Flashback Friday

I'm never really good with keeping up with Flashback Friday, but I always think I will be. I start out being super motivated to make a post....& then it happens. I start going through my photo archives & I get lost in memories...for hours. Then I look at the time & it's 2AM & I'm too tired to put together a post & I can't even begin to choose one photo from the thousands on my external hard drive.

This week though....this week, I got smart. I started sifting through pictures on Monday. Then I stumbled on these freaking to die for pictures of five month old Collin taken exactly a year ago today. And I remembered that I didn't start blogging seriously until Collin was almost a year; which means you guys haven't seen much of baby Collin. So...duh...I'm sharing.

One year ago today, my little Monkey, BooBah, Goo, Munch....poor kid will never learn his name...was five months old & still in physical therapy. I haven't spoken much about Collin's condition. Partly because I don't even feel he has one & partly because after months of stressing & agonizing over it, I decided that I was done making it an issue in our lives....& that's exactly what I was doing, making it an issue.

Collin was born with torticollis, which is basically a fancy name for saying his neck muscles were uneven & one side was not developed correctly. This was mainly due to the fact that my freaking body refuses to carry a child properly, so not only was my cervix constantly funneling, but Collin's head was wedged in my pelvis from about 22 weeks until delivery, which meant no room to grow his muscles. In many of his baby pictures...& even some recent pictures, you can see that his head tilts to one side. It was much worse when he was born & has increasingly gotten better thanks to physical therapy & Mama's determination. I refused to be one of those parents I saw at PT who only completed the assigned exercises with their babies at the PT office. I have religiously completed Collin's exercises with him twice daily & it has made a ginormous (that's my medical terminology, for ya) improvement. No one notices....& if they do, no one says anything.

This day, one year ago, I was doing these exercises with my baby boy & being stubborn & refusing to let this stupid condition he had...that was my fault..get the best of either of us. I was so proud of how strong he was & how well he was lifting his head on his own. The very next day, I was told my son would need a helmet because his head shape was getting dangerously disproportioned & could cause some potentially serious issues in the future. The very next day, I had a mental breakdown & called my Mom weeping & seeking a solution. The very next day, after hanging up with my Mom & hearing her empowering words of advice, I decided to not let this condition own my son & I & our lives. The very next day, I got to work making sure my son would be happy & his Mama would be happy & stop allowing everyone else to tell us what was wrong with him. The very next day, I picked myself back up, wiped away my tears & looked at my perfect baby boy & I knew that even if he did need a helmet; that he would be the most perfect helmet headed little baby in this world.

The very next week, a specialist told us that Collin wouldn't need a helmet after all. Why? Because his Mama was persistent & strong & made sure she did Collin's exercises with him every morning & every night. Because his Mama never gave up.