Physical Therapy Update

I feel like I've sat at our computer all morning writing and getting caught up on what's been going on in our lives.. it's incredible how quickly time flies and when it's jam-packed full of everything under the sun, it's hard to take the time to write... but like I've said before, it's my therapy and I enjoy the reflection that comes along with it!  Unless something else comes to mind today - this will be my last post.  Luke continues to receive in-home private physical therapy twice per week as well as in-home physical therapy twice per month from a therapist with the Wayne County Board of Developmental Disabilities.  This week, it was determined that Luke might be a little delayed with neck strength associated with pulling forward but otherwise he seems to be mostly on track for his age.

Things he's doing well now include:

• Picking his head up while practicing with tummy time and he is even able to turn his head while doing tummy time to track an object
• He tracks an object well while laying on his back
• He grasps and holds small objects
• He is able to find and suck his thumb
• He bats at toys that hang from his activity gym and his bouncy seat
• He smiles, coos and talks in response to be smiled, cooed and talked to
• He rolled onto his side one evening last week, although I think it may have been a fluke since I haven't seen it since
• He is able to focus on an object (although he seems to respond better when you are closer to his face, making me think he is still a bit nearsighted)
• His tone seems moderate to good - we see less resistance and stiffness than we used to

Things we are working on include:

• When he is laying on his back (either on the floor on on our laps) we pull him forward, getting his shoulders off the ground, allowing him the opportunity to strengthen his neck muscles and pull his head up off the ground or our legs
• Balance while sitting - we put him in a sitting position between our legs facing outward and gently rock him from side to side, allowing him time to move his neck to offset the sideways position and attempt to regain his balance
• Continue to do tummy time while practicing tracking and turning his head from side to side to follow an object.  Also while doing tummy time, we place our hand beneath his chest and help position his arms and hands to teach him to push himself up with his arms.... hopefully he will get strong enough soon to push up on his own
• We also work on rolling - moving his legs enough to give him leverage to help him move himself to roll over

In the spirit of therapy... this time more emotional therapy over physical therapy... since we do most of our therapy sessions on the living room floor, I'd like to give a huge thanks and shout out to Kristy Spreng, Pat Winkleman and Connie Frey as all three of them gave us handmade blankets that we use frequently during our therapy sessions! It is awesome to have the right kind of tools (made by people that care about us) to help us enjoy these [sometimes tedious] tasks.  Also, thank you to Bethany Haynes for a pack of the most wonderful muslin swaddling blankets I've ever used!  They are the perfect weight and I use them for everything! Most recently, I used the solid white one this morning to help take pictures of baby Luke... it was the perfect backdrop!  I've also rolled them up and used them to help position Luke different ways during therapy!