Anyone baby have uneven leg lengths and it be nothing?

[xxxJess123xxx]

Hi all, baby had his 10 month check and HV checked his leg creases etc. He has ever so slightly uneven bum crease and one leg seems shorter.
Hes been crawling a long time and is now cruising and taking 3/4 steps unaided .
Has anyone had this with their babies and it be nothing? I'm terrified its hip dysplasia which is what is coming up when I google.
The thought of him in a cast (super clingy baby) who loves being on the move is making me so sad! How would I cope with work etc?!
I'm waiting for a referral after seeing the gp Tuesday. She said it will be an ultrasound or xray.
He has full range of movement in the hip and his newborn hip check was fine. 2nd born. Normal delivery. Not breech. No family history
I'm really overthinking everything.
Thanks all

[Nat6999]

Wait for the scan or xray before you start worrying. Even if it is hip dysplasia it can be sorted. Hip dysplasia is more common in girls than boys so the chances of it being that is small. It also can be hereditary so unless you have it in either one of your families the chances are low.

[Marinetta]

My baby doesn't have any problems with his legs but I have one leg quite a bit longer than the other. I didn't even know about it until last year and its never given me any problems at all. My partner says I walk a bit funny but not funny enough to draw attention to myself. The doctor who told me about my uneven legs said I may have some problems in the future due to uneven pressure on my pelvis and hips when I'm walking but so far its not been an issue.

[pinkcardi]

Both mine had uneven creases and one leg slightly longer than the other.

Both were scanned and both absolutely fine. One walked at 15m and the other a bit earlier. No issues at all, both sporty and active.

[keepingbees]

My dd had this as well as hip clicking and it was nothing. We first noticed it at around 3 months old. Because it wasn't picked up as a newborn it was classed as an 'acquired click' and they wouldn't just scan her as they would a newborn, they had to refer to a paediatrician and go via them. As you can imagine this was a very drawn out process! Also they would only ultrasound them under 6 months old too and after then it had to be x ray.
Because of her getting close to the cut off age for an ultrasound we managed to get the health visitor to push to get her seen quicker before the need for an x ray. She had an ultrasound and all was fine. She's 5 now and still clicks occasionally but is fine.

[LookToTreblesGoingTreblesGone]

My daughter had uneven creases too.
It was only when the health visitor mentioned it when I realised she had inherited my "one hip slightly higher than the other" which I got from my mum!
It just means that one trouser leg looks slightly shorter than the other, but not noticeably to anyone else.
So three generations with a right trouser leg slightly higher!
It doesn't affect mobility at all.

[xxxJess123xxx]

I'm really hoping its nothing. Being a NICU baby it has made me very anxious about him. How long do u think the wait will be for an xray? It's been put through as rapid referral x

[Witchend]

I have one leg about 1cm shorter than the other.

It wasn't discovered until I was in my 40s and went to the doctor with hip and back pain. Thinking about it once I was told, I stand off balance naturally and things like that.

I had some physio, and now have a heel riser in my shoe, and it is causing no issues at all.

[LongLiveThePenis]

I know a child who had uneven creases, was x-rayed and didn't have hip dysplasia. She walked at about 11 months.

[hannah1992]

It's probably not. My dd2 had it and it was picked up at birth. She was in a harness for most of the first year then it had healed.

Points you've made. Baby cruising and likes to be on the move. Children find a way regardless they are very resilient.

Work. Childminders/nursery will not bat an eyelid about him being in a cast.

Hes also very young and wouldnt remember it at all. And remember this will be far more distressing for you than him.

Honestly it's most likely just how hes made but you have to take it one step at a time

[Northernlurker]

Sounds like it's very likely to be nothing at all but on the off chance it is just wanted to say I knew a baby who was diagnosed even later, 14 months or so I think. She coped very well with the cast and it has spared her such serious problems. I also knew a baby who had casts for talipes. Again, he adapted and it's worth it in the long run.

[xxxJess123xxx]

I just want to know, it's the not knowing which is making it worse xx

[Nat6999]

I was in a cast for nearly a year from being 1, my mum said I wasn't any trouble, i dragged myself round by my arms, even managed to get myself upstairs one day, my mum didn't realise until she heard my pots banging against the walls as i fell back down. I was fine just a bit shaken up, I never did it again. That is when I got my love of reading, my mum spent hours sat reading me stories or we went out on the front to wave to people at the bus stop or to watch trains on the bridge. We lived in an old fashioned terraced house then, 4 houses to a yard, my mum & dad were the youngest in the yard & all the other ladies who had retired used to fight over whose turn it was to play with me. What I mean is even if it is hip dysplasia it isn't the end of the world, toddlers are adaptable & it won't hold him back.

[keepingbees]

Ask your GP or HV to fast track it if you're really worried.

[xxxJess123xxx]

it's gone down as a rapid referral so hopefully it be very soon xx

[xxxJess123xxx]

Appointment is March!! Surely this is too long if this is suspected x

[londongirl86]

Hi my DD had hip dysplasia when she was born. She didn't have leg creases that didn't line up. She had an x-ray done at 2 weeks old. My mum also had hip dysplasia that was missed until she was two. She's a 50s baby and back then they didn't always find it. She still has operations today but again it wasn't leg creases. She couldn't walk by two which set alarm bells ringing.

I understand how you feel. I was absolutely on edge and worried. My son never got it. My DD was treated at QMC and honestly we went every two weeks for check ups and harness clean for four months, then six-month scans. We were signed off last year when she was 3.5. in all that time I saw one little boy with hip dysplasia. Every other baby or toddler was female. It's rare in boys. We saw approximately 5 children the same age everytime we went x

[xxxJess123xxx]

Thank u London for sharing your experience. Glad your little girl is ok now and your son never had it.
It is reassuring to know its very rare in boys. He has now started to walk alot more unaided too which is a good thing a suppose x

[londongirl86]

Yes absolutely. I think all babies hips should be scanned but I guess they can't afford to do it. My daughters had 9 scans and 4 x-rays.

I guess people have all-sorts of harmless little flaws too. Like my daughter's little toes curl under abit. My partners left knee goes out to the side abit! It's absolutely worth getting him checked.

If he does have hip dysplasia you will get through it. Marks and Spencers even do clothes for it now. It's crazy they are waiting until march! Has the health visitor said any other reasons you can get uneven creases? X

[xxxJess123xxx]

It's the one leg shorter than the other that is worrying me more than the leg crease/bum crease as it's so barely noticeable but the leg you can see more easily.
I dont know what else the leg length difference can be and iv been stressing since she told me to get it looked into and now having to wait till late march is going to be awful! I'd rather know now!! Especually now he is walking he is just going to get more and more confident and if it is hip dysplasia and he has to be in a cast it will be awful now hes on the move

[Sexnotgender]

Definitely rarer in boys!!

My daughter was born with a bilateral hip dislocation that was picked up at 3 weeks.

[Mum2b2020]

One of my legs appear a couple of cm shorter than the other but it's actually my pelvis which is tilted from scoliosis (my spine is s shaped). I was diagnosed by my ballet teacher at 16 and have since had trays etc but they wouldnt treat me as I was too old. Hopefully if your son has that it can be treated as he is so young.

[Mum2b2020]

*xrays (not trays). I was also given something to put in my shoe but it doesnt fit all shoes so not very useful

[xxxJess123xxx]

I think he walks weird but has just learnt to walk so I think I'm trying to analyse everything he is doing too much for signs! X

[CatSmize]

My 2-month-old DS was referred for a scan for potential hip dysplasia for the same reasons. He also had no risk factors, family history, etc. I was so upset at first.

Similar to you, we were given a scan date for 2 months later so I phoned the surgery and asked for it to be changed to urgent. When we hadn't got an appt through 10 days later we decided to book a private scan. It turns out his hip was fine! All that worry for nothing.

Tbh, I'd already come round to the idea after reading several threads on here. What helped me was when someone said that it just becomes part of your experience with your baby. You get used to it and adapt really quickly. They just looked back on it as a few months when their baby had a brace/cast, no big deal. When you think about all the life-long disabilities your baby could have, it's really nothing. It helped me to look at it that way anyway.

Good luck, OP!

[xxxJess123xxx]

Can I ask how much the private scan was at all please if it's not too cheeky. Waiting till end of March is going to drive me insane. Hes a NICU baby and I have anxiety x