She also suggested that we try to position him in different ways if we set him down. Since he's low tone, gravity causes him to mold to any surface he's on. We don't want him flat as a pancake, so she wanted him to lay on his sides if at all possible. We used towels to help position him.
We have to work on his tummy muscles and pull his feet up toward his chest, allowing his hands to try to grab onto his feet. Typical babies usually have no trouble with this, but for Colton, it's hard!
It took us awhile to gain head control...almost 4 months of working. We found that Colton would use every muscle in his body to try and hold up his head, but when you held his body still and just isolated those neck muscles, he'd flop that head around. We had to work really hard just on those neck muscles. She suggested that when I carried him around the house, I'd hold him in ways that would work his neck. I'd face him out so that one of my arms was holding his chest and the other was under his legs. I'd lean him forward a little so that he'd have to pick his head up to look around. I'd also put him up high on my shoulder with both of his arms over my shoulder, allowing his head to bob and work. I have to be intentional when I carry Colton so that he's always working!
We use the exercise ball a lot in order to help build tone. Any kind of bouncing is good for his core. He seems to like it, too!
Colton has been doing an excellent job with therapy. Sometimes he gets really mad when she forces him to work hard, but that's ok! We have to push him to be the best that he can be! Here are a few more shots of some of his exercises...
Our therapist made this contraption over her Spring Break. Colton needs to lay on his side, but he always wiggles until he's on his back again. We strap him to this to keep him on his side. We want him reaching out for toys because gravity doesn't make it so hard for him if he's sideways.
People always ask me if I have a set schedule for doing therapy with him. The answer is no. I do therapy whenever I get a chance. I have to plan it around meals, bottles, taking big brother to school and activities, appointments, etc... We just do it when we have some free time. Sometimes it's in the morning while brother is at school, other times it's at night while we watch tv. Somedays we do better than others. The PT told me, "Carrie, sometimes you just have to be mom. You can't always be his therapist." I'm so glad she said that. We try to do a little each day. He is just a baby and needs some time to just do baby things!
Colton was re-evaluated for PT just last week. She told me that he was going to make it hard on her because he almost didn't qualify. Trust me, we want him to qualify! He is doing really well, but he's definitely not where a typical 4 month old should be. She told me that his age equivalence was about 2 months. She said that's good for Colton....so...we are happy to hear that he's doing well. Colton now has a prescription for therapy 1x a week at the facility. It's fun to take him and watch him. It's a one hour session. At the end of the session, she gives us "homework" for the week. We have mastered head control, so Goal #2 is Trunk Control. This week we are focusing on weight bearing through his legs and arms, and we are working on stabilizing the lower half of his body so that he can work on moving his arms forward to grab and swat at toys. He is a tough little guy and he's working hard. We are proud of our Colton!!
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