Football and new shoes

Over last couple of months Jake hasn’t stopped running around!

Jake’s been back to see the physio a couple of times and overall she is very pleased with the progress that he is making. We have been told that he needs to kick a ball around, and with the help of match-of-the day I now think we now have a budding footballer on our hands. His dribbling isn’t bad for an 18 month old!

I think we’ve also been lucky at the time being as Jake still seems happy with wearing his boots and bar, although we have had a few sleepless nights (especially when he is ill) but overall he has been ok. When Jake wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is point to his feet!

As Jake is now walking more we decided to purchase his first pair of ‘real’ shoes (moving away from the cruisers). Our physio advised us that we would need something that has more ankle support than the general shoe and we were therefore recommended to visit the Shoe Station (www.theshoestation.co.uk) as we were told they offer a larger variety of shoes that could help us. We decided to go for a pair of ‘babybotte’ shoes which although were very expensive (£50!) have been brilliant and are giving him the ankle support which he needs. We just hope they last longer than a couple of months.

Thanks

Adam & Elaine

Walking

Today, Jake took his first unaided steps at just over 13 months old. We’re really happy about this as we thought his talipes might hold him back, we have been proved wrong. He has been walking with the aid of a walker for the last few months which has proved to be fantastic in terms of strengthening his left foot. We have been told that there is a chance that Jake might have to have a tenotomy (cut the tendon to release his heel) but I think that with all the walking he has been doing the heel will drop naturally and at the moment the physiotherapist is happy with his progress.

Jake is still wearing the boots and bar for about 14 hours a day (during the night and naps). We put his boots on straight after his evening bath whilst he is having his bottle as he needs to be distracted, otherwise he wouldn’t sit still long enough, this really is a two-man job but on occasions Jake will hold his bottle whilst one of us applies the foot brace. We’ve noticed on a couple of occasions that he is becoming far more aware of his boots as he will strike his feet against the side of the cot in frustration, also he does this when he is unwell or has either having a tummy ache or is teething.

In general we are now past the 1 year mark and couldn’t be happier with the progress that is being made.

Ponseti treatment checklist - from Steps

Update Jan and Feb 2011

Jake has adapted well to wearing his boots and bar (bnb) whilst he sleeps. Although we are still seeing some blisters on his feet and have also noticed that he seems to be constantly getting cramps in his legs! We have however managed to get him into a routine, which consists of, bath, boots go on (whilst he has some milk) and then bed. He tends to go to sleep around 7:00 and will wake around 6:00. We have been taking his boots off at around 10:am each day.

He has recently been trying to roll over whilsat he is asleep and we have found him either lying on his front or on his side (his feet get trapped in the bars of the cot). As you can imagine, this would appear to be very uncomfortable for him, and he often wakes up crying. He is slowly adapting though and we now work on the theory that if he isn’t crying then he can’t be in any distress.

Jake’s left foot also appears to be getting stronger. He spends around an hour or so a day in his ‘spaceship’ play gym which helps him to stand and to stretch his legs. We also try and exercise his foot before we put his bnb on in the evenings, although this is easier said than done!

We’ve recently had a check-up with the physiotherapist at Kingston hospital. Progress is coming along as expected, although the heel on the left foot is still not down as far as the right. This may lead to the possibility of having a tenotomy (snip of the tendon) but hopefully when he starts to crawl and stand up the foot will become stronger and the tendon should release naturally.

15 hours in B&B

Jake is now only wearing his boots for 15 hours a day. The physio is very happy with his left foot and everything is coming along as planned.

We generally put his shoes on after he has had a bath at night, around 6:00-7:00pm (whilst he is having his bottle) and will stay on until 10:00am the following morning. We will also find an hour or two during the day to put his shoes on for a brief period. Jake doesn't really sleep a lot during the day, he has 10 minute cat naps which can make it very difficult to put his shoes on for these short times.

Jake has recently started rolling over with his boots on, we thought that would prove too difficult but he seems to be a budding gymnast!

We are due to go back and see the phsyio in January, but so far everything is going as smoothly as possible and we are all really happy with the progress being made.

18 days of 23 hours B&B to go!

We have recently been back to see the physiotherapist and she told us that everything is progressing as planned (which was very pleasing to know).

As of 28 September Jake will only have to wear the boots and bar for 12 hours a day (when he sleeps). This is going to be fantastic, and we will finally be able to have proper cuddles! although in the back our minds we are worried about how he is going to react to having to put the boots back on in the evenings (we suspect his reaction might be similar to when he they were first put on).

On the whole though Jake has taken to his boots very well and the Ponseti treatment certainly seems to be working (although it is still very early in the process which will last until he is five years old).

Thanks for reading
Adam & Elaine.

5 weeks in boots & bar (b&b)

It's been five weeks since Jake first went into his boots. After one weekend where we had to remove them, he has worn them for 23 hours a day ever since. We take them off for one hour in the evening so he can have his bath and exercise his legs. Generally Jake is ok with us putting the bar on but he can be very temperamental.

Jake is now fully used to wearing the boots and is happy enough lifting his feet up and seems to enjoy bringing the bar crashing down (often in the middle of the night against the bars in his cot). As yet we don't have a date for when the time he spends in them comes down, although we suspect we are still about 8 weeks away.