Before Mia was born, B and I joked that the SECOND she came out, she was going on her tummy . . . that we were putting her through "tummy time boot camp." See, after three years in physical therapy with Sammie B, we STILL have this feeling of "did we do enough?" "Was there more that we COULD have done?" and the thing that pediatric physical therapists BEAT into parents is "tummy time!" So, we knew -- this time, no messing around. TUMMY TIME! Remember how I said I was determined to let Mia's journey be Mia's journey, and not impose Sammie B's journey on her? Sometimes, that's hard. We have, after all, had the not-so-fun experience through the last three years of having doctors and therapists "evaluate" (scrutinize) our Sammie B's every movement and point out what is "atypical" about that . . . we've not only listened and watched those therapists do that, we've read their reports. We know too much about "atypical" (and let me just say here that Sammie B is perfection, magic. Absolute magic, and this journey with her? Also magic. But, I could do without those darn evaluations and reports!).
So, bottom line. I resolved myself not to look at a single milestone chart during this period with Mia. I'll depend on my pediatrician for that, and I am just determined NOT to obsess. But, we worry. We just do. It just comes with the territory. But, no doubt because of the above, we were determined to not have any of the "should we have done more" worries and just to give Mia non-stop tummy time . . . . Before she was born, I ordered new tummy time mats, new tummy time toys. We were ready for full-fledged newborn tummy time boot camp. (I wish I was kidding).
And, then, Mia developed reflux. She was a fussy little baby that didn't want to be put down, and certainly not on her tummy, so B and I both have sort of silently OBSESSED. Are we giving her enough tummy time? Should she be rolling already? (Our pediatrician says she's got plenty of time for that, and she's following Mia's development very closely, in light of Sammie B's undiagnosed low-tone) In those fussier, don't-put-me-down days, I worried constantly, "how's she ever going to learn to roll if she won't let us put her down?!." We know that at least for those first few months that Mia wanted nothing other than to be held, we probably weren't doing enough tummy time. But now, she's on reflux medication (that I had to really talk our pediatrician into . . . I guess she doesn't like to do reflux meds unless the baby isn't gaining weight, and Mia certainly isn't having trouble gaining - check out her rolls and chins!), but my gut told me that she was uncomfortable due to the reflux, and we wanted to try the medication. She's still spitting up, but seems more content, and I'm making up for lost time on the tummy time.
Boot camp has begun. (Poor Mia probably wonders how she wound up with drill sergeants for parents and where on earth we learned these tummy time tricks and stretches for babies with the exercise ball. . . um, yes, we MAY be guilty of doing PT exercises with Mia.).
Oh what a ride. For us, and her, presumably!
2 comments:
We are doing the same. Our 2 year old has CP and isn't walking independently(yet!). I look back at when he was (very) little and wonder about missed opportunities though I feel pretty good about his current treatment plan. So poor A does lots of tummy time, pulling to sit time, back time, practice rolling time, etc.
Of course, we're really mean (in a good way) and make our son do A's "exercises" along with her. I am hoping that it might help his brain rewire if he goes through and relearns to move in as close to the right way and in the right order as possible (since A seems to be developing typically so far). At any rate, it cannot hurt...
Sammie B and Mia are both adorable.
Today, I had lunch at a friend's house whose 8 month-old still doesn't tolerate tummy time (or push-up or crawl). While my 10 month-old daughter was literally running and climbing stairs, furniture, you name it... I didn't know what to say. Both her kids are normal. I guess both my kids are not. Still, I think maybe more parents should rely less on contraptions to pacify their kids on their backs. We're facing an epidemic of flat heads... All that to say, carry on, drill sergeant. ;)
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