Life happens

For the last couple of months Steve and I have been concerned about our baby boy's growth and development.  A lot of people raise there eyebrows when we tell them our concerns because when you look at him, he looks perfectly fine.  For the most part he is a healthy baby boy.  He has a strong heart, good eyes, good hearing, normal poops, good hand-eye coordination etc.  We told William's pediatrician our worries and she too noticed he was more floppy than most babies his age.  Imagine a bobble head, it's a horrible analogy, but that's how William was moving his head.  At the time he was still struggling with tummy time and had yet to left up his head and support himself on his arms.  Let me quickly mention that since this visit William has improved a ton!  Anyway, she suggested we visit with a pediatric neurologist about Williams delays   She told us the sooner we find anything, if there is something, the better.  To our luck a pediatric neurologist from Seattle was planning a visit to Missoula and wanted to take volunteers for hour long examinations!  We couldn't have been more lucky!  A free visit with a specialist doesn't come around very often. 

So last Tuesday we met with the Doctor and he looked over William and from hearing about his history and growth charts he was able to rule out any type of muscle degenerative disease or cerebral palsy, but, he too was concerned with his muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in muscle) and joint control (his floppiness.)  The actual medical term is called hypotonia.  The underlying cause for Hypotonia is usually very difficult to diagnose, so being that, we are going to do an MRI on William's brain.  This way we can either detect or eliminate any developmental delays or problems in the brain.  The reason we are going through with this is that early intervention is always the best.  If there is something there, we can take steps now to help William.  Either with physical therapy and/or occupational therapy.  

Another thing the doctor noticed was a ridge on his forehead that runs down to his nose.  I had noticed before, but never thought anything of it.  I just figured it was the shape of his head.  Nothing serious.  Oops!  Was I ever wrong.  It is the shape of his forehead, but only because his suture (soft spot) on that part of his skull fused together prematurely (craniosynostosis).  Of course he isn't 100% sure of this, so it's another reason to conduct the MRI.  If the suture did fuse together and it's serious enough, William will have to go through surgery to reopen the suture to allow for proper brain growth, and to also eliminate any pressure on the brain.  Surgery of this magnitude has me freaked out, but I am going to make an effort not to freak out until we know more. 

A lot of people are wondering how I am staying calm through out all this.  First, I am not always this composed.  I was definitely a mess in the doctors office.  Second, I don't feel like wasting time and stressing out right now since we don't even know if there is something to worry about.  And last, I have to trust that God knows what he is doing in William's life and mine.  I asked my husband, "why do you think God let's things like this happen?"  He responded in a couple different ways.  Maybe doctors will learn something from all this, and than in turn maybe thousands of other children can be helped.  Personally for me, it's made me realize how sheltered I am and how lucky I am to already have one healthy child.  It's changed my perceptive on parenting too.  I have so much more patience now!  I am so thankful for my children even when they are crying, throwing fits, yelling at me, etc.  At least I have them!  I can hold them, love them, kiss them...it is such a joy.  Too bad it takes something so major to change my outlook.  I also think, it's a way for me to encourage parents to be on top of it when it comes to taking your children to the doctor.  Pediatricians want to see your children every few months during the first couple years for a reason.  If we hadn't taken William to his 4 month check up, all of this could have gone undetected!  That scares me.  If it's nothing and we were just being paranoid, who cares.  At least we'll know.  William's MRI is next Tuesday, so let's pray for some solid answers, obviously good ones.