Family Natters

Some children do not walk at around 12 months when many do. With Annie, her birthday came and went without any sign at all of her wanting to walk. If you tried to stand her up she would lift her legs up so she wouldn’t have to. When she was 16 months and still not even cruising we were given an appointment with a paediatrician who diagnosed lax (hyperextendable) joints.

Annie had to be rushed to hospital today… because of a single hair wrapped around a toe (toe tourniquet syndrome). I didn’t think all the drama was necessary but as our local doctor classed it as an emergency I went along with her.

Anyway, Annie was in top form and had no discomfort from her toe at all. During transit she kept opening the blinds of the ambulance and knocking on the window while repeatedly shouting “Iya” at passer-bys. This was while she was wearing as a hat the sick bowl you’re provided with. I’m sure all the people who had to pull their cars over to make way for us appreciated her smiling and knocking at them.

In fact the patient seemed to be feeling better than I was. Strapped down, travelling backwards and being jumped on by an excited toddler had made me nauseous, and I had to urgently wrestle her for the sick bowl.

At Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital she soon had a crowd of medical staff to show off to. Apparently a hair around a toe is fairly uncommon so lots of people wanted to see it and take photos. Toys were brought out for an examination, and when Annie became absorbed with blowing bubbles, the surgeon said he would try to remove the hair without anaesthetic. Bad decision. Annie was still wearing one of her Pedro bootsnwhich are so hard, they’re s bit like steel toe-caps; and when he knelt down so his head was on level with one foot, she kicked him in the face with the other. Ouch! He must have wished he’d put her to sleep after all.

But give Annie her due, other than that (and blowing bubbles in the surgeon’s face while he was using his scalpel) she was no trouble. Indeed she only became upset when the nurse tried to take away the bubbles.

Occasionally a human hair can accidentally become so tightly wrapped around a baby’s or toddler’s toe or finger that it becomes sore and swollen. See photo. The danger is that circulation can be effected. This is why Annie was rushed to hospital yesterday.

I saw a hair was wrapped around her toe when I was dressing her. Up until then I’d had no idea anything was wrong as she was acting normally. The toe though was very tender to the touch and the hair so tightly embedded that I could see would not be able to remove it.

“We’re going to have to take Annie to hospital,” I told Tom gravely.

“But, I haven’t had my breakfast yet,” he fired back, outraged at the thought of missing out on his weetabix.

The GP and our local hospital immediately said they would not be able to remove it and so we were sent by ambulance to Sheffield Children’s hospital where it was removed with a scalpel and tweezers by a paediatric surgeon.

Some children have lax (hyperextendable joints). They may have been born with Downs Syndrome or have had a brain haemorrhage like Annie did. Or it may be just in their genes.

Before the doctor told me Annie had lax joints I had been worried. She hadn’t wanted to walk and her feet were curling inwards so she was standing on the inside edge of them rather than on the soles of her feet. I’d thought she had something more serious, perhaps a deformity. Anyway, he tested my joint flexibility by bending my wrists back and found out my joints were quite flexible. Then he showed me Annie’s range of movement which was massive, particularly on her right side where she had her brain haemorrhage. In her ankles she could bend them so they were at complete right angles to her leg!

In the short term he suggested I stopped using a baby walker as he did not think they helped at all, and if I wished I could buy some shoes that supported her ankles. I admit, I went mad and bought several pairs, all which turned out to be a complete waste of time because they were just not as good as the ones we eventually got from the NHS free of charge.

Pedro boots improved Annie’s posture immediately. She still sort of limps with her right leg and walks with the toes outwards, but the foot is virtually flat now rather than turning inwards. The physio thinks Annie may have to wear this kind of supportive footwear for at least a year, but I don’t care at all as long as they help her to walk. In winter, especially when she is wearing trousers, no one can tell anyway. When she is older I am going to try her at gymnastics since I may as well turn her natural flexibility into an advantage for her.

Mums often want to know if their babies are making good progress. A list of movement milestones health visitors and other professionals expect to see in a 4 month baby follows:

turns head to side when placed on tummy

moves head to side while lying on back

lifts and momentarily supports head when held with head at shoulder

moves head while lying on tummy: up, down and side to side

placed on tummy, raises head for 1 – 5 seconds

held firmly on lap, balances head for 3 – 5 seconds

follows light with eyes, turning head

eyes follow moving person

maintains eye contact for 3 seconds with person’s face at a distance of 20cm

swipes at a toy dangled in line of movement of either hand

when dangled in standing position, bounces on bent knees

attempts to roll over using shoulders, either tummy to back or back to tummy

pats and pulls at adults facial features

firmly supported in sitting position, reaches out for toy in sweeping action

plucks at clothes and blankets. scratches surfaces, feels body

Note: These are only a rough guide. Normal baby development varies considerably, and usually its nothing to worry about if a baby does not achieve all these milestones at 4 months. Progress is the important thing. If you are worried, check with your health visitor.

So, what can you expect to happen in  portage group sessions? I found a great feeling of community in meeting other families that had children who needed a little help.  Typically there is also:

Some children have lax (hyperextendable joints). They may have been born with Downs Syndrome or have had a brain haemorrhage like Annie did. Or it may be just in their genes.

Before the doctor told me Annie had lax joints I had been worried. She hadn’t wanted to walk and her feet were curling inwards so she was standing on the inside edge of them rather than on the soles of her feet. I’d thought she had something more serious, perhaps a deformity. Anyway, he tested my joint flexibility by bending my wrists back and found out my joints were quite flexible. Then he showed me Annie’s range of movement which was massive, particularly on her right side where she had her brain haemorrhage. In her ankles she could bend them so they were at complete right angles to her leg!

In the short term he suggested I stopped using a baby walker as he did not think they helped at all, and if I wished I could buy some shoes that supported her ankles. I admit, I went mad and bought several pairs, all which turned out to be a complete waste of time because they were just not as good as the ones we eventually got from the NHS free of charge.

Pedro boots improved Annie’s posture immediately. She still sort of limps with her right leg and walks with the toes outwards, but the foot is virtually flat now rather than turning inwards. The physio thinks Annie may have to wear this kind of supportive footwear for at least a year, but I don’t care at all as long as they help her to walk. In winter, especially when she is wearing trousers, no one can tell anyway. When she is older I am going to try her at gymnastics since I may as well turn her natural flexibility into an advantage for her.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 12:19 pm and is filed under health + pregnancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

It can be difficult sometimes to work out what might be matter with your youngster because they can’t tell you. This following may help.

Illness Signs and Symptoms

Common cold – sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, headache, irritability

Gastroenteritis – vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration

Tonsillitis- very sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, fever, headache, aches and pains

Scarlet fever – fever, loss of appetite,sore throat, pale around mouth, “strawberry tongue”, bright pinpoint rash over face and body

Dysentery – vomiting, diarrhoea with blood and mucus, abdominal pain, fever, headache

Chickenpox – fever, very itchy rash with blister-like appearance

Measles- high fever, runny nose and eyes, cough, white spots in mouth, blotchy rash on body and face

Mumps – pain and swelling of jaw, painful swallowing, fever

Rubella (German measles) – slight cold, sore throat, swollen glands behind ears, slight pink rash

Pertussis (whooping cough) – snuffy cold, spasmodic cough with whoop sound, vomiting

Meningitis- fever, headache, irritability, drowsiness, confusion, dislike of light, very stiff neck, maybe small red spots beneath the skin that do not disappear when a glass is pressed against them

A squint is when the eyes don’t work together. Often this is nothing to worry about in very small babies, but at about 6 weeks you would usually expect them to work together. If one focusses correctly while the other slides inwards or outwards, you should point it out to your health visitor. If she or he also agrees there may be a squint, your child will be referred to an orthoptist who may ask you to cover the stronger eye with a patch every day or other day for an hour or more so that the weak eye does not become lazy. Surgery to correct a squint may be carried out once the child has enough language to participate in a sight check.

Annie has a clicky hip.  My sister-in-law was the one to pick up on it, then the paediatrician confirmed it with a simple systematic test in which Annie lay on her back with all bottom clothes off and had her hips maneovered.