Three weeks into his spica cast and Hawk is doing great! He doesn't
fuss or seem bothered by it (rather, it's my back that is bearing the
brunt of effort from carrying him around!), and in fact he has started
crawling/scooting backward! This is a HUGE milestone for him and shows
that he has really improved with his upper body strength and hand
strength/flexibility (i.e. getting his hand open to spread out his
fingers while crawling). He seems to really love trying to crawl and
gets 'talkative' while he's doing it. He also loves being in the
stroller, so I try to get him outside everyday to keep happy and vary
his positions. Thankfully we aren't in the heat of summer so he isn't
too hot and sweaty in the cast.
I finally figured
out a sleeping arrangement that works best for him, on an incline - with
a big pillow under his head and back - and a pillow under his legs.
It's been
extremely challenging for him to get comfortable and
adjust to sleeping with his *&%*$@@! helmet. (Cue crazed, exhausted
laughter) As long as his legs are supported, the cast is fine, but it is
the foam helmet that has frustrated him. His night-time awakenings got
worse and worse since March, up until the point when he was waking up
3-5 times a night. (Jaja can attest to that during her visit two weeks
ago.)
Finally I asked his physical therapist for
advice, and she suggested we take 3 nights off from the helmet and hope
for a "sleep reset". I wasn't feeling too hopeful but I didn't know what
else to do. And...it worked. On the 3rd night without the helmet he
slept ALL night without waking or crying. Then I put the helmet back on,
and now he has only woken up once a night since then (and slept through
again one more time).
And when awake, he is the most cheerful, agreeable little fellow, always ready with a smile!
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