Molly Kate was breech from about 24 weeks to 34 weeks of pregnancy. Every time we peeked at her on an ultrasound, she had her feet up by her head. Once I learned about hip dysplasia in breech babies, I decided to be pro-active and began to see a chiropractor who specializes in the Webster Technique. The Webster Technique is non-invasive and it involves them adjusting your hips and pressing on knots in the ligaments that support the uterus. They don’t do anything to the baby. Â I believe the night of my first visit, she flipped. We had an ultrasound in the 35 week and she had indeed flipped head down. I continued to see the chiropractor weekly until delivery to ensure that she remained head down.
When she was examined in the hospital by the pediatrician, I told them how she was breech for 10 weeks and requested a hip ultrasound (something they wouldn’t have known to do since she wasn’t born breech). She had her first scan at 10 days old which showed slight hip dysplasia. We were referred to a pediatric orthopedic at Children’s Hospital who repeated the ultrasound at 27 days old. There was improvement, but not enough. He said we could watch it and see if it corrects itself or we could go ahead with the Pavlik Harness. I told him to make the decision for me and he chose to go ahead and do the harness. He said we would have no regrets this way.
They fitted her with the harness in the office and told us that she has to wear it 24/7 for 6 weeks except for baths. It doesn’t seem to bother her which is good. I am having a hard time adjusting to it. I can’t hold her in the same positions, I can’t nurse her in the same positions, life has definitely changed. I know it is the best thing for her and 6 weeks won’t seem like such a long time.
If anyone has experience with the Pavlik Harness, I would love to hear about it. I also had to start pumping more bottles for her as it is very difficult to get her into a good position to breastfeed. If you have any pumping tips, I would appreciate them!
Pumping for my first child when I still had a job ended up being an interesting feedback loop for stress. I learned to take deep breaths and let them out feeling myself relax. I still use it to encourage let down . Also smelling and cuddling and looking at baby helps. Lots of water and vitamin c and I also have mothers milk tea ordered via amazon’s subscribe and save.
Same as Candy wrote. My dd was born in ’78 and we were told to triple double her. She’s a very athletic 36yo mom to three now. Has never had any additional problems.
My daughter who is now 25 was butt first breech. She was born with hip displaysia. We went to the ortho Dr at one week. They suggested to double diaper her for four weeks, then return to see how she had progressed. It worked ! After that no problems. I know it was a long time ago but it did the trick. Good luck and prayers sent.
No experience, but have you looked into baby wearing. I don’t know if it is possible with the harness but a good carrier (ergo) gives a similar seat. If you can use a carrier with the harness, you may also be able to nurse with her in there. Best of luck!! And congrats!!
My cousins daughter is currently wearing one of these braces for hup displays a. She has been wearing it for three months and goes to the dr this week to see if she needs to continue it. I agree, it doesn’t seem to bother the baby at all! Sorry I don’t have any tips for you except maybe to take it off while you are nursing? (I know you are supposed to keep it on her as long as possible!). Good luck, I’m sure the time will go fast!!
my son had to wear one from 2 weeks old to 6 months. I cried, but he was fine! hiis hip joints were not curved enough to hold his joints in place. we did buy the baby leg warmers for him to wear to prevent rubbing and chafing on his little and calves. It was a long 6 months but he walked early and ha never had problem he is 4 years old now. Oh and he had to wear the harness In disney world too! :-
No experience with the harness, but I do have breast feeding/pumping advice. Try the football position for nursing or try lying down. I have large breasts and always felt like I was smothering my babies when they were newborns, but those positions helped greatly. You might even contact La Lache counselor in you area for help. As for pumping, I found some skin to skin contact (cheek on breast) usually relaxed me enough to be able to pump. Also a hospital grade or the Medela pump are nice to have.
My niece was in the harness for a long time (more than 6 weeks but I don’t remember how long exactly). I don’t have any tips on adjusting but I can tell you that she crawled early, walked by 10 months and you’d never know she ever had hip displasia! Molly Kate is absolutely beautiful!
My daughter had to wear that same brace as an infant. Her hips were not staying in place. It does get some getting used to but you will get it. Best position I found for breast feeding was the football position, were here legs were going away from my body. It worked well for us.
One word of advice I would give you is to keep an eye on her when she starts walking. My daughter is now 7 and I have her in physical therapy because her gait was off. When she walks her right leg will turn in. After years of asking the doctor about it the neurologist sent her for the pt eval and it turns out that the muscles in the top of her legs are super tight. I don’t know for sure but I believe it was from the brace and her legs being in that position for so long. So just make sure once out that she is fully extending her legs.
My neice was in the harness for quite a while. My sister in law disassembled several sets of bloomers and made them Velcro up the sides so she could still wear cute things. She also had several nightgowns made for her that fit over the harness and made a few tshirt dresses. My neice is a happy healthy 4 year old now. It didn’t bother her or slow her down a bit. She is 6 weeks younger than my daughter and they still did everything at the same time. The only difference was that my neice is EXTREMELY flexible! Ha!
I remember my s-I-l having to figure out different feeding holds but they worked it out. Your daughter is beautiful and we wish you all the best!!
Hi… I have experience with the harness… My baby went I to one at 2 weeks old for 6 weeks, unfortunately it didn’t work for her and she had to have a closed reduction and a spica cast!! We are 2 weeks away from it coming off; she’ll have been in the cast for 7 weeks! I had already stopped breast feeding when she was put into the harness, so I don’t have any advice there, but you will definitely get used to the harness!!! I tried to find some positives about it to help me deal with it, so I will share them with you!! She was the most sturdy newborn! The harness kind of cradled her in a way that made it easy for use to pick her up and hold her! I know how you feel about not being able to hold her like you used to, but you will find a way that will work for you so that you still feel close to her!! Sometimes she would only sleep on my chest and I felt like the straps on the harness served as handle bars for me to keep her from sliding! The best was knowing we were doing the best thing for her!! You’re doing great and you’ll get through this!! I have a support group on Facebook if you’re interested… Just search Hip Dyplasia USA!! Good luck and stay strong!!
I would try nursing her with her body behind you. Call a local WIC office of lactation clinic near you for help!
What a cutie! No experience with the harness but happy to hear that she isn’t minding it. 6 weeks will go by in a blink.
I’m currently breastfeeding my third child (8 weeks old). As a teacher on summer break, I am trying to pump a bottle a day to put in the freezer. A tip I got this time around from a friend that attended a lactation class is to purchase a larger breastshield. I did not know there were different sizes. For my first two babies I just used what came with the pump (27 mm). I purchased a 30 and have seen a huge difference – faster and get more milk. The size can be found on the breastshield. Other tips – lots of water, loose bra, pump or nurse often. Best of luck.
Bought mine from Amazon but many stores that sell nursing supplies sell them. Link to breastshields:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000A88KC2?vs=1
Best advice for nursing and pumping – drink A LOT of water. It helps a much with production.
My friend’s daughter had the harness after birth, 24/7 as well. Honestly I totally forgot about it u til I saw your photo. She is now 6 and those few weeks at birth seem like such a small period of time. It’s great that you are being so proactive with your concerns. She is so beautiful!!
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/breastfeeding/low-milk-supply-increase-low-breastmilk-supply-with-these-great-tips#.U64xJ5RdU9U
Some great info to pass along about breast feeding. Recipe for lactation cookies as well!
My daughter had to wear this harness days after she was born. Brings back memories, she’s 18 now. She wasn’t breech. My pediatrician, who checked her out at the hospital right after delivery, was the one to tell me about her “hip being out of place”. He told me it wasn’t hip dysplasia. She wore it for a couple of months (I suggest “satchel” pj’s, as nothing else will fit right for bedtime.) She was a summer baby also (4th of July:) so watch for heat rashes on her back due to having it on constantly. They did “wean” her off it after a couple months, I swore I was going to burn it after she was done wearing it..lol, but it’s up in my attic still (so I could show her when she grew up, what she had to wear) I’m sorry to say, no breast feeding tips (only breast fed my second child, she was my third). They checked her annually at the Children’s hospital for the next 5 years (x-rays etc) to make sure her hip “fused” into place and happy to say that she walks perfectly fine today and no problems with her hips. Now if I could only work on her teen attitude…lol. Good luck, congrats on your beautiful Molly Kate and keep up the great work with the blog!
My daughter was breach my whole pregnancy..they weren’t able to flip her..and had to get a c-section. We found out when she was 6 weeks old that she indeed had hip dysplasia. She wore the harness until she was almost one. We also had to have her in 3 cloth diapers all the time to push her hips out even further. It was horrible for me, but she never seemed to mind. You will find a way to make it work..but I would suggest a hospital pump as well….it makes a huge difference. My daughter is now 18 years old and very athletic and active..once she was out of it, she never looked back!! Keep hanging in there!! It will go by fast!! :)
First off, she’s beautiful! I’m sorry I don’t have experience with the harness, but I wanted to send a bit of encouragement your way. You’re a wonderful mom to be taking such good care of Molly Kate-before and after birth!
My babies were all early, and I pumped/breastfed. I have to say that renting a hospital grade pump was the best decision! I was able to pump so much more, and so much faster. You may be doing that already though.
I had preemies and had to pump continously while they were in the hospital. My one son spent 5+ weeks. I just kept pumping both sides every few hours, no matter how much i got. I also drank mothers tea, which seemed to help as well. I was doing anything i could to keep the milk production up.
Hi! I had twin boys and one was born with hip dysplagia as well. He had to wear the harness for 12 weeks total. The first 6 weeks was 24/7 and then they gradually reduced the hours. I will say it was a bit of a pain…but only for me and my husband. It did not bother my son at all! I think the worse part was keeping it clean. I recommend buying a firm toothbrush and some oxyclean. That seemed to work the best for us. My son is now almost 5 and has absolutely no problems with his hips which made it all worth it. Hang in there, the time will go by really fast.