We didn't really start to notice anything different about Riley until he was about 4 months old. In fact, he used to always want to stand up on my legs and he hardly ever wanted to sit down. But then, when he should have been starting to roll over, he wasn't. There was also the fact that he would only lay on one side of his head and breastfeeding became difficult because he only wanted to eat on one side because he didn't want to turn his head to eat on the other. After talking with our pediatrician (Dr. Wynn in Provo, he's AH-MAZE-ING!) we decided to consult a physical therapist. There was the thought that the seizure medication could be making him a little bit delayed. We chose Kids Who Count out of Salem and he started getting Physical and Occupation therapy at about 5 months old. As the physical therapist started working with him we slowly started to come to the realization that Riley had a lot more going on then just delay from the medication.

After a few months of physical therapy they decided that Riley needed a helmet. He still wouldn't let his head go to one side and it was starting to get flat on the side that he always laid on. Unfortunately, he should have had the helmet on way sooner than he did so it didn't make much difference except for drive him crazy because he hated it. They also decided that he needed to have some braces on his leg because he wasn't putting any pressure on them at all and he would always flex his feet down because his legs were always so tight.

During this time he also had a surgery on one of his eyes because it was tracking right. We didn't really know the depth of his needs during this time. We just continued with his therapies and lived one day at a time. When Riley was 9 months old we found out we were pregnant again! People thought we were crazy but we actually did plan it that way because we had always wanted our kids to be close together and we didn't really know that Riley would be the way he is today. One month before I was to deliver, Riley had a grand mal seizure while eating dinner one night. The first one that he had had since he was six days old. So back to the hospital we went. This is how it went over the next 6 months. In and out of the hospital and tweaking his seizure medication. It was also during this time that they officially diagnosed Riley with Cerebral Palsy but still didn't have any answers as to why. 

A few months later, they did finally determine that they thought he had a stroke in utero. But that they didn't know if he was ever going to do things that he should be doing like walking, talking, sitting, or even crawling. Riley was 3 when he finally was able to roll over. He then rolled everywhere! He was about five when he finally learned to army crawl, which is his preferred mode of transportation to this day, as a nine year old. We continue to do therapy and hope for the best and Riley continues to surprise us. 

There is so much more of the story to tell and I want to share all that I can with you! Post some comments! Ask me some questions! I am going to continue to post things as the days go on, especially about things like his bed, his portable bed, his doctors, his baclofen pump, etc... But I want to answer any questions you may have as well! And I want to hear your comments about things that you have felt have worked for you and for your little one. I want us to be able to use each other as resources for things, especially care providers and equipment and be able to ask each other questions about things that we may not have an answer to and haven't been able to find an answer. Let's help each other!!