Just some thoughts and videos of Ben
So, I (or I think I can more aptly say "we") are a little bit concerned about Mr. Ben. He is getting darn close to 11 months old (!!!!!), his adjusted age is 8 months and 1 week. It is hard to know if our expectations are too high, or if we are being overly sensitive about these things. I am posting these videos to maybe get some more feedback from other moms who have been through this.
The first video is of him army crawling. He started doing this about a month ago, shortly after he got up on his hands and knees for the first time. He can move pretty quickly and can go about anywhere he wants too, even now he can go on slippery floors without a problem. My main concern here is he seems to be using his right arm to power through and propel himself, his left arm is kind of just there and moving a little bit but doesn't appear to be providing much assistance.
When he gets up on hands and knees he uses his left arm to try to grab things while his right arm supports his weight. I don't believe that he is able to support himself with his left arm; when he tries to lift his right arm off the ground his left arm immediately folds and he ends up on the ground.
I'm going to try to post a second video of him "sitting". He can still only sit for a few seconds at a time. He falls right over with almost no reflex (that I can see) of trying to catch himself with his arms. I propped him up and immediately let go of him; the entire video is 8 seconds so that shows you how long he is sitting. Every once in a while he will sit for longer, sometimes I'm not sure if he just doesn't WANT to sit, or if he CAN'T sit, know what I mean? He is a baby on the move and he likes to go, go, go so perhaps sitting just isn't motivating for him.
This last video, if this works, is of him in the crawling position. You can see his left hand kind of in a claw/loose fist, which again is pretty typical. He CAN open it; it's just that when he does this it is normally not open. Again, not sure if this is something to be concerned about or not.
oh i wish i could help you! i have a feeling i will be asking the same questions in the months to come.. my daughter came 13 weeks early.. and is currently 7 weeks old.. 35 weeks gestational age.. i wish you the best in getting answers! and I dont think it would hurt to call the people who evaluated him and ask them as well!
ReplyDeleteMy fosters are twins that were born at 27 wks. One of them has been diagnosed with right side hemiplagia-mild CP. She has weakness on her right side. We noticed it when she started walking for sure, but there was a strangeness to her crawl that we thought was just odd. She would also clench her hand. It was described to me as that would help her feel stable. If it is something like that, they typically don't diagnose til closer to two. She is almost three now and is doing amazing. Early intervention OT and PT was a great help to us. He's adorable-love the smile!
ReplyDeleteHe is adorable! Can you try some exercises that will "make" him use his left side more like reaching for toys, etc? My son (ex-28 weeker) did a lot of the same things and was perfectly fine in the end but I'd have PT/OT keep on top of the assessments.
ReplyDeleteGood to be on top of things and bringing these concerns to his pediatrician/OT/PT. But for as early as he was- relax and try not to worry as many premies can take up until they are 5 years old to completely catch up on everything. Keep providing opportunity for gross and fine motor movement and exploration. He is beautiful and seems to be doing great!
ReplyDelete