Bob & Betty

Its been just over two weeks since Munchie had her boots and bar fitted, aka Bob & Betty.  It’s been tough going with sleepless nights, an unhappy baby and lots of tears, but I feel that finally the cloud has began to lift and my girl is back to her happy, smiley self. 

During the first few days of having Bob & Betty we questioned whether we’d done the right thing as Munchie who is normally such a happy baby and rarely cries became so sad and forlorn.  You could see the confusion on her face as she tried in vain to move her legs freely and to sleep on her side. She became so frustrated and upset with not being able to sleep in the position she found most comfortable and reassuring to her, that she would cry and cry for hours and became inconsolable at times,  it broke my heart seeing her so sad especially as I knew the reason why.  For those first few nights the only way I could get my girl to sleep was to cuddle her on my chest,  she would sleep that way for a few hours then wake and cry until finally falling back to sleep for a few more hours.

I was very conscience of making the time in her boots just as much fun as out of them, so we spent hours on the floor playing games with them, smiling and singing whenever we went near them and did the same thing whilst out of them too. But no matter what I did for the first few days the time out of her boots was the only time she smiled, you could see the sense of freedom returning and she would shrike with excitement at being able to put her foot in her mouth (I think I would do to if I could still do that). 

The days past and so did the nights (but much more slowly) and you could see Munchie getting use to Bob & Betty, she began to accept her new accessory but night times were still such an issue.  We tried so many things to help get her comfortable enough to sleep on her own from co-sleeping which resulted in my hubby sleeping in the other room and me being covered in bruises to supporting Munchie on her side until she would fall asleep to trying her in a travel cot.  All of these things worked for a few hours but no more and in the end we found that a combination of a cot bumper, a sleep sac and persistence worked best for her.  Munchie now takes her naps as usual and her night sleeping has improved greatly with her going down for 5-6 hours at a time.  She’s learnt to sleep on her side by grabbing the rails of her cot and using this to balance herself  (I have a very resourceful 7 month old!).

The support we receive from the hospital varies; the level of knowledge regards the fitting of the boots and bar is mixed.  Some nursing staff seem to know very little and look to me to answer their questions as appose to the other way round so I tend to double check everything the less knowledgeable staff do with the more experienced members of the team before leaving.  However the responsibility of making this treatment work lies well and truly at my door, it’s my responsibility to ensure I fit the boots correctly each time and that Munchie has no more than an hour boot free time a day.

I do worry that I’m not doing it right or that her foot isn’t improving as it should so every few days I take pictures in order to compare the shots to ensure there is progress.  This journey started five weeks ago and the improvement so far has been remarkable, I can only hope it continues.

 

 

Happy and smiley just as my girl should be xx