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Post by alisonzmom on Sept 30, 2004 21:59:59 GMT -5
Alison's PT and I were talking earlier this week about how we can break Alison of a bad habit she has developed and HipHelpers came to mind. Alison has gotton into the bad habit of going from lying on her tummy to sitting by just pushing herself up with her arms and swinging her legs around - goes through a straddle split- until they are infront of her.  The PT says that doing this could make her more apt to dislocate a hip!  Definitely NOT something I want her to have to deal with! Alison mostly gets around by commando crawling and is just really starting to get into a more conventional crawling position. Do the HipHelpers have enough give to them so that she'll still be able to get around with her sort of modified commando crawl?  I've looked at their website and will probably order a pair just to try them since they really are reasonably priced.  I'd be very interested to hear about any experiences you all have had with HipHelpers! Thanks! Barb |
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Post by donnita on Sept 30, 2004 22:53:25 GMT -5
I looked into the hiphelpers a few years ago and they seemed like a good idea. Our PT ordered the kit for the hospital but brought a pair for Cassie just so we could get the right size. PROBLEM: Cassie was already walking and the poor thing just kept falling down because she couldn't take a normal sized step! So I think if you want to try a pair, now is the time, while Alison is crawling. I think they would help her to crawl conventionally but would still allow for commando crawling also. And they would definitely make her sit up conventionally.
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Post by keeransmom on Oct 1, 2004 1:29:09 GMT -5
I am curious how old your little one is. My son is 14 months and he does the same thing. Commando crawl, then now he has just begun stopping and pushing backward and to the side to come to sitting up. I actually am thankful for this because he used to just do a sort of Superman kind of thing...airplace and didn't know how to sit up. We used hip helpers when he was younger...from about 3 months to one year old to help him learn not to frog out so much. I would give it a shot and try it if your PT thinks it may help. A big size would be a good idea though. Debby  |
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Post by Tammy on Oct 1, 2004 4:59:23 GMT -5
Barb... We dont have "Hip Helpers" as such... but for Lewis we had a home made version of the same thing. Lewis also used to sit up by doing the splits and pushing himself up until he was sitting.... really creepy to see someone sooooo flexible  Lewis had the hip thingy since he was 6 weeks old... to try and avoud him laying with his legs like a frog, but when he started crawling they came into play too... the kept his legs together so that he acrually was forced to try and crawl properly... that was too much like hard work so he developed a really unique style which I could not even begin to describe.... To cut a long story short... When he started walking, he walked with a very advanced and well balance gait and good pace... and they all say it was due to the use of the Hip thingy, and correct positioning of his legs and joints thus causing the ligaments and muscles to grow and harden "correctly" and not end up being too loose... I hope this all makes some sense to you... If not... try and catch me for a chat and I will try to explain better... Tammy... |
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Post by Betty & Ian's Mom on Oct 1, 2004 7:41:18 GMT -5
I used the hiphelpers a few months back with Betty, because she used to do the "push up with her arms and do the splits and fling her legs around" way to sit up to. She stop doing that for a while. We decided to use them again because Betty is VERY flexible, she sits like a frog, and can easily put her legs behind her head, she can get into some weird positions !! And when she walks, she takes very wide strides, the hiphelpers will help controll the strides and help strengthen her hip muscles and hopefully keep her from frogging out when she sits. She's a bit unstable right now with them on, but she is starting to get use to them, and her strides are better.
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Post by alisonzmom on Oct 2, 2004 13:21:45 GMT -5
Thanks guys for your input! Talked to Alison's PT again and he's going to order the sizing kit for his agency! In talking with him about this I found out something VERY interesting! He is actually part owner of the group! How cool is that! He also admitted that because he is working out in the "field", he's not always up on the latest things available to help his patients and had never heard of HipHelpers before! He said that he can already think of at least 10 kids who may benefit from them - and that's just in his caseload!
Alison is 18 months old. Before she started commando crawling ( she only started in the last 6 weeks or so ) she did get to sitting the "correct" way - rolling to her side and then sort of reaching for her feet while pushing up with one arm. Since she started crawling, I guess she saw the opportunity to take a "short cut"! I don't think I've seen her sit up correctly in over a month!
I have to agree- it is way TOOO creepy to watch these bendy little people! And the way she sits in the stroller - those feet are right up next to her ears most of the time! Sometimes I think she does it just for the attention it gets her from other people! Another creepy bendy thing she has done - we were driving from Boston, MA home to Buffalo, NY. We were about 1/2 from home ( after 7 hours of driving! ) when the evil twin made her appearance and my happy - go - lucky Alison was replaced with a cranky, whiny little terror! I had Caitlin, my 14 yr old, give Alison a graham cracker which Alison took with her foot ( grabbed it between her big toe and the next one! ) and proceeded to eat the cracker all the while holding it with her toes!!! Talk about a creepy thing to see in the little rearview spy mirror!!!
Ok, rambled way long enough here!
Thanks again!
Barb
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Post by logansmom on Oct 2, 2004 17:45:08 GMT -5
Wow! Alison is very talented to be able to eat a graham cracker with her toes. Too bad you didn't have a camera! Kim |
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Post by MB on Oct 2, 2004 20:47:09 GMT -5
I miss those pretzel days. I know you worry about all the flexibility, but eating graham crackers with your toes is really, really funny!
MB
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Post by MaggiesMom on Oct 2, 2004 23:09:56 GMT -5
We used Hip Helpers with Maggie to help her with her base of support. She kept her legs spread way far apart.
I made a couple of similar pairs after that to have in colors that matched her clothes. Easy to do.
What we found that worked well too is taking a terry cloth head band and sewing it up in the middle. So it makes like a "8". Put one leg in each side and pull it up to the thigh. Adjust the sizing as need by sewing more or less to get it tight enough. Worked great!
This too will pass!
Robin M - Maggie's mom
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Post by YoshsMom on Oct 3, 2004 15:45:18 GMT -5
I just ordered hiphelpers for Yosh. He is close to walking, but mostly crawls on hands, one knee and one foot out to the side. We're hoping to bring in that foot and stabilize his side muscles to help him balance.
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Post by Betty & Ian's Mom on Oct 3, 2004 23:56:53 GMT -5
Gotta question for all you hiphelper wears !! Betty is back to wearing hip helpers, and she is having a hard time wearing regular clothes with them on. How do you keep their pants on when the hip helpers are sewn done to the knees Her pants lay around the middle of her butt, and I am constantly pulling them up. Are there any specially made clothes for this, or should we all team up and make our own?? I'm thinking about starting a line of clothes just for this purpose ?? Think I'll hit the jackpot with this idea !!! |
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Post by laurasnowbird on Oct 4, 2004 9:08:45 GMT -5
Hmmm, we tried Hip Helpers, but didn't find them all that helpful. I can't remember exactly how old Ethan was (about 15 months) but within a week he learned to pull the bottom of the shorts upward so that he still had unrestricted movement. They were also quite hard to use when he was wearing pants. We ended up using them only when we were at home, but for us it was far more effective to work with him on sitting properly than it was to use the hip helpers.
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Post by SuziF on Oct 4, 2004 23:04:05 GMT -5
Yup, we used them from around 7mths till Meri wore out her second pair.....actually 4 pairs all together because I made 2 more using the original as patterns. I remember her age because the PT got back from the Nat'l conf on Disabilities where she attended a session by Hip Helpers then we ordered them.
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Post by samanthajosmom_12 on Oct 12, 2004 20:32:03 GMT -5
we used the hip helpers for samantha jo. we are no longer using them but we might have to using them again. they are wonderful! sue
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The PT says that doing this could make her more apt to dislocate a hip! 
Definitely NOT something I want her to have to deal with! 
I've looked at their website and will probably order a pair just to try them since they really are reasonably priced. 
