On December 10th we took Avery to her first developmental appointment. She will have 2 developmental appointments during her first year of life and then one appointment per year until she is five, if I remember correctly.
During the appointment we met with the developmental specialist and basically he did a quick check of her reflexes, movements, etc. The he proceeded to tell us that she seems stiff in her upper body and that we need to not do anything further to develop her lower body. He told us that “stiffness” is very common with preemies and typically goes away when they are 15 months of age. He said it is not typically a real issue; however it can delay things like sitting, crawling, and walking. He also told us:
- No TV or computer screens for babies until 2 years of age
- No shoes on babies, except for decoration
- A larger % of preemie babies have language and/or math issues
- A larger % of preemies have ADD.
I have to say we were actually quite taken back by the fact that Avery had “stiffness” and from that point on it was hard to focus. I guess the main issue was I had never heard anything about stiffness before and if it is something that can be worked on with stretching or by limiting certain activities then why weren’t we told about this before? He also said something about how Avery was only developed muscle wise to right below the shoulder and that we needed to work on the lower back in order to get her to sit. His basis for this was the way Pat was holding Avery. I think I was in shock through most of the appointment.
Even though he didn’t say anything in particular was wrong with Avery, other than mild stiffness which will go away, I walked out of there feeling like he just told me a thousand things were wrong and to get ready for more. It seemed like he had his mind made up about Avery before he even met her or examined her. I’m not sure why but something about this developmental appointment didn’t and still doesn’t sit well with me. We have decided that we will do what he says, however when we take her back for her next appointment in a few months we will see what he has to say and if we still don’t like it then we will look into options for other specialists, even if that means taking her someplace several hours away to see a different doctor.
Avery is actually doing quite well. She is getting very vocal with her jibber jabber. When she is really happy she screams “AHHH!” She loves to gargle when she is drinking her bottle…yes I said gargle. She fills her mouth up with milk and then looks up and smiles while she makes this gargling noise. She is completely pleased with new ability. She is still eating wonderfully and sleeping a ton. She sleeps 11 hours a night and typically naps at least 3-4 hours during the day. She is getting quite good with her sitting up. She can go a good 30 seconds before toppling over…pending she is interested in something in front of you. She is getting better with tummy time. She doesn’t love it, but is getting better. She definitely keeps things entertaining around the house.
