Becoming a Mother While Navigating Hip Dysplasia with Brittany Nassery (E50)

Mom's Guide to Finding Herself
Written By Mom Identity Project

You think you’re just going in to talk sleep regressions and swaddle struggles.

Instead, you leave with your baby in a harness—and a specialist referral that flips your whole world upside down.

This week on Mom’s Guide to Finding Herself, I talked with Brittany Nassery (@teachertotoddlers) about what it’s like when early motherhood throws you an unexpected medical curveball. Her daughter was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at just two months old, and what followed was a two-year journey of confusion, recovery, resilience, and growth.

This episode is for the moms in the thick of it—the ones navigating specialist appointments while still healing from birth. The ones holding their babies and holding it together. The ones who don’t have a roadmap, but show up anyway.

So What Is Hip Dysplasia?

If you’ve heard the term tossed around in babywearing groups or pediatric checklists, here’s what it actually means:

“It’s when the hips aren’t in the socket. My daughter’s hip would literally pop out.”

Brittany’s daughter was diagnosed at her 2-month checkup after her pediatrician noticed a clicking sound in her hips. What followed was an ultrasound, a harness, and a flood of questions Brittany wasn’t prepared for.

Hip dysplasia is more common than you might think—especially in firstborns, girls, or babies born in breech position. But even with its frequency, the path forward is anything but clear.

A Diagnosis Without a Guidebook

One of the hardest parts? The conflicting advice. Every orthopedic had a different opinion. One wanted surgery immediately. Another suggested waiting. A third recommended more bracing.

And all the while, Brittany was left to decide what felt right for her daughter—while still figuring out how to diaper a baby in a body cast.

“You want to do what’s best. But no one can agree on what that is. And I was just… trying to survive.”

From the emotional gut punch of that first brace, to navigating car seats that didn’t fit, to learning how to care for a baby you can’t snuggle or bathe like usual—it was a full sensory overload. And it didn’t stop.

Finding Her Voice, One Step at a Time

Brittany didn’t set out to be a medical advocate. But motherhood forced her into that role.

She learned how to speak up. To ask questions. To press for second (and third) opinions. And perhaps most powerfully—she learned to trust her gut.

When doctors told her the brace had a less than 10% chance of working, she tried anyway. And it worked.

“Even if it’s a small chance, if your gut says to try it—try it.”

The Loneliness of It All

This part of motherhood isn’t talked about enough.

Not the sleep-deprived, coffee-fueled chaos—but the quiet kind of hard. The grief of missed milestones. The fear of what-ifs. The deep longing to just hold your baby close without medical gear in the way.

“I didn’t know anyone going through it. I just felt so alone—until I found one other mom online.”

That connection changed everything. And it’s why Brittany now offers herself as a resource to any parent going through the same thing. Because no one should have to figure it out in the dark.

Her Daughter Today

She’s thriving. Running. Scootering. Laughing. Living a life that, two years ago, felt out of reach.

But it’s not just her daughter who grew—Brittany did too. She became a different kind of mom. One forged in fire. One who knows her strength. One who knows how to speak up and fight for what feels right.

“It made me a stronger mom. And I think that’s what I needed.”

For the Mom in the Middle of the Unknown

If you’re there right now—newly diagnosed, googling hip dysplasia at 3 AM, trying to soothe your baby while holding your own tears—this is your reminder:

You are doing enough. You are not alone. And your intuition is powerful.

Brittany’s story isn’t just about hip dysplasia—it’s about the deep work of becoming a mother when the plan goes off-script. It’s about grace, grit, and listening to your gut when the noise gets loud.

Follow @teachertotoddlers for more toddler activity ideas, encouragement, and solidarity.

And if you’re walking a hard road—you don’t have to walk it alone. Reach out. We’re in this together.

Help Us Grow

The BoldLittleMinds MomCast is made possible by you - the listener. Your support goes directly into making each episode happen—thank you for being part of the journey!

All donations go directly to supporting the production of the Mom's Guide to Finding Herself podcast

For Your Binging Enjoyment…

Hip Dysplasia

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[00:00:00] Imagine this. You go in for a routine checkup, expecting to talk sleep schedules, and maybe ask about cradle cap, and instead you leave with your baby in a harness and a specialist referral. Today's episode is about what happens when early motherhood throws you a curve ball, when nothing goes how you pictured, and you're just trying to hold it together while figuring it out in real time.

When we talk about early motherhood, we often picture the universal stuff, sleepless nights, diaper blowouts, wondering when you last drink water. But for some of us, the journey gets a little more complicated. Maybe you've had to navigate a medical diagnosis or make impossible decisions while still healing from birth yourself. That's the space we're stepping into today.

Brittany is a retired elementary school teacher, turned [00:01:00] stay at home mom, and the creative force behind the Instagram account at teachers to toddlers. She's known for her simple, enriching activities for little ones, but today we're going beyond the activity bins.

Brittany shares what it was like to learn. Her daughter had hip dysplasia at just two months. The rollercoaster of conflicting medical advice and how she navigated surgery, casting, and recovering all while adjusting to new motherhood.

Her story is real. It's raw, and it's filled with moments that every mom will feel in your gut, even if your path looks a little different.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Thank you so much for joining me, Brittany.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Thank you for having me.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Your early motherhood journey was not necessarily just like everybody else's. You had another challenge that you were facing in, for your daughter in your early parenting. Tell me about that.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yes, so at two months old my daughter was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. We went in for her like routine checkup at two months and the doctor just noticed that her hips were clicking. And so kind of just went down the [00:02:00] road of like getting an ultrasound.

Oh yeah. She has hip dysplasia. She was braced in harnesses, braces we've kind of been through a lot with it but yeah, so, you know, it was hard to have a two month old and then in a brace or a harness, you know, like, you can't, I couldn't just like hold her or, you know, like, like a normal, like, hold, like squeeze her and hold her like she had a harness on.

So she kind of, like, Her, you know, her legs, her, like, wide frog position, harness so yeah, that was hard. And then once again, like not having family close by, it was just my husband and I. And so, you know, adjusting to like no sleep. I mean having a baby that normally you would might swaddle. I couldn't do that.

So how can you, a baby that wants to have her arms swaddled down, but is in a brace with her legs, you know, like a frog, like, how do you do that? So,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Right.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Thank goodness, I guess for Facebook joined a group for hip dysplasia on there met a really great mom that I became close friends with. And, you know, we're able to [00:03:00] just talk.

Through it all. So it's the crazy thing with hip dysplasia. Is that it's I feel like every child's case is kind of different. And every doctor or orthopedic that we saw told us something different. It was very hard to know, like, what's right to do for your daughter, you know, like, or your child . You just don't know what, what to do, and it's your first child, I didn't know, and so, I guess, like, my biggest, , if any parents out there have hip dysplasia, it's becoming more, I think, commonly known I, I don't, I guess with studies and everything.

I mean, I just want to put myself out there that like, if you are going through this, please reach out to me. Like, I'm happy to talk to you. I'm happy to be a support person for you, because it's just something that it's hard with so many unknown answers and doctors telling you different things. And you know, you have doctors who want to do surgeries right away, which, you know, on a stigma or six month old or three months, it's hard.

That's hard to see your child have to be [00:04:00] like put under. for surgery and then in a cast, like it's a hard adjustment. I'm happy to just share my experience, like, you know, more in, it's kind of something we're still going through. So it was just like kind of like an in depth, like two year I guess, highs and lows of it.

But anyways, if any parent is. dealing with hip dysplasia or has questions, like please feel free to reach out to me. I am so happy to talk to you about it, support you with it. I think it's just something that as moms and parents, we just need to support one another on with, with every, you know, with everything.

But I just know with my going through it, I just felt like it was hard to have anyone relate to it. Once you find that one person who has gone through it or is going through it. It's just easier to talk with them about it.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Now, can you tell us, I hear the words hip dysplasia all the time because I'm, I love baby wearing. So you know, I feel

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: a common place where

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Oh yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: the term. Can you tell us what hip dysplasia [00:05:00] is,

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So hip dysplasia is when your child's like hips are not in socket. So, my daughter's right hip was mildly out of socket. So basically, Yeah. Her hip just wasn't, it was popping out of socket. So all of a sudden when she was two months old, I like just set her down on the counter and holding her, you know, like just, and she was like bawling.

And I was like, Oh my God, what did I do to her? Like, Oh my gosh. And I didn't know it at the time, but I popped her hip out of socket. And so it goes in and out. Like it doesn't like, you know what I mean? It just like. hurt her, obviously. Now, like, I guess it's just your hips are out of socket and like, you know, some kids don't have like a femoral head.

It's just like the degree of it, of like the degree that it's out of socket, you know, do they need surgery? Is bracing gonna work? Do they have no femoral head? So like currently with my daughter, her hips, currently look okay, like they're, they're in the right position. But with [00:06:00] kids hips, there's cartilage in between like your hip and your socket.

And so until they're like five, you wait for that to like solidify. And that's what will like keep it in there. So that's currently what we're watching right now is to make sure that that closing and it's still staying like in socket.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: right?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: is she now at higher risk from other kids for a dysplasia to happen again, or is it now just something that you're like, everybody should keep an eye on?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Like, I, so with our case, it happens, I guess a lot with like firstborn and girls and, and like my descent. So, I guess that we just had like three strikes against us, like, but it is higher in firstborn girls. Sometimes babies who are breached also is like another thing. I've seen cases where babies come out right away and have to be braced, which is like super, you know, upsetting, you know, like their hip is just like completely on [00:07:00] completely out of socket.

And so there's just so many different cases of it. And then so many different doctors like theories of it and how to heal it. And so my husband and I have been to like four different doctors of likes, you know, start switching different things. I guess as my, like, as a mom, like be an advocate for your child, like, you know what I mean?

But yeah, I guess if you're ever curious, at your two month checkup, make sure that the hips aren't clicking big sign. The sooner you get it diagnosed, like they say better outcomes. And then I think like later signs are like, if they're not walking, with the milestone, like that could be a case.

But I'm not really sure. Cause we got ours thankfully diagnosed very early. So thankfully to our pediatrician who said something I wouldn't have known otherwise, no, but anyways, just. just check as a, you know, if you have a baby at two months.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: that's great advice. Now, I guess my question was about like for you moving forward. So you're saying you're, she's going to be monitored until [00:08:00] she's five. Is it,

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Oh yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: still healing for her or is she just at higher risk of it happening again? Like where, what's the

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So it's crazy, her hips, your hips can like regress. And, and so her hip like was doing great when she was one and a half last November. And then we went for a checkup and her checkups are just like a hip x ray. And so then we found out that she actually regressed.

And so they want to do surgery again. Surgeries are hard on little kids. We went to other doctors at that point got other opinions. And so we've actually did a bracing method, which they said only had a temperate less than 10 percent chance of working and it's working so like.

I guess my biggest takeaway for moms is like, even if it is a small percentage and like your heart feels like that's what you want to do, like stick it out and try, like try it and do it if you can. We've been still been dealing it with for a year now, but it is better than having [00:09:00] her be, you know, put under for a surgery.

That was just very hard on our family. So, so yeah. We're, we're monitoring it. She goes for checkups every six months. It's something that she'll continue to be monitored for. I don't really know

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Mm hmm.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: how long it's something I'm learning still. And then other things that like, so that's why I had her join like my gym classes is like all of that stuff works on strength.

Thankfully we have stairs here. So like stairs are great. Like any like physical, like riding a bike, like all of that stuff is really good to develop that hip strength. So that's kind of like what we work on is like. You know, just like a lot of active play. The only thing that we don't let her do is jump on a trampoline, which is hard cause she wants to.

So it's like, we kind of just like, okay, like a little, you know, a little few bounces, like, okay, we have to get off. So it's kind of hard to explain to her. Like, you know, unfortunately our hips like, aren't, I don't, I don't want something to happen to them. Like, I don't would hate for like her to jump on a trampoline and, and it popped out a sock, you know?

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Not

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So, [00:10:00] yeah, we just. Yeah, we stay away until like we're in the clear and that might not be until she's five or six and that's okay. But yeah, so kind of how we're dealing with it is one checkup at a time,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Yes. Oh, that is, that's so hard. How old was she for that first surgery?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: six months.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Wow.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So yeah, the surgery that it's not the, she's in a half body, like full, basically it was like right here all the way down to her legs casted. So yeah, that was a big mom did not know how to. You know, change a diaper in a cast. So that was fun.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: How long was she in

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So yeah,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: for?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Three months.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Whoa. So like.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: still in the zone where you don't even really know how to like bathe a baby normally anyway like

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: I know.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: that's already the challenge never mind with

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: on

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: And like, it's sad. Like I would cry, like, you know, like, Oh, I can't give her a bath. But then at the end of the day, you know what? [00:11:00] Like I always tell myself, I'm grateful. Like, you know what I mean? Like we're here. It's okay. I can give her a bath again. It's fine. Like, you know what I mean?

It's just, if anything, you know, as a mom, it's like, it's okay. So just always trying to find the bet, like, you know, positive from it, but

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: yeah it

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: we made it.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: like you did a great job getting through that but wow so hard and thank you for sharing all of that information because it's important and just like everything else we don't have a huge frame of reference for things until they happen so it's nice to know

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Mm

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: for people to have a little bit of background, if they ever hear that from a doctor, like what does it, what might it look like?

What might it mean? And what the other side of it looks like? Like you're, I've seen your pictures of your daughter, she's running around and playing

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: hmm. Yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: and living a

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah. Yeah. Very active. She is something. But yeah, it is hard in that moment of like, I remember when she was two [00:12:00] months, and they Like we went in for the doctor and then all of a sudden, like, it's like, Oh, nope. You go in for a doctor's appointment and like five minutes later, your daughter's in like a brace and you're just like, Whoa, like, Whoa, like, and that, you know, her first harness stayed on for six weeks and you couldn't take it off.

So it was like, Whoa, like, I can't give her a bath. Like, I can't, like, it was just like, Whoa.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Ah, it

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: It happens so fast. You don't have any like background knowledge. You know what I mean? The doctor just did it like that. And like, whoa, hold on.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: You go in

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: so yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: that your biggest issue is going to be putting them back in clothes at the end of the visit and you're leaving with a

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yes. Yeah. And then, you know, you're like, Oh gosh, it doesn't fit in the car seat. Whoa. What? Like, it's like all these things. So yeah, it was just it was a lot of an adjustment the first year, but that's okay.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: did you do with the car seat?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So, I we had to, she could barely fit in [00:13:00] like her Nuna, like baby Carsey. She was okay. But then when she got casted that obviously was not going to happen.

So we I think it's called Diano, Diano. Am I saying that correctly? I don't know The brand. Anyways, they're like slim car seats but they also have no sides. So we were able to actually put her in there because it doesn't have like, the sides are flat basically. So yeah, she's been in that and then we've kept it.

So she kind of just transitioned to a normal car seat, like right at Six months. And like half the time the hospitals are like, we don't have a car seat for you to take her home. And you're like, wait, what? Like,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: have

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: you know, yeah. You're like, Oh, thanks.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Right. What am I going to do?

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Baby home now in the cast. Cool.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Wow. And, and

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: But yeah.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: did you diaper her? I'm curious.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah, another thing, hip dysplasia moms, I will talk to you all day long. Okay, so in a hip dys or a spica cast, and this happens too if like [00:14:00] kids break their femurs, you know, they'll be in a spica cast as well but they make like a hole. You know, in your, in the diaper area and I would have to like push the diaper, like up and get my hands up there.

And then like in the front as well. The beginning of surgery, your body's like swollen. So like, it didn't, it was very hard, but basically the diaper you cut off the edges so that you can't like clasp

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Okay.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: So just like, it just like lays in there and then you just pray that there's no accidents because.

There's nothing you can do

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Right? Like, what? Do they

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: right?

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: after a blowout? Like, what do they

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: No, because if you recast, so if you recast, you have to actually be put back, you get put back under because When a baby is so little, they don't stay still. So yeah, it's yeah. You don't want to, you don't want any accidents. So I guess like, thankfully we were okay with no blowouts or anything, but [00:15:00] like, I've heard of it happening and it's just like, that was one thing I was always like, Oh my gosh, please, please, please.

But, but yeah, we made it.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: made it! You are, you are a super mom! This is an incredible part of your story! Like, I feel like this is, like, something that you might not give yourself enough credit for because, wow, that's a lot to go through.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah, it was, it was a lot, but you know, the better part, like at the end of the day, it made me a stronger mom and I think that's what I needed. I guess I felt like I was ready to be a mom and it was like, no, you need this now. So it's like, okay,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Right.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: going to do it,

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Ready, set, go.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: but that's okay. She's my daughter's like, just, she's great. She's so happy. She runs around, just started loving to scooter. So

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: cute.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: we're like constantly on a scooter anymore.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: I love that. I love it. Yeah. And I'm sure that when she was six months old, that you might have, that might've been a [00:16:00] fear of yours. Like she's never going to be on that scooter. She's never going to be doing these things. And now here she is.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah, it was crazy because she didn't learn how to like sit honestly, like sit and like a baby that will, they usually learn that at like five, six months at least right to hold themselves up and sit. She learned that a year. So it was just like crazy. I guess she started walking at 18 months.

So she caught it once she started learning how to like crawl and everything. Like I think crawling was at 15 months or something. It was just like once she started, she got it. But yeah, it definitely was crazy to, you know, I guess be a little behind, but that's okay.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: absolutely. It totally is. I think that's one of the things that any mom with that's dealing with something that is delayed of some sort should know is your kid will get there in one way or another. It might take their own timeline. It might look different than other kids, but they're going to be amazing in so many ways.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: Yeah, exactly.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: tell everybody where they can find [00:17:00] you and your amazing ideas.

squadcaster-5c8e_1_11-03-2024_131911: You can find me at teacher to toddlers on Instagram.

krissy_1_11-03-2024_161911: Go check out Brittany's page. She's got so many ideas and send her a message because she will definitely answer and would love to chat with you for sure.

Have you ever felt like motherhood is just one giant emotional whiplash? One minute you're laughing because your toddler is singing a song that they just wrote at the top of their lungs, and the next, you're crying in the laundry room because you can't remember the last time you saw your friends in real life.

We'll stick around because in the next episode we're talking about the mental and emotional ricochet of mom life and how to ride the waves without completely losing your mind or your car keys.

Mom Identity Project https://momidentityproject.com
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From Teacher to Toddler Mom: How This Mom Reclaimed Her Spark with Brittany Nassery (E49)