A physiotherapy update

Talia has been having some extra physiotherapy to help with her gross motor skills and in the past week it seems to have really come together for her.

At 6 months corrected she was able to sit, lean forward, and roll from front to back, but then she failed to make any significant progress for several months.  She couldn’t move out of the sitting position, or off her back.  At 9 months corrected we started the physiotherapy, and within weeks she had started turning to the side, an important first step in being able to shift her weight from her bottom (while sitting) onto all fours (ready for crawling).

Now, at nearly 11 months corrected she has finally started to pull herself up (not successful yet but definitely trying), she is rolling from back on to her front, she pulls herself onto all fours from both a sitting and a lying position, she is starting to rock on her knees and looks like she will crawl very soon.

Today I held her hands and she was able to take a few wobbly steps with very little assistance.  We have her 12 month review coming up in another 5-6 weeks and suddenly I feel confident that we won’t be a complete disaster in the gross motor skills department after all!

I have lots of warm fuzzy mummy feelings today.

Slow progress is better than none

Physiotherapy is one of those emotionally fraught issues for a parent. You know you are doing the right thing by giving your child extra help to reach their physical milestones, but at the same time you still feel fragile and vulnerable because your baby isn’t making progress like everyone else.

When it was first suggested Talia have physio I was ready to burst into tears, even though I knew she was lagging behind her peers. When she made early progress and sat by herself, I was very proud, and assumed we were over that hurdle and wouldn’t need to go back. Unfortunately a few months later the original prognosis came back to haunt us - her development was very patchy and would only lead to frustration as she matured mentally but was trapped physically. She could sit all day like a buddha, surrounded by toys, but nothing on earth would persuade her move from where she sat. If a toy was out of reach, so be it. Shortly after her birthday four weeks ago we resumed one-to-one physio sessions at the hospital to help Talia develop the skills she needs to be able to reach, turn, crawl, stand and eventually walk.

Two sessions of physio (plus plenty of practice at home) later, Talia has steadily improved her abilities, and now does things other babies (and their parents) take for granted, but which were entirely new for her: playing with a toy using both hands on the same side of her body; turning to the side over her knees and raising her bottom off the ground; moving her body so she is on “all fours” (although she usually slips down onto her tummy); turning and reaching and then bringing herself back to a sitting position; pulling herself up to standing while holding my hands. With help she can put weight on her knees and will occasionally start rocking in a way which some babies do before starting to crawl.

Today I went proudly to the monthly group physio session, knowing that Talia would be surrounded by ex-24 weekers who are crawling like Olympic champions but glad at least that she no longer spends these sessions just lying on a mat crying, and hopeful that she might have crept up a little on the development chart. (Yes they have percentile charts for development too, not just height, weight and head circumference!)

The physiotherapist who saw us was very pleased with her progress - but regretfully showed me that Talia has in fact slipped lower on her development chart due to the very erratic nature of her progress. I am making up an example here, but apparently most babies develop skill A (like rolling) before skill B (like sitting) before skill C (like pulling themselves up on furniture) before skill D (like standing confidently with support). Talia has decided to do B before A, and D without C. So from the physiotherapist’s perspective, she still has a long way to go. In contrast, my mother has been overseas since we started the extra sessions and will no doubt be amazed to see how far Talia has come in 5 weeks.

The hospital provides physiotherapy only until their NICU graduates are 12 months corrected, which in our case is only 2 months away. So it will be interesting to see how much more progress we can make in the next 8 weeks, before we are out on our own.

The first and (hopefully) last extra physiotherapy session

A month ago I posted about being advised to start Talia on extra physiotherapy. Since then she has made absolutely fantastic progress, so I was feeling much more positive about it than I did on December 6. Still, I took my mother along for additional support - and it made sense that two of us learn about any extra exercises Talia should be doing.

Well, the physiotherapist could hardly believe it was the same baby who wouldn’t do anything other than lie on her back and cry the last few group sessions. She sat up confidently, reached for toys and demonstrated her “stuff tummy time” rolling action. We learned a few useful ways to play with her which will help build her core strength even if she is not on her tummy, and then we were told that we don’t need to continue with one-on-one sessions unless I feel she is having any problems. Hoorah for my little superstar!

As a bonus, we dropped off a bag of clothing to the hospital op shop and then bought a few more items from the same place. I love charity shopping, everyone benefits, and the clothes I bought are gorgeous, I can hardly wait until she grows into them.

Growth seems very likely. I missed my weekly weigh-in with the child health nurse this morning, but I’m certain Talia is getting heavier. She might even be having a growth spurt. Since I posted a week ago to say that she wasn’t eating consistently or very much, she has decided that solids are GOOD. I have gone from one serve of mush per day to 6 serves, and she is guzzling formula like there is no tomorrow. Current favourite: pumpkin and avocado. I’m also serving pumpkin with carrot and pea, banana with milk, banana and pear, apple and farex.

Physiotherapy

We went to our monthly group physio appointment at the hospital this afternoon.

I don’t know why it is, but Talia hates it. She transforms from a placid, happy baby into a wailing, uncooperative mess every time we go. I’m starting to wonder if she doesn’t like the smell or the lights - because there is nothing else I can see that is particularly different about the place, and she starts fussing even before we ask her to do anything.

I also find these visits stressful, partly because Talia is unhappy, and partly because it becomes ever clearer how far behind she is falling compared to babies of similar corrected age. She is 5.5 months corrected (8.5 months actual) and shows no signs of wanting to roll yet. She doesn’t automatically reach and play with toys, or bring her hands together often, and she doesn’t play with her feet at all.

Finally today they told me they feel she would benefit from one-on-one sessions in addition to the group sessions, so we will be starting in January. We are hoping to avoid the situation where she becomes frustrated because mentally she wants to progress but physically she is not capable.

Talia’s “boyfriend” Reuben also comes to these group sessions. Reuben and Talia were born on the same day, with only 2 days difference in gestation, but Reuben has always been larger. In the beginning Talia was 855g where Reuben was something over 1kg. Now Talia is 5.4kg and Reuben is a whopping 8.7kg.

It’s so cute to see them together!