You are here

Shoe lifts

Just wondering if anyone can offer advice. My almost 8 month old son Isaac has about an inch and a half length difference and we are planning on getting him shoe lifts soon as he will start to walk. Has anyone had to use these on thier babies? And should we also encourage him to try and learn to walk without the lifts as well or should we mostly use the shoe lifts? Any advice is appreciated.

Our daughter was in a pretty similar situation. She had a one and a half inch difference at birth. Her orthopedic surgeon and an orthotist both recommended that she get a lift put on her shoe. They said not doing it would keep some of the muscles from developing properly and would cause problems in the future. So as soon as she started walking, at thirteen months, we had a lift made. Some times the insurance would pay for it, at others it wouldn't. We get them made at a shoe repair for about $48 dollars. She learned to walk in them just fine, but we did notice that the weight of the lift would cause her to drag her leg. So a orthotist recommended that they taper off some of the lift on the front and some on the back. This takes some of the weight off and allows the shoe to rock and helped her walk in them better. We also realized that when we got only a one inch lift, opposed to her one and a half inch discrepency she had an easier time with the lift. Her surgeon said that the half inch difference in the lift wouldn't make any difference. I was amazed that she learned to walk in and out of her lift and would transition in and out with ease. But we were told to keep her in them as much as possible.
If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me. My email is xochma29@yahoo.com
goood luck, Martha