Guest guest Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 Carol, We struggled with getting the right fit with the shoes, however we are almost one month in and doing well in the markell's. It seems that some doc's want you to try that first before the shoes. We are not experienced enough to tell you which are better. We had some of the same fears about the shoes. Logan did get blisters and we did struggle to get the shoes on right, however with the help of the parents on this board we learned we did not have the right fit with the FAB. Once we got that straightened out it was no problem. Now he loves to slam his feet around with the bar on it. I never had Logan sleep in the bed with me, however when he was first in the FAB we did it for survival when he was cranky adjusting to the FAB. Now I bring him in every morning and the bar is no problem. It was tricky for me to nurse him with the bar, but we adjusted. Initially I had to use the football hold with the FAB, however once we got coordinated I can lay on my side to nurse him. and Logan 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 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 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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