Where it all began
Evelyn born
Evelyn was born on 22nd March 2023 at 7lbs 1oz via an elective c-section. Everything went to plan and there were no complications at all.Evie had her checks before leaving the hospital as all babies, however, her hips should have been checked more thoroughly due to our family history of hip dysplasia.
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Evelyn's 8 week check-up
We went to the GP in May for Evie's 8 week check-up and her first jabs. The GP noticed that her hip was clicking and referred us to have it checked further.
Pavlik Harness Fitted
On July 12th Evie was fitted with the Pavlik Harness under the NHS. It took a long time to get an answer and we were told many different things. It was the hardest thing we had ever gone through.
Pavlik Harness removed
On July 25th the harness was removed. We decided to go private to get a second opinion and have been fortunate enough to be under the UK leading child hip specialist. He advised after an x-Ray that the harness had worked already, removed it and we booked 3 month check up to make sure her hip doesn't get worse again.
Follow up of Harness removal
On 28th November we went for the follow up x-ray to make sure her hip had not declined and to our shock, it had. So much so that we were advised to have the spica cast fitted as soon as possible. We wanted our first Christmas with her and the doctor agreed, so we waited 6 weeks.
Spica Cast fitted
On January 3rd, Evie was fitted with the spica cast. It was a closed reduction, thankfully, so no surgery required. It was the hardest day of our lives as a family and the start of a whole new life as new parents.
The cast was removed
On 15th April, the cast removal was honestly the happiest day of our lives, and Evie's.
She had been in the cast for 3.5 months and quite literally outgrown it. The cast had started to cause discomfort, especially to her stomach as she had no space left to bloat when eating and started to cause sickness.
An x-ray was taken beforehand and then the removal occurred. It was so thick it took around 10 to 15 minutes for the nurse to remove it.
Once the cast came off Evie was beside herself. She had got so used to it, it must have felt so strange to her to all of a sudden have freedom and feel air on her skin. Her legs were incredibly sensitive and sore with lots of dry flaking skin.
We took very loose fitting soft trousers to change her into so that her legs were protected until we could get her home, in the bath and lots and lots of cream on!
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Do not be worried about their legs not going back down together straight away, it takes them a little while to drop them back to a normal position. Evie would go to bed with her legs wide apart and up like she was still in the cast for a good few days.
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All I can say for this process is it required patience as the little ones start all over again to understand their legs and new comfort in their position.
