We have been busy here transitioning Alastair from casts to braces. He has bilateral club feet, diagnosed a bit late because they are a fairly mild case. Mild or not, they do have a protocol and the protocol is necessary for good use of his feet when he begins to walk.
It’s hard to tell babies:
“This is only for three months then it will be part-time.”
“This is so you can walk.”
They just feel the constraints of the contraptions. It’s the contraptions that have been causing Alastair a lot of grief.
Alastair has lived with leg contraptions for a while now. His doctor did a series of full leg castings. With each casting his feet were positioned increasingly properly. He had a surgery to lengthen his tendons, surgery that probably would not have been necessary had he been treated properly out of the gate. He got his last set of casts in surgery and wore them for three weeks. In the meantime, a custom brace was being fabricated for him.
This week is his first week in the brace. The brace includes special shoes created from a mold of his feet. The shoes are attached to one another with a bar and his feet are turned outward at a 60-degree angle to offset the natural inward tendency of a club foot.
He cannot kick his feet independently. He cannot touch his feet to one another. He cannot fit into a sling and is only awkwardly snuggled on a lap.
When we saw his doctor this week she asked what we thought of the brace. “We haven’t figured out how to cuddle with him well, but we will.” She said, “You can take it off to cuddle with him.” Orders otherwise are to keep them on for 23 hours and 30 minutes a day.
What the doctor probably does not appreciate is that we have three adults in the house who would cuddle with this child all day long. I would wear him in a sling as I type this blog post. I just know that in a year or two this will surely be an issue in therapy — my issue. In the meantime, I can hold him to my chest, lay him across my lap, and otherwise offer lots of affection. Surely the awkwardness will subside.
In all of this, I have worked hard preserving my mental health. (Read the plan and the outcome.) Being proactive has been critical. It is far to easy to get sucked into a deep hole when your baby is unhappy. In our many trips to Children’s Hospital of Central California where they treat the most difficult cases in this part of the state, I see RVs parked so parents can be with their children in the NICU and PICU. I see people who have moved closer to the hospital so that they can bring their children in regularly. I wonder what they do to stay sane. I just don’t know if I would make it and hope I never have to put it to the test.
Technorati Tags: club feet, postpartum depression
@ Amazon.
Hi Amanda,
I have followed your blog for a while after linking in from a Nourishing Traditions-type website I don’t remember – maybe a google search.
Anyway, my own legs were broken, reset, casted, etc., as a baby, and looking back, well, I don’t remember, but my mom sure does!! It was definitely harder on her, I think. Hang in there!!
Last, thank you for your book in its pre-published forms. Your words helped me find my own in searching for a reason why my depression meds suddenly seemed to stop working…….B12 deficiency! I am one year out from having my baby, and I finally have stopped feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally like I JUST had a baby.
Hi Rosebud. Thank you so much for the comments. My husband’s feet were broken, rearranged, and cast when he was about two years old. It’s hard to imagine. I am doing much better these days and so is Alastair.
I a so glad you are feeling better. It is amazing how long it can take to recover.
Amanda
I have followed your blog for a year or two. I did email you a while back and ask you about preventing PPD with Omega 3. I took a pretty high dose of Fish oil throughout my pregnancy in 2008, and although my PPD was worse than it ever has been (4th child, 3rd time with PPD) I have a very alert and smart baby!!!! The fish oil did some good for my baby at least. It also kept me off of depression meds during my pregnancy.
I had an incredibly hard postpartum time (hemmorhage and a serious rare condition where uterus will not clamp down long enough even after surgery) I thought I was going to end up in a mental hospital for a little bit, but Progesterone pellets under my tounge every 6 hours and Zoloft, got me out of what were almost the roughest days of my life.
I am happy to report with high b-complex multivitamins and high dose fish oil, I was able to completley wean off of the Zoloft when my baby was 6 1/2 months old. Yay for Omega 3! I am/was taking 2,000- 2,500 mg EPA.
Congragulations on your baby!!!! Thanks for all the information on your blog and website! Omega 3 and b vitamins DO WORK!
~Amanda
Amanda,
I am so sorry you had such a rough time postpartum. That really does set us up for the worst. I am so glad you are doing well now. I really do find that Omega 3s and B vitamins help a lot. For some people they make medication more effective, so it also doesn’t have to be either/or.
Congratulations on your baby too. You don’t happen to have a photo in Internetland that you can link to?
Amanda