I have mentioned before that baby boy here is not crawling, but I haven’t gone into much detail.
Not only that, but he’s not really trying to crawl…or pull to stand, or any of that. Most babies start bearing their own weight on their legs at only a few months. Ryan never did. Even now, if we want him to practice standing, we have to force him to put his feet down. He usually just does sticks his feet straight out like this.
We haven’t been too worried about it because his cognitive development and his fine motor skills have been right on track. Our pediatrician told us to give him some time and that he wasn’t worried either. But at Ryan’s birthday checkup, when he still wasn’t progressing, our doc offered to refer us to a pediatric physical therapist.
A couple weeks ago we went in for an initial evaluation and our suspicions were confirmed. Homeboy needs some help.
His physiology seems fine, but because of the way he scoots exclusively on one side, there’s some concern about maintaining his body’s left-right balance. If you only work the muscles on your right side, the left will atrophy, which makes you only able to use the right side, which further weakens the left… You get the point. Additionally, since he rarely puts weight on his feet, his ankle, knee, and hip joints need to be strengthened.
So far we’re focusing on that left-right balance, stimulating his feet with different textures and pressures (since his unwillingness to stand could be a sensory issue), and putting pressure on his joints by either having him stand while supported or pushing on his feet while he lies on his back.
We’re encouraging him to spend time on his hands and knees, which he usually hates, or just kneeling upright, which he also doesn’t care for. It’s more fun for him when we use the exercise ball, plus it helps him work the muscles needed for balancing, so we pull it out for at least a few minutes every day.
Unfortunately, continuing with this therapist is going to be cost prohibitive. She want to see Ryan weekly, but even with insurance our out of pocket will be $600 per appointment. And…no. That’s just not feasible. Fortunately Arizona has an early intervention program for kids who need help meeting developmental milestones, and it’s 100% state funded. Free help? Yes please. We have an appointment with them tomorrow to see if he qualifies.
Neither of the girls have needed any help like this, so the process–and accompanying stress–is all new to me. His “problem” is pretty minor, but it’s still hard sometimes not to get into a spiral of worry…is there something seriously wrong? Have we failed him somehow? Are we giving him enough help? Too much? Maybe we’re blowing it out of proportion and he’s fine and we needn’t waste our time? But what if he never walks and it’s our fault? It’s ridiculous, but that’s parenting for you. You get a little ridiculous sometimes about your kids.
Fingers crossed things go well. That either Ryan makes huge progress quickly and we don’t need physical therapy at all, or that he qualifies for the free intervention and they can help him meet those milestones.
And if nothing else, he’s still my sweet happy boy and I will squish him and snuggle him and kiss his chubby cheeks a million times a day. That can only help, right?
Did you need any interventions as a kid? If you have children, did they need any help meeting milestones? Or have you worked with kids who needed assistance to develop appropriately? I’d love to hear your success stories!
**All photos by Photography Hill**
Boy howdy I can relate! Except for us it has been emotional and social milestones (and now that he’s older, basic academic progress). We have had wonderful help through our county services, and he gets great assistance at school, but we also do private therapy which has been so so helpful and he’s getting some private testing in January which will hopefully give us some answers (and maybe meet our deductible… In my dreams). Man, parenting is complicated sometimes! Other times it’s so simple. I’m glad that for the most part my experiences have been simple. Advocating for my son helps me appreciate him more, and I feel like if he didn’t have these needs he might easily get lost in the shuffle of a big family. So, we take the hand we’re given and we are grateful for so many wonderful resources even if they do require time and money… Best of luck with the crawling. I’m rooting for you, Ryan!
Yes to all of this. I’m so glad you have found great resources and had a good experience getting assistance for you sweet boy. Here’s hoping all the families who need a little extra help have the same good fortune! Thanks for the encouragement too…it helps to know we’ve got friends in our corner.
he’s so cute! we are just on the verge of expanding our family, so i’m reading up on all we’re in store for. good luck on getting in the state program!
Thanks Annie! And best of luck as your family grows! It’s the hardest best thing ever, no question. 🙂
So many hugs. I had kick @$$ insurance at my Utah company, and it has been a hard slog to realize how “normal” insurance out of pocket expenses are still super prohibitive for so many treatments. Gaaah.
xox
Thanks. Insurance is kind of the worst. I suspect I could find another PT that would charge a fraction of this one if I need to, but I’m still reeling from sticker shock on that. The American healthcare system is such a mess.
My oldest was premature so we ended up getting free services through the state to help him meet his milestones during the first year. It was SO NICE to not have to worry about that cost (especially after paying for our portion of his emergency delivery and NICU costs). Here’s hoping he gets the assistance he needs!
That kind of help is such a blessing to parents of kids who need it. I’m glad your lil dude was taken care of for free, because what a huge burden that could’ve been!
You’ve heard me talk about the food issues we have gone through with my oldest, so boy howdy, do I relate! Occupational therapy has made a world of a difference. And honestly, knowing it’s just a process you work through daily. This last year brought milestones for us I wondered if we’d ever see and yet it still takes constant vigilance and that’s tiring as a parent. I see the results when I stop putting in the effort. Hang in there and take advantage of every opportunity for outside help that you and get. That can make a huge difference. Oh, and of course you may have had some impact on his skills or not yet developed skills, but this is not cause for beating yourself up. Hindsight is 20-20 as they always say. Just keep learning how to help him, keep doing it, and kick that guilt to the curb. Nobody has time for that despite how easy it is to feel so bad for what you might have missed or not known. You got this , girl, and so does Ryan.