As soon as we put them on Ryder's feet he cried. He wouldn't put any weight on his feet, would just collapse to the ground every time I tried to stand him up. I even brought his walker in which he loves and he wouldn't even hold onto it. I thought maybe he would try at home in his own environment and toys to distract him but nope. Nothing. He was actually worse at home. He would just lay flat on the floor sulking until I took them off.
I had been so excited to finally get them and had such high expectations of what they could do for my little guy. I went to bed feeling frustrated and defeated. I have never heard of anyone having such troubles with new braces and kinda just figured he'd like them as soon as he realized how much better he could stand and walk. Not the case seeing how he wouldn't even try. I could handle him trying and whining because they felt funny or a bit uncomfortable but for Ryder to not even TRY is just not like him. I get that he's only two and this is somewhat regular behavior for any typical two year old. But the thing is Ryder isn't just a typical two year old. He has to try and work harder than typical kids. He always has and always will. Sucks but those are the cards that he has been dealt and I wont ever let him slip between the cracks because he can pass it off as typical behavior. I probably sound like a total hard a$$ but someones got to push him to reach his full potential. I honestly believe he will thank me someday for pushing him the way that I do.
Today was a new day, first thing I tried putting them back on and asking him if he wanted to show daddy how big and strong he was with his new braces and how Daddy would be so happy to see him stand. That didn't work one bit. Tyler and i both tried to encourage him and get those collapsed spaghetti legs to stand up but no luck. Then I tried explaining to him that his friend Jordan from camp wears braces just like his. He got pretty excited about that and agreed that he wanted to be big and strong like Jordan but still wouldn't try when it came to standing. I put them on a few more times during the day just for him to get use to them but the only thing he would do is lay flat down on the floor and sulk. Sigh****** I thought i was done for the day but decided to give it one more go before bed and the most amazing thing happened.....
Slowly he started to put weight on his feet and he stood!! What a relief! He still doesn't like them but he kept them on for over half hour and stood with a little support for half that time. I was beaming with excitement and he could tell. He was very proud of himself too. Already I can feel how much more support they give him. He cant toe walk and he needs way less support to stand. He took a couple awkward steps with my hands but I figured he'd done enough for the day so he relaxed with a treat :) I am very hopeful that he'll muster up the courage and start walking with them in his walker any day.
On a side note: Never put AFO's over fleece jams!!! What a sweaty mess! lol poor guy! Gonna need to go find some toddler sport socks that wick away moisture!
