Physical Therapy Evaluation

I took Miss Lady for her PT eval yesterday and I'm happy to report that they are very happy with her progress! She agrees with the neurologist and says she's advanced for her adjusted age and is very close to being caught up for her real age. Of course, she still has until she's age 2 before anyone would be concerned about her ability to do certain things. The therapist said based on what she saw, she expects Sydney to be caught up to her peers by her first birthday.

I told her about her sitting up a few weeks ago and then refusing to do it ever since then. She acts like she's in pain when I try to sit her down too. The therapist said she sees that very often with babies who have had severe reflux because sitting actually aggravates the acid in the stomach and makes them very uncomfortable. Most babies learn to sit up by leaning forward and using their hands for support and they do that until they're strong enough to be fully upright. Somewhat similar to this:

That position does not make a refluxy baby happy at all so many babies just skip that stage or do it rarely until they can be upright. So, even though she's not actually spitting up anymore and isn't in need of medicine she still has some symptoms. Based on her adjusted age, she's not expected to be sitting up yet so we're not worried about it at all. I'll continue feeding her in her Bumbo seat and go from there. It also explains why she's quite happy to reach UP for toys but not across or down. "Extending" the body actually eases her discomfort. I'm just grateful that she's so much better and happier than she was when the reflux was at it's worst.

The therapist also said she actually doesn't require any therapy but, like everybody else, she just wants to see her occasionally to make sure she continues to do well. She typically sees her patients weekly but doesn't want to see us again for another month, when she will evaluate her progress again. Yay!

We're waiting for an appt with the Occupational Therapist who will help her overcome her gag reflex. At this rate, we may not need her because my girl has managed to suck her hands and not gag and puke ONCE in the past 24 hours. That, my friends, is worthy of a celebration! She sucked her hands all the way home yesterday and not once did she come close to gagging. It usually took about a minute of hand sucking before that happens.

She's sooo chatty lately too! I love it! As we speak she's chatting away to herself in the mirror. :love: