When my
Little Monkey was just a week old, we found out that her hips hadn’t developed
properly. Her right hip was very bad, and it meant she was in a body brace for
some time. After a few weeks, she was moved into a fabric harness, but the
memory of the full body brace is still there for us.
It was one
of the hardest things as parents to go through, knowing that she was in pain
and just couldn’t get comfortable. We had to find ways of helping her get comfortable
so she could sleep and enjoy her first few weeks at home.
Propping Heads Up to Sleep
Parents are
continually told not to use pillows during the first six months because of the
risk of cot death (SIDS). The problem is the full braces end up lifting the
body from the bed, so the head is left leaning further back. We tried lying
like that and found that we ended up with horrible pains from the strain in the
neck.
So, we
placed a small rolled up blanked underneath Monkey’s crib sheets. That then
eased her neck, allowing her to sleep a little more comfortably.
She couldn’t
sleep for long like that, though. It ended up with her cuddling into one of us
during the night so she’d get at least three straight hours until she needed
something to eat.
Laying on the Front
Sleeping on
the front isn’t recommended, but we let our daughter lay on her front on us for
the period she was in her full brace. There are plenty of photos of her asleep,
clutching onto my top or chain as if saying that she was comfy and never wanted
to move.
This wasn’t
something we could do on the floor or in her crib. When we needed to move
somewhere around the house, we’d have to do the trick of putting something
under her head to support her neck.
The Bouncy Chairs
We actually
found one of the best ways to get her comfortable during the day was in a
bouncy chair. It was great for when I needed to do some writing or when she
needed to move around to do the washing up or other housework.
Her bouncy
chair was perfect for weeks on end, even when she was in the fabric brace. It
seems like the way the fabric would move around her was perfect for her whole
body to be supported.
It’s
heartbreaking knowing that babies aren’t comfortable, and you want to find the
best ways to help them. Don’t put your child in danger to help her get
comfortable, but there are ways to adapt things to make it easier. The three
above were just tricks that we used.
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