Need HIPPO info/help

[Momto2whosews]

I just found out that my good friend's DD (5 mos old) has to have surgery for a dislocated hip, and will be in a Spica cast for 4 months and a brace after that.

Unfortunately this condition runs in her family and her nephew went through it 2 years ago. At that time, the hospital didn't have any hippo carseats available. Mom asked ahead to reserve one and was told to wait until the day of surgery. When the day came for him to go home, there still were no seats available so he came home in an ambulance. The mom didn't want to (or couldn't) stay home with him waiting for a seat, she she turned him FF at 10 mos. and somehow squeezed him in his old seat.

My friend is in total shock with this news as it is, and the carseat is just adding to her worries right now - it's the one little thing that I can help her with, so I'm trying.

She has found Hippo's on-line for $500 - yikes!. This is obviously the last thing they needed right now, so if the hospital doesn't have a seat to rent to them, or they can't get insurance to pay for one, they are stuck.

I have a few CPST Instructor contacts that I will call in the morning, but I wanted to check here to see if anyone knows a national organization that rents Hippo's or any other avenues that we could go (we are in NH).

Also, is there any chance that a baby in a Spica cast could fit in a RF Marathon, an Evenflo Triumph 5, or a Scenera? Those are the seats that I have to lend her.

TIA

[Starlight]

A Radian would probably be the best bet, honestly. Isn't the issue that the legs need to go out? The seats you've listed all have really high sides, and won't give his legs the sprawl they need.

[crunchierthanthou]

I think the triumph is the best bet with its wide bowl shape and adjustable crotch strap. It's hard to know for sure, though. A Hippo is a MA without sides, so I don't know that a regular MA will work.

[SusanMae]

I know MD KISS has them....Do you have something like that in NH?

Susan

[LISmama810]

I just attended a tech update on this issue a couple weeks ago. There are many times that a child's regular car seat can still be used. They try to do that first before lending out special-needs seats. However, it really all depends on how the legs are casted (straight, bent, to the side, etc.). Without knowing that, it would be hard to recommend a specific seat, but like a PP mentioned, something with low/no sides would probably be the best bet.

[Momto2whosews]

Thank you!

Susan, what is MD KISS?? I would like to check into it.

Her current seat is a Snugride, so I don't think that will work. She was just about to start shopping for a convertible when all of this came up. I will mention the Radian to her, however I don't have personal experience with one and I'm hesitant about them in general because of the compatibility issues.

I think she switches vehicles quite a bit. Her car is an older Honda Civic, and she occasionally uses a Mazda sedan also. Her DH drives a small truck with airbag on/off switches, but I'm not sure how much the baby is in the truck. I will check with her to find out if we can try a Radian in her car.

Kathy

[SusanMae]

Maryland Kids in Safety Seats www.mdkiss.org

One of my CPSI's is in charge of KISS. They had a Hippo seat in class and I believe they have them for rent, but I don't know if you have to be a MD resident or not. I guess it can't hurt to try though.

Susan

[ShumNum]

Hi Kathy,
A radian would probably be a good choice if you cannot find a HIPPO. BUT, if you can't find a HIPPO, make sure the parent brings the carseat to the hospital when the child is having the casting done. Some docs are willing/able to cast the child so that they fit in their convertible carseat with the cast...but if the doc doesn't have the actual carseat they can't do it.

Here in Maryland the HIPPO seats we do have are in high demand so my guess is that MD KISS won't rent out of state...however they might have the name of a similar agency in NH. Probably worth asking.

Good luck!

[flipper68]

I moved away from N.E. to NEB almost 9 years ago, but Shriners has (used to have?) a hospital in Springfield, MA. The pediatric unit of Baystate Medical Center (also in Springfield) or Easter Seals might also be able to help.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe weight for car seats is measured INCLUDING the cast, so not many kids can be rear facing (in addition to the fit issue of legs that don't bend).

If this is true, the Evenflo Chase or Graco combo seat would probably have low enough sides to work.

Radian would be a good choice as well.

EZ-On Vest makes the modified vest for kids who can't sit or fit in seats (they lay on the seat).

Depending on the size/age of the child, there are several variations of braces that might hold the hip in place but be lighter weight and/or allow more flexibility of lower extremities. I'd also double check with the surgeon. . .A friend was told DS would be in a broomstick cast (cast w/bar between legs) at pre op meetings, but came home with both legs in knee immobilizers.

[Kabes]

My DD was in a spica cast for 7 weeks for a broken femur. She weighed 15 pounds with out the cast and 18 pounds with it. The Dr. who removed it said it was 3 times thicker than it needed to be. So weigh could factor in but it shouldn't be too bad on a child that small.

Now I know why I should have saved her cast. I could go out right now and see if it would fit in my Radian. Alas, it was thrown away long ago.

The problem we had was the seat depth was too deep for the angle of the cast. On a child that small there isn't much space between their knee joint and their hip. If I had put DD's back against the seat her legs wouldn't fit because they were bent and if I put her knees on the edge of the seat her back wouldn't rest on the back of the seat.

[Momto2whosews]

Thanks everyone. I am forwarding all of this information to her.

I just found out that the baby is covered by Medicaid. Does anyone know if they will cover the cost of a Hippo?

The Orthopedist told her that they will discuss carseat options at the pre-op appointment a week before surgery, but Mom needs to plan and is nervous enough about dealing with an infant in a cast and really just wants to have things set and ready to go so she has one less thing to worry about.

I told her that if she can get approval for a Hippo, that she could probably use it as her everyday carseat post-cast. Is that correct?

Sorry for all the questions. TIA

[HEVY]

If she's on wic and has sec 8 then she may have medicaid, they do pay for those. She would probably need a referral.

[Kabes]

Britax makes the HIPPO right? You could call their customer service and ask them about using it after the cast is off.

[jvbucks]

My son fell and broke his femur at 6 months. He was in a spica cast for 3.5 weeks. When I was at the hospital, the social worker said there were no seats available either, and she called someplace (sorry I cannot remember) and they said the seat I had would work (it is a Britax Decathlon). She even said that a Boulevard would work. What I had to do was put blankets in the "butt" area of the seat so he sat higher in the seat, and it worked just fine (even rear-facing). Granted, he only had 1 leg in the cast and 1/2 of the other leg, so I'm not sure that would work for your friend's child. He didn't like riding in the car much so we didn't go too many places, but it worked just fine and he was secured tightly.

Vanessa

[safeinthecar]

The only real way to tell is to try the baby, with cast in the different seats available. If I had to hazard a guess, the EFTA would probably be your best bet.

Something to keep in mind though, putting a baby in a Hippo cast in a car seat is a bit different than a non-casted baby.

There might be less or more than a 90 degree angle on the cast for one thing. This means you may have to tightly fold receiving blankets and "build up" the seat of the car seat under her bum. Or you may have to add padding under her knees to support the weight of the cast if her knees are elevated.

You might also need to add padding (tightly folded to minimize compression) behind her hips and back and/or behind her head to support her body in as comfortable a position as possible. This is a hard thing to do as we have always been told no extra padding, but in situations like this, using padding to fit the child to the seat is preferable to not using a seat at all.

Good Luck.

[KristiD761]

we have used Alpha-Omegas and put a rolled towel behind the hips...it seems to work in nearly all i have seen...

[SusanMae]

I talked to the MD KISS lady I was telling you about on Saturday at a check.

Anyway--She said that if the nurses are digent and stop the doc before they cast the child---they can bring the seat directly into the OR and have the doc cast the child so that they will still fit in the seat. From what she said this is a common practice at Johns Hopkins Hosp.

Susan

[Momto2whosews]

Thank you all so much. I know she has a lot to think about right now and this is setting her mind at ease to some extent.

She's a first-time mom and this is all new to me as well. I'm a little affriad the dr. will just say "turn her ff". But I really hope not.