Evan's 1st Day of Therapy

We finally got Baby Can't Wait on the calendar for our first day of therapy....summer is so tough sometimes with holidays, vacations....life!

3 therapists came yesterday to evaluate Evan and his development.  They performed an interactive evaluation of his various skills...one therapist worked with him strictly on his gross motor skills, the other two watched and evaluated in other areas.  It was a little overwhelming to say the least.

I had a knot in my throat and was on the verge of tears almost the whole session...partly because you hate to  know something isn't perfect with your child (whatever it is) and partly because watching him yesterday pointed out even more how behind he is.  The therapists were so encouraging!

Due to the test they performed, Evan is showing progress of a 7 or 8 month old rather than a 10 month old.  He has a delay in his gross motor skills, but Amy, his main therapist, is so confident with strict exercises and quality time focusing on developing Evan...he will catch up in no time.  Amy's main goal is crawling!  But in order to do that, you have to take baby steps and develop other things as well.

It is so funny hearing some things that are so important to get a child to the crawling stage that I am not even sure I paid attention to with Zoe.  Zoe just did!

One of the main things that I will be helping Evan with is the turning of his body in order to get certain things.  If something is on his left, he uses his left hand and vice versa.  Amy wants me to encourage him to turn his torso to get objects with the opposite hand.  Amy thought, a lot like me, that because of Evan's reflux...it affected a lot of activities he does that involve his stomach being crunched or twisted or smashed...it probably hurt him, so he didn't do it.

I am going to explain some exercise we will be doing with him so anyone in a similar situation can be doing these too or someone who has a 7-8 month old can :)

Transferring Toys:  Put two objects in your hand.  Evan will grab one and I need to encourage him to transfer it to the other hand rather than dropping it so he can pick up the second object.

Rotation: When an object is on his left side, twist his torso and make him reach for the object with his right hand.

Head Movement: Encourage head movement to both sides and straight up, which is harder for Evan.  Help with balance!

Sitting Up: When Evan is lying down, I need to place on object on his right side.  Instead of letting him roll to get it which is what he has been doing, I hold his left hip to the ground and encourage him to get on his elbow and sit up.  I also have to do this anytime he has to get up....from sleeping, from changing his diaper, getting him off the floor from playing with toys.  I am going to make him work for it :)

Crawling Position:  While Evan is on his tummy, if I pinch his hips the reflex will make him automatically get in the crawling position.  I am supposed to do this often to build up his arm and stomach strength.

Clapping: Evan has clapped, but he doesn't do it regularly...so we have to practice banging objects!  Zoe is going to love this one!

Amy will be visiting our home every other week until Evan is "good" in her eyes.

The main advise I can give to any Mommy, and this is really in any situation, listen to your intuition!  It is a God given gift and it is nothing to take lightly.  We all seem to talk to our friends and family or reason with ourselves that everything is fine.... sometimes everything isn't....whether something serious or not so serious....I am so glad we are on the road we are getting Evan going.  Yes, I know he will do it eventually...I am just so glad that I know can help him more effectively!