I'm a Physical Therapist!

Ever wondered what having an 8-month-old in physical therapy is like? Let me enlighten you :)

For an hour every other week, Avery gets to play with new toys, but has to allow a strange lady to knock her off balance, stretch her neck, hold her in positions she hates, and just generally annoy her in exchange.

Then, mommy gets to continue the fun at home and annoy / piss her off 3 times each day - it's so much fun!

My repertoire of PT moves so far:

The Claw - Avery's least favorite, where I hold down her left shoulder with 3 fingers while pushing her neck into a straight(er) position with the other two. She does evasive maneuvers to try and escape.

The Tipsy Kiddo - When she's sitting, I tip her over to the left so she has to use the muscles on the right side of her body to sit back up. She also hates this one.

The One Legged Baby - When she's standing, I lift her right leg so she's standing on her left - this one is pretty much a joke - she usually just sits down when I try this one (since, shocker, she hates this one too!).

The Look-At-Silly-Daddy Stretch - This one requires the assistance of dear old dad, and he must perform whatever silliness is takes to get her to look all the way over to him over her left shoulder while I hold her chest so she can only turn her neck, not her body. If there is no daddy to look at, this one doesn't work!

The Office Max Special - This one we like! All it involves is sitting Avery on a binder, with her left side on the low side, so that she has to work with her right side to stay balanced. Usually drama free!

So what's the goal of all of these lovely annoyances? To correct an ever-so-slight tilt of her lovely head to the left. They were calling it Torticollis, but it's so mild, it really doesn't even count. The therapy is mostly a precaution, so that she doesn't develop a permanent preference to always tip to the left. I am doubtful of the need - it certainly hasn't hampered her mobility in the slightest - but the therapy was recommended, so to therapy we go :)



The Office Max Special



P.S. Lauren loves going to physical therapy - to her, it's a torture-free wonderland of new and fantastic toys to play with for an hour :)