This post is all about our journey with my baby and his clubfoot, plus every single tip I can think of to make it a tiny bit better. Bear with me – it’s a long one! But I sincerely hope that this can help other parents find peace & hope as they deal with medical issues for their own children. Parents, you are warriors!
I was about 20 weeks pregnant when, during a routine ultrasound, the technician said something like, “Do you see this foot right here? It’s looking a little awkward… I need to have a doctor confirm, but this might be a clubfoot. Please don’t worry, that’s an issue that is very fixable. But the doctor is not in today, so we’ll have to schedule another ultrasound for next week”.
I’m very good at not worrying when someone asks me too, so I felt very calm on this day. The main thing I was concerned about was whether or not to share the news with my husband, Matt. I knew the news of our baby’s potential clubfoot would make him *very* anxious, even before it was confirmed by the doctor. But after some internal debate, I decided that Matt, a loving father and my ride-or-die teammate, deserved to know. To his credit, he stayed pretty calm. He also immediately found a babysitter for our next appointment so he could be there in person to see and here what the doctor would confirm: our baby would be born with a clubfoot on his right side.
Tip #1 – look forward to extra ultrasounds
Once the doctors found an anomaly, I had ultrasounds at almost every doctor checkup for the rest of my pregnancy (I also had placenta previa for a while which required even more ultrasounds, but eventually cleared itself up). It’s funny because with my first child, we only had a handful of ultrasounds, so we didn’t get to see the baby much. Even though I completely lost track of how many ultrasounds I had with baby #2, each one was still absolutely miraculous. I can’t believe we have the technology to monitor babies inside the womb. This became my first helpful tip – express gratitude for each ultrasound!
In between the diagnosis and his birth, not much happened. Doctor’s couldn’t do anything until they could actually see and feel the foot in person and determine the healing process.
Fast forward to his birth (which luckily went great!), and doctors could immediately confirm that he had a clubfoot. Even we could see that his right foot was twisted in at the ankle, but again we couldn’t do much before we saw the orthopedic pediatrician.
Tip #2 – snuggle & bathe before cast day
When our baby was 15 days old, we had our appointment with the children’s foot doctor. At this appointment, the doctor gave us the rundown on what the clubfoot healing process entails, including what it used to be. Back in the day, people born with clubfeet would simply be paralyzed. Thanks to some amazing researchers and doctors, in our modern age clubfeet can be completely healed with little to no side effects. I feel so grateful for the people who figured out how to make that happen!
Once our doctor had explained the process (more on that later), he said “Okay, should we do the first cast today? Or would you like to come back sometime in the next week?”
Anxious to get the process started, we said today! And the doctor put on the cast. But it’s not waterproof, so immediately I couldn’t bathe with our baby. The cast was also huge and hard, so snuggling the baby on my stomach with my c-section scar was painful. It took me a few days to figure out more comfortable snuggling positions, and I wish I hadn’t taken that for granted before the cast. Before you meet with the orthopedic pediatrician, PLEASE snuggle & bathe with your baby as much as possible!!! It might be harder (but not impossible) afterwards so enjoy it to the fullest!!!
Tip #3 – pile on the pillows
Okay before we move on, let’s solve some of these cast issues, because the newborn phase is a fleeting time that you’ve got to enjoy as much as possible! So to make snuggling more comfortable, try keeping a bunch of pillows around you so you can pile them up all around you and baby. If you nurse your baby with a cast, try different positions such as the football hold so the cast doesn’t have to be digging into you.
To be honest, nursing the baby with his cast was one of the hardest parts of this journey for me. In some ways, I felt robbed of the special newborn snuggles & closeness because of this dang piece of equipment! It’s so large, bulky, hard, annoying… & many times I just felt sad about it. But that’s okay. Feeling sadness can become a great learning experience.
Tip #4 – master the sponge bath
Next, since the cast isn’t waterproof, you’ll have to get great at sponge baths! Here’s a little routine I used to bathe the baby in his cast:
First, set everything up. On a countertop or other flat surface near the sink, lay out a towel, a fresh diaper, wipes, soap, and a sponge/brush/or washcloth (my sponge brush came from the hospital, very helpful)
Next, set up the baby. Lay him/her on the towel, get them undressed and undiapered.
Then, wash up. Turn on the water, check for warm temperature, and gently wash the baby starting at the face and ending with genitals.
Finally, dress and snuggle! Use the towel to dry off the baby, get them dressed in the diaper and clothes, and wrap them up in a warm blanket for some fresh baby snuggles. These post-bath moments are some of the BEST in the newborn stage in my opinion, so make them count!
Not necessary but very cute, for this baby I got an adorable tiny baby brush for his very fine baby hair and he looooves it. Gently brushing his head is so calming and sweet for both of us. Definitely one of my very favorite past times these days.
Tip #5 – bring cast day supplies
Alright, now that we’ve got a cast on, it’s time to go over the schedule and pack for recasting days!
To heal a clubfoot, a baby will get a new plaster cast each week for 6 weeks. Each cast will turn the foot in a slightly different direction to stretch it into the correct place. After that is a surgery and boots – but one step at a time.
On our first cast day, the baby absolutely screamed his head off. I cried, A LOT. This was the first time his clubfoot diagnosis really sunk in for me. I hated hearing him wail and felt so angry that this was happening to us. I felt like there was nothing I could do except scream “WHY???” in my head.
It was a dark day. Tip 5.5 – treat yourself to ice cream.
During that appointment, the doctor asked if we had a binky, a bottle, or a fresh diaper. Our response? No, of course not, why would we think of those? Haha. For every appointment after, we DID have those and guess what? They helped!
At our 2nd casting appointment, baby boy cried but not as much. On the 3rd appointment, I stroked his head and held a binky in his mouth for the entire casting process and guess what? He didn’t cry at all. He was entirely calm and almost fell asleep. It felt so good to be able to DO something & my mama heart was so relieved.
Tip #6 – collect pictures
Once there was less crying (from me), the casting process was actually quite impressive. First, the nurses would saw off the old cast. Don’t worry, they don’t use just a regular old saw that could hurt a little baby leg. They use special saws that vibrate back & forth and stop moving as soon as a new material is detected, which in this case would be the cotton between the cast and leg.
Before the doctor comes in, we usually had a few minutes with a castless baby. We would snap a few pictures of the newly angled foot, wipe off any extra casting dust, and maybe do a diaper change. I kept all these feet pictures in an album on my phone so we could show friends and family the subtle changes, and it was kind of cool to keep track of.
Next, the doctor gently checks on the foot, determines the new angle to cast it at, and gently wraps the foot in some cloth. Then, he runs some water over the plaster wrap so that it becomes sticky, and he wraps it around the baby’s foot. He holds the foot into place for a few minutes while the plaster hardens, and the entire process reminds me of a paper mache project. I was awed at how the doctor just knew by feel how to position the foot – I imagine it took so much training on his part to understand how to do that!
Tip #7 – baby tylenol
Each casting day took less than an hour. Even on days when our baby stayed calm during the process, I always thought he seemed super tired for the rest of the day & extra fussy the day after. I guess I’ll never be sure if he was wiped out and/or in pain, or if I was just projecting my own emotions onto him and noticing every cry, but we gave him some baby tylenol regardless and I think it helped. So stock up on that!
Tip #8 – onesies only
Once baby had his cast, he almost never wore pants. We had 2 pairs of very loose shorts that he wore occasionally, but for the most part we found it much easier to do diaper changes around the cast when he was only wearing onesies that button across the bottom.
Also, we found that his plaster cast stains with poop and pee VERY easily, so try to wipe it off as quickly as possible! It’s tough because the cast goes all the way up his leg, practically into the diaper, so it’s going to get messy.
Tip #9 – plan something fun on surgery day
After 5 casts, it was time for surgery day! The surgery includes snipping the baby’s ankle tendon so the clubfoot can stretch back into place. We parents were asked to sit in the waiting room so we wouldn’t cry or pass out (we would have done both). The doctor makes the cut via a tiny hold in the baby’s ankle in less than 5 minutes. So really, it’s not that bad! But if you start to feel very sad that your baby has to do any surgery at all & it makes you cry all day *again* – then you & I are in the same club!!
Right after surgery, our baby got one last cast. Once the doctors and nurses finished putting that on, they came to get us and said that he didn’t even cry (which they probably say either way but it was still nice to hear). We had to stick around the hospital for 45 minutes to make sure the little cut didn’t bleed onto the cast. Once we were cleared, we went with some family to get lunch and another round of ice cream 🙂
Tip #10 – practice self care
After 3 weeks with the last cast, it was time for baby to graduate to the boots + bar!
As excited as we were to move forward, this day was very gloomy for me too. The instructions for accurately fitting the boots to his feet were overwhelming, and again he seemed so fussy for the rest of the day.
By now, I’ve learned that I feel better about baby’s clubfoot developments if I spend a day moping around and wallowing. After taking one intentional sad day, I feel much better and I’m able to go back my normal optimistic self for the most part! Otherwise, the gloom just kind of lingers in the background for up to a week, ruining my motivation until I have a mental breakdown and actually face these big feelings. If you find that having a sad day helps you, too, here are some activities you might enjoy on your sad day:
- take a sad bath, maybe in the dark with sad music
- go for a drive a blast some songs you can scream-sing to, windows rolled down
- eat all the ice cream you want!
- drink water, take ib proufen, and lay in bed like you’re sick
- snuggle your baby and get used to their new gear
- or, ask someone to come help with the baby so you can focus on processing those feels
And that leads me to now: we’ve just got the boots on (good news, they’re so tiny that it’s actually kinda cute), so I’ll keep track of some new tips and come back in a few months with a new clubfoot update!
One more time, to all the parents out there dealing with your kids’ medical problems: my heart aches and prays for you! You are the most champion of champions, and I hope you feel moments of peace throughout your tough journey. We’ve got this!!!
