When our son came out of his Pavlik harness after treatment for hip dysplasia, I was told to prepare for him to be delayed in meeting his milestones. I was blindsided- does hip dysplasia cause delayed milestones?
Every child is different, with and without hip dysplasia, and this post isn’t for us mums to sit and compare our little ones progress. I’m purely scribbling down my thoughts to hopefully help another hippy mama feel some positivity after their babes treatment.
What milestones can be delayed?
Weightbearing and walking seemed to be the main concerns.
He wouldn’t be expected to weight bear for a while, and walking could take much longer compared to most. Due to this my health visitor arranged an additional visit at 9-10 months, to see how far off he would be from walking, crawling and even rolling.
Make tummy time essential
During our time in the Pavlik harness, I ignored our consultants advice on banning tummy time. He said it wasn’t important and that he’d be delayed anyway- I couldn’t of disagreed more.
After much research we included some tummy time daily. Building up from a few minutes every day, we placed him on a V shaped feeding pillow with lots of soft support for his limbs.
I’m a big believer in tummy time, and often wonder if this the biggest reason why he has progressed the way he has.
2024- I speak in a bit more detail in how tummy time is vital for reflex integration here- Hip Dysplasia update- Five years on from the Pavlik harness – Flicks and Red Lips
The rolling milestone
Our son was very close to rolling before the harness was fitted, so we were delighted when he began making full use of this new skill a few weeks into harness free life aged 4 and a half months. Although I wasn’t prepared for rolling to be just as troublesome as crawling, I’ll be honest!
Rolling from back to front first, it only took a few days for him to master front to back too. Gaining top speed in rolling around the living room within weeks. His legs still in the frog legged Pavlik position too, so it didn’t hold him back!
Starting to weight bear
It used to baffle me at baby groups spying babies ‘stood’ up straight, parents hands under the arm to keep them steady. I’d do the smile, nod and ask how old they were, hoping they’d be months ahead. But they never were.
These for me, were the hardest moments, the moments when I could see a hippy baby can differ from their peers. If you picked my son up he would instinctively raise his knees and feet into the Pavlik position. There was certainly no ‘jumping’ like many others do.
Annoyingly before the Pavlik was fitted, he was constantly weightbearing. Pushing those soles into your thighs desperate to stand and see the world, so it just shows you how much the Pavlik positioning can change things.
It took until 7 months of age, 3 months harness free for him to suddenly straighten his legs and push those feet into our thighs again. Even then it’s taken a lot of encouragement to help it continue, and it’s not his favourite thing to do.
At 7 months he stood for the first time, supported by a walker (and us at VERY close range) and now at 9 months he’s definitely enjoying having his feet flat.
Was crawling a delayed milestone?
Crawling took a while. Legs in the perfect position thanks to the harness, arms ready to commando, he’d move an inch and then roll to his destination. But at 8 months, after weeks of his crawl-roll, we had a full on crawling adventurer!
And I’m not going to downplay this. I was THRILLED. This was a major milestone and one I didn’t think he’d achieve anywhere near the age of a ‘textbook’ baby.
Which just proves the point of this post…
Babies do thing at their own pace.
Babies do things when they are ready to, not when we want them too!
Some walk months and MONTHS before others. Lots will talk, clap, do a wiggly dance months before the others break out with their first babble. But they all get there in the end.
So hip dysplasia or not. Pavlik harness or not. Try not to focus on the phrase ‘Delayed Milestones’ even though that probably seems impossible right now.
They’ll do it when they are ready, and that moment will just be magical. I promise you.
Sian x
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