OUR LITTLE HARD WORKER!

For the past three weeks, I've been taking Devin to physical therapy at the Children's Hospital Stilson Center two times a week. The first time that we went, I wasn't sure what to expect and was a little nervous about a stranger stretching and manipulating Devin's head and neck.  But, within minutes of being at the Center, I felt so much better.  The atmosphere there was wonderful.  It was bright, cheery and colorful, and all of the employees were so friendly. 


Then, when we met Devin's therapist, Judi, I was completely at ease, which was a surprise to me. Judi is AWESOME!  Devin absolutely loves her!  From day one, he was too busy flirting and smiling at Judi to notice that she was stretching his neck and it probably was uncomfortable.  I'm sure that tactic will be one we use countless times: distract, distract, distract! Since starting physical therapy just 3 short weeks ago, Devin has made leaps and bounds!!!  He is barely tilting his head to the left, is much more centered, is generally stronger, does great with his stretching and rotation exercises, and is doing AMAZING at tummy time!  He used to hate to do any of it, and now he doesn't seem to mind much at all.  He actually will prop himself up on his forearms for a good 7-10 minutes with very little head bobbling at all!  I'm honestly so impressed with how hard he works (even though the poor little guy always falls asleep on the way there and is woken up right in the middle of his nap) . . . what a trooper!  In fact, Devin has rolled from his tummy to his back three times so far!  I don't know that it's deliberate or just the result of not wanting to be on his belly and fussing, but he did it :-)  

Seriously?  Look at those googly eyes he's making!  He loves "Miss Judi"!

Judi has told us that his torticollis is likely from in utero positioning and also because Devin's head, while not necessarily large for his age, is a bit large for his body (he's still a skinny little peanut . . . looks even bigger because of his crazy hair!).  So, he has to work harder to hold up his head.  Also, Devin apparently has higher muscle tone than many kids (interesting since he actually looks like he has some biceps), which is not necessarily a problem, but is part of the reason that he still keeps his arms somewhat tucked in and isn't completely comfortable reaching for things yet.  As Judi explained it, it's more uncomfortable and more work for him to stretch than many kids.  But, as of now, it's not really impacting his development, so she's not worried at all.   But, she does still want to see him for at least 3 or 4 more weeks, but we have to wait for insurance approval.  Hopefully that will come through.  But, even if it doesn't, I know Judi has given me the tools to work with Devin at home.  I'm so glad that our pediatrician was so on top of this and that we're addressing the torticollis so early on. 

Devin has his appointment with Dr. Rozelle, the pediatric plastic surgeon at Children's Hospital, to see if he needs a helmet to fix the flat spot on his head a week from today.  Let's hope she says that he doesn't need it, but if he does, so be it.  We'll hook it up with some great decoration so that it'll just be a little added flavor to his already wonderful style :-)  I'll keep you posted!