Boots and Bar Help

Amy - posted on 05/16/2011

it sounds like the boots are not snug enough to his foot, if he is able to pull them off and getting blisters. when my daughter had used them i always made sure socks were under the boot and that they were snug. if they were it was more difficult for her. as far as for him liking them or at least accepting them, i think it's a process of time and consistency. maybe if you put some sort of shoe toy on it? or some sort of fuzzy toy or something on it so he can look at it and even play with it? Hang in there.

Jodie - posted on 07/28/2010

my little boy Ethan was born with Talipies 9clubfoot0 also went through casts and everything else u will find that your baby may not settle for a couple of days as this is all new to them and the boots are ment 2 b very thight so they can't get the feet out if they r not tight enough it can atchualy make the foot go back to its own way and alot of time wasted with casts x

Jennifer - posted on 04/14/2010

As terrible as it sounds, the lady who fitted my son's shoes said that she has parents who duct tape their kid's feet into the shoes. I would imagine the wrap it around the top of the sock and under the bar.

Sorry your little guy is having such a rough time. My son isn't a fan either, but he forgets about it when he's eating.

Brooke - posted on 03/10/2010

and what stage is your son at now its been a year

Brooke - posted on 03/10/2010

hey nicki, what was the problem?? i just read that things were better which is good....my first thought was that the boots were not fitted properly.
hope all goes well for you and your son =)

Nicki - posted on 07/24/2009

We are doing MUCH better with the boots and bar . . . Liam doesn't cry when I put them on any more and sleeps through the night without getting them off . . . I am so happy that he eventually adjusted!

Melissa - posted on 07/21/2009

My son was born with 2 clubbed feet. We have used Ponsetti bar and shoes, and haven't had problems. There were some sleepless nights, but he had outgrown his shoes without us realizing it. Also, the shoes came off a couple of times, and we were just told to fasten them more tightly. I hope this helps.

Kelly - posted on 05/21/2009

My son, now 2, was born with a club foot. The very best advice I can give you is DON'T GIVE UP!!!! It was so hard seeing him with the casts starting at a week old, being changed weekly until his surgery in October at 4 months old. Once we went to the shoes there were many sleepless nights, times he fought me while I was putting them on or frustration when he got them off. There were nights we both ended up in tears. These times, althought they seem like they'll last forever, will be over in no time. As I said, my son is now 2 and at bedtime he goes and gets his shoes and socks, brings them to me, lays down and waits for me to put them on. It's all he knows. I promise it does get easier. And the very best reward for all the hard times is watching him running, playing, climbing, jumping and doing all the things that I was so afraid he'd never do.

A little hint that might help some other parents out there...

With the lace up shoes and the bar...

Lace the shoes up the opposite way (so the bow is at the toes),

this makes them a little tighter at the ankle and harder to loosen and get off.

Good luck and I promise you that it does get better!

Tanya - posted on 04/28/2009

I would also recommend you check into the Dobbs bar and Mithcell shoes. We used the DBB only until the others came in (on order), and although Benjamin did fine with the DBB, I have been very happy with the articulating bar andthe sandal-type shoes. They are supposedly harder for the child to wriggle out of (though I don't have the experience others have had), and the articulating bar also keep them from getting leverage to pull their feet out. Hope this helps!

Nicki - posted on 04/19/2009

WE are back to the Dr on Thursday. I am hoping for some other options. I expected with time, Liam would get more and more used to the shoes, and some days,it seems like he is. Other days, he is completely miserable . . . won't nurse, won't sleep, won't do anything except scream until I take them off. Right now, we are going through a miserable phase. Yesterday he screamed so much that I left them off most of the day and he was so happy. I put them back on at bedtime, and he screamed bloody murder until he finally fell asleep. When he woke up at 4am to nurse, the shoes were off. I had to leave them off after that because again, he wouldn't nurse or sleep even though he was staving and exhausted. Since he got up this morning and I put them back on, he hasn't stopped screaming.

He still has the sore on the back of his foot. Somedays it looks like it is almost gone, other days, it looks really bad again.

Lisa - posted on 04/05/2009

I hear ya!!  My little girl (Anna) was born with a right club foot as well.  She is now 4 and half months old.  She also had the weekly casts for about six weeks, however, she hasn't had to have the heel cord procedure completd.  After the casting we had the same style shoes/brace your son has.  Anna kept squirming her feet out of them as well, so the doctor suggested we go to the Mitchell style brace.  These stayed on her feet better, but they gave her terriable blisters.  Our doctor said that Anna shouldn't wear the brace if they continue to give her blisters since the blisters would just continue to get worse...so we started a method that they use solely in France for club foot.  By taping the foot so that it doesn't turn back inwards and completing stretching to it five times a day.  This method has worked very well for Anna and we have been completing this method for the last 9 weeks and her foot is improving and getting much better as the days pass.  We just visited her foot dr last week and because Anna is doing so well with this method we are to continue this for an another 8 weeks until her next appt.  There is a chance that she will never have to wear the braces.

I understand what you are going through...when Anna had the brace on she would cry constantly and when I would take it off of her she would be so happy and it will break my heart to put the brace back on and hear her cry.  She was like two different babies when she had the brace on and then when she had it off.  As for his blister..you can try to put a little baby powder on it to help dry it up and put a little bandaid on it if you have to put the shoes back on him.  Maybe you can mention the method that we are using for Anna to your foot doctor and see if they think this may work for your little one.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Billie - posted on 03/31/2009

I hated the DBB set up too. My son only used it for about 3 weeks before I switched to the mitchell shoes and bar.



Check out www.mdorthopaedics.com and www.dobbsbrace.com. My son wears the mitchell shoes and they are very easy to put on and off. He just switched to the Dobbs bar which is articulating so it allows him to move his legs independently.