Doing the Pavlik

Today Melody received her Pavlik hip harness, AKA The Rhino Kicker. It is for her hip dysplasia (dislocated hip.) It is basically is a bunch of velcro straps. It is softer and more flexible than I anticipated and Melody seems to be doing okay with it. She has been fussy today, but her nap schedule has been all off and she just wants to sleep. She seems to be sleeping fine with it on, so that is a blessing.

Mommy, however, is very frustrated with the whole harness. The man at Orthodics put it on Melody, but that was about it. I asked the few questions I knew to ask at the time, and he either didn't really know the answer or made it seem easier than it is. He also told me to put the harness on the complete opposite from the written instructions he sent home with me. I think the harness is actually not around Melody's feet properly in these pictures because of that.

However, in a few days we'll work all the bugs out and be old pros at this contraption. Changing her diaper is a major ordeal as it is over her clothing. I found cute little leg warmers today and hopefully I'll be able to show you some adorable fashion options we've discovered in the next few days. If she could just wear a onesie, we'd be fine, but it is far too cold for that right now. I'll follow up with Orthopedics tomorrow as they apparently are the ones who really tell you how to use the brace, not Orthodics. Melody will have a hip ultrasound in 6 weeks to see how this whole thing is working.

We also need to discover a solution for spitting up on the pavlik. The name sounds like something you should ralph on, so Melody did. Numerous times. It will be a very stinky Rhino soon. I can wash it, but am also supposed to keep her in it 23 hours a day, so that will be a trick. The Orthopedics said 23 hours. The man at Orthodics said aim for 20 hours a day. Another discrepency. She will have to wear it for "months" or "a year" have been the answers I have received so far. I figure the more faithful we can be with having her wear it, hopefully the shorter the duration will be over all.

Pray for our Pavlik adjustments.