During our time in the Pavlik harness we had to make many adaptions to our day to day routine. In this post you’ll find our experience of tummy time and feeding a baby with hip dysplasia.
Feeding a baby with hip dysplasia
Our feeding journey was tough, and I now exclusively bottle feed Ace after a rather difficult start on the boob.
I’ll admit for weeks I was pretty devastated that breast feeding just didn’t happen for us, but now I really don’t know if I would of coped. I found finding a good position hard enough without the harness! The mums who manage to continue to breast feed throughout harness wearing are absolute superhero’s and I salute them.
Bottle feeding hasn’t been a walk in the park either, but we’ve found what works after some trial and error.
The biggest thing to consider is not pushing your little ones legs together, so aim for a position that keeps them spread and frog like.
For this reason, we opted for feeding Ace facing us, propped up in a feeding cushion on our lap, which works like a dream. His leg position isn’t compromised and he’s fully supported with no pressure on the shoulder straps.
If you’re struggling with breastfeeding positions, the cradle hold position is often recommended. Try holding your arm through babies’ legs to support the pelvis and keep legs apart.
Tummy time in a Pavlik harness
That feeding pillow will also come in handy for tummy time!
Our consultant doesn’t recommend tummy time in a harness, but after speaking to other parents who have been told to go ahead, we decided to keep incorporating it into our day. With extra tummy time during his harness free half hour.
But to stop any pressure on the chest piece, we rest his chest on the feeding pillow with his legs wide in the U shape, with lots of toys in front of him to keep him entertained.
The harness does mean he’s less able to try and ‘crawl’ like he used to, and he definitely struggles to lift his head up but it’s helping to keep tummy time in his daily routine.
I hope you found this post helpful. If you did, you might find the following posts helpful too- Our hip dysplasia journey- hip healthy seats – Flicks and Red Lips and Our hip dysplasia journey- Maxi Cosi Happy Hips car seat service – Flicks and Red Lips
Sian x
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