PT & OT

At Logan's 9 month doctor's appointment the pediatrician decided that Logan needed to be evaluated by both a physical and occupational therapist. Although Logan crawls he does so on his belly and was not using his hands to hold his belly off the ground. He also had absolutely no interest in pulling himself up. Instead he kind of panicked when you tried to get him to hold himself up against the couch or something. His fine motor skills are surprisingly great. He uses both hands to pick up tiny pieces and puts everything into his mouth but none the less he wanted him seen.

So last week we went. One hour appointments for each on separate days. The therapists were both very nice and both thought Logan was doing great but definitely had some needs for at least a few more appointments. So for at least the next 3 months we will be going in twice a week (one for each) for about an hour at a time.

I was surprised when the doctor said he needed to go. It took me completely off guard. This is my third child and I have learned that each kid goes at their own pace. Emily walked late Palmer early..I didn't think anything of Logan's progress. He was going at his own pace.

What I am learning is that Logan is having a hard time feeling secure and balanced without his fingers on his one hand. When he tries to pull himself up with his hands he has no source of grip for his right hand. On top of that when he is up and standing instead of using his right hand he is leaning on his arm instead. The therapist said that his shoulder needs to be built up as well as his torso. Once he starts to walk none of these issues will affect him but getting him to that point will take some extra work. Everyone is confident that he is going to do great and that it won't take long at all now that we are working on things.

When I left with Logan from his 9 month wellness appointment I went and sat in my car and cried. Not for very long nor was it very hard. It was just a little bit of reality sliding in that he will have challenges. Not always big ones but some different ones none the less. Therapy is hard too. They make him do things he doesn't want to do and things that make him less than comfortable. While they don't push him hard or let him cry for long you can still seem him work really really hard. He is just a baby...my baby.

OT is going great too. The therapist was really surprised to see how strong he is with his pinch on his right hand. She said that after the first initial few visits to make sure everything is moving along smoothly the future will be more on his terms. She said that with patients born with a defect like his they at one point or another find that a certain task is difficult and they need help working towards it. The example she gave was a woman who had a similar hand issue that she was born with except her hand had never been able close and grasp something small. She had decided that she wanted to put the ring on her husband on their wedding day without anyone's help so she has been coming in to practice and work on that technique.

As a mom I have worried and fretted over Logan. I have thought through so many things and what is going to be hard for him to do. I missed this one. I never thought that he would have a hard time pulling him self up on things so that he could learn to walk. It makes me wonder how many other things we won't have thought of. I am sure that we will handle it much the same way we did this time. One day at a time. We seek the help we need, we practice and work on it, and we celebrate our achievements no matter how big or small.