One of the most exciting aspects of new parenthood is that of
    picking out the baby cloths!  Baby garments  are so cute and so
    tiny, who couldn't just love them and want to buy an entire truck
    load?

    Then you find out your child
    has (or will have when he or
    she is born) a condition known
    as clubfoot - and all those little
    baby-doll dreams sink with your
    heart.   Images of wearing casts and braces and whatever other
    gross imaginings you have take the place wearing that darling
    infant apparel.

    How will you dress the baby now?

    Easy:  The same way you would dress a non-clubfoot
    baby!

    There is no reason that treating this
    common birth defect should spoil your
    dress-up fun.


    With that in mind, however, when choosing baby cloths,
    many a momma shops for the cutest little fashion
    statement on the market when really, her main concern
    should be Baby's comfort, which means loose fitting one
    piece pajamas-type outfits that are soft and non-binding.   

    Remember, naked is their natural, stiff and frilly garments,
    elastic waist bands, belts, snaps, strings and buttons will
    be a major irritation to any baby, clubfooted or not.   Save
    those for photo-shoots and other special occasions.

    Until a child is good at walking, their body spends most of
    its time bunched up with their comfort level largely out
    of their control.  This is especially  true of newborns who
    do not have any muscle tone yet and cannot adjust their
    body to avoid any discomfort they feel from being clothed
    or held.  

    Baby cloths sewn out of fabrics that do not stretch will not
    feel good, and who needs to give their baby something to
    fuss about?  Armpit seams and collars will pull and cut in
    to the baby's skin, being a serious discomfort as will itchy
    laces, stiff shoes, and other "adult" forms of clothing that is
    cut down to baby size.  Two piece outfits and shirts with
    no bottom snaps have a way of riding up, bunching up
    under the armpits which is also a discomfort.

    Go with the loose fitting one piece outfits as much as
    possible, even those with "feet" sewn in will generally fit
    very nicely over a baby wearing one or two full length
    orthopaedic leg casts.   When dealing with a baby
    undergoing clubfoot treatment, change the diapers easily
    by removing the suit from his or her arms and peel it down
    to expose the diaper, rather than pulling the feet out
    (although some styles can allow you to take the feet out
    instead, which ever you find easiest).

    You might want to consider cutting the feet out of baby
    cloths that have them sewn in.  Life with clubfoot means
    you have to keep an eye on those little feet while they are
    in casts because although rare with the Ponseti Method, it
    is possible the toes could begin to swell up.   It's a
    personal choice though, not something to lose any sleep
    about.  You can check the toes through out the day while
    you change diapers or feed, etc.

    I found it looked pretty cute to just cut the feet off about
    one half inch below the elastic at the ankle of those suits
    that had elastic.  It created a cute ruffle.

    If you have an older child who must undergo a second run
    of serial-casting, you can easily opt for "sweat pants" on
    boys if you feel pants are necessary.   Baggy blue jeans
    like "Painter's Pants" worked well on Brian when he was
    re-casted at age 2 years old.  Because it was summer
    though, he mostly went with no pants - just his diaper - to
    help him stay cool (wearing casts is very hot!).   For girls,
    dresses are great with perhaps some of the prettier
    diaper-covers underneath for going out, but crawling
    around in a dress isn't always easy and when it comes to
    babies of any age, the easier you can make life on them,
    the happier they will be.

Some folks say,
"If Momma ain't happy, ain't Nobody happy!"  
but those of us with little kids know
the real mantra is:  

"If Baby ain't happy, ain't Nobody happy!"

    The main thing is  to keep the baby apparel soft and
    comfortable to the little one who has to tolerate wearing them.   
    Soon enough your little bundle of joy will be a little bundle of
    energy up and running around - and then the little boy's suits and
    the little girl's dresses can be a lot of fun for you both!    Kids
    outgrow their garments fast though, and there are a lot of
    families who simply buy more than their child could ever hope to
    wear before they are outgrown - so don't overlook the great
    bargains to be had at thrift stores!
Baby Cloths

Clubfooted or not.
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