Changes, and more changes

We have reached a point of rapid development with Colin and Veronica. Every day I swear they are figuring new things out and putting more pieces together. I remember this from with Ethan and know other moms have commented on the same thing — it’s almost like you can see their brains working as you watch them some times. 

Veronica rolled over by herself on Christmas Day for the first time. She hadn’t really shown any signs of rolling (at least that I’ve noticed) until the Early Intervention occupational therapist was playing with her last week. One of the things she (the therapist) did was put Veronica on her side to see if she could get the rest of the way over. Veronica tried very hard, but needed a little help to finish the roll. 

Apparently that exercise piqued her interest, because she started working at it — on the changing table later that day, on the bed the next day. And finally, on her new foam puzzle mat on Christmas she had success. 

Colin can get from his stomach to his back, but his technique is more of a “I’m so mad that you’re making me be on my stomach that I’m going to fling my body weight around until I get out of here” approach. It works, but it sure isn’t pretty. And I’m not sure he could do it if he wasn’t angry.

Colin seems to be getting a little more tolerant of being held more upright. He spends a lot of time arching backward (in part, I’ve been told, because of his reflux) and prefers (strongly) to be held “just so” — in your left arm, snuggled against your body, with his head at a particular angle so he can see the ceiling fans (or the lights). The past two days, however, he has let me hold him upright for a good half an hour. He also is willing to spend a little more time on his stomach if he is up against my chest. I’m happy about that.

Both Colin and Veronica will begin having weekly occupational therapy sessions through Early Intervention — probably starting in January. (We just have to wait for the insurance company to say whether they’ll pay for it or not.) With Colin, they will be working on helping him deal with stimulus so he doesn’t get overwhelmed as easily, and on developing more stamina so he can develop strength. For Veronica, they will be making sure she continues to balance out both sides of her body (she prefers the left) and helping her develop a little more muscle tone in her shoulders.

The physical therapist wasn’t able to make it for our initial assessment, so she is coming this morning to evaluate the babies. (Occupational therapy focuses more on the fine motor skills, physical therapy on the gross motor skills.) So we will see whether they — Colin in particular — will get physical therapy too.

I am extremely grateful that Illinois has an Early Intervention program so that we can do everything possible to help Colin and Veronica overcome the disadvantages of prematurity before they enter the school system. But I am even more grateful that we are able to have John as a stay at home parent. I don’t know how parents who both work outside the house could possibly manage to take advantage of the programs. Even though the therapists are coming to our house at this point, it’s quite a lot to manage.