PT 3 & 4

We've been to two more sessions of PT since the last update. At our third appointment, the physical therapist took Luke in the back and worked with him for about an hour while I waited in the waiting room. When the session was over, she brought my boy back - red faced and teary eyed. She said that he basically cried and fussed the entire time!

On the bright side though, she said that she wanted to go back on her original assessment of him. She said that she didn't think that he was having any issues with sensitivity/pressure, but that it was purely behavioral. My first thought was "behavioral? meaning that he's bad? or we are bad parents?" and she was quick to say that that was not the case at all. She said that it is behavioral because he just chooses not to get up on all fours, pull up, etc. He totally CAN do it, he is just comfortable in his way of doing things and does not want to try a new way. She said that it is most likely just a (stubborn) personality thing.

The physical therapist said that she's not adamant that he HAS to crawl on all fours - it is just the natural progression of things, so it wasn't a bad idea to keep pushing it.

So, that was the third appointment. That night after the appointment, he started going over to his little "Luke" armchair and using it as a prop to get from tummy to sitting! YAY! Then, the next day, he was able to get into a sitting position straight from his tummy (without the use of any props). We were so proud of the little guy (and he was equally proud of himself and clapped every time he did it).

Fourth appointment was a nightmare - as soon as we walked back to the room in the back, Luke started gripping my shoulder and crying. He knew what was coming. Poor little guy! Andie and I stayed in the room while she worked with him. Luke was just so upset during the whole session - he kept looking over at Andie and I, reaching for us, and sobbing! The physical therapist worked with him on pulling up and trying to get him to "cruise" across a little table. He did ok, I guess - but it got to the point where he was just so upset that he didn't really seem to be learning anything anymore.

We decided to set our next appointment for a month out to check in and see how he's progressing. The physical therapist gave us an instruction sheet with exercises for us to work on with him. She said if he masters those really quickly (pulling up and cruising), we can move up our appointment and she'll give us new exercises to do with him. This method will probably work a lot better since Luke was getting so upset at his appointments and we are able to work with him at home a lot more easily.

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Ok, picture time. No blog entry is complete without some photos.

We got a wagon for Luke, but he seemed to be much more excited about the big box that it came in.

Physical Therapy (Part 1 and 2)

Yesterday was Luke's second Physical Therapy appointment. As it turns out, this was actually his first "real" appointment.

Let me back up... we first met with the Physical Therapist last week. She observed Luke and asked us a bunch of questions. She gave us tons of really interesting information about preemies, developmental delays, etc. Her "diagnosis" of Luke was that, like many preemies, he was having issues with sensitivity and pressure - that's why he doesn't want to get up on his hands and knees or pull up.

To help with this, we were instructed to brush our child. That's right... brush him. She gave us a soft bristled brush to make long strokes on the front and back of his arms, and front and back of his legs. We are to do this at every diaper change (as a reminder to do it during the day). The brushing is supposed to help de-sensitize him a bit.

Our other exercise was to gently, but firmly, squeeze up and down his arms and legs. This will help with his pressure issues. Basically, he doesn't like the feel of the pressure on his knees in the traditional crawl position, so he avoids it at all costs. Also, she pointed out that when Luke walks (with us holding his hands) his feet look like he's walking on a tightrope (rather than having a wider stance). She said that he does this to reduce the pressure on his feet because it probably feels funny to him.

Interesting stuff.

Fast forward one week, and we can already tell that he's been making some good progress! I'm not trying to say that our physical therapist is a miracle worker - because he actually started improving a bit the week before our first appointment - but it should be noted that he's doing quite well! He started pulling up on my lap then kinda sitting back on his knees, he pulls up on the stoop of the fireplace, wants to "walk" (with us holding his hands) nonstop, and he's even started sleeping on his belly with his butt in the air (I'm thinking that during the night that's probably helping a bit with the pressure).

Our second PT appt, however, was not as short and painless as the first. My lovely, strong-willed little boy, did NOT like being "forced" to do things that he did not want to do! He had to "side-sit" and he was not shy about letting everyone in the world know that this was not his preferred position. Andie and I actually had to leave the room while she worked with him because he just wanted to crawl over to us (with giant tears rolling down his face) in hopes of a little sympathy from mom and dad.

Once we were called back in the room, she said that she was actually pretty impressed with what he could do (once he kinda got the meltdowns under control). She said that he pretty easily got up on all fours and with one nudge to the hip, he went right into the sitting position just as he was supposed to. The only problem is that he does not want to participate in our fun, new activities. He likes his belly crawl and is not interested in learning a new way. I'm already trying to mentally prepare for a weekend full of screaming and crying as we work on our new moves.

Our instructions/homework from the second appt are to keep up the brushing and also work on the side sit -> all fours -> sit routine, plus another standing activity with a big ball (which he actually seemed to kinda like).

The physical therapist was also laughing because she said that she's never seen a baby like Luke - she said that while he was screaming and throwing a fit with her, he was just reaching up like crazy wanting a little comfort from her. She said she's never had a baby reach up for her like that just wanting a hug or to be picked up (since she is essentially a stranger and also the "bad guy" making him do things that he didn't want to).

That's my sweet boy!