WALKING!
It seriously felt like it would never happen! To be honest, it was an emotional roller coaster for me. There were so many times when I could rest in the fact that the Lord made Noah perfectly and that in His timing it would happen; and then there were days when I so badly just wanted my baby to take a step. I think more than any I was just thankful knowing that one day he would take a step and that there were no serious reasons why he couldn't or wouldn't.
I know most of you reading have heard Noah's story but for memory sake I want to write it. I remember at Noah's well visits I would mention to his pediatrician that I had concerns about him walking and the doctor would always reassure me that some kiddos do this later and that it's normal for a child to wait as long as 18 months before they start taking steps. I tried to leave it at that. In the meantime, Noah established his very odd mode of transportation...scooting on his bottom and then eventually using one leg to help him get around a little faster. He resembled a silver back gorilla. :o) A very fast silver back gorilla. At his 12 month well visit I mentioned to his doctor that I understood he may walk a little later but that I had concerns that he wasn't even pulling up to his knees at this point and wouldn't bear any weight on his legs at all. We would tire out before we could get him to stand. His pediatrician agreed that he probably needed a little bit of a "jump start" to get the process going and referred us to a physical therapist. I was a little emotional going in to that appoinment and especially coming out, knowing that my baby needed intervention on something that was supposed to come naturally. Before enrolling in to the therapy program, Noah was tested on all different levels for all different skills. That was a little un-nerving and began the doubts of what my child would be capable of. And although deep in my heart, I knew there was nothing serious going on and that it had a lot to do with his laid-back, do-it-at-his-own-pace personality, I still had doubts. Especially with all the questions they asked me, I remember wondering if I had missed something and that Noah may have a devepolmental issue. Luckily, he was diagnosed with an eight month gross motor skill delay...whew! No biggie! Except at fourteen months of age he was at about a six month skill level. A little harder to swallow but I was so excited to hear that was it. I knew that was it all along. But I allowed my mind to go where it should have never been. The therapist basically said that he had missed opportunities to build some of his muscles. It all made sense at this point. When we would put him on his tummy he would put his arms straight back, like a penguin; that led to little rolling. Noah never rolled consecutively across the floor. I never had that moment when I walked in the room and thought, "how in the world did you get there!?" Because he always put his arms behind him, he rarely pushed up on his arms and those muscles weren't used or strenghthened to crawl. Hence the gorilla scoot. And it just snow balled from that point. After six months of therapy and at the age of 19 months that little turkey started taking his own steps. Noah absolutely loves his independence and hams it up when he is walking through a crowd. He is so proud of himself. Each milestone was a celebration and we are still celebrating big in the Gonzalez house!
No comments:
Post a Comment