Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Loose Hips, Sink AJ's

Over the last week or so, AJ has had a huge growth spurt. He's taller, I'm pretty sure that there has been some development growth & brain growth...and oh yes, those teeth are coming through again. We are convinced this child has extra teeth :(

AJ suddenly stopped walking. If we facilitated walking, he tried to walk with only the top half of his body. Doesn't work so well! His left hand began to fist/clench again. Bad habits/self-stimulation started resurfacing. He's stiff. His hamstrings are ridiculously tight. Translation: He's growing.

His PT came a day later and said, "AJ lost his hips. He has no idea where his hips are." After she told me it would probably last a week or so, I asked if this was normal. She answered that most kids tend to be a bit uncoordinated when they've had a growth spurt. She gave me the best analogy: "For AJ, an inch of growth is like walking in 4-inch heels when you haven't done it in two years. It takes a while to get used them and walk properly, doesn't it?!"

Our homework: Knock him over from side to side while he's crawling.

Rephrase: Gently push him into side-sitting from crawling position so that he has to come back up-using his hips.

She was right, he started standing back up and walking again earlier this week. He's even crawling up and learning to walk down our make-shift stairs made out of his step-stool, a diaper box, and the couch!

Whew!

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