The Happenings of John

John continues to thrive and learn new things. He is a very happy little boy who really enjoys interacting with people most of the time. However, he is developing his own likes and dislikes and he is not afraid to let them be known, but overall he is a very loving little boy.

I have started back to work so John now goes to a stay at the home of a friend of ours. She is a God-send for John as she really loves and cares for him just as he is which is exactly what he needs. She also has a 3 y/o of her own at home who is very interactive with John so he is really enjoying himself.

To our surprise and with thankfulness, we are able to report that despite being in another home, John has continued to be very healthy - no ear infections, major colds, etc. although we do keep him suctioned out by using his bulb syringe at the first sight of trouble. And the lady who keeps him has taken up with caring for him just as Joy and I would if we were here. We are very thankful to have a person who cares and loves him as we would.

John's activities include jumping in the 'Johnny Jumpup' and in the 'Jumperoo', climbing, crawling, standing and taking steps while holding our hands, and laughing and charming everyone he comes in contact with. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to keep him still unless he is eating or going to sleep.

As for eating, he now has two bottom teeth and is working on the two top teeth for which we are happy to see, so we have increased his diet to include more table foods such as corn, green beans, and ice cream to mention a few. John has never had trouble swallowing so we have not worried about introducing new foods to him. He still takes a bottle of either formula or breast milk, nurses, and eats jars of #2 and # 3 baby food. He drinks some whole milk from an open cup (with help) which he seems to enjoy.

He is a very alert baby that is very vocal and expresses what he wants. This gives us hope that his brain cells are growing and working fine. It also motivates us to work with him more.

One thing that I am currently working with him on is his ability to crawl with his knees underneath him rather than out to the side. He has always done this and it has not improved any. So I am using red thera-band to strap his thighs together. This is done under close supervision and only for about 1 hour/day. I have noticed a change in the way he is able to bring his knees into a more normal position, but if you try this, it takes persistence. And I'm not sure even with persistence that I am going to be able to correct Johns crawling before he learns to walk. It makes me think that I should have started this earlier in his crawling because now that he has learned to get around with his knees out, I'm not sure how motivated he is to change. But I keep working on this and hope that he learns to walk soon.

Thanks again for reading. I have appreciated reading your comments and reading the posts about your children. I hope that I am able to offer some bits of insight from a physical therapy point of view that helps...and feel free to offer your stories or ask questions. I love to share our story and tools with people. One thing that I leave you with - don't get discouraged. I have learned that my John grows and learns by his own clock.