I'm the mother of a clubfoot baby boy. My son is being treated with the Ponseti Method. My son's remarkable improvement is all thanks to the expertise and advice provided by the doctors, nurses, and other professionals involved with his treatment. However, there some aspects of the clubfoot life that even doctors don't know about.
Keeping Casts Clean
I can't speak for girls, but my little boy had a special talent for getting his casts "wet" during the first diaper change after each casting. Soiled casts are just begging for skin irritation. Here are a few of my suggestions for keeping baby safe and dry.
- A Quick Lower Body Bath
Bring some bath supplies (washcloth, towel, and baby wash) with you to every cast change appointment. I suggest purchasing some HUGGIES Natural Care® Disposable Washcloths with Baby Wash; they already have the bath soap in the disposable cloth – just dip them in water.
Take a couple of minutes while the baby is out of casts to give his lower body a quick wash. After all, you won't be able to submerge your little one in water to give him a proper bath until after the casting period of his treatment is over.
Once baby's legs are nice and clean, apply a liberal amount of A+D® Original Ointment to any part of the legs where chaffing may occur while in the casts (this will be most apparent after the first casts are removed). My son needed the ointment on his upper inner thighs.
- Cast Cover Ups
It only takes a millisecond to get those fresh new casts soiled, and there is no "cleaning" option for casts. Believe me, urine soaked casts are extremely unpleasant. What you need is an absorbent protective cover.
Socks! Buy yourself some inexpensive small women's size crew socks (the kind that come halfway up the shin).
Cut the upper portion of the sock off at the "ankle" of the sock. Now you have a tube-like portion of fabric (it looks kind of like a little leg warmer), and the foot-covering section of the sock. Keep the bottom section of the sock – you'll use this part when we get to the shoes with the bar.
Use the tube-like portion to slide over the leg cast, all the way up to the very top. If you let the covering come up past the top of the cast you have a better chance of keeping the cast opening and inside clean and dry.
The best part about these cast coverings is that they can be removed quickly when soiled, and washed with baby's laundry.
Shoes and the Dennis Browne Bar
After casts, your baby will most likely move into the "shoe" phase of treatment with either the Dennis Browne Bar or TARSO Shoe. Either way, your baby is instinctively curious, and as he begins to explore his body and surroundings, he will eventually find his shoelaces. My son wears the Dennis Browne Bar and he loves to untie his shoes. Since this is an important part of the clubfoot treatment, we need to keep those laces tied. I have a couple of suggestions.
- Sleep in the Sack
It's recommended that babies not sleep with blankets, due to the risks associated with SIDS. Many parents have turned to the safety and warmth of baby sleep sacks, or wearable blankets. A sleep sack is essentially a gown with the bottom sewn shut. They come in a variety of colors and fabrics, and most of them have a zipper in the front.
This works great for clubfoot babies. It keeps them warm and snuggly with the added bonus of keeping those shoelaces out of reach. The problem with the sleep sacks, is that they are hard to find in retail stores in a size bigger than size 6-9 months, and our kids may be wearing shoes to bed for years.
If you are a "do-it-yourself" kind of mom, like me, you can keep making bigger size sleep sacks as your little one grows out of them. But, if sewing isn't your idea of fun, don't worry. Maybe my next suggestion will suit your needs.
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Remove the temptation. Those dangling shoelaces are just begging to be pulled, so we need to conceal them.Remember those sock cast coverings you made when your baby was still in leg casts? Well, it's time to pull out the unused portion of the sock - the foot covering.
After your little one is laced up and ready to go, simply slip the sock over the shoes. It's just that simple. Having those shoes covered up will not only remove the temptation of dangling laces, but may save your baby's sheets from some wear and tear by the shoe buckles.
These are ideas and suggestions based on my own experience. I am just a mother of a clubfoot baby, not a medical professional, and none of my suggestions should be taken as medical advice.
