So Andrew is now almost 15 weeks old! How crazy is that?! 3 1/2 months... doesn't seem that long.

Things have been really crazy here. We are finally into our new apartment, still unpacking the last of the boxes, but it's going well. Andrew is receiving PT for his Torticollis and that is going well too. We have 4 stretches we have to do with him, and he HATES them, but his neck is looking straighter every day. We see the PT every other week.

We also just had a follow-up at Children's Hospital, where Andrew had an ultrasound of his hips to rule out hip dysplasia (happens in a certain percentage of those with torticollis) and everything was fine. We also asked the orthopedic surgeon for a neck x-ray, as suggested by the PT, and we got that too. I was told everything was fine, but today the Nurse Practitioner from the Ortho Dept called up and said Andrew has something called Tracheomalacia, basically the cartilege in his trachea is weak and his trachea is smaller than normal. We have to watch him carefully if/when he gets sick and we will discuss more at our pediatrician appt. in August. From what I read on the internet, if the Tracheomalacia is congenital (present at birth) it often resolves itself between 18-24 months, as the child grows. Hopefully this is the case.

Because of Andrew's torticollis, his head is unusually misshapen in the back (called Plagiocephaly). He doesn't have the usual "flat spot", rather it occurs more on the side of his head, making his ears uneven and the back of his head trapazoidal. I discussed this with the PT and the orthopedic surgeon and we are going to get Andrew a helmet! (http://www.orthomerica.com/products/cranial/starband.htm) I spent quite a bit of time on the phone yesterday and we are going to go to the University of Rochester Medical Center to get this done. We are going August 7th, and I am very anxious to get this going. Hopefully insurance won't give us a hassle, as it is an expensive procedure.

We also decided to switch pediatricians. I was very unhappy with how I kept getting blown off by our original ped. They found nothing wrong with Andrew's head/neck and basically treated me like I didn't know what I was talking about. They also blew me off last week in a somewhat of an emergency situation. So we are switching and actually going to see the pediatrician that saw Andrew in the hospital when he was born. Hopefully things will be better with them.

Andrew is quite healthy though, despite the Torticollis, Plagiocephaly and Tracheomalacia. He is chunky, 16 pounds, exclusively breastfed and "talking" up a storm. He is so strong, holds his head up high, rolls from tummy to back, and is so alert. He's starting to teethe and is drooling EVERYWHERE! He's been a bit cranky and is fussy about eating, but he's a very good boy otherwise.

I just got new pics from JC Penneys, so I will try and post them soon. I hope everyone is doing well!

then || now