Looking Left

I know I have spoken of reflux on this blog; that has been our biggest contender in the fight to raise McKinley, but the reflux she encountered during my pregnancy had lead to another complication in her life.

When McKinley was two months old she was diagnosed with torticollis caused by reflux she had in the womb.  As a new parent with a baby battling reflux on top of a milk protein allergy and colic, having another affliction to add to her list was stressful to say the least.

What I discovered, however, is that torticollis is actually fairly common in babies anymore. Wikipedia describes torticollis as “...a fixed or dynamic tilt, rotation or flexion of the head and/or neck.” In McKinley's case, she held her head against her left shoulder and always looked right.

So what was my job then? To stretch it out.

We started doing physical therapy at our hospital once a week. During therapy we learned various stretches to do at home. We stretched every day, ten times a day. I considered posting photos of our stretches as a guide for other moms dealing with torticollis, but it is really important to have a physical therapy instruct you and follow your child's progress.

Tummy time, as many mothers are familiar with, is a big part of an infant's development towards crawling and eventually walking.  Due to McKinley's torticollis, tummy time was like the kiss of death. The first few weeks we tried it she screamed in frustration and pain. It took nearly two months to get McKinley comfortable doing tummy time and now, after 9 months of therapy, she not only mastered tummy time but crawls like a monster all of the house, head in place, and is on her way to walking.