She Crawls!

Through Montgomery County Infant and Toddlers Program, Joy receives physical therapy (PT) 2x/month to help with her delay in gross motor abilities.  The therapist challenges Joy with different exercises, especially to assist with pre-crawling and transitions such as sitting to tummy.  We also learn these techniques so that we can reinforce her skills throughout the week.  Tonight, Joy crawled for the first time and we got it on video!!  Check it out!

We recently switched to a new physical therapist who has been really pushing Joy during the therapy sessions. Here are some of her recommendations:

1.  Provide a lot of opportunities for tummy time.  During tummy time, Joy shifts her weight back and forth and learns how to use her arms and hands.

Tummy Time

2.   Conduct weight bearing on the knees.  A few times a day, we prop Joy up against a small couch or cushion and give her something to play with.  It is difficult at first but we rock her weight back and forth.  In this exercise, she strengthens her lower body, teaches her to push up, and also allows her to practice transitioning from semi-standing to sitting.

Weight bearing on knees

3.  Place desirable objects (i.e. favorite toys, iphone, etc) just outside the baby's reach.  Once Joy learned how to use arms, elbows and knees, we just needed to encourage her to reach, stretch, and coordinate her arms and legs.

Stretching while playing

Reaching exercises on tummy