Look Ma, No Harness!

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  August 24, 2012 — 12 Comments

What a fabulous, fabulous day yesterday was! Jack had another ultrasound and his hips were perfect, so he no longer has to wear the harness!

I’m freeeeeeeeee!

He told me the thing he is most excited about is wearing pants. A whole new world of fashion possibilities just opened up after six weeks straight in nothing but onesies.

Juliet was eager to offer congratulatory kisses.

And Pistachio coincidentally chose this day to push her fear aside and come in for a sniff.

We are so, so excited to be done with that dang pavlik harness. We really did get used to it, but I’m glad it’s over. It’s so much nicer to cuddle a baby who’s not strapped into velcro. He was actually physically incapable of flopping over with it on, haha. He was such a rigid little man. And it was all scratchy on the outside. And those little baby legs! And feet! And toes! They were always covered up before, but no more! I can squeeze them to my heart’s content. Now I just got a little worried to realize I’ll be in charge of making sure his feet stay warm. Do babies his age need socks all the time, even in summer?

As for the harness, there’s an orphanage in China that’s in need of gently used pavlik harnesses, so it’ll be going in the mail as soon as I can get it washed. I asked my doctor’s office if they accepted donations for local families who couldn’t afford it, but they said they couldn’t take used ones. And as for why anyone would need something like this secondhand, would you believe that it costs nearly $800??? Fortunately our insurance covered most of it, but geez. That’s an awful lot of dough for some straps and velcro. It worked so well for Jack and literally changed the course of his life so I would love for another child to benefit from it as well.

Thanks again to all of you who were so supportive of us during this time. It really did make the whole thing easier to bear. And if you’re just reading this post and wondering what the heck this whole harness thing is all about, you can read my first post about it here, and read about when we found out he wouldn’t need surgery at the bottom of this post.

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Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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12 responses to Look Ma, No Harness!

  1. Charlotte, So happy for you and Jack. Hooray for free-kicking legs! And cuddles! As to the harness: why don’t you call the St. Vincent de Paul pharmacy? I know they take all kinds of medical donations - I have donated crutches and nebulizers and all kinds of medical equipment. And it would be great if you could help a child in the community…and maybe that family could pass it on too when they are done.

  2. Elizabeth Ormsby August 24, 2012 at 9:27 am

    Charlotte,
    So glad little Jack is doing great!! I love the pics, especially w/Juliet and the cat. :-)

  3. Prayers answered! So exciting! Can’t wait to meet him!!!!! Love you all.

  4. yaaay! so glad to hear this Charlotte. And what a handsome little prince Jack is!

  5. Also, I hope my kitty is this friendly with my little girl when she’s born. With the fight we’re having over her not getting into the bassinet i’m a little concerned.

  6. Janet (Country Mouse) August 24, 2012 at 9:56 am

    This is wonderful news!!! Oh, now you can play with those adorable little feet and legs. I predict that there might be some crafty things involving baby foot-prints. My step daughter took a wonderful picture of the bottom of her sons’ feet and their Daddy’s feet all lined up. The black and white photo was so sweet. Love the cat and dog getting into the picture.

  7. fantastic news! i bet you guys are so relieved. so nice that you found a place to donate it, too.

  8. Congratulations to Jack Jack! I think the smile in the first picture says it all. Can’t wait to meet him in person!

  9. Socks in the summer? Yep. Especially if you keep it cold in the house. Rule of thumb (or toe) if his feet are cool to touch put some socks or booties on. FYI socks don’t stay on very long. Little houdinis know how to get them off quick. Booties that tie at the ankle seem to work best.

  10. He looks so happy.

  11. Hi! I stumbled upon your blog when I was looking up where to donate our pavlik harness. your blog made me smile for several reasons - 1) our little sweet sydney just got out today! she is 12 weeks old and has been in that darn thing since day 9. 2) my oldest’s name is jack, too 3) i loved your realization about socks and keeping your baby’s feet warm! i’m having that same realization! so my question is - how do i get the information about donating the used harness to china and is it really ok to wash it? i was afraid it might shrink or something. i tried googling where to donate it and ran across your blog, so if you have any direction to send me in (i know it’s been a while since you posted this, so that may be a very distant (happy!) memory :)

    • Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap October 3, 2014 at 11:31 am

      Hi Amy! Congrats on getting your little girl out of that dang harness! I’m ashamed to say that Jack’s is still sitting in a drawer. I washed it and then couldn’t bear to part with it for some reason. I do have the info though and will forward it to the email address you provided on the comment form. If that’s not your best email address then just email me at charlotte@livingwellonthecheap.com. Congrats again!

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