Yesterday Lucas had his 9 month check up. I had been antsy and excited at the same time to take him, mainly because I love seeing his growth along the way. There had been a few questions on my mind to ask the pediatrician, so I wrote them all down the night before.
As a preemie, our pediatrician shows us an adjusted height and weight scale versus the “normal” growth chart. It takes into account that for the first 2 years, he can technically be using the statistics of what is “normal” for a preemie. We’ll be using the normal (term baby) chart results below.
On a normal growth chart, Lucas has been below the 10th percentile for length, but the last couple of months he has bumped up to the 15th percentile. And according to the weight chart, he is at the 15th percentile. His overall growth is linear, so she is happy that he is consistent!
Before I came to the appointment, the pediatrician had a form for me to fill out regarding his motor skills and speech. I was getting nervous filling it out, because I knew that he was definitely struggling in the fine and gross motor skills department.
After speaking with her, we concluded that he is behind in some areas and that we should looking calling Early Intervention. According to the CDC, Early Intervention is:
- Is the term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families.
- May include speech therapy, physical therapy, and other types of services based on the needs of the child and family.
- Can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to learn new skills and overcome challenges and can increase success in school and life.
- Programs are available in every state and territory (see each program’s contact information below). These publicly funded programs provide services for free or at reduced cost for any child who is eligible.
Today, I will call Early Intervention to schedule a time to talk to someone about Lucas’ motor skill development. I’m actually excited to see if can work with him on certain therapies or exercises to get him to reach the milestones he should be at.
In a nutshell, here is what we are looking to accomplish: getting him to a seated position (without my assistance), getting him to start scooting or crawling, and working on his feeding techniques (better hand coordination).
Other than that- he is currently going through a lot of other things. He is wanting solid foods way more than baby foods. Luckily, the Baby Brezza food maker comes with pouches, so I can still make him food and he knows how to use the pouches!
Lucas is babbling so much, it’s so fun to hear him say “dada” and “mama”. He loves sitting in the shopping carts at the store with his sisters. And of course, still loves being put in the baby carrier and being my permanent hip fixture.
His sleep schedule is consistent, even though his is teething right now (thank you to that!) He takes 2 naps during the day and sleeps 10-11 hours at night. I’m still waiting for a single tooth to break through. So far, nothing yet.
I’ll do a follow up post in a couple of months if we do get a specialist to come over to help us. The pediatrician said that because he is technically 6 weeks behind, they might have us wait a month to actually start anything.