On Her Own Two Feet
November 28, 2011 6 Comments
Take a look at this photo.
And this one, too.
Don’t see anything remarkable?
For most 11-month-old babies, there isn’t anything, in fact, remarkable about these photos. They show a baby reaching upward on hands and knees, and a baby standing, supported by a chair.
But for us, this is freaking amazing.
You see, since Amaia learned to sit up at about 7 months and scoot at 8 months, she has made zero progress in the motor skills department. Now, at over 11 months old, she can’t sit up on her own or get out of a seated position. She doesn’t get on hands and knees. She doesn’t take steps when you stand her up and move her body forward. She doesn’t pull up onto anything and has only in the past few weeks started putting her heels on the ground if you stand her up. She doesn’t hold onto things for balance (the shopping cart rail, for instance). It’s hard to describe, but there seems to be a disconnect between her upper and lower body, between her brain and her limbs.
There are a few other things that have us worried. She trembles violently when excited or startled. She beats and scissors her ankles together and twists her hands in wringing motions. She grimaces and clenches her right fist while extending the left.
We have grown increasingly worried over the past few months. Her crawl caused me to get very scared when I saw a video of a 9-month-old baby with cerebral palsy with the same crawl.
I’ve been bringing up my concerns to the pediatrician since Amaia was 6 months old. I remarked that things seemed to take her much longer to learn than they did for the twins. At her six-month appointment, I told him about the tremors. At the nine-month appointments (all four of them), I talked about the odd crawling pattern (using only the left big toe to push off and the right elbow to pull forward; right leg is stiff and left hand half-times along for the ride), the complete lack of motor skills development, the tremors, the scissoring. He has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t feel she’s delayed or shows any signs to be concerned about. She tracks with her eyes, transfers objects from hand to hand, has a good grip and balanced muscle tone. She verbalizes and has appropriate emotional responses. She’s alert and bright-eyed.
Still, something just hasn’t felt right. Look, I know all babies develop at their own pace. I know Amaia certainly isn’t the most worrisome case on the planet, and I’m sure some of you reading have stories to share. BUT. Amaia is MY baby and I’m worried. And it takes a lot to un-worry a worried mother.
So, because I tend to react with every weapon available, I made an appointment with a neurologist as well as with Early Steps for a developmental evaluation, both in early December. I vacillate between being terrified and convinced there’s something wrong with her, to feeling like she’s probably just a slow-poke and I need to calm down.
So, to see Amaia randomly pull up on that chair yesterday, and FINALLY get up onto hands and knees . . . at over 11 MONTHS old . . . Well, I just can’t tell you the relief I feel. It’s a step (**groan**) in the right direction.
6 comments
Oh man, time flies. I can't believe she's 11 months already! I'm sure all is fine, but I'm glad you're being proactive and checking it out anyway. I'd do the same. Please keep me posted!
So when you have your meeting with Early Steps it's best for the evaluators to see her at her worst….which is hard because as a parent you want your child seen in the best light possible. You also want to brag on your kids and talk only about their strengths. But…..shedding information on only the bright side of things and only letting them see her only at her best does her a disservice because they will see the silver lining and focus more on her strengths. You want that meeting to focus on her weaknesses. You want them to see what you see the rest of the day, week, month, her life………..So that being said, don't let her get a good night sleep the night before OR try to keep her from nap. Try not to talk too long about her strengths……….focus on your worries. Don't shut up until they either agree with you or schedule a second screening.
Also, mention something like, "If she is anywhere close to the mark that would qualify her for services, please see what you can do to get those services because I know she needs some extra help."
If you have any questions feel free to contact me because we have been there. Joey has 'just barely' qualified for services all along. Even when he was only 13 months old when he first qualified.
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….and, I'm completely just going out on a limb on this one but ask about the small orthotic that inserts into the shoes…..they give the child more support and for some reason helps a bit if there is a medical thing going on…..>BUT! I have no reason to believe there is anything going on medically. Just one of those 'out in left field' comments
My recent post Love That Max Toy Guide
I think you are correct to follow your instincts and not just let your pediatrician say "every baby is different". You have heard people say it all the time, "Early intervention is key." If there is anything she needs services for, it is much better and easier to determine that now than it would be to wait another year or so.
Like Rebecca said above, tell them all of your concerns – in the same manner that you shared your observations in the blog entry. You are on top of this, Mom! Keep up the good work!
There's nothing like a mother's intuition. You should always get second and third opinions whenever you have a feeling. Most likely, there's nothing to worry about, but it's best to be certain. Keep us posted!
Son of a bitch. I'm so sorry you guys are going through this,. Having been through EI from the speech-language end of things, I think you'll feel better once you get the process started, have answers, have ideas, etc. Even if they aren't the answers you want, you'll feel like you have control and a plan.
I'll spare you the "didn't walk until he was four" stories and just say that, since she has made progress without intervention, it's more likely that she has a delay as opposed to a "true disability" or whatever they like to call it now. But that doesn't mean you aren't going to worry, or that she wouldn't benefit from evaluations and intervention.
And again I say, son of a bitch. Why these kids of ours can't just stop worrying the crap out of us is beyond me.
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