Baby Giraffe

Abigail has been having a rough time lately with her torticollis physical therapy. She was holding her head up very well for a few weeks, but now that she is going through a growth spurt and teething, her head stays at an almost constant tilt. We've been working on stretching out her neck muscles, but Gina (the therapist) decided last week that she needs to wear a special collar during the day to force her to hold it up. Abby isn't exactly thrilled about this latest development, but she only has to wear it a few hours a day and hopefully will not have to wear it for more than a few weeks.

Being her father's daughter, however, Abby has already figured out ways to move her head in the collar so that she can still tilt her head. I have a feeling I'm going to have to watch this child extra closely throughout her life- Lord help us get through the teenage years! She's already a Houdini.

I like to move it, move it...

At Abigail's 4 month appointment we told Dr. Cheek about something we'd noticed about Abby's neck: she seems to turn mostly to the left and cannot hold up the right side very well. Being the avid webmd researcher that I am, I already knew it was probably torticollis.

Torticollis, or wry neck, is a condition in which the head is tilted toward one side (cervical Lateral flexion), and the chin is elevated and turned toward the opposite side (cervical extension).

(Why does wikipedia have a picture of a guinea pig with torticollis, you ask? Not sure...are guinea pigs prone to torticollis? Must google...)

Dr. Cheek agreed with my baby-diagnosis and decided to go ahead and set Abby up for a physical therapy assessment at Children's Rehabilitation just to get the ball rolling. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this doctor??

This Monday Abby, Crinkle-Puppy, and I got up, got dressed, and headed over to Piedmont-Fayette hospital for her assessment. The physical therapist led us into the rehabilitaion gym and worked with Abby on the floor mat. She was really great with Abby and agreed that she has right torticollis - but with some daily neck strengthening exercises, she should be fine.

They gave me a packet of daily exercises we must do 3 times a day. It's great because it gives me specific ways to play with her to help her neck. We also learned new ways to hold her in order to stretch out those neck muscles. Abby goes back to therapy weekly for a while - until she starts holding her head up better.

There are three reasons I'm digging this physical therapy:

1) It's going to help Abby with her neck muscles

2) They are also keeping an eye on her developmental milestones to make sure she's hitting all of them on time. Right now, although they consider her to be only 2 months adjusted age, the therapist said that she's doing things 3 and 4 monthers can do :) But we always knew she's a genius!

3) It allows us to get out of the house once a week and have some interaction with other humans. It also allows mommy to make a weekly Starbuck's run ;)

Videos and pictures of Abby's exercise routine to come!!