Therapy

Emma had her six month review for her therapy on September 12th. Her coordinator and current therapists agreed that she should be evaluated for both physical therapy (PT) and speech therapy. I'm happy to say that she had her PT evaluation and qualified! She began working with her PT October 16th on her new goals of kneeling/standing while holding on to something like the couch as well as getting into a sitting position on her own. She was also evaluated for speech therapy on October 26th and qualified for that as well. Her first session will be on November 13th. I'm excited to have that therapy begin as well because Emma is a very enthusiastic babbler; we just need to see if we can get her to form more words and use them in context. She is learning her body parts well - here's a video of her progress.

I can't wait to watch the progress continue! This also means, with PT starting to work on her motor skills, that her occupational therapist (OT) will now be able to focus on her oral challenges - moving off the bottle onto cups or straws and eating table food of any texture. I am thrilled at the progress she has made thus far but am also having a hard time containing myself at the thought of her becoming mobile and eating like a big girl. Her PT told me that with her sitting on her own before age two, there was a good chance she would walk in the future. I know there are going to be bumps and bruises along the way, but I'm actually looking forward to her throwing food and showing me some attitude because it will be part of the development of her personality that I already love and adore. Not necessarily the better part, but an important part nonetheless for when she becomes able to start telling me she doesn't like something, she will also be able to tell me when she loves something.

Having her express herself is one of the things I look forward to most. Although she can say "mama" and does so happily, she hasn't used it in context yet. I am looking forward to a time where she will call for me when she wants me to see something or just to have me near. She has recently began making kissing noises with her mouth when I kiss her on her cheeks to prompt me to do it again. Her other new accomplishment is that she is now waving when you say "bye-bye" to her. It is funny to her therapists and me when she starts waving bye-bye to her therapists during therapy. It is almost as if she is telling her therapists that she feels she is done with therapy and they are free to leave. We all laugh because Emma is usually smiling when she does it cause she knows waving is a good thing.

All of these changes with therapy and her progress just feed my optimism and make me so happy. To have the chance to feel the bond I know we have grow stronger by the physical connection of hugging and kissing with meaning is becoming tangible and my optimism is growing. It can only get better from here!