Avery's Curvy Road

This past week we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. It was a great day filled with delicious food, laughter, and most importantly, love. On this day, I always make a mental list of all that I am thankful for, and throughout the years, I have also learned to be thankful for not only the good but also the not so good things in life.  Thanksgiving 2017 These past few weeks have had their ups and downs, for sure. There were days where I blamed myself for Avery's delays and scoliosis, and felt as though I was failing him. I had to unsubscribe from email updates on my child's development, because he is not even close to where he should be, and the emails were a constant reminder of that. There have been days filled with jealousy as I watch friends and family post updates about all of the milestones that their (much younger) babies are meeting, while my child is still at the level of a 6 month old in some areas. Although I am happy for them, it also breaks my hea...

“Red flag” is one of those phrases that makes me cringe when I hear it. It doesn’t always mean something bad, but it usually does mean something, and it always has a way of driving me mad until I get some answers. During Avery’s recent early intervention appointment, I lost count of how many times the therapist used those words after I had to fill out a questionnaire about his behavior. Any final score on this assessment above 65, I was told, is a cause for concern. Avery’s score was well over 100. Of course, before we get any kind of official diagnosis, he will need to go through another round of evaluations and assessments. I haven’t quite sorted out my feelings with all of this new information, yet. He’s my little man and I love him no matter what, and I guess we will just deal with it when we get there. There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for him. George and I have been trying our best not to overthink things, or over analyze, but of course the thought is still there ...

As you may have already seen, Avery's first cast removal was on Friday. He had some slight bruising on his hips and back, and his skin was very dry and flaky, but overall everything looked good. The dry skin healed after one good bath and lots of Aveeno eczema treatment lotion, and the bruising faded by the end of the weekend. Although we didn't do anything real exciting, it was still a fun break. Avery was extra lovable and wanted lots of cuddles. It got me thinking of how hard it must be for him to want comfort and hugs from us, but he can't even feel our arms around him with the cast in the way. As resilient as they may be, our little ones are still affected by these treatments, even if they don't always show it.  Freedom!!! When he wasn't looking for extra loving from all of us, he was running around the house like a wild animal, acting silly, dancing, and playing like I have never seen him play before. We loved watching every second of it, but the thou...

Hello again!! Apologies for this long overdue post, but it has been such a busy time around here. Sadie started preschool, we moved to a new place, George has been crazy busy with his business, Avery with his never ending appointments, and all of the other little happenings in between. With all of the craziness it has been hard to find time or energy to write, or pretty much even breathe.  The time has just been flying by us, which is most definitely a good thing.  We are almost done with Avery's first cast, and I must say, he has been handling it like a champ. We did have a few issues in the beginning, but with some minor adjustments and a little bit of time, everything is back to normal...well, as normal as can be, that is.  We only have ONE WEEK left until the first break, and I couldn't be more excited. I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning! Avery is scheduled for cast removal on October 13th, and he will have a weekend off. This means lots of sq...

It has been two weeks now since Avery got his first cast for his scoliosis. The first couple of days were long, exhausting and, at times, emotional. I have been trying to get to this blog for the past few days, but I am still recovering from the stress and lack of sleep.    Monday morning we were up and out of the house before sunrise. Considering I had to wake Avery up at 4:30 in the morning, and he wasn't allowed to eat anything past midnight, our little man was in good spirits. I thought for sure he would have slept on the long drive there, but he stayed awake the whole time, babbling away and playing peek-a-boo with his favorite monkey blanket. We got to Boston right on time and got him checked into surgery. The nurses checked his vitals, we met with Dr. G and his team that would be there with Avery, and picked out his cast color. The nurse had me get the undershirt on Avery, which protects his skin from any irritation that could be caused by sweat and rubbing again...

The weekend has now come to an end, and in only 6.5 hours, Avery will be in the hospital getting his cast applied. I can't even begin to describe the emotions that I am going through. To give you an idea, though, it is 1:00 in the morning and I am eating leftover Chinese food...while on a diet... I'm an emotional eater. Don't judge me.  George and I made sure to make this past weekend as much fun as possible for Avery. Saturday was his big special day. We brought him up to Maine where we went to York's Wild Animal Kingdom, the Nubble Lighthouse, and took a nice walk along Long Shores Beach. Avery enjoyed every second of it, and he deserved it.  Sunday was a more laid back kind of day. We got lots of playtime in, and LOTS of snuggles. I got everything ready for the hospital, and we had dinner with family. After getting back home, it was time for Avery's last bath before the cast is on. Once the cast is on, we are not sure how long it will be until hi...

It is said that parents are their children's best advocates. Since Avery's diagnosis, I have spent a lot of time researching and learning whatever I can, from the basic facts to others personal experiences with having a scoliosis baby. Some may think it's crazy, but believe me, it has helped us out a lot in many ways. So, today I would like to share with you all some of the basics of what I have learned through this journey so far.  Infantile scoliosis is first diagnosed between birth and 3 years of age. It is most commonly found in males. There are several types of scoliosis for which the causes or origins are well known and understood, but most cases of infantile scoliosis are considered idiopathic, which means the causes are unknown. However, there are two possible theories that are being researched. The first is the intra-uterine molding theory, which suggests that the spine is bent at the time of birth due to abnormal positioning in the uterus, and it worsens with g...