Physical Therapy Update

Logan had his physical therapy session today and, since I had asked how he was doing a couple of weeks ago, his therapist went ahead and did an informal evaluation today.  I was still concerned that, although he seems to be doing well with his gross and fine motor skills, that he was still lagging behind.  Well I am happy to report that my almost 22 month old son scored at a 22 month old level for gross motor skills and at 31 months for fine motor skills!!!

When we first started physical therapy when he was around 6 months old, he was about 3 months behind.  He was rolling over but was still very wobbly with his head control and was not even close to sitting unassisted.  But today, my active son runs and climbs all day long and has caught up with his peers.  I am so proud of him!

He will continue his physical therapy twice a month until his annual review in August.  His therapist wants to see him kicking a ball better, going up and down stairs well and jumping before she releases him. 

Logan is 1!

With the end of Logan's first birthday here, I have been thinking about this last year quite a bit. I remember the anticipation I felt as I waited out those last few weeks of pregnancy. I remember my contractions getting regular late in the evening and finally calling my mom to come stay with Jasmine. I remember the joy we felt when we first saw him and held him. I remember the worry we felt when he failed his newborn hearing screening.

Waiting those weeks for the next hearing test was torture. And when the audiologist confirmed that he had significant hearing loss, I remember my world crashing down. I wondered if I would ever hear him speak and what life would be like for him. I am so happy to say that today, as a one year old, he says mama, dada and hi consistently, and it is music to my ears!

I also remember the day when we went in to get his first set of hearing aids. I can still see the smile on his face when he actually heard us talk to him for the first time! And now that he has tried out the hearing aids, gotten more powerful hearing aids to try, and is scheduled to get his cochlear implants in less than a month, I am so excited to see his reaction when they get turned on.

I remember meeting his teachers (from Sunshine Cottage and the Early Intervention program) and his audiologist and feeling apprehensive and nervous about the process we were going to be going through. But now these women are like our extended family and we love them so much! I can't express how much they have helped, not only Logan, but me as well.

When I took him to his 6 month checkup, I shared my concern with his pediatrician about his upper body strength. He just seemed too wobbly for his age. She agreed and referred him for a physical therapy evaluation. It took a lot of work to get him to sit up unassisted and I don't think he actually did it consistently until he was 9 months old. But since he reached that milestone he has been progressing at warp speed! In these 3 months, he started rolling to get everywhere, started doing a commando crawl, transitioned to a traditional crawl and then a bear crawl, and has been pulling up and cruising on anything and everything he can get his hands on! He will be walking before we know it.

This next year is going to be great for him and our family!

Making Progress

For those of you that don't know, Logan has been in physical therapy 3 times a month for the last 4 months or so. At his 6 month checkup, I mentioned to his pediatrician that he was still a little wobbly and seemed to be weaker in his upper body in comparison to his lower body. She checked him out and decided to refer him for physical therapy. Developmental delays are common in children with CMV.

When we had our physical therapy evaluation the therapist said he was about 2 months behind which she said is not too bad. For the past 4 months we have been working hard on helping him with his head control, sitting, rolling properly (some of you have seen his acrobatic style rolls), crawling and standing (in addition to learning to listen).

At times I have been discouraged because he seems to be taking so long to reach certain milestones. I realize this is because I am comparing him to Jasmine and how quickly she achieved them. I try to stop myself when I catch myself comparing them, but it is easy to slip back into it.

I have to say that the therapy has really started to pay off over the last month and a half. In this short time he has perfected his sitting, rolling, commando crawling (although he did actually crawl with his belly off the floor today!) and is pulling up on anything and everything he can possibly find. He actually prefers to be standing now and has let go of whatever he is holding thinking he can balance already! I am so proud of him and am so happy to see him finally start taking off and catching up to babies his age. Thanks Denyse, we couldn't have done it without you.