Updates

I went to my physical therapy appointment yesterday and had a rip roaring good time.  Well, maybe not so much. I basically spent an hour and a half wearing nothing but a flimsy hospital gown being alternately stretched, poked, electroshocked, ultrasounded, put in traction and for about 20 minutes I had a man's hand halfway down my butt crack.  Surprisingly, traction was the best part of my experience.  A woman came in to my little curtained off room and taped electrodes to my back and ass, then she "put my butt in a sling".  Literally.  She hoisted my hips up off the table and I hung there for about a half an hour.  It was heaven.  It was the first time in months I didn't feel any back, butt or leg pain.  I almost cried when she told me I had to be taken out of traction to have my back massaged.  Because I have a pinched sciatic nerve, the majority of my constant pain is in my right butt cheek so that's where my massage was focused.  Hence the hand down my butt crack.  My lovely step-mom-in-law has offered to give me a massage, but I'm not sure she wants to handle my sore ass flab.  I'm not sure it helped much, but I'm going back Monday.  This seems to be my only option for relief. So I'm going to keep going and stay hopeful.

Alex also had his 1 year well baby visit right after my physical therapy. And, as usual, he's perfectly healthy, development is right on track, and he had four shots which he handled like a champ.  The only downside to the appointment is that he's not gaining weight fast enough. The kid's always been lean, but the last two appointments, his percentile has dropped.  At 6 months he was in the 22nd, at 9 months he was in the 15th but this time he was only in the 6th.  The doctor wasn't too worried, noting that he's healthy, developing normally and his height and head circumference are perfect.  But, she sent us home with instructions to give him Carnation Instant Breakfast once per day, cut his whole milk down to 3 bottles, and try to get him to snack more often. We have to go back next month for a weight check.  I always knew I'd have children with weight issues, but I never thought it would be an UNDERWEIGHT issue.  This is completely foriegn to me.  How do you chunk up a 1 year old?  My whole life has been about dieting, seeking out lowfat and nonfat food items.  Alex eats a very healthy diet.  Lots of fruits, veggis, lean meats and whole grain breads.  He eats whole fat diary foods like milk and cheese as well.  I went out and bought some cookies, the instant breakfast shakes and we'll start with that.  His uncle JP gives him junk food every time we see him. Maybe I should just have Alex stay with them for a week.  He'd come home in the 75th percentile for sure.