Hip dysplasia car seats, nappy changes and playtime for a baby in a Pavlik harness

As I write this, we are now 15 days into life with the Pavlik Harness, As I mentioned in my last hip dysplasia post, I want to document our journey with as much information and detail as possible. Not only is it my way of releasing any built up emotion but I also know I would love to find another mums experiences and advice. This post is the first of these, and below you can read our two week update. There is also information on hip dysplasia car seats, nappy changes and playtime for a baby in a

Week Two Update

For the majority it’s been easier than I expected. Don’t get me wrong, the first few days were TOUGH. We had screams, frustration and tears, (from all three of us) plus the odd sleepless night. Then day 4 arrived and the fog cleared, he almost came to the realisation there was no point complaining because it isn’t coming off anytime soon.

We had our first check up and harness tighten on day 7, and this did lead to an inconsolable 24 hours whilst he eased into the readjustment, but again that fog lifted. The good news was that our consultant was pretty certain the harness was starting to work.

Fast forward to yesterday and our second check up and first ultrasound scan since the Pavlik was fitted. To our horror, he had made barely any improvement at all.

There was a lot of awkward silences before it was decided we’d give the harness another fortnight. Then we’d re-scan and discuss what the next steps would be. I didn’t ask, I’d rather not spend the next fortnight fretting. What will be, will be.

Now, back to the helpful stuff.

Getting out and about with a baby in a Pavlik harness

The biggest change for us as a family has been abandoning the car unless absolutely necessary. We have the Joie 360 spin, which on the whole, we love. But, with high sides it is counterproductive to sit him in there in his harness as it pushes his legs together.

Many suggest using rolled up towels underneath their bottoms to enable the legs to sit over the sides. But, I just don’t feel comfortable risking his safety in this way. Car seat safety is paramount.,

For now we have been getting out and about on foot. Our Mamas and Papas Occaro pushchair is a great width and allows him to sit with his hips and legs in the correct position. This also has the added bonus of upping my exercise levels, I’ve walked more in the past fortnight than I have in the past 12 months! For someone who isn’t into the great outdoors, I must admit I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, not using the car does scupper our chances of getting away for the weekend. The train just doesn’t seem feasible with all our baby paraphernalia! Luckily, the wonderful world of Instagram and the hip community has led to discovering the Maxi Cosi Hip friendly car seat hire. I’m yet to hear back from them, but once I speak to their customer service team I’ll update here.

Update- you can read about our experience with Maxi Cosi Happy Hips car seat hire here- Our hip dysplasia journey- Maxi Cosi Happy Hips car seat service – Flicks and Red Lips

Hip dysplasia nappy changes

We’ve now got our nappy changes back down to mere minutes. I’d only ever changed one nappy before in my life (I wouldn’t ever of called myself baby friendly…) and it took me a few weeks to get confident changing a normal nappy let alone working one around a harness. But now it’s like second nature.

We are no experts, but this is what’s helped us.

1. Having a peek to see what you are dealing with first- no one needs THAT sort of surprise when you aren’t prepared
2. Tuck the legs of your baby grow and bottom edge of vest under the harness/around the straps to ensure they don’t get soiled
3. For the same reason, pop some socks or soft booties on over the harness boots- socks can be washed, the harness boots not so much
4. Pop a clean nappy under the bottom before you remove the soiled one. We’ve got used to this since the world of double nappies, but it does help to limit the mess damage.
5. Remember to lift the bottom and DO NOT move the legs. Pulling the legs together and up works against the harness and moves the hip from the optimal position.
6. Finally take your time when doing up the sides, you need to thread it underneath the harness which is super fiddly, but if you rush you could end up regretting it later.
7. Also, it might be worth moving up a nappy size if you are in between sizes to give you more nappy to manoeuvre!

 

Finding different ways to play with a baby in a Pavlik harness

Pre harness our baby boy loved nothing more than bashing about on his toy arch and swiping at his noisy baby gym,. But now? Well unless we place him on a pillow he can’t reach the toys. We hadn’t noticed but he must of used his leg strength to propel himself upwards, and he’s now unable to without that extra bit of support.

Using our hip dysplasia safe seats have been a blessing too, as he can reach the arch / toys from here too. You can see how we adapted a Bumbo seat here- Our hip dysplasia journey- hip healthy seats – Flicks and Red Lips

Music and interactive toys have been our saviour. I’m now a dab hand at nursery rhymes (I don’t know the actual words mind…here’s hoping he doesn’t remember my versions!) We are heading to a music class this week too, so I’m sure he’ll enjoy that more than ever.

Hip dysplasia car seats, nappy changes and playtime for a baby in a Pavlik harness

I hope this post has been helpful, and guided you through nappy changes with a Pavlik harness and given you some inspiration for playtime too.

Sian x

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