Time for an update

Jacob had his first corrective cast last week. I mentioned in this post that Jacob has some trouble with range of motion in his legs. We tried stretching for about 2 and a half weeks. The stretches were working, but to the detriment of our relationship. For a little boy who is now trusting who mommy is and why she is important, any activity that stresses that relationship is not ideal. Jacob hated the stretches. Can't blame him, no matter how gently you stretch it is going to be uncomfortable. So, I stopped the stretching completely and quickly won back the trust and admiration of my little boy.

Turns out the week of stretches I did made improvement. He gained a full 5% in range. We need at least 20% and since I did not feel the stretches were the best way to accomplish that we tried a cast. The cast does two things: #1-It helps him stretch through normal motion and play. Every time he extends his little leg it stretches the muscles in the back of the knee. And when he bends down it stretches the muscles in his calf. He doesn't even notice it because he's playing. And the stretch continues during sleep too. #2-The cast also prevents him from fully flexing his calf muscles to point his toes. He is incredibly strong. And every time he lifts his little body up on his toes he is giving those muscles a little workout. The cast will force those muscles to become more relaxed and function more normally.

From the very moment we put him on the ground with the cast he began walking "normally". He bent his knees and lifted his toes. Even though only one leg was casted the nerves in his legs are still developing so many times the other leg would correct itself just because of the stimulation the casted leg was receiving. It was amazing to watch during the week he had the cast. No more bloody toes dragging on the ground. No more road rash on his face from tripping.

Unfortunately, he got a pressure sore from his cast and has to take a 2 week break before we try cast number two. And he's right back up on those toes strengthening and tightening the muscles we just worked to relax. So orthotics are likely in his future. We'll see.

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My boys are brothers. In every sense of the word. They love each other intensely. And they beat up on each other intensely. Never before have I witnessed a "brotherly love" so true.

 Can I share?

 Just a little closer...

 Hold still...

I love watching their relationship. They can both be so very sweet. Watching them snuggle in bed together and hearing Drew's sweet little voice full of love and tenderness for his 'baby' melts my heart. And I have a strange feeling of equal joy when I see them trying to butt each other out of the way, swipe each other's toys, and wrestle in a barely-safe manner giggling all the while with the inevitable cry of foul just around the corner. I am loving the oh-so-different world of boys! Grungy, dirty, messy, mischievous, physical, busy, loud little boys. Bring it on.

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And lastly, we went to the zoo. The teeny, perfect-size-for-preschool, Folsom Zoo. The boys had a great time. And Drew even got to ride the train thanks to his "Grammy".

I got a kick out of the fact that despite all of the big, majestic, and impressive animals at the zoo (think bears, mountain lions, tigers, wolves, etc.) Jacob was most impressed by the rooster. Figures.

 



I am so looking forward to school being out so I can spend some time with my girls. I miss posts and pictures about doing stuff with my girls too...