Hello everyone! Welcome to the world of Watching Westynn. Where we will… ya know… Watch Westynn!

Let me introduce this sweet little potato that entered our lives in January 2016. I always called her a potato because she took so long to move. Some viewed it as a negative, but it was just my loving nickname for her.

I (my name is Shaylee by the way!) have wanted children since I initially got married at 19, thankfully that wasn’t in the cards, as the marriage didn’t last and I had a few years of another broken relationship before unexpectedly falling in love with and marrying my soulmate, Michael. He didn’t want to be an “old dad” so jumped right on the make-a-baby bandwagon.

We had a fairly uneventful pregnancy although it took us awhile to get there, which is a story for another time. I even, dare I say, enjoyed pregnancy for the most part. I was induced at 40 weeks 3 days at a wonderful hospital, with my wonderful OBGYN and baby giver, Dr. Ludwiczak. Things were going fine, they broke my water, got an epidural, labor was normal, and she started making an appearance. That’s when things got sketchy. Apparently although I’m shaped like an apple, perfectly round, I have the pelvic bone of a banana, extremely narrow! Therefore, Westynn was stuck at the shoulders. After some panic, and LOTS of people pushing and pulling, Doctor was finally able to free her shoulders. She had a very low APGAR score, but recovered soon after and we were able to leave the hospital without any extended stay.

At around 6 months old we noticed Westynn wasn’t meeting her milestones, such as holding her head up, or pushing up off the ground during tummy time. She just laid there like a happy little potato. Hence the nickname, Potato! So, then the party that is her mystery started. Therapies, specialists, tests, more tests, MORE TESTS, scans, MRIS, and more tests. Oh and more specialists. And therapies too. When Westynn turned 2 she got her Autism diagnosis, but we were told that doesn’t explain why she can’t stand or walk. Her developmental pediatrician said that there is most definitely an underlying diagnosis, but we just haven’t found it yet. We have pursued all of the testing our insurance will cover. And we have her in two separate research studies through esteemed colleges. And that is where we sit…

She is an incredible human. The most intelligent 3 year old I’ve ever met. If only we could see the world as she does… this blog is my way of explaining her as much as I know how, so that you can enjoy this magnificent little girl and her journey as much as we do.

Thank you for joining us in watching our sweet girl, Westynn.