In the last few posts we have mentioned Early Intervention and thought it might be about time we share Jonah's "fitness plan" with you.
When we took Jonah home after the Norwood the nurses told us not to expect him to be crushing a ton of milestones any time soon. Basically, the month spent in the hospital was going to put him about a month behind in terms of development. During the 5 1/2 months Jonah spent with his NG tube, Rob and I thought for sure he was going to be even further behind since he spent the majority of his time in a swaddle blanket...also known as Jonah's "straight jacket". On top of that, there are some pretty major post-surgical restrictions that don't necessarily facilitate a natural progression. One-no tummy time. Two-no lifting under the arms for 8 weeks after surgery. When we were finally given the green light to start tummy time and pick Jonah up under the arms we had to take him back for the Glenn. After that surgery, same restrictions. Result-pretty much a wet noodle:) No bulging biceps or thunder thighs for this guy!
Jonah was evaluated by our state Early Intervention program at literally the exact time that we were attempting to take his NG tube out. We had no idea if Jonah was going to take to the bottle and if he did what kind of impact it would have on everything else. Our gut feeling was that Jonah was going to figure it all out but we decided it would be best to go with the full monty of therapists to start things off. We met with the coordinator and the evaluators from physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nutrition...the plan was in motion.
And so it began. But before we got our therapists scheduled on their given day and time, Jonah wasted no time catching up on his own. We had about 2-3 weeks before we had our first visit and by then almost everything had changed from our initial evals. It was pretty clear that physical therapy was Jonah's biggest "delay". We also talked alot with the group about sensory development and more than a couple of things were noticed. Occupational therapy comes in to play here. It's kind of complex but it made sense that once he became more comfortable in his own skin and with his environment (outside of the house) other things would fall into place. Remember, when faced with adversity Jonah never fails to step up to the plate. While we waited for the professionals Jonah drank from a bottle like he never had an NG tube, couldn't get enough of the exciting flavors from new fruits and veggies, preferred sitting up to anything else, began reaching for toys in all directions, became a bucking bronco in his Johnny-Jumper-thing, and pretty much checked everything off the 6 month "to-do"list.
Now that we have 2 weeks or so under our belts, Jonah's therapists could not be more pleased with the progress Jonah made on his own and have set there sights on just a few lingering things Jonah should be focusing on. A big one is definitely tummy time, but come on...there are many a babies that don't enjoy this activity. The good thing is nothing is stopping our little man now. No surgeries looming in the near future and flu season is almost behind us.
Rob and I have hearts overflowing with love for our boy. He has overcome great odds and far, far, far exceeded any expectations his silly mother had in the beginning. We have all learned some wonderful lessons. Thankfully God has given us the grace to accept the things which we cannot control or dictate and to trust in Him above all things!!
