Monday, July 25, 2011

Justin–Clubfeet and braces update

Justin had his 12 week in the braces appointment on Tuesday. Dr. D had nothing but positive remarks. He’s graduated to needing the braces only 12 hours a day! Hallelujah! So I have to admit that it seems like a big jump to go from 23 hours a day to 12 hours a day. So, for at least the next month, he’ll wear them for at least 14 hours a day during the week and 12 hours a day on the weekend. It won’t hurt him to wear them more. I just want to make sure he doesn’t regress.

He’s no longer considered club footed because it has been completely corrected. Craziness! It hasn’t been 5 months yet but I remember thinking “omg, I cannot wait until he’s 5 months old and he won’t have these braces all the time”. Well, that day is here. He is, of course, happy (he’s a happy baby anyway). Following the appointment we did not put the braces back on until it was time to go to bed. He has been wiggling his little tootsies ever since.

8 days old (on the way home from the NICU)

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Cast 1 @ 11 days

Cast 1 @ 11 Days

Second Cast (before/after)

J with casts off 1J with casts

Third Cast (before/after)

Before castingWith purple casts third casting

Fourth Cast (before/after)

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Fifth cast which was after the tenotomy (before/after)

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Braces!

Here is Spence in the first photo and Dr. Doyle in the second. Spence is like the cool tech one would look forward to seeing. Dr. Doyle has been great. He tries to tell jokes every now and then which are, well….not so funny. Just a little awkward but he tries really hard! One day I asked Spence if he had a nickname – after a bit of prodding, he said it is “pookey”. Ha!

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So having a baby with braces, does it make things difficult to do sometimes? I think it depends on one’s definition of difficult. We’ve found that swaddling Justin is still the best for him. His sleep is less interrupted when he’s swaddled. The problem with swaddling is that the bottom of the swaddle blankets aren’t made for a baby’s feet to be attached to a brace the width of their shoulders. Thankfully, Kiddopotamus makes a swaddling wrap which I can wrap underneath Justin’s crotch but still wrap his arms up snugly. Here’s a photo of it below.

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Oh, and my side of the bed is less than 12 inches from his bed (aka pack n play). I’m not sure he’ll be moving real soon. It’s just too convenient right now. And I love having him so close!

Since he’s been in the braces, he’s gained 5 pounds! He was 12 weeks old when he started wearing the braces. By 17 weeks, he had gained 5 pounds. I think he was very uncomfortable in the casts. His legs have filled out nicely, too. The top of his boots cause the fat on his legs to accumulate. Something that Dr. Doyle said will correct itself eventually.

We have been very happy with his treatment. I do wonder if he’ll begin to eat even more now that he has been reduced to wearing his braces for 12 hours a day. Did I mention I was nervous about him wearing them less and less?

If I may say so myself, his toes are just precious…

both feetlooking at his foot fadedleft foot

5 comments:

Amy said...

Oh Elyse that sounds like wonderful news! My mom still has the braces that my brother wore for 23 hours/day when he was little. You've got a precious little guy on your hands. (Love the pics at the top of your blog.)

Ashley said...

Yay, Baby Justin!!! What cute feet you have (and brave soul (sole)--no pun intended). Tell your Mommy congrats, too. She is a trooper... I can see where you get it from.

Kelly said...

I found your blog when searching for clubfoot- not sure if it was from another blog or what. My son was born with lcf, and he is 10 weeks old. We are just starting the 3 months in the brace, and I can so relate to the thought of being so anxious to get to the three month mark- when he will be around 5 months old. Anyways- I enjoy hearing other peoples' clubfoot story. Thanks for sharing. Our blog is private, but if you want to read about our son and his treatment, just send me your email address, and I will send you an invite! Kelly Capron
klcapron@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

YAY for braces being off!! and I think he ALSO thinks his toes are pretty cute! he's so adorable! and Troy is growing up so fast! Oh my goodness, he's getting big and more precious than ever!

Anonymous said...

I cant wait until my son gets his off. He just got his ponseti shoes 2 days ago at 11 weeks and has been screaming for the last 2 days. He hates them :(