Family Vacation and Welcomed Home to Great News!

Not the best family photo,  but I can't get some of the better ones to rotate so this will have to do.

Sink baths are the best



We took a long weekend to spend some time as a family of four, (plus my dad and Karen for a few days) and headed up north to my dad and Karen's cabin to spend some quality time together.  We had such a great time relaxing by the lake, taking boat rides, hanging with the boys, and "hiking" at Pictured Rocks. 

 

We returned home late Monday night, because we had a full day of appointments scheduled.  Both boys had therapy appointments and Grayden also had an appointment with his Physiatrist (Rehab doctor) and Orthopaedic doctor.  These appointments brought me some anxiety, because as some of you may have heard me talk about before, Grayden has a pair of AFO's (ankle braces) that he is supposed to wear to "stretch" his ankles at night while he is sleeping.  Since we had the AFO's made I have questioned their purpose because the angle in which they are "stretching" his feet is an angle he can get his feet into on his own.  Also, with the Anat Method, the philosophy is more to let the child move and explore without inhibiting movement so that they are exposed to different sensations and have the ability to improve upon what strength and movement that the child may have.  This is not to say that they never suggest the use of AFO's, but it is not as widely recommended as in the more "traditional" model.  I whole heartily believe this to be true for Grayden right now, that if he were put in an AFO it would decrease the chances he has to move and develop strength; however I have also been very torn about this because my therapist mind keeps saying "but he is holding his feet in a poor position and you don't want the bones to form around that, or for range of motion to decrease, etc, etc, etc.

So, needless to say, Grayden has not worn the AFO's and as you can see from the above picture, he does not always hold his feet in the "best" position and I obsess a little about this. However, he has not lost any range of motion so I have continued to trust my instinct and have not put them on.  I really thought I was going to get an earful today and that I would have to explain my reasoning and justify why I chose this route; however, much to my surprise- I will quote the doctor today, "You went against the grain and the recommendation, however it seemed to have worked and I don't see any reason why Grayden should be in an AFO at this time. Keep doing what you have been doing. He looks great!!" 

Music to my ears. 

This does not mean that this will be the case always, but for now it is one less thing for me to have to constantly have to think about and question if we are doing the so call "right" thing. So I'll take it. 

In other news, can you believe that we are starting to plan a certain some one's ONE year party?  Crazy how time flies.