Hello World!
Today, I was taking notice of a few things Gideon enjoys—vestibular input and extension. As pictured, that is Gideon in extension. This is typically the only way he is able to maneuver his body. Now, with more laxity, he bends much further back comfortably. In a similar vein, he is still getting in more tummy time. He is better able to flip himself from one side to the next.
He seems to get a new rise out of vestibular input. What I mean by this, is doing things that causes kids to go in circles, spin, or hang upside-down. He has always loved that, but there’s a new reverence for it. I don’t understand why, but it’s super adorable to flip him around and listen to him giggle.
Gideon’s standing is doing well. He just has to learn to balance his core muscles better, but at least now he can. Also, we think we can increase the length of time he spends in his braces. As of now, he has tolerated them for 1.5 hours without reddening! We will continue to let him wear them until the 2-hour mark. Tomorrow, I will update everyone if there’s any redness to note.
He seems more eager than ever to learn to eat solids. On our next shopping day, I plan to let him try to eat some frozen yogurt.
I have also noticed that the increased laxity has made him more aware of his head and his neck muscles. He now has to work harder to hold it up, but this is GREAT. Why? Because now he can learn to use his muscles as they should be used and build real strength. When he was much younger, he had severe torticollis. His head basically touched his left shoulder from muscle tightness in the area. Along with that tightness, his shoulder girdle muscles were so tight that the superior angle of his left scapula was up at the top of his shoulder! The superior angle is the top pointed portion of your scapula (shoulder blade). Over time and with lots of therapy, this has gotten drastically better. Just prior to resuming the CBD oil, though, there was indication that his torticollis might return. Thankfully, now, we won’t have to worry about that returning.
While there has been a slowdown in the frequency of therapy visits, we are sure that we will see great progress. Soon, he will have therapy regularly again. We can’t wait to see how the combination of therapy and CBD will propel Gideon further and faster than ever before!
Thank you for reading! <3