Monday, March 12, 2007

Delayed?

I hate this. I posted back in January about the lowercase taking his first step. What I haven't written is that he kind of quit. Sure every now and then he'll let go and take a few steps...but it's been two months and he still hasn't been able to take more than 5 steps at a time.

He now gets frustrated when we try to hold his hands and walk with him -- most of the time when we try he instantly drops to his knees to begin crawling. On the other hand, he is constantly pulling up to stand, cruising the furniture, and frequently walks behind things (ride-on toys, walking toys, his leap frog music table).

On Friday I gave in and called the county early intervention office. We've been doing evaluation forms from them at home on our own and he's always scored well above the cutoff point in every category. His most recent one, done at 12 months adjusted age (mid-January), had him scoring 55 in gross motor with the cutoff point for delays being 18. So why isn't he walking?

We go to gymboree classes where he is one of two babies who does not yet walk -- the other child is also 7 months younger than him (actually too young for the class she's enrolled in, but nobody asked me). During classes, any activity that involves walking sends him crawling at top speed across the room to a bin full of balls or to the mirrors or tunnels.

I'm expecting a call from EI some time this week to schedule a time for a pair of therapists to come to our house and evaluate my son.

Add to the worries about his gross motor development the fact that he's only in the 4th percentile for weight, my currently intense level of PMS, the fact that many other people I know are having second (or third) babies when my husband refuses to discuss that even as a remote years-away possibility, and my general neurotic personality and you might have a picture of my life at the moment.

I had a breakdown yesterday doing massive amounts of crying, followed by about 10 minutes of laughter and then, as a result of one innocent comment from my husband, another 20 minutes of gut-wrenching sobbing...in the grocery store parking lot.

Oh...and the lowercase is having another eye exam today to see if his prematurity has affected his vision.

[ posted @ 9:55 AM ] [ Post a Comment ] [ View Comments (8) ]
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Comments about my post, "Delayed?":

Take heart, there is a great chance that lowercase will catch up! My very best friend delivered her first two sons early due to hormonal stagnant migraines. Both boys were below the range for gross motor development and speech. One son is now 6 and the other is 4 and you know...they are both walking and talking.

Having premature babies is challenging-and you could face more hardships-but because you care so deeply about lowercase's development he has a fighting chance!

[ Permalink ] posted by muse : 10:18 AM

was on time, still didn't walk until he was almost 16 months. He just didn't want to, crawling was it for him. Then one day he just figured, why not, and off he went.

I wouldn't be worried about him being delayed with it.

[ Permalink ] posted by Brokenornot : 12:17 PM

Oh, it's so hard not to worry about all of this stuff. Our son (full-term) didn't walk late, either. I think he just found crawling to be more convenient/faster for him.

I was so frustrated by this -- also during his gym class -- and now I'm totally paranoid about his speech/language development. There's always something else to worry about.

I hope the appt with the EI goes well.

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 3:39 PM

Hang in there. It sounds like he is just comfortable crawling. Since he can walk along furniture, it does not sound like anything is structural is preventing him from walking.

Has he ever been diagnosed with sensory issues (sensory integration dysfunction)? Some sensory kids have trouble walking because they cannot figure out where their body is in relation to space.

My daughter was born at 25.5 weeks. She took her first steps at 15 months actual age but then decided that she could crawl faster. She didn't start actively walking until she was 17 months actual age. She had/has severe sensory issues so she had trouble walking for quite some time.

She is 8 years old now and walks/runs just fine.

[ Permalink ] posted by ThePreemie Experiment : 8:18 PM

This infertility-plus-preemie racket is a really, really tough one, and I am so sorry you're feeling the weight of it. I think we have been in very similar places, so if you'd like to vent, please, please just drop an e-mail. You are so not alone.

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 10:52 AM

My preemies walked at a pretty standard time, but I'm concerned about the other side of the coin: talking. They just don't do it. They will be two next month, and they *might* say ten words between them. I'm sure it's true that there's always something to worry about, for any parent, but it's all so magnified for preemie parents. Anyway, I'm thinking of you.

[ Permalink ] posted by Heather : 3:03 PM

My IVF twins were 5 weeks early and just started walking at 15 months 1 week...not that I was counting!

It was such a process, I thought they'd just get up and walk one day! They did the whole couple of steps then crawl thing, then one day they just decided (on the same weekend!) that walking would be the first choice.

I think it took about 2 months from the first steps to walking. Take heart, it happens differently for everyone. As with the others, speech is my next worry!

[ Permalink ] posted by Anonymous : 6:48 AM

Sorry you're having a bad time of it right now. I have twins who were born at 34 weeks, which you would think would mean that they're pretty much "normal," but they've had various problems and been late with most things. The twin who has had more problems just started to walk by himself yesterday, at 16+ months. This morning he was still doing a lot of crawling, but I think we're getting there. There is nothing wrong with calling in for an evaluation. He is pulling himself up, cruising, etc., and all of those things lead to walking. Chances are that they will either tell you he's on the right track or give you specific ways and tools to help him learn. Oh, and my son is only in the 5th percentile for weight too. Take care.

[ Permalink ] posted by lagiulia : 8:47 AM