Therapy + Settling in

A couple mornings a week, while Emma and Claire are both at school, it's just me and this little man. It's been fun to have some extra quiet!  Char's been going to physical therapy for his curvy spine for the last few weeks.  It has been fascinating to hear what the therapist noticed within minutes of watching him play... he definitely favors using one side and has stronger muscles on that side.  We've been working on exercise (mostly directing his playing) to strengthen the other side.  The great news is that she believes he has what she calls a functional scoliosis, meaning it's totally muscle based and can be corrected with therapy.  She is confident he won't need any type of treatment other than physical therapy.  Yay for that!

Helping mama with some laundry!

Charlie Brown

In other news, we are starting to settle into a daily routine and figure out pick up, drop off, naps, etc..  It feels good to have a better idea of what each day will look like.  Thankful because routine = sanity!

We are also pounding out home projects like it's our job.  In the time we've been here, in addition to unpacking (the WORST), we've painted 2 rooms, completely re-done the half bathroom, installed a new kitchen faucet and light fixtures, painted trim, replaced a door way between our sunroom and family room, cut down trees, and painted a few doors & put new hardware on.  And the kiddos and I are heading to my parents' for the weekend so Justin can get more stuff done.  The list really is overwhelming... paint stairs, paint sunroom, paint dining room, paint kitchen cabinets, rip out some ugly bushes, add shelving in laundry room... and I haven't even ventured upstairs yet!  Good thing we like projects.  ;)  And by we, I mean Justin.  :)

Anyway, that's an update on life around these parts!    

On being 8 months old with a curvy spine

Our little man is 8 months!  Umm, time.. can you pleeeeease slow down?  He's eating basically all foods, feeds himself like a champ, scooting around, refusing to take a bottle (Can you believe it?  That stinker child!  I only half hate it though. Since he's most likely our last I'm letting him get away with his mama-only demands.), still toothless, down to one nap a day (poor, poor third child... it's the best we can do with our school schedule!), and generally being adorable.

In other Char man news, he was officially diagnosed with scoliosis this week.  ;(  He has been followed by a pediatric orthopedic doctor since he was about four months old.  Around four months, I began to notice that he when he was lying on his back, he was curving his back strangely and looked a little like a crescent roll.  It started to really bother me so I decided I was either a) crazy, which was a definite possibility or b) sensitive to my mothers' intuition.  I took him in basically just to have my sanity back.

The pediatrician said, "Well, this is a new one!  I've never had a mother bring in a four month old for posture issues!"  I agreed that I very well might be crazy but showed him what I was concerned about.  He said, "Good catch, mom!  I've never seen anything like this in 18 years of practicing medicine!" NOT what a worried mama wants to hear. He referred us to a doctor in Atlanta that we saw a couple of times before moving.  We saw our new doctor here this week. too. After some X-rays, we found out that his spine is, indeed, curved.  His curve is currently at 21 degrees.  From what I've read and heard from his doctor, they usually leave curves 25 degrees or less untreated.  So right now we are just going to continue to follow up and see what happens.  The curve could completely go away as he grows (praying this!), it could stay the same, or it could get worse.  If it worsens, we will have to look into casting, bracing, and/or surgery.  But, we are praying this isn't a road we'll have to go down.

This picture is a good example of what his little curved body looks like at times...

The good news is we don't see that all the time and many times it looks completely straight.  We will see what happens as he grows and pray no intervention is needed.  In the meantime, we are considering physical therapy and/or chiropractic care for him.  Anyone have experience with curved spines and alternative treatments?  Anyone?

So that's our Char man!  We love him, crescent roll shape and all!  :)