Monday, November 4, 2013

Torticollis & Thankful Monday!

At Miles 4 month appointment, our baby boy was diagnosed with Torticollis. Ever heard of it? I hadn't, until then. It means, "twisted neck" and 1 in 250 babies are born with it, and 20% of those have hip dysplasia, which thankfully he has not been diagnosed with at this time. So what does this mean? Right now this means a lot of physical therapy appointments and a lot of at home exercises for our little man.

The torticollis is also causing him delays in reaching his miles stones like rolling over and causing the back of his head to remain flat. Apparently, the muscles are being pulled down and not allowing his head muscles to form properly. So we are hoping fixing one thing, corrects many!

During his first physical therapy appointment, they pushed him hard to determine which side was worse. The physical therapist said it was usually quick to see which side they were favoring, but with him it wasn't because he seemed to be stiff in both sides. So 2 hours later and the loudest cries I have ever heard from him, they determined he had right torticollis. He has his second appointment today, which daddy is bringing him too and hopefully over the next few weeks we will see some major improvements.

Our whole journey with our little guys was a little rough. From starting with IVF, to being told on NYE that he likely had downs syndrome, which thank God was not the case. To lots of bleeding in my pregnancy early on, to Intrauterine Growth Restriction, high blood pressure & pre eclampsia...it has been full of worries by mommy, daddy and the whole family. I am so very grateful for all of our blessings & today I am feeling especially grateful for him. He is such a sweet, mellow, loving little guy and I am so blessed to be his mommy and while this is another bump in the road, he is healthy overall and we intend to keep it that way!



6 comments:

  1. You seem to have gone through a lot of craziness with your little man, you are certainly a trooper and so is your son! He is lucky to have parents that are so dedicated to him and love him so much, I wish you the best with your upcoming physical therapy sessions :)

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    1. Aww, thank you. Yes, it has been quite the journey, but well worth it! Hugs!!

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  2. Ry HAD this too. Happy to say we kicked it's ass! She was diagnosed at 4 months and at 9 months was released from PT :) What really helped us was she wore a brace. It accelerated her progress so much. Ask your PT about it. You would never even noticed she had it now. Hang in there girl! What I kept telling myself through the whole thing is "there could be a worse diagnosis. luckily it's not life threatening". :)

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    1. Hey momma, no way! I hear ya, that was the first thing I told myself too! I am so glad she over came it and hope Mr. Miles will too. On another note, I hope you are doing well ;) xoxo

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  3. Hi there! I found your blog via Becky at FMTM and had to head on over and offer my support....My first daughter was born with Torticollis. I recognized it very early on and got her into PT by 3 months but she still wound up needing to wear a DOC band due the Brachy- and Plagiocephaly that she developed. Keep up with the stretches and repositioning, too! They help so much! I'm excited to be a new follwer...I also just had baby #2 two months ago and am an IVF mama! Best of luck on this journey and please reach out with any questions or just to talk to someone who understands :) Hugs!

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    1. Hi Katie, Yay! So happy to have you, going to check your blog out now :)

      we are definitely keeping up with the stretches and trying to position him to correct it, I have my fingers crossed. So nice to have other mommies who have been through it offer their support! Congrats on your 2nd baby, it is such an awesome experience!! xoxo

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