Carseat after Hip dysplasia treated

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hi everyone,

First time posting. My dd was diagnosed super late with congenital hip dysplasia soon after her 2nd bday. ("late" is after 3 mths old, very late after 6 mo, really really late after a year so pretty ridiculous at 2.) She had a total of 24 weeks of full body casts, with 2 major surgeries (google pelvic & femoral osteotomy). We were blessed to be loaned the Snugseat Hippo from Britax through the hospital. We have an Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX that we used prior to surgery that she was always uncomfortable in and for some reason gives her the urge to poop (she struggles with constipation). We figured it may have been cuz her hips were dislocated!! Now were using it again and she's super uncomfortable. She was semi uncomfy in the Hippo too but it's hard to tell what was pain from surgery/cast and what wasn't. She is 29.5 lb, 35inches.

We also have a 9 mo dd (est. 21lb, 27 in)who eventually will outgrow her Chicco Keyfit 30. She's starting to do the bucking & screaming like crazy when we put her in and we're thinking about putting her in the Evenflo to get my other dd into a comfy seat. Two big factors: 1. Money, dh has been unemployed for 1.5 yrs 2. She's having surgery next month the remove hardware in her bones. No post op cast, thank God! Any advice?

Jenny B
 
ADS

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
:) As a veteran of hip dysplasia - I first wanted to say hello! I am sure treatment has changed significantly over the last 34 years! I am so sorry it took a long time for her condition to be diagnosed. Mine was found while I was in the hospital.

Has your daughter been more specific about what pain she is in? Do her legs fall asleep? Back or rear-end get sore? Is it her hips? These questions might help us answer questions for you on other seat options.

Also, does she ride rear or forward facing.
 

jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
We got DD2 a Cosco Alpha Omega seat to support her in her cast. It worked OK, but definitely not great, and it is not a highly recommended seat. (It has low top harness slots for forward facing, and makes a terrible booster).

I agree, ask her where it hurts. Also, does she, or will she have any restrictions for what positions her hips can or cannot be in. DD could NOT sit "criss-cross" for 12 weeks after her SPICA cast came off.

Can you get us a torso measurement on her please? Sit her against the wall (Criss-cross legs is best if she can) and measure from the floor to the top of her shoulders. This will give us an idea of seats she might outgrow too quickly as you are on a budget and won't want to end up buying another seat too soon.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I too am waiting on the additional info to make recommendations, but I just wanted to chime in on ridiculously late diagnosis.

A boy from my church was recently diagnosed with it, and he's 14.
 

urchin_grey

New member
DS had hip dysplasia as well (he has Arthrogryposis). A froggy position was most comfortable for him after the spica cast came off and I'm guessing the same is true for your DD. I think the Radian would have worked very well, though we didn't have it at the time. Its much less "bowl" shaped and more open than any other carseat so she'd have plenty of space to adjust her legs however she wanted. And definitely rear-facing, hands down. Gotta protect those hips. They are going to be very tender for a while.
 

Mikeswife

New member
I'm the original poster of the message. I figured Id forget if I didn't write asap. Anyway, thanks for all the responses. From what I hear treatment has changed a bunch in 30 yrs! ;) how are your hips now? To the person who said a boy at church was dx at 14-wow. There is developmental hip dysplasia, so it may have developed over time. It also could've been a mild case. Or they couldve had drs ignore them about the signs like us.

Torso measurement is 14.5 inches, not crisscrossed. She says it's her butt that hurts. She's never really complained about her legs in the seat. A bit more background: she was freed from the cast in Sept and was in a wheaton abduction brace (froggy position) for about a month and from one day to the next, her muscles did not allow for the position anymore. We consulted with her surgeon with no answers to this day. We requested PT which she had an evaluate for in Nov and 2 mths of red tape, we started PT last Fri. After extra chiropractic adjustments (she's gone since birth), she's improved a lot and finally has the flexibility she had in Sept. Yay! All that to say, she doesn't have restrictions on positioning, other than her own comfort. I only recently heard of the benefits of ERF and I gotta tell ya, I don't know where the kiddos legs go! Lol it's the only thing hindering me from taking the extra step of safety. She couldn't have gone rfing in the hippo with spica cast FOR SURE. She wasn't casted very wide or froggy like. Since she had the osteotomies, the cast wasn't what was primarily keeping the femur in socket. They basically chisel & hammer her pelvis, cut tendons and saw her femur and then put her back together. Eek!

So...hopefully I didn't forget any info.
 

icnee

New member
Kids put there legs up on the seat back, hang them off the side, cross them pretty much how ever they feel like sitting they can.

My oldest RFer did FF until I learned about ERFing. she was 3 and cried all the time her butt, leggs, back hurt then when I turned her back she nolonger cried about the pain. Then when she turnd 5 I let her have some say in which way she wanted face she choise FFing but it didnt last long she then asked to go back to RFing and she is now RFing again. She is 42lbs and 44" and she is very leggy.

She is in my siggy.

Also this video has lost of pics of ERFing kids.

( some kids like to refer to RFing as riding "backwards")

Kids do like having the vehical seat back to support their leggs in the video at 1:50 if you look behined the RFing boy you can see the FFer and she has her leggs up on the seat infront of, that is cause it is more comfy than dangleing unsupported.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvyIv9QVRBE"]YouTube - Rear facing is safer[/ame]
 

Artemis777

New member
I have no carseat suggestions, but I had to chime in about the hips. I was born with congenital dislocation of the hips. On my left side I basically didn't have a hip socket - I had two flat bones. My pediatrician noticed something was wrong, and he sent me to a specialist. That guy was a crackpot, and if malpractice was then what it is now, we would have been rich. He didn't even look at my X-rays, and he treated it as though it were just loose by putting me in a pavlovic harness. He made the situation worse by pushing the bones further apart. We lived in NY at the time, and because of him, I ended up in traction in DE at the Dupont Institute. I was about 8 months old at that point, and I was there for a month or two. After that I was in a body cast from my ankles to my armpits. I think this was for several months because I outgrew the first one, and they had to cut me out and recast me. Finally, I had leg braces with a bar between my thighs to hold them apart. I was all done with that by the time I was about two. I'm absolutely fine now; I have no problems with my hip whatsoever. I have no recollection of any of this. My poor mom was the one who suffered. Lol. She was so strong from lugging me around in that cast that she could just pick me up by one leg. You're a good mom for getting your daughter the help that she needs and making her as comfortable as possible!
 

Eclipsepearl

New member
Wow, that's almost my story! I basically had flat bones.

Except, my mom's a nurse and took me at 8 weeks to see basically, an old boyfriend. My first flight.

I had the body cast and it had to be cut and replaced. I still have nightmares about things coming down from the ceiling! (very terrifying noise for a baby).

Two of my three children were diagnosed and treated. They found it at the hospital at birth. Funny is that it's more common in girls but I have a boy and a girl with it and the third girl managed to escape. I was so paranoid though. With that history, I had the specialist come to the hospital and we STILL did an X-ray a few weeks later.

Today my dd is a gymnast so no problems with the hips. I also have never had problems, although they warned my mom that I might someday need a hip replacement (around age 40, long past!)

In the 1960's, my mom basically threw me in the back in a playpen. Good thing nothing happened!

Why wasn't she diagnosed in the hospital? Have you had your 9 month old checked? I'm wondering if that could be contributing to her hating her car seat. Do what I did and get a pediatric orthopedist check.

Good luck sorting it out!
 

urchin_grey

New member
If its her bum that is hurting, I'd bet rear-facing would take care of that. With somewhere to rest the legs (vs. hanging like they do while forward facing), it takes the pressure off of everything. As far as the legs go, Bram either just bends his knees and crosses his ankles (he's not a fan of crossing his legs either), or he'll prop his feet halfway up the vehicle seat back. Taller kids can hang their legs over the sides in some seats, but Bram is short so he's not really able to do that yet.

Also, (besides the normal safety advantage), I really think she would benefit from RF in the event of a crash. Forward facing children are at increase risk for injury to their spinal cord, as well as their extremities. So that's yet another reason my 5yo is still rear-facing. I would hate to think of the extra complications if he broke a leg or worse, a hip.
 

Artemis777

New member
Eclipsepearl - my one son is fine and doesn't have it, but a family history is, apparently, not good enough of a reason to get the insurance company to pay for an ultrasound to check it out. She had to fib and say she heard a click to get them to cover it. I think that the insurance company shouldn't second guess a doctor over the what tests that he or she wants to run. :/ I'm glad that it turned out that he was fine, though. :) I was never told that I would possibly need a hip replacement. I was born in 1979 so I would have gone into traction in 1980.
 

Mikeswife

New member
Sorry to hear about your hip situations, though I'm glad you're all ok. Yeah my dd had no hip socket to speak of and improperly formed femoral heads due to being out of place for so long. Early hip replacements are just common in anyone with ddh but not necessarily a given. We still don't know why the hospital didn't inform us that she was at high risk for ddh. The AAP recommends routine ultrasound for female firstborn breeches at 6 wks and when I ordered her records 10 mths later, it was on her records that she needed one, simply for the risk factors (hips "stable" in the 150 exams they do at teaching hospitals)... but conveniently not on my discharge papers. =/ Overtime, I mentioned hip popping, clicking, clunking to several drs and not one mentioned ddh. She hit milestones early (stood at 6 months, cruised soon after, walked before her 1st bday) but overtime, her walking got clumsier and her lower back looked more curved (duck like). We finally asked a chiropractor for an xray and his radiologist told us the news. We saw her orthopedist a couple weeks later and the fun began. I was 20+ weeks pregnant so you can imagine what that was like. She also still nurses so it drew lots of attention to have a pregnant woman nursing, period THEN add the toddler nursing "STILL" AND shes in a body cast from armpits to ankles. Lots of people thought I was crazy for carrying her around a lot in her heavy cast, while pregnant-til the day I delivered. But I'm used to people thinking what I do is weird and my dh and my family is super supportive so whatever. So....we had my dd ultrasounded (is that word?) as soon as they were willing to which was at 6 weeks. We practically had to beg the ped for the referral.

Today I'm going to install it rfing and see what her legs can do. I'm kinda skeptical in the sense that she isn't very flexible still. She can only do a froggy position for short periods of time and she definitely couldn't do legs straight up in the air...

Her xray at Dx:

xrayeditarrow.jpg


After both surgeries:

xrayg.png
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
Today is my 34th birthday and I am fine! I think I walk with a funny gait but my mom tells me not to blame my hip displaysia on it. I step up and down normally (pushing off on the ball of my foot) but on my left leg I kind of pick it up and put it down.
 

Mikeswife

New member
Happy Bday! Mine is Friday. =)

Ladies, I tried the rfing and she LOVED it. It really leans her back so there isn't as much leg sticking out of her seat as when ff...I asked, "does it hurt?" she says, "Umm...only a little bit." I asked "Better than forward facing?" "Yes!" lol...

She did ask to go back to forward later on but I think just cuz she feels like she's missing out on seeing our faces, not cuz she wasn't comfortable.

My friend just commented on my link about erfing on fb and told me to check the height/weight limits on the carseat for rfing....and it looks like hers maxes out at 30lbs and she's 1/2lb under. So I probably still need to shop for a carseat, right?
 

icnee

New member
I would look at the saftey first Complete air the seat is nice and wide and all my kids find it to be very comfy.

The Randins are comfy too and although the seat is narrow they are still able to move their leggs caus there are now sides coming up.
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
Early happy birthday to you!

I think Icnee has some great suggestions - I find the Radian to be the easiest seat to accomodate older extended rear-facing kiddos.
 

TerisBoys

Well-known member
My friend just commented on my link about erfing on fb and told me to check the height/weight limits on the carseat for rfing....and it looks like hers maxes out at 30lbs and she's 1/2lb under. So I probably still need to shop for a carseat, right?

I'd plan on passing the Triumph down and getting her a new seat. Repeat when the Triumph expires (something else you'll want to check - the last ones were made in 2007, and it's good for 6 years).

For seat suggestions - I know money is an issue - this will give you a range of seats to look at that should be comfy for her.

  • Cosco Scenera - ~$40. The Target version is RF to 40#/FF to 40#. If she's got a decent amount of room over her head in the Triumph she has now, this should last her a good length of time. Very basic, minimal padding, but quite affordable.
  • Safety 1st Complete Air. People are finding them on clearance at Target for ~$90. 40# RF, nice tall seatback.
  • Evenflo Triumph Advance/Advance 65 - ~$150, cheaper with sales. The newer versions of the seat you have, with the same knobs for the harness if you like them. The Advance is RF to 35#/FF to 50#, Advance 65 is RF to 40#/FF to 65#.
  • Graco MyRide - ~$150, cheaper with sales. RF to 40#/FF to 65#. Nice deep seat, very supportive when RF.
  • Sunshine Kids Radian - quite a few models starting around $200 and going up from there. RF to at least 40#(45# for SL models), FF to 65 or 80#. Pricey, but it does have a nice low seatpan in the event that she DOES get casted again.


These are US prices/weight limits. If you're in Canada (the 30# RF makes me wonder), these seats are all available (I think), but different prices/weight limits.
 

Mikeswife

New member
We have a 97 bmw 540i. Don't be deceived; it was only $5,000. ;)

I thought I saw 30# rf limit on evenflo's website but then I found this, [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-DLX-Pattern/dp/B002XFCD8W"]Amazon.com: Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX - Pattern- Sandbox (CLOSEOUT): Toys & Games[/ame] which confirms what you, Jennifer mom to 7, were saying about it being 35# rf...thanks!

Its been going VERY well with the rfing so itll buy us some time. Ill keep those seat suggestions in mind. Our local Babies R Us has carseats on clearance plus an additional 20% off and til Sun theres a coupon for $20 off every $100 you spend on car seats, excluding britax & peg perego (so $20 off $100, $40 off $200, $60 off $300...) Most of the ones on clearance were britax, priced at $132.90, so $106.32 with 20% off (a roundabout, cowmooflauge) and $196.90, so $157.52 (a marathon). They had the Complete Air for a good price (I wanna say $80 after sales/cpns but when I put her in she hated the ear flap side impact things and kept asking me to take them off....so I think that ones out of the running. lol. Should I jump on the britax??
 

icnee

New member
Britax tend to have less leg room. Have you looked at the My Ride or the Evenflo triumph 65 I beleive that RF's to 40 also.
 

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