Bragging Rights

I want to start by saying, I have wonderful, supportive friends, who have wonderful kids that I love dearly. I am always sincerely excited for every new milestone they reach. I know you are not supposed to compare your child to anyone else's, but each new milestone the other kids made was always a bitter sweet reminder of the milestones that seemed so far away for us, and sometimes felt impossible to reach. So today, I am happy to have plenty to brag about! I couldn't be more proud of my little girl, and I honestly can't remember the last time I cried so many tears of joy.

Maddy has been in therapy only 3 weeks now, but has come so far. Each of her therapists this week commented on how much improvement she is making week to week, and she has already reached many of the initial goals we made 3 weeks ago.

In the last 3 weeks, Maddy has learned to transition from laying down to sitting in the proper position, and can get onto all fours as well. She has learned to say "Dada", and now says it all the time. When we started she had a hard time supporting herself with one arm while using the other to play, but can now do this for long periods of time without help. She can pick up cheerios and puffs and little pieces of food with a pincer grasp and get foods into her mouth. And speaking of foods, in the last few days she is tolerating more and more textured foods, she will even eat stage 3 foods now! She can pull herself up to standing now, the proper way, and stand supporting herself with only one hand. She is improving on using both hands together in play, and her hands are not clenched into fists nearly as often. And for the topper on the cake, she has started crawling a little at a time, and can scoot towards things she wants a little now too. Just as recently as last week she had no interest in crawling, and now sees something she wants and tries without any help or encouragement!

All the improvement I have seen in her is really inspiring to me. The fact that insurance companies do not cover PT or OT for babies like Maddy is very frustrating to me. If I ever have the energy or free time, I would love to do something, somehow, to make a difference.