Sleeping with the abduction brace

Now that Kelsie is in another hip abduction brace, we have had to figure out the sleeping situation all over again. The first few nights were definitely an adjustment for all 3 of us. Obviously, it is very binding and restrictive for Kelsie, limiting her ability to toss and turn in her sleep as she is so accustomed to. She has always been a side or belly sleeper, so just getting used to sleeping on her back is an adjustment in and of itself. And add to that trying to sleep in a hard piece of plastic with your legs spread apart...yeah, it just doesn't sound very inviting for a restful nights sleep.

Here you can see how the brace looks from the back.
This was the 2nd night, she woke up once, wanting to roll over
and Nathan was able to flip her without waking her up. She slept ok
like this until she woke up to eat and then wouldn't go back to sleep.
The next time he tried to put her on her stomach, she woke up.

So the first 3 nights with the brace, she ended up in our soft, cushy bed. She hasn't been able to fall asleep with the brace on, so we have just left it off until after she is sound asleep and chest PT has been done (because it is easier to hold her and pound on her back without it on anyway).  For the first 3 nights, each time we laid her down after putting on the brace, she would try to roll over, realize she couldn't, wake up and start crying. So we would bring her to our bed because we thought it would feel more comfortable for her, and we would be there to soothe her back to sleep when she woke up. And she actually slept ok as long as she was in our bed, but neither of us wanted to make a habit of that, so we contemplated how to help her sleep in her crib! Yesterday we went to Babies R Us in search of something to make her crib mattress a little softer and more supportive. Of course, they don't really sell anything like that because of the SIDS risk. So I came up with the idea of putting her contoured changing pad in her crib. We added a little more cushion by putting her old bassinet "mattress" on top of that and then covering it up with the cover. This actually seemed to work REALLY well! We put the brace on right after she fell asleep last night at 7pm and she slept until 4am, woke up and ate, was back asleep within 15 minutes, then slept until 7am. And this was the first night we didn't take the brace off for chest PT or for her feeding. Yay us. :) We're gettin the hang of this...  

Another big part of this was that we were able to put her back her sleep sack. She has been sleeping in these sleep sacks since she outgrew the swaddle mes and I just love them! I certainly cannot sleep without my covers and this kind of serves the same purpose for her. We bought the next size up (sz Lg) and it fits right over the brace! So exciting! And with the sack on, the brace is covered, making it so much easier for me too. Before, the exposed velcro on the back was very scratchy when I tried to hold her and it stuck to everything! And it simply covers it up so I don't have to see how pitiful it looks on my baby! Its still harder to hold her because the back of it is so hard and bulky, but the sack makes it easier.

Doing chest PT, book in hand. I had her in this position doing her side (we have to do both sides, her back and the front of her chest to help clear the secretions from each area of the lung). And as a side note, this is the only time in my day where I actually get to read! I can pat with one hand, and hold a book in the other. :)

Here the sleep sack is unzipped and you can see her poor leg sticking straight up in the air. But she obviously doesn't seem to mind...out cold!

We're hoping for another good night! So far, so good. She's been asleep with the brace on since 7:30.  I was so frustrated with the brace the first few nights but I know I have to get used to it. She has to wear for at least 4 more months, after all. And as much as I hate it, I am going to make sure she wears it like she is supposed to. Its the only thing we can do to help prevent her from having surgery. That, and pray. Pray that her hip heals and grows like it needs to!