Yet Another

Spencer and I should not be allowed to have kids. Seriously. We have inadvertently inflicted yet another disorder on another child. Grayden just came back from the doctor where we found out he has Torticollis. It affects about 1 in 10,000 infants. Much, much, much more common than Reid's Fibular Hemimelia, but the odds certainly weren't in our favor. Doctor's don't seem to think this one is genetic, yet we have a nephew with the same problem. Grayden's Torticollis is luckily very minor. When I first started suspecting it, I was freaking out about all the physical therapy it would involve and how little time I had to devote solely to one child. As it turns out, we should be able to take care of it very easily.

Torticollis literally means twisted neck. What I had previously considered as poor head control and a floppy neck, turned out to be this. The muscles on one side of his neck are twisted. His head always tilts to the same side. By holding him in my other arm and setting visually stimulating objects on his other side (so he'll want to turn his head the opposite direction to see them), it should correct itself. Awesome. Not nearly as bad as our nephew had it.

Making it to the doctor was a whole other adventure. Gray's appointment was at 10:00am. When we were all ready to walk out the door, I was surprised to look at the clock and see that it was only 9:35. Way to go me! I had the kids ready with shoes on and vests zipped. My kids pediatrician is only one mile away so it takes no time to get there, but I figured since everyone was ready, we'd leave early. If I waited 20 minutes, there would most certainly be a disaster and we'd be late. So I go to grab my keys, and they're not where I keep them. I have NEVER lost my keys, but after 20 minutes of tearing the house apart, I can no longer claim that. My keys were no where to be found.

That's fine...it's only a mile. We'll walk. I used to walk all the time when I only had two kids and the weather was good. So I go to get my double stroller. Oh wait, it's in the trunk of the car. I have no keys. I luckily have a back up. I wade through the shed until I find it. So I cram three kids in my rickety old double stroller. By this time, it's already 10:00am. And off we run.

It turns out to be the coldest day so far this season. With wind chills topping things off at 21 degrees. I wasn't wearing a coat because it's too much hassle to carry it around when I'm toting three kids, a diaper bag, and the layers of their clothing they inevitably shed immediately when stepping into a building. I have not yet got out winter gloves and hats from where ever I hid them at the end of last years cold weather. Parker still does not have a coat that fits. And I was just plain out of time to go get these things required to stay warm. For some reason, I'm a lot more sympathetic towards an infant, so Grayden got two blankets and a hat. But my other two are just wearing down vests...no hats, coats, or gloves. (Another reason Spencer and I should not be allowed to have kids.) About half way there, when I realize their poor little fingers are turning purple, I make them shove their hands into their pockets and threaten them with their lives to keep them in there until we get to the doctor's office.

And now for the run...I had somehow caught the top button of my pants on something in my mad scrambling to find my keys and was at this point short one top button. And, I was wearing three inch wedges. Certainly not the shoes of choice for a mad dash to the doctor. So off I went trying not to break my ankles in my heels. And practically mooning all cars traveling behind me because the mad dash was rapidly dropping my button less pants. I had to reach back every so often to hike up my britches in order to prevent them from winding up around my ankles.

Not only does my old stroller not run well, but its a side by side and the weight was completely unevenly distributed. I had Parker and Grayden on the same side. It would have made more sense to let Grayden and Reid share a seat, but I figured Parker was more likely to make it all the way there without hurting his brother. So I have about twenty extra pounds on the one side and I kept veering to the left. I took all my strength not to run in circles.

We managed to make it to the doctor in record time. And beside the Torticollis, Grayden is doing exceptionally well. He now weighs 13lbs 7 oz and and has reached the 80th percentile. He has now been sleeping through the night for a whole week...my other two slept through the night at 7 weeks old. I thought this day was never coming for Grayden. That extra week and a half about did me in.

I have still not found my keys and my plans for mailing off Christmas presents to distant family members is foiled. So here I sit at my computer. I found yet another benefit to blogging...rather than getting irritated at the situation I found myself in this morning, all I could think about was what a great story this would make for my blog. I guess even bad days are good for entertainment value.