Getting to sleep with DBB

August 16, 2004

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 17, 2004

...

I know a lot of people don't agree with this- but this is the only thing that

has worked for . We put him to sleep with the shoes only. About 30 mins.

later when he is sound asleep, we attach the bar. He has been sleeping through

the night ever since we changed to doing it this way.

2/904

DBB 23/7

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 17, 2004

Thanks ,

My son is 8 mos. so this is not new to him but recently he is screaming

when going to bed (last night for 2 1/2 hours until he made himself sick so

I had to pick him up to clean the bed). I found out this morning that he

kicked out of his shoe. I have an apt with the Dr. tomorrow and we have

already been to the orthitist for padding in the shoes to help his heal

stay put. I wonder if them padding is only making it worse? At this point

I am willing to try anything. He is in his shoes now and playing so I am

having a hard time believing that they are hurting him, I think it is the

whole sleeping issue I am dealing with.

I appreciate you words of wisdom!

and Cole

At 04:12 AM 8/17/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>...

>I know a lot of people don't agree with this- but this is the only thing

>that has worked for . We put him to sleep with the shoes only. About

>30 mins. later when he is sound asleep, we attach the bar. He has been

>sleeping through the night ever since we changed to doing it this way.

>

> 2/904

>DBB 23/7

>

> " L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

>My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

>DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

>pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

>has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

>Thanks!

> and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

>

August 17, 2004

,

I really sympathise, it's so hard when you can't get them to sleep and

you're also sleep deprived. has been in his FAB for 15 months now

and it really hasn't been too difficult an adjustment, so don't be

discouraged, it will get better once you've found what suits him best.

When started in his FAB it took him a full 48 hours to adjust to

them at night. He kept on waking up - very angry - every hour or so. I

found it was best to sleep with him lying stomach to stomach on me,

still waking every 2 hours or so. We did this for two nights until he

adjusted and could sleep on his own again. During this time, we also

gave him Calpol before bedtime, a mild pain reliever (paracetamol) to

help him with the irritation he was feeling.

My troubleshooting tips:

First rule out any discomfort from the shoes caused by the feet not

being fully corrected initially, or blisters from the shoes not being

fitted correctly and the heel moving inside the shoe.

You'll probably see this if his heel doesn't sit nicely flat inside the

shoe. Try unlacing the shoes completely once, taking out the flap so

you can hold the shoe open and see how his foot sits in the shoe. For

the first few days of shoe fitting, I drew a line across where his toes

reached with a pen so I could see that I had his foot in properly. If

he has bad red or purple marks that don't disappear after a few hours,

there's pressure somewhere that's bothering and could possibly cause

blisters. We were lucky that this never happened to .

Then check that the bar width is comfortable for him. We do our

measurement from outside heel to heel = shoulder width, but the written

instructions from Iowa are to use the measurement between the centre

bolts (under the heel) = shoulder width. You'll have to experiment and

see what suits him best. has always been heel to heel so he's

probably got used to it, but I know that all the new babies being

treated here in South Africa are having bolt to bolt fitted from the

start and are comfortable. It's really quite amazing the difference

having the correct bar length makes. Whenever we've needed to adjust

it, is immediately more comfortable and sleeps through again.

We moved out of his crib after a few months because as he got more

agile and moved around a lot more, he would get the bar stuck between

the bars at night, get frustrated and wake up crying. He has slept in a

big travel cot (pack & play type) since he was 11 months old. We

discovered this worked while on holiday in December, when he slept like

a dream, so we never took him out of it again. I sold his original crib

in January! We put in a thicker cot mattress to make it more

comfortable for him. It works really well, because he leans his shoes

against the sides of the cot and sleeps in the strangest positions but

he's always comfortable! We'll keep him in this until it gets too small

and he can move to a bed.

Some babies are naturally difficult sleepers, FAB or not. We were lucky

that was an easy baby. But at any time that he has had sleeping

troubles (unless he's teething or sick), it's usually been the bar width

needing to be adjusted or needing bigger shoes because his feet have

grown, or adjusting to the new size shoes (anything different in the

FAB routine seems to bug him for the first night).

I don't know how far you are down the line in his FAB wear, but we were

also told to use two pairs of thin socks for the first three days out of

casts, which helped. Also, not to put any cream on his feet at all even

if the skin seems dry because it's uncomfortable for them and can cause

sliding in the shoe.

As far as propping up with pillows, we were told to do this when he was

in casts (putting a rolled up towel under the knee stops the heel from

having too much pressure) but we have never used anything to support the

FAB. He seems to dislike any restrictions in the bed and enjoys the

freedom of swinging his bar until he gets into a comfortable position.

Usually he either sleeps like a frog on his tummy, with feet pulled up

under and knees bent, or lying on his side against the side of the cot,

resting the upper foot against the side.

We were told by the Iowa staff to make the FAB part of his sleep routine

from the start and never to change that routine (not to take it off if

he cries, etc - obviously once you have ruled out any bad discomfort

that could cause blisters). So, since was little I put his shoes

on when he's having his last milk at night, and ready to wind down a

little. Now that he's older, the FAB has become so much a part of our

routine, that it's become a signal for bedtime, he brings me his shoes

and as I start putting them on he starts to get sleepy, which really

helps now that he's a very active 18 month old toddler!

All babies are different, but I hope that some of this has helped you.

Good luck

and

24th Jan 2003 bilateral cf, treated by Dr Ponseti

www.clubfoot.co.za

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

..pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If

anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 18, 2004

Rose would sleep in her infant carrier when she wouldn't sleet anywhere else.

You might try that!

Robin & Rose

3/12/03

Right club foot

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 18, 2004

Rose would sleep in her infant carrier when she wouldn't sleet anywhere else.

You might try that!

Robin & Rose

3/12/03

Right club foot

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 18, 2004

Rose would sleep in her infant carrier when she wouldn't sleet anywhere else.

You might try that!

Robin & Rose

3/12/03

Right club foot

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 18, 2004

...

Besides putting the bar on after he falls asleep.. there is one more thing that

we do that I forgot to mention. We had in our bed for the first week that

he wore the DBB so that we wouldn't have to keep getting up to help him get back

to sleep. Well, he slept like an angel in our bed. We tried to figure out what

he liked about our bed that wasn't in his bed. We figured it out- the blanket.

We wrapped him up like a sleeping bag in a knit blanket (one that has holes in

it just in case it goes over his face). I guess it makes him feel safe and

snuggly, and he doesnt have that desire to toss and turn all night which was

waking him up with the bar. It really helped out. In fact, he will only sleep

with a blanket now- and that is just fine with us.

2/9/04 BLCF DBB 23/7

Good Luck!!

Robin Lane robin_99833@...> wrote:

Rose would sleep in her infant carrier when she wouldn't sleet anywhere else.

You might try that!

Robin & Rose

3/12/03

Right club foot

" L. Zezzo " sxc168@...> wrote:

My son is having such a difficult time getting himself to sleep with the

DBB. Do you have any suggestions such as propping his legs up with

pillows? (I am doing this now and he is screaming as I type). If anyone

has any tricks up their sleeves, please share.

Thanks!

and Cole (bi-lateral clubfeet and 33 weeker)

August 18, 2004