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No personal experience buy my sister had this as a baby. She wore a harness (it looked really complicated but this was almost 40 years ago!) for a few months to correct it and she is fine!

I think someone on here has experience with the harness but I can't remember who it was! Hopefully they see this and can chime in.

My daughter (just turned 1) has hip dysplasia. She was born breech and they did a hip ultrasound at 6 weeks for follow up. Her physical exam (by pediatrician and ortho) has always been negative- no hip clicks, negative ortolani/barlow. Unfortunately, her hip ultrasound showed moderate hip dysplasia- she was in the pavlik harness 24/7 for 6 weeks, then 12hours a day for another 6 weeks for a total of 12 weeks. I felt like it was terrible at first (we weren't allowed to take it off at all! even for diaper changes/baths). sleeping was terrible for a couple days, swaddling was hard, etc- but she quickly got used to it.

Her follow up ultrasounds have been okay. We had an xray this past week that was slightly abnormal (they aren't worried) but we still have to follow up in 6 months, and then yearly until she stops growing.

I haven't done it but my cousin's lo did have an ultrasound for it. I think she was still a newborn. She didn't need any treatment, but I remember my cousin saying she would just need to wear the harness too. If your lo isn't really mobile yet, hopefully it won't be that difficult for her to tolerate. My son didn't have a harness but did have to wear the flat head helmet, and although I was worried it would make him super fussy and irritable, it wasn't a big deal (despite what some online articles had me believing.) Hopefully it's nothing but if she has to wear it, it might not even be a big deal. Fingers crossed for you!

@CedarMagnolia: My little girl was born with hip dysplasia, had the ultrasound at 6 weeks and the harness at about 12 weeks I think (big delays over Christmas).

She was quite a severe case, her left hip was dislocated and her right was subluxed. Luckily, the harness was the first option and it worked for her!

To answer your questions, we breastfed the whole time (it was tricky, she was kind of starfish-shaped and stiff, but we got there in the end and breastfed exclusively) and I wore her in an Ergo daily as she wouldn't fit in a stroller in the harness. We were out and about all the time.
She was in the harness 24 hours a day at first, then when we achieved stability she was allowed one hour a day harness-free. We used that time to give her a bath and do tummy time, which she loved! And skin-to-skin. She learned to army crawl in that hour and used to kind of jump like a frog on her belly, it was fabulous and hilarious all at once

Yes you will have amazing, beautiful holds and cuddles, I promise. She will be like a little koala on your hip and your cuddles will be just as sweet and special as before. This was one of my number one fears before harness day and I promise you will still have lovely cuddles.

I have lots of tips for you on how to manage in the harness if you end up going down that route, feel free to PM me anytime.

@CedarMagnolia: Take a deep breath! I was in your shoes last July. DD had an ultrasound at 6 weeks that showed some degree of hip dysplasia. When we met with the orthopedist she put my DD into a pavlic harness that day. I was in shock. I cried a lot for two days - worried that DD would be sad and uncomfortable and unable to meet milestones. She quickly adapted and didn't seem too phased. We were 23 hours a day to start (off for bath and a brief tummy time), then weaned down to 20 hours, then 12 hours, then we were cleared in October to stop wearing it.

I found little silver linings - for instance, at a young age I could carry her on my hip because she was rigid!

I also believe that she sat up sooner (not in the harness - but regular sitting) because of the way her legs were bent while in the harness.

I don't know what the weather is like where you live - but if your LO isn't wearing pants - I strongly suggest triple roll socks that you unroll as "thigh highs". These worked great to make sure her skin didn't get irritated.

DD is 9 months old now and we just have checkups a few times until she is 5 to make sure she develops well.

The whole thing was way harder on me than her. She was a trooper!

As far as EBF - yes - it was a little awkward at first - but I was able to continue nursing cross cradle and football hold without much issue.

You will get through this! Feel free to tag me if you have any other questions - I happy to share our experience!

OH - and I used a Boba Wrap with her and it worked great!

@Gin: What a smart idea asking for a spare. We were super careful and spot cleaning but it was getting grimy by the end!

A close friend's daughter had mild hip dysplasia diagnosed at birth. I think she was in a harness for 4-6 weeks. It was tough at first, and impacted sleep which was hard for my friend- but her daughter got used to it and it seems like just a blip in the radar now.

@babybean404: Sorry to hear your LO is in a harness. I promise it will get easier
In terms of spot cleaning, we used a toothbrush and washing up liquid to get stains out. My daughter wasn't allowed out of it at all at first so we had to do that with her in it. Once she was allowed one hour out a day then we could use oxyclean on it and use a hairdryer to dry it off quickly. We used to wash her hair by putting her in the Ergo and leaning back over the sink but you guys having the two hours harness free time will mean you can bath her daily so it should really help. Keep a close eye on the crease of her knees, which is a common place for irritation. Try keep that area clean and dry then we used coconut oil to sooth. I think Vaseline is popular as a barrier. Are you okay with clothes for her? It was winter for us so we used over sizes onesies with leg warmers and sleepers with the snaps that go in a rainbow-shaped from the ankles.
You can't swaddle her legs while she's in it, but if you want to swaddle her arms, try the Halo sleep sacks as they have a really wide bottom and wings that fold over the arms with Velcro. They are recommend by the Hip Dysplasia Institute.
We babywore as she wouldn't fit in the stroller. We used an Ergo but anything that supports the hips would be fine.
If strangers asked I told them the truth. Often they wouldn't dare ask but occasionally they would ask how she had her legs so far apart. I just said she had hip dysplasia and was wearing a harness to treat it.
We only had one hour harness free time a day. We bathed her, did tummy time and skin-to-skin (I missed that so much). She learned to army crawl in that time, and kind of jumped like a frog . It was sometimes hard putting her back in, but we used marker to indicate how tight the straps should be, which helped.

It was summer and DD was only wearing a onesie during the day. So I bought triple roll socks and unrolled them....she basically wore thigh highs this helped from the harness rubbing on her skin.

Strangers...same as @travelgirl1: I just matter of fact explained she had hip dysplasia and this was the treatment .... or casts as a toddler!

My MIL sewed little sleep sacks with a wide base that helped keep her arms in. I can post a pic if you have any interest in that kind of DIY project.

You will get faster at the diaper part. I found the most tedious part weaving the adhesive flap up. I'd start singing a little jingle about her "diaper flappies" which helped me focus and her stay calm.

It gets easier....and your LO won't remember a thing!!!

@babybean404: I don't have advice, but I'm an adult with hip dysplasia so I always click on anything related to it.

I just wanted to let you know that the discomfort and inconvenience you and LO will be going through now is well worth it. As an adult I've had one surgery due to hip dysplasia that didn't really do much to help (the labrum on both sides is shredded due to my dysplasia) and at 35 I'm sort of wondering every day if it's time to throw in the towel and get a hip replacement or maybe an osteotomy . But I have a 2.5yo and am about to have an embryo transfer for #2 so the idea of going through all of it with potentially 2 young children is daunting. So I'll probably wait till they are much older and just endure it a few more years. 5- 7 I guess.

So anyway I just wanted to say that you're doing the right thing for your baby and it might seem daunting and I'm sure at times it will be unpleasant - but it'll be well worth it to avoid a future with hip dysplasia.

ETA: just realized I sounded a but dramatic. Lol. I'm not saying hip dysplasia is the worst thing in the world or my life has been doomed because of it. But if it was discovered when I was a baby i would have much rather had it dealt with then when I can't remember it - not feel daily pain as an adult and know I'm just counting down till surgery/ies.

@travelgirl1: thanks! Did you just spray oxiclean and then rinse out? She's already spit up a lot on it and it's only day 2! I am so happy she's only in it 22 hours a day---2 hours is a pretty long time for her to be "free" when you factor in how much time she spends sleeping!

@dagret: do you mean you used onesie extenders to cover the harness at the shoulders? Or on the legs? I am intrigued!!!

@babybean404: yes as seen here: https://grooverjourney.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/pavlik-harness-tips-tricks/

we also did thigh high socks (old navy roll socks are really good for this) and baby legs.

@babybean404: I wound up getting some from amazon - but they were too cheapy ... like stockings and were too tight on her little thighs.

Old navy though --- I bought online --- had excellent triple roll socks that unrolled and weren't too tight.

Because they turn into thigh highs - even on a non-harnessed kid - they stay on way better than normal socks