We're Rolling!

Lucas is finally rolling over by himself! ...over, and over, and over! This may sound like a small thing, but not to us. After MONTHS of therapy and exercises and getting pretty discouraged that he wasn't progressing much in the motor skill area (and after a pep talk from our OT a couple weeks ago), he's finally there! Its just from belly to back, but that's ok. He's definitely strong enough to flip over the other direction, but he's still not a fan of being on his belly (mostly due to his compromised eyesight). But we're continuing to work on his belly and pushing up, because he needs to strengthen his upper back more than anything... Its a little trickier now though since he knows how to get off of his belly in two seconds! :-)

We are starting to learn how weak preemies really are--not just in the beginning, but this can last for a long time through developmental stages. Our PT explained it to me differently a few weeks ago that at 34 weeks, a baby gets into the tight fetal position which develops many of the muscles in the back, shoulder, torso. Any baby born before that misses out on this proper muscle development... and the earlier the baby is born, the less muscle and tone they have to work with. Then add that they are removed from the womb to finish out their gestation lying flat on their backs while in the NICU. The other challenge is as a result of weak muscles and lack of use, the muscles become very, very tight.

The therapists decided to step up his therapy in September and are increasing his PT and OT appointments to every week, so now he'll have three appointments a week (including vision). Although he's progressing, they feel it is not happening fast enough. He's 16 months now (12.5 corrected) and they feel he should be further along. They were thrilled to see his new trick in today's appointment though!! I've never seen Gabrielle and Melody so excited to see him roll over and a few other steps forward that he showed off.

I know we'll get there, we just need to work a little harder. In addition to his therapy appointments, I've gotten much more disciplined with doing stretches and exercises twice a day. Its tough sometimes to force him to work and get into positions when he's not happy and whimpers or cries. But unfortunately it is necessary. We are also starting "isolation therapy," where we have to restrain his right arm to force him to use his left. Another thing I hate to do, but a necessary thing. He can pass toys back and forth from hand to hand, but the left is so much weaker. And OT has noticed that when he uses the left, it is always with the right. He has trouble using it independently. During his appointment this week when restrained, after many attempts, he finally grabbed his paci and put it into his mouth! We all cheered!

Some more progress... he's starting to put weight on his arms with some help from us holding him up (and just so darn cute when he does, I might add)! He's also very close to sitting up but is having trouble due to the tightness in his legs and hips. If he could just rest his knees on the ground while in the triangle position, he'd be able to balance enough to sit, but they are so tight his knees don't come anywhere near the floor. So, it makes it even harder to balance, when all you really have is your bottom and no stabilization. Our PT is really working on this and exercises to strengthen his torso. He's come such a long way in just a few weeks... we'll get there, I have no doubt!

A quick update on his health... 3 1/2 weeks and counting. We did kick the virus after a week, but now we're now fighting a pretty bad cold. Week two he was coughing a lot and we were back on increased nebulizer treatments, and now in week three it has moved into his nose and he can barely breathe. Poor guy, it is taking so long to get back to normal.

We're heading to Ohio tomorrow for my brother's wedding (Josh & Kami)... Lucas is the ring-bearer! He's going to be pulled in a wagon by Kami's 6-year old twin nephews. He'll be wearing the cutest little tuxedo in the world! I'm sure there will be lots of pictures! Then we're off to a week on the lake with the entire family. We are looking forward to a great week!

Here's a few recent pictures...

Look at me!

Little Angel