red spots and blisters in mitchells

[Guest guest]

My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

Thanks, Lindsey

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

I don't think I have chimed in on your situation yet, but I've been

following what's been going on with you guys -- I feel so bad for you,

I know it is so hard to be in this position.

I know that you've measured the width of the bar, but have you tried

actually holding it up to his shoulders, or laying him down with his

shoulders between the heels of the shoes to see if his shoulders

actually fit in between the heels? Sometimes a tape measure

measurement can be deceiving.

As for the red marks, you'll want to keep a close eye on those, there

are a couple different types of padding that can get for

you and I'm sure that one of the moms who use the P/M shoes will chime

in here with the best suggestions to avoid and heal these red spots.

Now, I think our next step is to look at these feet and see if there's

a reason your sunny disposition boy has turned into mister cranky

pants. If you could get that survey back to us for CFPics we'll get

you approved pronto! (The survey should have been in the automated

email you received when you requested membership and I resent it to

you this afternoon). Then just send some pics of his little piggies

(and adorable face too) over to the CFPics group and hopefully we can

really get to the bottom of this. I think 5 days still being

miserable even in the P/M's is wrong, I don't really remember anyone

offhand whose child took that long to adjust to those shoes. I do

remember you sent some pics to Dr. Ponseti, what did he have to say?

The best shots and angles for photos:

1. Weight bearing (holding him up), straight on front view of feet.

2. Weight bearing, looking down at top view of feet.

3. Weight bearing, straight on back view of feet.

4. Photo showing dorsiflexion, push the palm of your hand on the

bottom of his foot to push it up past " L " as far as you can.

Hope this helps Lindsey, hang in there!

Mom to Jenna (4/7/01) & Sam (9/25/04, RCF, Dobbs brace 12 hrs/day)

>

> My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

> end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

> cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

> tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

> tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

> Thanks, Lindsey

>

[Guest guest]

You absolutely MUST not let the tongue fold. Don't pull against it

when you cinch the buckle. Before you buckle it, pull the tongue HARD

over the top of the foot and over the rubber. Pull it till it won't

go any further and then hold it there. Then pull the strap up hard

and lie it over the tongue (no cinching) and then hold BOTH the

tongue and the strap tightly against each other so they do not

move. Then buckle the strap. This way, you should have no cinching

to be done and thus, no buckling.

If it still folds on itself, after the strap is tight, pull the

tongue straight under the strap. the hole in the tongue should be

right above the top edge of the middle strap. This tells you that

the tongue is in the right place.

Where are his blisters?? The red mark should go away as long as you

don't make that little fold again. It may take some time, due to the

pressure on the area in the shoe but it will heal. If it's an open

sore, that's a different story. Can you tell us more about (or show

us) this sore so we can help you with healing?

Are you 100% sure his feet are fully corrected? Other than the red

mark from the fold, there' nothing really that should make him

cry. However, if his feet aren't corrected he will not be happy in

any brace.

If you have pictures of his feet, I'd say let us take a peek at

them. A little red mark usually won't make a babe that unhappy. I'm

a bit concerned because these shoes usually do the trick. In fact, I

haven't heard of anyone who had problems with crying after they got

them so I'm more than a little concerned about correction.

Kori

At 05:01 PM 7/25/2006, you wrote:

>My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

>end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

>Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

>cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

>and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

>tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

>tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

>tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

>red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

>away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

>is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

>went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

>not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

>this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

>But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

>else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

>to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

>Thanks, Lindsey

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Kori,

Thanks for the tips. We will try to get the tongue as smooth as possible

across his feet today. One of his shoes is too big, which is part of the

problem. is supposed to be sending us a replacement any day

now....can't wait to get it! After leaving our baby's shoes off for a while

last night, his red marks started to go away. I don't think any of them

actually turned into sores. We caught it in time.

I can send pictures if you still want, but we've already sent pictures to Dr.

Ponseti, and he thought our baby's affected foot looked good. We're starting to

think maybe we're dealing with something else. Our son doesn't exactly have the

easiest temperament in the world, and he also hasn't been sleeping well at all

(which would make any baby crabby I suppose). We're lucky if he sleeps a total

of 10 hours, day and night total.

We've had him to his pediatrician just to see if there's anything else going

on with him. We're really just having a time, and we're not sure why.

Thanks for your help, and we'll try to make sure we have the tongue across his

foot properly! Lindsey

frogabog wrote:

You absolutely MUST not let the tongue fold. Don't pull against it

when you cinch the buckle. Before you buckle it, pull the tongue HARD

over the top of the foot and over the rubber. Pull it till it won't

go any further and then hold it there. Then pull the strap up hard

and lie it over the tongue (no cinching) and then hold BOTH the

tongue and the strap tightly against each other so they do not

move. Then buckle the strap. This way, you should have no cinching

to be done and thus, no buckling.

If it still folds on itself, after the strap is tight, pull the

tongue straight under the strap. the hole in the tongue should be

right above the top edge of the middle strap. This tells you that

the tongue is in the right place.

Where are his blisters?? The red mark should go away as long as you

don't make that little fold again. It may take some time, due to the

pressure on the area in the shoe but it will heal. If it's an open

sore, that's a different story. Can you tell us more about (or show

us) this sore so we can help you with healing?

Are you 100% sure his feet are fully corrected? Other than the red

mark from the fold, there' nothing really that should make him

cry. However, if his feet aren't corrected he will not be happy in

any brace.

If you have pictures of his feet, I'd say let us take a peek at

them. A little red mark usually won't make a babe that unhappy. I'm

a bit concerned because these shoes usually do the trick. In fact, I

haven't heard of anyone who had problems with crying after they got

them so I'm more than a little concerned about correction.

Kori

At 05:01 PM 7/25/2006, you wrote:

>My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

>end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

>Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

>cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

>and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

>tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

>tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

>tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

>red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

>away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

>is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

>went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

>not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

>this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

>But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

>else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

>to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

>Thanks, Lindsey

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you, . I will try to get the survey done today. As you can

imagine, things have been pretty crazy around here. I'm certainly going crazy!!

My son's shoulders do not fit in between his shoes. Is that what you mean?

The heels are a little further apart than should-width, but I can't lay him down

in between the shoes. He won't fit. I've heard that babies can be

uncomfortable if the bar is too short OR too long. How in the world do you know

if you have it just right?!?!

We did hear back from Dr. Ponseti (he's probably sick of getting e-mails from

us) and he though Christian's foot looked good, although we did not have a

doriflexion shot.

Thanks for helping us troubleshoot, and we'll try to get some pictures on

soon.

Lindsey

wrote:

Lindsey,

I don't think I have chimed in on your situation yet, but I've been

following what's been going on with you guys -- I feel so bad for you,

I know it is so hard to be in this position.

I know that you've measured the width of the bar, but have you tried

actually holding it up to his shoulders, or laying him down with his

shoulders between the heels of the shoes to see if his shoulders

actually fit in between the heels? Sometimes a tape measure

measurement can be deceiving.

As for the red marks, you'll want to keep a close eye on those, there

are a couple different types of padding that can get for

you and I'm sure that one of the moms who use the P/M shoes will chime

in here with the best suggestions to avoid and heal these red spots.

Now, I think our next step is to look at these feet and see if there's

a reason your sunny disposition boy has turned into mister cranky

pants. If you could get that survey back to us for CFPics we'll get

you approved pronto! (The survey should have been in the automated

email you received when you requested membership and I resent it to

you this afternoon). Then just send some pics of his little piggies

(and adorable face too) over to the CFPics group and hopefully we can

really get to the bottom of this. I think 5 days still being

miserable even in the P/M's is wrong, I don't really remember anyone

offhand whose child took that long to adjust to those shoes. I do

remember you sent some pics to Dr. Ponseti, what did he have to say?

The best shots and angles for photos:

1. Weight bearing (holding him up), straight on front view of feet.

2. Weight bearing, looking down at top view of feet.

3. Weight bearing, straight on back view of feet.

4. Photo showing dorsiflexion, push the palm of your hand on the

bottom of his foot to push it up past " L " as far as you can.

Hope this helps Lindsey, hang in there!

Mom to Jenna (4/7/01) & Sam (9/25/04, RCF, Dobbs brace 12 hrs/day)

>

> My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

> end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

> cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

> tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

> tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

> Thanks, Lindsey

>

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

I've missed some of your other posts, so I'm not sure how old your baby is,but I

know my daughter, Maddie, had trouble with reflux, especially at night time.

Does he spit up a lot? Just a thought. I hope things get easier quickly.

Michele

LINDSEY L SHEPPARD wrote:

Hi Kori,

Thanks for the tips. We will try to get the tongue as smooth as possible

across his feet today. One of his shoes is too big, which is part of the

problem. is supposed to be sending us a replacement any day

now....can't wait to get it! After leaving our baby's shoes off for a while

last night, his red marks started to go away. I don't think any of them

actually turned into sores. We caught it in time.

I can send pictures if you still want, but we've already sent pictures to Dr.

Ponseti, and he thought our baby's affected foot looked good. We're starting to

think maybe we're dealing with something else. Our son doesn't exactly have the

easiest temperament in the world, and he also hasn't been sleeping well at all

(which would make any baby crabby I suppose). We're lucky if he sleeps a total

of 10 hours, day and night total.

We've had him to his pediatrician just to see if there's anything else going

on with him. We're really just having a time, and we're not sure why.

Thanks for your help, and we'll try to make sure we have the tongue across

his foot properly! Lindsey

frogabog wrote:

You absolutely MUST not let the tongue fold. Don't pull against it

when you cinch the buckle. Before you buckle it, pull the tongue HARD

over the top of the foot and over the rubber. Pull it till it won't

go any further and then hold it there. Then pull the strap up hard

and lie it over the tongue (no cinching) and then hold BOTH the

tongue and the strap tightly against each other so they do not

move. Then buckle the strap. This way, you should have no cinching

to be done and thus, no buckling.

If it still folds on itself, after the strap is tight, pull the

tongue straight under the strap. the hole in the tongue should be

right above the top edge of the middle strap. This tells you that

the tongue is in the right place.

Where are his blisters?? The red mark should go away as long as you

don't make that little fold again. It may take some time, due to the

pressure on the area in the shoe but it will heal. If it's an open

sore, that's a different story. Can you tell us more about (or show

us) this sore so we can help you with healing?

Are you 100% sure his feet are fully corrected? Other than the red

mark from the fold, there' nothing really that should make him

cry. However, if his feet aren't corrected he will not be happy in

any brace.

If you have pictures of his feet, I'd say let us take a peek at

them. A little red mark usually won't make a babe that unhappy. I'm

a bit concerned because these shoes usually do the trick. In fact, I

haven't heard of anyone who had problems with crying after they got

them so I'm more than a little concerned about correction.

Kori

At 05:01 PM 7/25/2006, you wrote:

>My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

>end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

>Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

>cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

>and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

>tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

>tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

>tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

>red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

>away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

>is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

>went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

>not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

>this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

>But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

>else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

>to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

>Thanks, Lindsey

>

>

[Guest guest]

Michele,

Hi, yes, my son does spit up quite a bit. He's 3 1/2 months old. We actually

took him to his Dr. earlier this week, and the Dr. thought reflux might be an

issue, so he is now on prevacid. He's been taking it for about 2 days now, but

we haven't noticed a huge change yet. Maybe it takes a while??

Thanks!

Lindsey

Michele Frye wrote:

Lindsey,

I've missed some of your other posts, so I'm not sure how old your baby is,but I

know my daughter, Maddie, had trouble with reflux, especially at night time.

Does he spit up a lot? Just a thought. I hope things get easier quickly.

Michele

LINDSEY L SHEPPARD wrote: Hi Kori,

Thanks for the tips. We will try to get the tongue as smooth as possible across

his feet today. One of his shoes is too big, which is part of the problem.

is supposed to be sending us a replacement any day now....can't wait to

get it! After leaving our baby's shoes off for a while last night, his red marks

started to go away. I don't think any of them actually turned into sores. We

caught it in time.

I can send pictures if you still want, but we've already sent pictures to Dr.

Ponseti, and he thought our baby's affected foot looked good. We're starting to

think maybe we're dealing with something else. Our son doesn't exactly have the

easiest temperament in the world, and he also hasn't been sleeping well at all

(which would make any baby crabby I suppose). We're lucky if he sleeps a total

of 10 hours, day and night total.

We've had him to his pediatrician just to see if there's anything else going on

with him. We're really just having a time, and we're not sure why.

Thanks for your help, and we'll try to make sure we have the tongue across his

foot properly! Lindsey

frogabog wrote:

You absolutely MUST not let the tongue fold. Don't pull against it

when you cinch the buckle. Before you buckle it, pull the tongue HARD

over the top of the foot and over the rubber. Pull it till it won't

go any further and then hold it there. Then pull the strap up hard

and lie it over the tongue (no cinching) and then hold BOTH the

tongue and the strap tightly against each other so they do not

move. Then buckle the strap. This way, you should have no cinching

to be done and thus, no buckling.

If it still folds on itself, after the strap is tight, pull the

tongue straight under the strap. the hole in the tongue should be

right above the top edge of the middle strap. This tells you that

the tongue is in the right place.

Where are his blisters?? The red mark should go away as long as you

don't make that little fold again. It may take some time, due to the

pressure on the area in the shoe but it will heal. If it's an open

sore, that's a different story. Can you tell us more about (or show

us) this sore so we can help you with healing?

Are you 100% sure his feet are fully corrected? Other than the red

mark from the fold, there' nothing really that should make him

cry. However, if his feet aren't corrected he will not be happy in

any brace.

If you have pictures of his feet, I'd say let us take a peek at

them. A little red mark usually won't make a babe that unhappy. I'm

a bit concerned because these shoes usually do the trick. In fact, I

haven't heard of anyone who had problems with crying after they got

them so I'm more than a little concerned about correction.

Kori

At 05:01 PM 7/25/2006, you wrote:

>My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

>end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

>Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

>cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

>and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

>tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

>tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

>tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

>red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

>away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

>is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

>went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

>not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

>this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

>But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

>else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

>to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

>Thanks, Lindsey

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

The brace will not be the answer if your son's foot is not

corrected. If the foot is not fully corrected, forcing it into a

brace will only cause them discomfort. The brace should not be a

torture device at all! Are you sure that his foot is ready for the

brace? Was he casted out to the 70° abduction angle in the last

casts? (it would have almost looked like his foot was backwards in

the cast) Do you think his foot changed at all initially when you

were having problems in the first brace? There is a chance that it

regressed in those first days/weeks. There are pictures of the

progression of the casts and what they should have looked like in

the Global HELP booklet if that helps you (not sure if you'll

remember what his casts looked like).

I know you were going to send pictures to Dr. P...did you hear back

from him?

I know you're not too far from Iowa City- I'd really encourage you

to try to make the trip if possible (or St. Louis to see Dr.

Dobbs).

Email me if you want to!

('s mom)

>

> My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will

never

> end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he

still

> cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the

s

> tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle

strap

> tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

> Thanks, Lindsey

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Yes, we did hear back from Dr. P and he said he thought Christian's foot

looked good. We've sent him another e-mail telling him that we are continuing

to have problems, and we told him we were more than willing to go to Iowa City

if he thinks it would help. I think our Dr. in Springfield is good at what he

does, but he just doesn't seem to have anymore answers for us. I'll keep you

posted.

Thanks, Lindsey

jennyandkelly wrote:

Lindsey,

The brace will not be the answer if your son's foot is not

corrected. If the foot is not fully corrected, forcing it into a

brace will only cause them discomfort. The brace should not be a

torture device at all! Are you sure that his foot is ready for the

brace? Was he casted out to the 70° abduction angle in the last

casts? (it would have almost looked like his foot was backwards in

the cast) Do you think his foot changed at all initially when you

were having problems in the first brace? There is a chance that it

regressed in those first days/weeks. There are pictures of the

progression of the casts and what they should have looked like in

the Global HELP booklet if that helps you (not sure if you'll

remember what his casts looked like).

I know you were going to send pictures to Dr. P...did you hear back

from him?

I know you're not too far from Iowa City- I'd really encourage you

to try to make the trip if possible (or St. Louis to see Dr.

Dobbs).

Email me if you want to!

('s mom)

>

> My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will

never

> end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he

still

> cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the

s

> tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle

strap

> tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

> Thanks, Lindsey

>

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

You want to be able to set the shoes down, lay him down with his

shoulders between the heels of the shoes and have him fit perfectly in

there - maybe even a tiny bit of space on either side.

You'll know when you have the bar the right length because he won't be

uncomfortable anymore. It's weird, but kind of a theory I have, that

boys seem to like the bar more on the long side and girls can be

comfortable with it a little shorter (by no means a hard and fast

rule, just something that seems to be holding true in my own

un-scientific observation) : )

You said he was sleeping through the night before right? If his feet

are well corrected, which Dr. P is certainly the expert on that, then

I think this really sounds like a classic case of bar too short.

Adjust it to where his shoulders will fit comfortably between the

heels as I described and let us know what happens, okay?

> >

> > My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

> > end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> > Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

> > cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> > and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

> > tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> > tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

> > tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> > red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> > away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> > is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> > went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> > not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> > this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> > But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> > else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> > shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> > to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

> >

> > Thanks, Lindsey

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

I'd be concerned that there were some issues with the foot that

would not be able to be identified via photographs- only with a

physical exam. That's why I asked about the 70° abduction angle.

If the foot was never casted to 70 degrees, and now it's being

forced into that position in the FAB (s are set up at 60°

which is equivalent to 70° on the Markells I'm told), it would be

very uncomfortable. Also the dorsiflexion- but you should be able

to tell that by yourself- just by examination and also if you're

having problems getting the heel down in the shoe.

Hopefully you'll be able to troubleshoot the problem soon!

I'm sorry you're not getting support from your current doctor. Do

you know if he treats many clubfoot cases each year and what his

success rate is? Do you know where he did his training on the

Ponseti method? I know Dr. is in Springfield (he used to be

in the Twin Cities in Minnesota) and he has been using the Ponseti

method for quite a few years...but I haven't come across any

families who have gone to him since he relocated to IL.

> >

> > My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will

> never

> > end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> > Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he

> still

> > cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the

time,

> > and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the

> s

> > tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> > tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle

> strap

> > tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> > red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> > away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and

he

> > is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> > went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED

from

> > not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> > this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do

that.

> > But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has

anyone

> > else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> > shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't

seem

> > to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

> >

> > Thanks, Lindsey

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I will try and let you know, ! Thanks!

wrote: Lindsey,

You want to be able to set the shoes down, lay him down with his

shoulders between the heels of the shoes and have him fit perfectly in

there - maybe even a tiny bit of space on either side.

You'll know when you have the bar the right length because he won't be

uncomfortable anymore. It's weird, but kind of a theory I have, that

boys seem to like the bar more on the long side and girls can be

comfortable with it a little shorter (by no means a hard and fast

rule, just something that seems to be holding true in my own

un-scientific observation) : )

You said he was sleeping through the night before right? If his feet

are well corrected, which Dr. P is certainly the expert on that, then

I think this really sounds like a classic case of bar too short.

Adjust it to where his shoulders will fit comfortably between the

heels as I described and let us know what happens, okay?

> >

> > My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

> > end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

> > Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

> > cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

> > and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

> > tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

> > tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

> > tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

> > red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

> > away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

> > is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

> > went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

> > not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

> > this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

> > But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

> > else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> > shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

> > to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

> >

> > Thanks, Lindsey

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lindsey,

It took a few days for Maddie to adjust to the Zantac. We also propped up

part of her crib mattress, and that helped the reflux too.

Michele

LINDSEY L SHEPPARD wrote:

Michele,

Hi, yes, my son does spit up quite a bit. He's 3 1/2 months old. We actually

took him to his Dr. earlier this week, and the Dr. thought reflux might be an

issue, so he is now on prevacid. He's been taking it for about 2 days now, but

we haven't noticed a huge change yet. Maybe it takes a while??

Thanks!

Lindsey

Michele Frye wrote:

Lindsey,

I've missed some of your other posts, so I'm not sure how old your baby is,but I

know my daughter, Maddie, had trouble with reflux, especially at night time.

Does he spit up a lot? Just a thought. I hope things get easier quickly.

Michele

LINDSEY L SHEPPARD wrote: Hi Kori,

Thanks for the tips. We will try to get the tongue as smooth as possible across

his feet today. One of his shoes is too big, which is part of the problem.

is supposed to be sending us a replacement any day now....can't wait to

get it! After leaving our baby's shoes off for a while last night, his red marks

started to go away. I don't think any of them actually turned into sores. We

caught it in time.

I can send pictures if you still want, but we've already sent pictures to Dr.

Ponseti, and he thought our baby's affected foot looked good. We're starting to

think maybe we're dealing with something else. Our son doesn't exactly have the

easiest temperament in the world, and he also hasn't been sleeping well at all

(which would make any baby crabby I suppose). We're lucky if he sleeps a total

of 10 hours, day and night total.

We've had him to his pediatrician just to see if there's anything else going on

with him. We're really just having a time, and we're not sure why.

Thanks for your help, and we'll try to make sure we have the tongue across his

foot properly! Lindsey

frogabog wrote:

You absolutely MUST not let the tongue fold. Don't pull against it

when you cinch the buckle. Before you buckle it, pull the tongue HARD

over the top of the foot and over the rubber. Pull it till it won't

go any further and then hold it there. Then pull the strap up hard

and lie it over the tongue (no cinching) and then hold BOTH the

tongue and the strap tightly against each other so they do not

move. Then buckle the strap. This way, you should have no cinching

to be done and thus, no buckling.

If it still folds on itself, after the strap is tight, pull the

tongue straight under the strap. the hole in the tongue should be

right above the top edge of the middle strap. This tells you that

the tongue is in the right place.

Where are his blisters?? The red mark should go away as long as you

don't make that little fold again. It may take some time, due to the

pressure on the area in the shoe but it will heal. If it's an open

sore, that's a different story. Can you tell us more about (or show

us) this sore so we can help you with healing?

Are you 100% sure his feet are fully corrected? Other than the red

mark from the fold, there' nothing really that should make him

cry. However, if his feet aren't corrected he will not be happy in

any brace.

If you have pictures of his feet, I'd say let us take a peek at

them. A little red mark usually won't make a babe that unhappy. I'm

a bit concerned because these shoes usually do the trick. In fact, I

haven't heard of anyone who had problems with crying after they got

them so I'm more than a little concerned about correction.

Kori

At 05:01 PM 7/25/2006, you wrote:

>My husband and I are starting to feel like this nightmare will never

>end! Our son has been in the brace for 5 days now.

>Although he is less miserable than he was in the Markells, he still

>cries a lot during the day, wants to be held almost all the time,

>and is not sleeping well at night at all. We took off the s

>tonight for a bath, and he has red marks on his feet where the

>tongue of the shoe folds just a little when we pull the middle strap

>tight. How do we prevent that? And what do you do when there are

>red marks or blisters? Do you leave the shoes off til they go

>away? My son has had the brace off for almost 3 hours now, and he

>is a different baby....he's happy, he smiles, he laughs. He just

>went to sleep in his crib, and he seemed absolutely EXHAUSTED from

>not sleeping for the past several nights or days. I want to take

>this brace and toss it in the street, but I know I can't do that.

>But I'm SO sick of feeling like I'm torturing my baby. Has anyone

>else felt this way? Does anyone have suggestions? We thought the

> shoes would be the answer, but our son still doesn't seem

>to be adjusting. I can't take 3 more months of this!

>

>Thanks, Lindsey

>

>