On the 22nd of December 2009, my daughter
Elizabeth Grace was born. It was a fast
labour, and before I knew it, there she was in my arms. I spent the night in hospital looking at my
little one, she was chubby and very calm and quiet. I could not take my eyes off her. For a brief moment I looked at her and
thought maybe?, but pushed it to the back of my mind, because that was
impossible right? and no one has said anything to me.
(Please ignore sub-optimal head positioning in photo, this was when she was 2 days old!)
The following morning, a paediatrician came in and told us
in the most tactless way possible that our little girl had Down syndrome. They would run blood tests but she was
certain she had it, so gave us her card to make an appointment. We were devastated. My husband and I knew nothing of Down
syndrome really, and went into shock.
For the rest of the day my door kept opening with visits from Social
Workers, lactation consultants, midwives, other paediatricians – some just to
take a good look at her “for training purposes”, my daughter was wheeled away
for a heart scan (we asked to come but were told we would just be in the
way). I just spent the day in
tears. Fortunately the heart scan showed
nothing majorly wrong so they let us go home on Christmas Eve, I was desperate
to leave.
I placed my precious bundle in a beautiful purple waves
ringsling and held her close. I was out
of there!!
The following few weeks were hard, she was very sleepy and
struggled to breastfeed.
We spent many days in bed together desperately
trying to get her to feed enough, I am happy to say we got there in the end
though, and I fed her until just before she turned 3.
But the one thing I could do that felt normal
and easy was to carry her, so I did so as often as possible, to hold her close,
and to help me to bond with her
more closely
and to feel that it didn’t really matter.
She was my baby, she craved love and warmth just like any other child,
and carrying her was the completely natural thing to do.
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I was very lucky that Beth was my second baby. I had
previously carried my elder daughter Poppy since birth so was pretty confident
in using different types of carriers.
However, this was a new learning curve for me!
As well as her diagnosis of Down syndrome, Beth had also been diagnosed with Hip dysplasia. Fortunately through a UK based forum I had
become friends with someone who had done Trageschule training – and in doing so
she had learned about wearing children with special needs.
She was a great support to me, and helped me
very quickly to gain the confidence to carry my little Beth comfortably,
safely, and with ease.
There are a few things that you have to be careful with when
wearing a child with Down syndrome. The
key concerns are hip dysplasia and joint laxity.
In this image you can see the thighs are well supported to the knee joint. Therefore forces on the hip joint are minimal because the legs are spread and supported, and the hip is more stable.
Thigh
NOT supported to the knee joint. The resulting forces on the hip joint
may contribute to hip dysplasia. - See more at:
http://www.hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/prevention/baby-carriers-seats-and-other-equipment/#sthash.kjuUwo5z.dpuf
Thigh
NOT supported to the knee joint. The resulting forces on the hip joint
may contribute to hip dysplasia. - See more at:
http://www.hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/prevention/baby-carriers-seats-and-other-equipment/#sthash.kjuUwo5z.dpuf
In this image, the thigh is not supported to the knee joint. This may result in hip dysplasia, and is certainly not recommended for children with Down syndrome, or hypermobility.
Thigh
NOT supported to the knee joint. The resulting forces on the hip joint
may contribute to hip dysplasia. - See more at:
http://www.hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/prevention/baby-carriers-seats-and-other-equipment/#sthash.kjuUwo5z.dpuf
Babies and children with Down syndrome are more prone to
having hip dislocation issues therefore it is very important that the hips are held
at the correct angle, and the wearer must be very careful to ensure that there
is no pressure placed upon the hip sockets.
As well as this, people with Down
syndrome can have lax joints, which leads to a tendency to splay their legs
wide, and it is important not to use carriers that encourage this by forcing
the legs to splay wider than is natural for them to do.
According to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, baby carriers that force the legs together may result in hip dysplasia
Carry positions should support the thigh in a knee to knee position, to keep the hips in a stable position.
I have spoken to some Mothers who were
advised to keep the legs together to avoid this issue, but personally I disagree with this because it opposes my own research of hip dysplasia.
What carriers to choose
I decided against using ringslings, as at the time I was not
confident in using them and they weren’t optimal for her hips, unless carefully
positioned.
I needed to get the hips out to the side in
the way that bulky cloth nappies do, but not in a way that put any pressure at
all on the hip or knee sockets.
My friend advised me that a hip carry would be great as the child’s
legs would spread naturally over my hips and they would be placed at a safe
distance apart. I however decided
against this as I had a fear of bumping into things as I was going about my
duties in the house. In the early days I did not leave the house at all really, it took me a long time to feel confident to go out with her, I was scared I would see someone I knew and would have to tell them. For the first few months I was unable to talk about it to new people without crying, it was easier to hide at home.
I decided instead to wrap her using the front wrap cross carry. I was concerned about using a wrap that was
too thick and hard to mould safely around her without creating any pressure
points, or cause any strain on her hip joints. My saviour was my calin bleu
gauze wrap. It was wonderfully thin and
easy to mould around her. I also used
other thinner woven wraps as my confidence increased. The didymos stripe wraps and pfau were also
very good in the early days. There are
many good options on the market though, these days we are truly spoilt for
choice!.
I was however warned away from stretchy wraps as I was
advised they don’t provide enough support for babies with low tone, but I know
of many mothers with children with Down syndrome who have happily used
them. Personally I go with the expert
opinion on this one and would advise caution.
It really depends on the muscle tone of the individual child. This can vary greatly in children with Down
syndrome.
By 6 months the worry about Beth’s hips passed.
She had several hip scans and eventually the
problems righted themselves with no treatments necessary.
By this time I was confident with all
carriers and all carries.
Beth sat up at
5 ½ months which is rare in a child with Down syndrome.
She seemed so strong and all my previous
worries simply disappeared.
In summary, my research has concluded that these are the
best carriers that can be chosen for children with low tone / hypermobility
issues:
·
Woven wraps
o As
mentioned they are great as long as you are very careful with hip positioning
and ensure that they are placed firmly along the back to provide good neck
support for the baby. I especially loved thinner wraps in the early days, such as girasols, and cotton didymos wraps, as well as of course my beloved Calin Bleu.
·
Mei Tais / soft structured carriers
o On
the market and easily available today are mei tais with adjustable bases,
(such as the Mysol) meaning that their use would not put any pressure on hips. Soft structured carriers such as the ergo come
with infant inserts which I am advised are suitable for children with Down
syndrome.
I need to emphasise that every child with Down syndrome is different though, Beth was very lucky that her low tone issues were not as severe as with others, and she had no health concerns.
What are the benefits of Babywearing?
I spoke to a a lovely lady I know in Queensland
who has a 9 month old little girl named Josee with Down syndrome. I asked her what she thought. She told me “I love that she can be with me
and feel secure. But I think it goes both ways. I think carrying her has melted
my anxiety away! I too feel a sense of security when carrying her. I like that
we can interact and she can see the world with me, at eye level. I feel that it
has impacted positively on her muscle tone and strength and that her core
muscle stability has improved. When she was younger I could tuck her head into
one of the shoulder folds to support it and now she loves to tuck it in there
when she wants to nap. Also, speaking of naps, she is the Queen cat napper so
carrying her allows her to nap on the go and stops the grizzles when she hasn't
slept enough!”
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For me personally, wearing Beth helped me to bond with her
enormously. It was very hard for us when
she was born, we had to completely change our mindset about what we thought our
baby was going to be like and we had to learn a whole new way of life in order
to be support her needs. My life took on
a new role of constant research into the best ways to help her to achieve her
milestones. We spent pretty much all of
her waking hours doing therapies. But
the times when she slept she slept on me, and with me at night. I grew a love for her that I never thought
possible. She is quite simply a
wonderful child, funny and sweet and fills our hearts with joy. She is also a stubborn little thing!!
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Beth will be four in December. She still loves to be carried, we mainly use
our Boba SSC with her. “up up up” she
says. Although these days we try to encourage walking as much as possible to get her fit and strong! I have thoroughly enjoyed my
babywearing journey with Beth and I wouldn’t change a thing.
****UPDATE 22/2/2014****
I was recently contacted by a lovely Mama with a 9 month old little girl with Down syndrome. Her physio had suggested to her that perhaps her Tula Baby Carrier was not optimal for her child as she was in her words "like a sack of potatoes" in it. She recommended that this Mama purchase a Hipseat. I must confess this was not something that I had really considered, so was a little stumped. I therefore consulted with my favourite babywearing guru Anne McEwan of Wrap My Baby for advice. This is what she said:
I agree in part with his reasoning, core strength simply does not develop as well in a MT or SSC ( it is one of the arguments behind the stirrups for the Boba) nor are they are adjustable. I would personally prefer a ringsling or a wrap tied with an adjustable hipcarry as that helps better with the hip position, give a hands free option and allows for more flexibility. It is also more comfortable for the parent (than a Hipseat) in my opinion.
Something else she may want to consider is whether baby likes to have her feet supported to give her more movement and help her build stronger core muscles.
Readers please note, I am sharing this information as it is completely new to me, and I feel it would be remiss of me not too. Every child is different individual and unique, and has different needs that you are parents will need to consider. As I wrote above I was advised that hip carries were a good option for Beth when she was a baby, but they weren't something I was comfortable with using as my preferred option. We actually used a Boba Carrier with Beth (you can see it in the photos - the grey carrier) and found it wonderful and supportive, great with babies and toddlers as well.
I would also recommend before purchasing a carrier that you visit one of the many slingmeets that seem to be held globally! Within Australia, you can find one via this link: Sling Meets Australia.