Physio Update

Josh had an appointment yesterday with his physiotherapist and I thought I would give you a brief update on how it went. First of all, she is very pleased with his progress as he continues to make gains in his gross motor development. She was most impressed with his ability to stand on his own without holding on to anything. He stood for quite a long time (maybe about a minute) before plopping to the ground. It was certainly the longest I had ever seen him stand unassisted so he must of been trying to show off for his therapist :)

Actually he'll only stand unassisted if he doesn't realize that he's doing it. If he's distracted with a toy he will stand without holding on, but the moment he realizes what he is doing he laughs and plops to the ground. If he realizes what you're trying to do before he lets go, he suddenly gets spaghetti legs and plops to the ground. It's really quite humourous.

His therapist also assessed his walking (while holding my hands) for the first time. When he walks while holding with both hands everything looks good. He does toe out with both feet, but she assured me that this is completely normal in a toddler just learning to walk. When Josh walks with only his right hand held everything still looks good - his steps are symmetrical. But when he walks with only his left hand held there's significant out-toeing with his right foot and his right foot drags a little. This isn't a major problem at this point, but she said that she's being extra picky with Josh because of history and the fact that he's high risk for a movement disorder. His therapist said that this is something she will keep an eye on but she suspects that the foot dragging is related to weakness in the left arm as opposed to the leg since he doesn't drag the foot when cruising. When he is walking independently we will be better able to identify any asymmetries.

Josh doesn't go back for physio until Jan. 14 so he may very well be walking by then. We'll have to wait and see. Josh only does things when he's good and ready.

Not much else happening around here. Josh is still teething away. I think he's working on his third molar (bottom right) and possibly one of the top front teeth, but nothing has popped through yet.

We're also slowly gearing up for Christmas. I've started to put up some Christmas decorations and I've put up the tree. The tree's not decorated yet but it's up. I know once the ornaments go on it will be even harder to keep Josh away from it so I've delayed that step for now. I'll decorate it one of these days when he goes down for his nap but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

So I will leave you with a couple of pictures of Josh playing with one of the Christmas decorations. He loves the dancing, singing snowmen!