Friday, June 20, 2008

Friday, June 20, 2008 - Update

Lately, we've been trying to get Olivia to use her arms more. One suggestion was to get a tray for her Bumbo so that she could bang on it and play with toys. Sounds like a good idea. . .we have TONS of interesting toys for her to play with, but when we put her in her Bumbo, this is what she does.



We put her arms on the tray and a second later, she pulls them back again. Any ideas about her tendency to do this with her arms? I'm also concerned because she is almost 6 months adjusted and is still not rolling over. I truly believe that she'll do things in her own time, but I still worry about her not progressing. I just want to know that I'm doing everything that I can for her. Everytime I meet with her doctor he asks, "Is she rolling over? Is she grabbing for toys? Is she sitting up?" I want to help her meet those milestones, but I also want people to realize the huge milestones she has met thus far. When you think about it, how can we even expect her to behave like a full term baby born in December? You can't discount everything that happened in those 17 weeks and pretend that she was still snug in the womb.

Check back later this weekend and I will tell you what arrived in this tiny box.

Tomorrow is also my mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday Grandma Sailing! The three of us can't wait to celebrate with you tomorrow.

8 comments:

Stacie said...

Ooh!! I know what's in the box!! I can't wait to see 'it'!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!
Happy Birthday Pat!

Emily said...

My niece does the same thing (she's 9mos old, FT). Her physical therapist said that she sees that posturing a lot in kids with reflux. But with Olivia being premature too you see that posturing a lot if in the early weeks, prior to term, a preemie is allowed to lay sprawled out on the bed instead of being swaddled like they would have been in the womb.

Emily said...

And Dakota used to hold her arms back like that A LOT and her head tipped up both because of her prematurity and because that allowed her to get the most air into her lungs.

Kim said...

I'm so glad that your "item in the box" finally arrived! I agree with Stacy. I cannot wait to see it!

Anonymous said...

Today is the first day in over a month that I was able to read your blog. I was in a bad accident and recovery is taking time. I just wanted to say, I love your blog, it is so wonderful to see the progress that Olivia is making. Especially since the last time I logged on. Sometimes when you are with them constantly you don't see the little things as someone like me that has been away for awhile. You are a great mom and you have brought her so far. I know that you don't know me and I feel so lucky to have come upon your blog so long ago. You are a true inspiration of faith that I'm sure affects more than just me. You have come so far, and God has so much more for you three. Bless you!

Anonymous said...

Charlie used to want to extend his arms like that. And the PT said that's very common in preemies. They advised us to make sure and hold his arms/shoulders in (kind of like cuddle, bring them together) whenever we would feed or hold him. She also advised us to carry him like kind of cradling instead of the typical hip carry so that his hips would not go into the bow-legged thing and his shoulders would be together. Now of course, I don't know how much all of that helped, but he is now 15 mo real age and he doesn't have any of that extension left. Just an idea... I know you are doing everything you can for Olivia! You are a great mom!
love
Neva
PS-- has anyone mentioned infant massage? We got trained in it and they say it can really help preemies?

Kerry said...

I'm pretty sure I know what's in the box too!

Happy Birthday Pat! I'm glad you get to celebrate with such a wonderful family.

Nix said...

Both my daughters do that with the arms too. I'm trying to do lots of tummy time to encourage them to bring their arms forward and use them, hopefully it will help.

Our girls also have only just started rolling at 6 and a half months, our paediatrician warned us they would probably be delayed even for their corrected age (our girls were 3 and a half months prem) but they would eventually get there.