DDH or Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

This photo of little Willa was from Wednesday night - perhaps her last night of freedom for a while! As you have already found out from Christie's post, Baby has DDH.
So... it sure does sound and seem scary. At first, this kind of stuff is. But, dig a little deeper and you'll find that this is one of the easily treatable abnormalities in infants.

...

The exact cause of DDH is unknown, but research has discovered several theories and risk factors for hip dysplasia. In the general population, the overall incidence of DDH is approximately 3-4 per 1,000 live births. There is often a genetic component [ding], or familial tendency. Anything that causes cramping or crowding of the fetus inside the uterus (large birth weight, oligohydramnios: decreased amniotic fluid) is thought to cause an increased incidence of DDH. More significant risk factors for DDH include female gender [ding], first born babies [ding], and babies born in the breech position (especially with feet up by the shoulders) [ding ding ding]. Hip dysplasia is approximately 5-9 times more common in females than males. In addition, DDH affects the left hip more often than the right hip (approximately 60% affect only left hip, 20%
only right hip, and 20% are bilateral.) ... - source

Geez, so if you were keeping score, it looks like the liklihood of Willa having come out without DDH is somewhere around, say 5%??? I guess we should have seen it from a mile away! :)

At any rate, you get the idea. She was prone. The Pavlic Harness is not all fun and games. Sure, they'll get a few babies to smile for a split second so they can snap a photo. But, this is not like dressing up in a space suit when you're 5 years old. Nope. Limb movement is restricted, the straps are somewhat painful and in general it's gross because the material has a magnetic effect on spitup. If you see a baby smiling while posed in this thing, I promise you it is fake.

The first day she had the brace she was pretty inconsolable. Screams approaching if not exceeding the volume and level of distress of the EEG incident were frequent throughout the night. The good news is that by yesterday (Friday) she had started to become accustomed to the gear and could perhaps be returning to her more normal less-fussy self.

We just want her to be happy and comfortable. This is a hurdle, but will maybe prepare her for the difficulties in life more quickly. Sometimes you can't take deep breaths, or extend your limbs completely, or do the things you want to do... figuratively. I just wish there were better ways to teach infants life's lessons.