My 3 Mos. Old Has Clubbed Feet.

oh I remember those days!!!!! I feel for your son AND YOU!!!

The other responses are incorrect, what you are doing seems to be following the Ponseti Method closely (Weekly casts then shoes/bar 23 hours for 3 months, then just nights and naps until age 3 or 4).

What shoes/bar do you have? We used the Mitchell Shoes with the Ponseti bar and they worked great for us.

You should contact your DR. and let them know he is still having issues, maybe the Dr will adjust the shoes a bit so the feet aren't turned out so far, or maybe the bar is too wide or too narrow. BE PERSISTENT, don't let the doc blow you off! Does your son have any red marks from the shoes, are they blisters?

Try to make your son as comfortable as possible. Show him how he can move his legs, together, by gently bending them up and down. Whatever you do, DO NOT give up and take the shoes/bar off. THIS is the most important part, the bracing. The statistics are amazing - relapse is directly affected by if the bracing protocol was followed, especially these next few months.

I know it's hard, but this too shall pass! Just think of what you have accomplished so far and think of how you will feel in 3 months when you can decrease the time to nights and naps only. My daughter is four and was just released from her shoes/bar at nights for good. I cried that first night, that is how attached I have grown to those dang shoes/bar. They were my safety net, my reassurance that all the work we have done so far won't be for nothing. Her feet are perfect and she can run and jump and nobody can even tell that she had bilateral clubfoot. In 4 years, we missed TWO nights of bracing, once when she had a sore and the doc told us to lay off for one night, and once when the attachment to the shoe broke late at night. We were absolutely committed to bracing, and I encourage you to be as well.

There is a website you should know about, you can post these type of questions and you will get a ton of support and helpful suggestions.
it is called ____@____.com

Please feel free to private message me if you have any more questions or just need some support.

Ali

Why the shoes so early. I thought they usually keep casts on until later,
but I could be mistaken. Do the shoes fit well, not tight? I can't imagine
his frustration, but better now than later. I know that does not help. I
wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but I do not. Stay strong!
Comfort him as much as you can and hopefully he will adjust.

Poor baby! My brother had that problem when he was a baby, except he had the surgery right after he was born so he was younger with the shoes, and too young to really have it bother him. I wish I had advice for you, the only thing I can think of is to make sure it's not chafing him anywhere. When great grandma had her radiation, her skin hurt so bad we sewed silk liners so it wouldnt chafe. Maybe something like that if there's a spot that specifically hurting him?

Good luck, Mama! I wish I could help more.

I would take him back and have him looked at for correct positioning of the hips, legs, back, and then shoes. He doesn't understand why he is positioned this way. Don't take him out of the brace. It's not fun. I can remember flipping my whole body over to turn but only needed them at night. I know that technology has changed a whole since my time.

Remember the bones in a child are soft and can be shaped easier than in an adult. Keep us posted on his progress.

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

The other S.

I am a foster parent and had also had a 3 month old with the shoes. She had surgery at 6 weeks and did fantastic with the shoes for the time we cared for her. I would definately get him into the pediatrician and work with them to see what the problem is. He must be hurting or uncomfortable in some way. Maybe try different socks? Good luck figuring it out, but I would definately say to make sure his doc doesn't blow you off. Advocate for your baby!

Wow, those shoes sound EARLY! When my friend's little guy had his corrections done, they kept him in casts until he was 8 months old and able to start standing. She made the comment that she had to relearn how to change diapers because she was so used to doing it with his casts on. I would talk to your Dr. about maybe putting your little guy back into casts for the time being. I'll be praying for you! Happy Thanksgiving!

I did daycare for a set of twins and one of the girls had all of this done..young like yours. Little gal had night time shoes till she was 2 years old. She became Houdini!

But for a great outcome consider this, and how it is so worth it....They were told she would never be able to do the jumping off things motion...that thing you do where you lift your heels to leap off like when jumping off a steps, etc as a young child? KWIM? Well, Little Gal was Epic Good at that! She just did it and they didn't believe Mom...they actually had to go to a place within the Dr building so they could se eher doing this over and over...she loved jumping off steps!

Good luck!