Millie’s Orthotics (Leg Braces)
These are Millie’s orthotics…I go into more detail below but she wears a 2 part brace which supports her ankles/feet and then some additional support to her ankles/legs.
Camilla has been in physical therapy since she was about 6 months old but it wasn’t until she was almost 2 years old that her Physical Therapist suggested that we get an evaluation for orthotics for her legs. The orthotics would help Millie as she moved towards walking to not only correct but give additional support to her feet, ankles and legs. When we switched therapists her current PT had talked to us early on about a wide range of devices and equipment that might be needed down the road. She has always been super informative of the different equipment that Camilla might need as she progresses and develops; and her PT always makes sure to educate us along the way of what the future might hold.
When it was time to move forward with Millie’s leg braces she had an evaluation with a company outside of her therapy that specializes in orthotics during one of her therapy sessions. This allowed both Millie’s therapist and the company to discuss in real time what would be the best route in terms of types of braces based on Camilla’s needs and development. The braces are custom made so once the evaluation was complete it would take a few weeks before the braces would be ready. One thing that I love is they have a book of what seemed like hundreds of designs you could choose to be on the braces. At the time of the evaluation Vivienne was still a newborn and decided she wanted to take a nice long snooze right at the same time of our appointment. I wasn’t cleared yet to carry Millie (from my c-section) so Eric took Millie to the evaluation and picked out the design, I just love that little tidbit. Although he did tell me he almost did a quick FaceTime because there were so many options he couldn’t narrow it down! (The winner was white braces with pink flamingos).
Once the braces were ready we went in for a fitting with the orthotics company, they did a little tweaking, showed us how to put them on and Millie got to take her new braces for a quick spin. Now that we had her braces I had to go on the hunt for shoes to fit over the braces so she could actually walk in them and not slide around. There is an amazing company called BILLY Footwear, “smashing fashion with function”, their focus is on shoes that embody universal design, meaning they both appeal to and work for everyone” Their shoes have a zipper all around the top edge so you can open the shoe completely and insert your foot with no obstructions. Unfortunately these didn’t work with Millie’s little feet so the hunt was back on. There are a lot of different shoes out there that work great at making it easy to put them on/off with different types of braces. However our problem was Millie’s feet were so little when we started looking that we started to feel like Goldilocks with all our options we tried out...too big, too narrow, too small...until we found a pair that was just right! I actually stumbled upon some velcro Cat & Jack shoes at Target, of course Target would have the winner! I love these because they are cute, fashionable, durable and the price is perfect to keep up with Millie’s growing feet. I recently had to buy the next size up and she’s only been in her current size about 9 months.
Another aspect we didn't think about until we had the braces was protection for her legs from the braces leaving any marks and just overall comfort. When the weather is cooler we can easily put her braces over her socks and pants. However when those warm days rolled around we needed some leg protection ideas since she is in shorts. A friend told me about Little Stocking Co who make super cute and fashionable knee highs socks that work great with AFOs. I also purchased Millie Cat & Jack boys athletic crew socks from Target for a basic daily option.
Now that we’ve walked through the fashion let’s chat about the actual braces! Millie is in a 2 part brace that is made up of SMO (Supra Malleolar Orthotics) the smaller brace that helps stabilize her ankle and keep her toes flat instead of curling up. The AFO (Ankle Foot Orthotics) brace helps hold the foot and ankle in the correct position and gives her some extra support in the legs (this is the outside piece). She will wear both during her physical therapy sessions unless she is doing certain stretches or workouts that only require the smaller inner brace. There are also times at home when we are working on techniques or playing that we will only have the small brace on. We also found gripped socks that fit over her braces so she isn’t sliding and doesn’t need to wear shoes while playing. She doesn’t need to wear the orthotics 24/7 but she is always in them at PT and when we do our workouts at home. Millie actually likes wearing her braces and has even learned how to help take them off just by watching us, which is a pretty cool bonus developmental advance that we weren’t necessarily teaching.
About a month ago Millie’s PT told me that towards the end of the summer we should get her fitted for new braces as she is outgrowing her current orthotics in terms of actual fit and developmental needs. She will only need to use the AFOs (outside brace) when she gets fitted for new orthotics. This is fantastic news for multiple reasons: it means Millie is moving forward in her development and walking with her toes flat on the ground. It also means that she is growing! As I mentioned it’s only been about 9 months since she started using braces and has already outgrown her current set. We are always worrying about Millie’s growth because she is so tiny in weight when compared to the growth charts. These numbers and percentages coupled with her GERD (post on this in the works😉) we are constantly watching that she is getting all the calories, nutrients and vitamins from food and drink. So hearing this news was so reassuring that our girl is growing and thriving!
