feet (appears to anyway) which are

correcting well with the casting (Ponseti method) so should we use

the Markell shoes or should we try the shoes at first? To

complicate things, our insurance is changing on 1-1-06 so I don't

know what is covered under the new plan.

I am very confused and trying to be prepared for the upcoming

transition. I am scared to death, frankly. Scared that I will not

be able to sleep with my baby in bed with me anymore, scared about

how it will affect our nursing relationship, scared about how she

will adjust, scared I won't put the shoes on right, scared she will

get blisters, scared it will be time-consuming, etc. Just plain

scared...and I am not normally a scaredy cat. LOL We have adjusted

to the casts with not too much problem, but the shoes are a whole

other thing....I don't want them to take over our lives. Thanks for

any advice.

Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05, serial casting

[Guest guest]

Carol, I guess I can say I'm in your shoes. My son will be going

into the brace about the first or second week of January, too. He

will be about 10 weeks old. He has done the serial casting and will

be going into the brace. I've heard so many positive things

about the shoes and have decided to go with them.

>

> My daughter with bcf, age 7 weeks, will be going from the

> serial casts into the DBB the first week of January, when she is

> about 10 weeks old. I have no idea what to expect and need advice

> about what to ask for. Our orthopedist will send us to a local

> company which makes the braces and fits them. I don't know if the

> orthopedist will fit them or the brace company people will fit

> them. I like and trust the orthopedist but don't look forward to

> putting my daughter into the hands of an unknown new person for

> treatment (fitting of the shoes). Once she is fitted with the

DBB,

> how often does she see the orthopedist? I am full of questions....

>

> I have gotten the impression that I should ask for the Markell

shoes

> with a hole in the heel and an adjustable bar. Is this correct?

> What if they don't have these two things? Should I press for

them?

> Also, she has typical club feet (appears to anyway) which are

> correcting well with the casting (Ponseti method) so should we use

> the Markell shoes or should we try the shoes at first?

To

> complicate things, our insurance is changing on 1-1-06 so I don't

> know what is covered under the new plan.

>

> I am very confused and trying to be prepared for the upcoming

> transition. I am scared to death, frankly. Scared that I will

not

> be able to sleep with my baby in bed with me anymore, scared about

> how it will affect our nursing relationship, scared about how she

> will adjust, scared I won't put the shoes on right, scared she

will

> get blisters, scared it will be time-consuming, etc. Just plain

> scared...and I am not normally a scaredy cat. LOL We have

adjusted

> to the casts with not too much problem, but the shoes are a whole

> other thing....I don't want them to take over our lives. Thanks

for

> any advice.

>

> Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05, serial casting

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

My son has been in the DBB for over 3 years now so

this brings back memories from when it was all new.

I found the DBB so much nicer, cuter, and easier than

the casts, and Alister only had one clubfoot and

therefore only one cast for me to cope with (and

scrape the pooh off...).

We're in the UK and didn't have a choice of which

boots or bar to get (I don't think the 's even

existed then). We had the Markell boots and an

adjustable bar. He wasn't really 'fitted' for shoes

as such, we simply got the smallest size available and

that was all. The adjustable bar was definitely a

good thing since babies grow so quickly. Whenever

Alister would start waking again at night I would

simply widen his bar a little and he was sleeping fine

again. We never had a problem with the shoes and he

adjusted really quickly.

I still nursed him and sometimes co-slept (I never did

it all the time anyway) with the DBB, usually with him

lying on his side. Once he could roll over on his own

I found that he slept best in a baby sleeping bag

since he wouldn't get tangled in the covers.

I also found that clothes with poppers down his legs

were the easiest for changing since he could be

changed without having to take the shoes off. Once he

was down to night-time only it didn't really matter

any more and he has been wearing normal pyjamas since

then.

The shoes are simply part of his bed-time routine just

like putting on his pyjamas. He doesn't seem to mind

at all, in fact sometimes his twin is a little jealous

and wants to wear shoes in bed too. He likes to

try them on too but Alister is quite possesive about

them, bless him...

Anyway, I hope this helps a bit.

with (3y)

and Alister (3y, RCF, Ponseti method, UK)

--- Carol wrote:

> My daughter with bcf, age 7 weeks, will be

> going from the

> serial casts into the DBB the first week of January,

> when she is

> about 10 weeks old. I have no idea what to expect

> and need advice

> about what to ask for. Our orthopedist will send us

> to a local

> company which makes the braces and fits them. I

> don't know if the

> orthopedist will fit them or the brace company

> people will fit

> them. I like and trust the orthopedist but don't

> look forward to

> putting my daughter into the hands of an unknown new

> person for

> treatment (fitting of the shoes). Once she is

> fitted with the DBB,

> how often does she see the orthopedist? I am full

> of questions....

>

> I have gotten the impression that I should ask for

> the Markell shoes

> with a hole in the heel and an adjustable bar. Is

> this correct?

> What if they don't have these two things? Should I

> press for them?

> Also, she has typical club feet (appears to anyway)

> which are

> correcting well with the casting (Ponseti method) so

> should we use

> the Markell shoes or should we try the

> shoes at first? To

> complicate things, our insurance is changing on

> 1-1-06 so I don't

> know what is covered under the new plan.

>

> I am very confused and trying to be prepared for the

> upcoming

> transition. I am scared to death, frankly. Scared

> that I will not

> be able to sleep with my baby in bed with me

> anymore, scared about

> how it will affect our nursing relationship, scared

> about how she

> will adjust, scared I won't put the shoes on right,

> scared she will

> get blisters, scared it will be time-consuming, etc.

> Just plain

> scared...and I am not normally a scaredy cat. LOL

> We have adjusted

> to the casts with not too much problem, but the

> shoes are a whole

> other thing....I don't want them to take over our

> lives. Thanks for

> any advice.

>

> Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05, serial casting

>

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

I don't know if this helps the nursing question any, but one thing I did which

seemed to help was that instead of holding baby's legs under the knees I would

put my arm/hand between her legs and support just the top leg, then it doesn't

feel like I'm putting stress on baby's knee in a weird way. Anyway, just one

thing we tried that seemed to be more comfortable.

Good luck and it'll work out fine, I promise!

Marcia

Re: going from casts to DBB

Hi Carol,

just wanted to pipe in here and say that our experience has been much

like s' so far =). Absolutely NO problem adjusting to the

brace, when babies are this young, they can get used to just about

anything and trust me, it is no big deal. As long as your babies feet

are fully corrected and the brace is set up right and you are putting

it on correctly, you should have no issues at all.

You will find your comfy spots for nursing, baby isn't going to care

as much, as long as she is getting the nursie, she will be happy, but

there are ways to make us more comfy for sure...I have found that

pillows come in handy, I use some couch pillows,a bigger one for her

head and body and a smaller one for her legs and I try to turn her on

her side as much as I can. And when you nurse in bed, just prop some

covers or a pillow behind her back to get her in close to you...makes

you get a little creative but we all figure what works best for us!

Honestly, Please Do Not be scared, the 23/7 really does go by so

quickly and then like everyone has said the FAB does become just a

part of putting on pj's for bed! Our kids don't know anything else -

this is " their Normal " remember that =)

I am still nursing at almost 17 mos - trust me, it will have no ill

effect on your nursing your baby! My daughter is talking a ton and as

soon as I pull out her 'nighty night shoes' she starts saying 'nigh

night' to all her favorite animals, the moon, the stars, Dora (the

explorer hehe) etc etc etc and when they are on and I tell her what a

good girl she is for laying down and letting mommy put her shoes on,

she says " OK, now nur mama ok " then I say " yes sweetie, we'll go for

a nurse " , she makes this hilarious laugh breathy in and out sound and

says " ok ok ok mama nur nur " ..so needles to say, the brace hasn't

affected our nursing whatsoever LOL. I am sure that you will find the

same thing Carole!!! =)

If your daughter dosen't have complex(atypical) club feet, then the

Markell's should be fine, we haven't had any problems. Good for you

for requesting the newest model with the hole cut in the heel - very

helpful!

Make sure to read Kori's 'tips and tricks' doc located in the files

section - I found that invaluable in the beginning. Also, great that

you have requested the adjustable bar! so much easier as their little

boddies grow so much in the first year! =)

You have probably found this board such a help/comfort so far - most

of us have been just where you are right now and we are all her for

you!! To help you adjust or to give advise or to just listen =)

HTH

& Grace 17 mos

urcf FAB 13 hrs

>

> > My daughter with bcf, age 7 weeks, will be

> > going from the

> > serial casts into the DBB the first week of January,

> > when she is

> > about 10 weeks old. I have no idea what to expect

> > and need advice

> > about what to ask for. Our orthopedist will send us

> > to a local

> > company which makes the braces and fits them. I

> > don't know if the

> > orthopedist will fit them or the brace company

> > people will fit

> > them. I like and trust the orthopedist but don't

> > look forward to

> > putting my daughter into the hands of an unknown new

> > person for

> > treatment (fitting of the shoes). Once she is

> > fitted with the DBB,

> > how often does she see the orthopedist? I am full

> > of questions....

> >

> > I have gotten the impression that I should ask for

> > the Markell shoes

> > with a hole in the heel and an adjustable bar. Is

> > this correct?

> > What if they don't have these two things? Should I

> > press for them?

> > Also, she has typical club feet (appears to anyway)

> > which are

> > correcting well with the casting (Ponseti method) so

> > should we use

> > the Markell shoes or should we try the

> > shoes at first? To

> > complicate things, our insurance is changing on

> > 1-1-06 so I don't

> > know what is covered under the new plan.

> >

> > I am very confused and trying to be prepared for the

> > upcoming

> > transition. I am scared to death, frankly. Scared

> > that I will not

> > be able to sleep with my baby in bed with me

> > anymore, scared about

> > how it will affect our nursing relationship, scared

> > about how she

> > will adjust, scared I won't put the shoes on right,

> > scared she will

> > get blisters, scared it will be time-consuming, etc.

> > Just plain

> > scared...and I am not normally a scaredy cat. LOL

> > We have adjusted

> > to the casts with not too much problem, but the

> > shoes are a whole

> > other thing....I don't want them to take over our

> > lives. Thanks for

> > any advice.

> >

> > Carol and , bcf, 10-27-05, serial casting

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

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