SmartKnitKIDS Seamless Socks Review & GIVEAWAY

I was contacted by a company that helps match bloggers to companies that would like their products reviewed. I wasn't sure if that was the direction I wanted my blog to go, but I was intrigued. After checking it out, I found several products that are very much in line with me and my family.

So, with that said, I am so very excited to share my first product review with you!

SmartKnitKIDS makes a variety of seamless sensitivity sock products that I am in love with!
You can visit the SmartKnitKIDS website here. When I agreed to do this review, I was highly interested in the SmartKnit AFO & KAFO socks.

As you know, our Wyatt has mild cerebral palsy and wears an AFO.

He was able to go a couple of years without his AFO, but has recently had to begin wearing one again.

To be completely honest, I need to tell you that I had actually purchased SmartKnit AFO socks for him years ago, but due to packaging changes since I bought those socks and the amount of years that have passed, I had no idea these were made by the same company.

With that being said, I can guarantee that I not only truly love and recommend these socks, but I also have lots of experience with specifically the AFO socks.

For example, I found out the hard way NOT TO USE BLEACH when washing the AFO socks.

:)This chart shows how the AFO/KAFO socks are sized.

Though we have only used the white AFO socks, SmartKnit makes them in white, black, grey, navy, purple, and pink.Because the socks are seamless, they are also wonderful for those in the Autism spectrum, anyone with sensory issues, or even diabetics.

No seams = No rubbingThis isn't the best picture, but I was hoping to show how soft and fluffy the fabric is.

They are, by far, the softest socks I have ever felt.

The socks are made with moisture-wicking fibers, which help keep your feet cool and dry... a major plus when your leg is encased in an AFO for hours!

Care instructions for this smooth, soft fabric: machine wash warm, tumble dry medium, and do not bleach.Wyatt prefers wearing his AFO socks a little long.

He likes to fold the sock down over the top of his AFO.
This especially helps when he has long pants on.
It helps to ensure the velcro on his AFO doesn't cling to the lining of his pants. I wanted to include this visual for you, if you're wondering what all the hype is about seamless socks compared to traditional socks.
Not having seams can truly help those who are rubbed by the seams- which is common in AFO wearers and those with sensory issues.See how smooth?I know I've had lots to say about the SmartKnit AFO socks, but what's even more wonderful is that SmartKnitKIDS makes several other types of socks, as well!
These are the kids' socks.
LOVE THEM!
We will be purchasing lots of them!
They are made of the same fibers and are super soft!
They are also seamless.Because they come in ankle, crew and knee-high lengths, there is a style to suit everyone!

These are all mine!

Yep! SmartKnitKIDS makes a BigKids sock that fits adults.

I've considered hiding my pair, so that none of my boys could possibly put them on their feet.

That's how exceptionally soft and comfortable they are!

Now, for the exciting part!

SmartKnitKIDS is kindly allowing me to host a giveaway for one of my lucky readers to receive THREE PAIRS of SmartKnitKIDS socks!

The winner can choose the style/color/size to be shipped to any US or Canadian address.

Leave a message to enter.

You can have a 2nd entry by clicking 'LIKE' on the SmartKnitKIDS Facebook page here.

For a 3rd entry in this contest, become a Follower of BoysMyJoys.

(Giveaway closes Thursday, October 21)

GOOD LUCK!

**Note: I am not a paid representative of SmartKnitKIDS, but was provided products to test and review.

This Product Was a Free Giveaway

Day 245~ AFO Fitting

Time for another AFO.

Tight heel cord=bad.

He's been casted several times this summer to try and help, but it's time to try an AFO.

He's been out of AFOs for a couple years now, and that was nice.

But he's a tough guy, he'll be alright!

On a positive note- this one will be for sleeping.

On a negative note- he picked out a USC Gamecock design for it.

Day 244~ Scoliosis X-Ray

This is a busy week for the littlest joy- OT, PT, orthopaedist follow-up, and an appointment to be fitted for his new AFO.

3 down, 1 more to go!

I'm floating on a cloud right now!

See that x-ray behind my boy?

It shows that he's only lost 1* from all the improvements he's made trying to straighten his spine.

(So I don't forget- he's gone from a 15* curve, and now is at a 6*)

I am more than thrilled!

I was so worried, because he's had a few setbacks due to the growth spurt he's been going through.

That's the tricky thing with scoliosis, when you're 10 you're going to grow, but times of growth can cause the spinal curvature to worsen very quickly.

We'll have to stay on top of it for the next few years, but I'm so thankful that we're in good hands!

His team knew I was really nervous about waiting until our scheduled November appointment for his next round of x-rays.

They encouraged me to follow my gut and request an earlier appointment.

I'm so glad!

Now I can rest a little easier!

Day 145~ Heel Cord Casting

Wyatt's 2nd cast went on today- Gamecock colors.

He seems to be doing well with them.

More on why my joy is casted here.

Day 130~ Heel Cord Casting

Can you tell he likes the attention?

Ms. Jenni, the little bitty thing holding his foot in her lap, is one of his all-time favorite therapist.

She works him until he's pooped!

I think she's pretty fantastic, too.

She answers all my questions, and has been a wonderful advocate for Wyatt!

Lately, he's had some issues with his heel cord.

It's suddenly become very tight.

We've tried stretching him in therapy and at home, as well as continued with weekly therapy appointments. But he still needed a little something more.

So, we're hoping this works!!!

He'll have to be casted a week, do therapy a week, be casted for another week, do therapy for another week.

This is all new to us.

We don't know how long it will take, or just how many times he'll need to be casted.What we do know is that our littlest joy is in really good hands!

And soon, his heel cord will be nice and loose!

Day 8~

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Wyatt now has PT twice a month, instead of once a week. We still adore Mrs. Pam and all the wonderful people that have helped us at Moore Orthopaedics. To read more about physical therapy, and why the littlest joy needs it, go here.

A Look at Physical Therapy

We've gotten several questions since I posted about W's new shoes last week. So, I thought I'd share a little about the PT and OT he has each week. As I mentioned, W has mild cerebral palsy. It affects the right side of his body. He also had some muscle tone issues. He has been in PT for about 3 years now.

Come along and follow those cool new non-orthotic tennis shoes through a typical one hour physical therapy appointment.

Here he is on the Jacob's Ladder. It's his new favorite piece of equipment. His former favorite was the eliptical machine. And yes, even with CP he has more coordination than his mama!
Part of his love for Jacob's Ladder is its newness. Mrs. Pam, the head therapist, has just recently moved to a new building. This is now the 4th office we've followed her to. (She has stayed with the same doctor, but her number of patients keeps outgrowing her space.) With each new office, comes a greater variety of equipment. This is the first office that has had a Jacob's Ladder.
The wooden dowels move downward as you climb and climb and climb.
To me, it looks like torture. Yet, my littlest joy loves it!
And it doesn't look like the newness is going to wear off any time soon!
Here he's doing the 'side-shuffle' against the resistance from the band at his waist.
The further he goes, the more resistance he must fight. As he gets stronger, he can reach the cones with ease.
Now he works the other side of his body by changing the dirction he's facing.This is one of the activities I can actually do!!! It's called 'collapsing during quick break'. Note the way his arms and legs stretch out and go limp...he got that from me! And the cute dimpled smile, he got that from Superman!Now on to 'the dots'. It's pretty much like hop-scotch. He jumps and lands with his feet apart on the two dot sections, and lands with his feet together on the one dot section.I'm sure there's a technical name for this exercise, but I don't know it. This time the resistance bands are velcroed on his ankles. He pulls his legs in against the resistance while making sure to keep his back straight.Ah, crunches! Haven't we all tried to do these before? I really, really want one of the contraptions holding the therapy ball! Crunches kill your lower back when you do them on the floor, but using a therapy ball requires some coordination. The cool ball-holding-gadget would solve my problems (and take away my excuse for not doing crunches!)Look at my littlest joy go!Dear Lord, do you see that he's even smiling while doing his crunches?!?!

By the way, the therapist working with W isn't Mrs. Pam. It's one of the new therapist in her office. I'll try to snap a photo of my littlest joy with Mrs. Pam and post it later.

This cool piece of equipment wasn't used by W during today's therapy session, but I had to share it with you. The kids bounce the colored balls onto the black square. The square is very similar to a trampoline. It bounces the ball back to the child, and the child must try to catch it. It works hand-eye coordination.

Sounds easy, huh? But for an added twist, the child is usually standing on the dark gray oval at the bottom of the picture. Still easy, huh? Not hardly! The dark oval is used to help develop balance. It's basically a mini-teeter-totter!

Wanna try balancing on a mini-teeter-totter while bouncing a ball off a mini-trampoline and catching the ball and throwing it again--- 10 times in a row?

Yeah, I'm afraid I couldn't do it either! At least, I don't think I could do it without getting hurt! In fact, I'm breaking out into a sweat just thinking about the balancing part.

Have I told you before that my children definitely did not get their coordination from their mama?

Whew! I'm exhausted from just thinking about all the physical exertion I've just exposed you to!

Once I recover from this physical therapy post, I may try and take my camera to one of his occupational therapy appointments.

Because you know, I'm dedicated to my 8 loyal readers, and I'll suffer through the exhaustion in the name of education, people!

Happy Feet & Happy Hearts

Today is a day for celebration, actually this whole week is turning into a week of celebration. And what are we celebrating you ask?

NEW SHOES, OF COURSE!
I don't think I've mentioned that our littlest joy has cerebral palsy. We are blessed that it is only a mild case. We are also blessed that he's also got a double dose of stubborn determination in his genetics, so CP isn't about to slow him down! Oh, no!

Three months ago I took W for his yearly orthopaedic appointment. W has weekly OT and PT (occupational and physical therapy) appointments, so I honestly assumed we'd go for the orthopaedic appointment and get a pat on the back for all of his hard work in therapy, a new prescription for an AFO (leg brace), and be out the door until next year's appointment. That wasn't the case. I was blindsided in the appointment, and left the office nearly in tears.

I'm a true believer that when you have a choice to laugh or cry about things in your life, that you should always chose to laugh! Laughing has been known to get me in trouble on occassion, but I just can't see much good in dwelling on the negative! Finding the positive feels so much better than staying focused on the bad. Lord knows, the only thing negativity will get you is high blood pressure and those wretched forhead wrinkles I'm trying to avoid.

With that said, I may choose laughter over tears, but every once in awhile a good cry just makes you feel better. Once I had my cry after leaving that fateful doctor's appointment, I was ready to find the positive.

And as you see, I'm so focused on the positive...

that I'm forgetting to tell you about the negative.

What we found out in the appointment was that W's x-ray showed he had developed scoliosis. His doctor requested intensified PT and OT focusing on his core muscles, and a follow-up scheduled in three months. At the end of the three months, if there was no improvement in the degree of scoliosis (or it had worsened), W would need to be fitted for a back brace to sleep in. Once a child begins wearing a back brace, it is normally worn until the child stops growing--around age 18. I knew it wasn't the end of the world if W had to wear a back brace, but I also was determined to do whatever it took to try and avoid another brace!

Fast forward three months to the follow-up appointment Monday...

Not only was there good improvement on the x-ray---good enough that I could see the difference myself--he won't be needing a back brace yet, or maybe ever! We are to keep focusing on his core muscles in OT and PT, and have another follow-up in six months.

AND IN OTHER AWESOME NEWS... he no longer has to wear an AFO.

Mama translation (what this means to me)- we're doing a good job, W is a hard worker, keep doing what you're doing.

Littlest joy translation (what this means to W)- He can finally go to the shoe store and pick out any type of shoes he wants to wear, no more orthopaedic tennis shoes, no more picking out shoes just because they will allow a brace to fit---FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!
As we left the doctor's office that was the only thing he cared about. The simple pleasure of being able to buy whatever shoes he wanted and liked, without any restrictions!

Yep, my boy has some happy feet! And Superman and I have happy hearts!

And thank you Grammy and Paw Paw for volunteering to buy him his first pair of "cool" tennis shoes. He picked them out all by himself! He loves them! In fact, he loves them so much I was afraid he was going to sleep in them the first night! Thank you, again!