What Is She Wearing?!

If you've seen our daughter over the past week, you may have asked yourself - what is she wearing?!

Answer: The Wheaton-Pavlik Harness to correct her hip dysplasia.

When Nora had her first exam in the hospital, the pediatrician said that she heard "clicks" when maneuvering Nora's hips, which are a symptom of hip dysplasia.  Hip dysplasia occurs in about 3 of every 1,000 live births.  Basically, it's where the hip socket doesn't form correctly, and the baby is born with a dislocated hip.  Totally fixable, not a big deal at all - unless you let it go untreated until an older age.  If untreated, people with hip dysplasia as infants could develop arthritis early on and need hip transplants as early as their 30's.  Diagnosing hip dysplasia as an infant allows for the most minimally invasive corrective action - Nora just has to wear a velcro harness for a few weeks.

We knew in the hospital that she "might" have this, but the ultrasound was negative and we agreed to have another ultrasound when Nora was a month old.  At the one week checkup, our pediatrician felt it might be occuring in both hips, and decided we needed to check again sooner.  After sending us to a radiologist and a pediatric ortho, they finally confirmed her hip dysplasia in her left hip and suited her up.  For the next six weeks (now down to five), Nora has to wear this harness full-time.  After that, there is an additional six weeks of part-time wear where she only has to wear it at home and when she sleeps.  Luckily, this harness has over a 98% corrective rate, so we are confident this will be all she needs.

How is Nora adjusting?  She has no idea.  Honestly, she is just as happy as before.  And she still sleeps great.

How are her parents adjusting?  For a few moments, we acted like the world was ending.  Seriously.  It sounds so silly now - if this is the worst thing that can go wrong with your child, a fully correctable bone issue - who are we to complain?  I think we were worried about people thinking our baby was "different", as shallow as that sounds.  At the end of the day, we are thankful to have such diligent physicians in Nora's life who ensure that she stays happy and healthy as she continues to grow and smile each day!