She just kept growing

Because my daughter has Erb's Palsy, there were lots of little things in her development that were different than a typical full-term child. Developmental delays, though, are typical with Erb's Palsy, and I anticipated that physically, she would come along a bit slower than other kids as she worked to regain muscle strength in her left arm. We were thrilled that she could reach her mouth by now!

My daughter was unable to do tummy time for a long while, because she did not have the arm strength to push herself up at all. Her neck muscles had been traumatized from the birth, and she had torticollis, making it difficult for her to move her neck on the right. Torticollis doesn't only happen to BPI kids, and there are simple exercises to do to loosen the muscles and allow normal neck function on a continuous basis. Once we did those, she could move her neck just fine, but her arm still lacked the strength to support her during tummy time.

By 7 months, though, she could do it:



...what a blessed thing for our happy family!

My daughter did not roll over on her own until she was already walking. Even though her therapist and I worked with her extensively, she just had no interest in it. I don't claim to be the baby whisperer, but I think the reason for this is because babies choose to do what is easier. It is a survival technique. They don't have the time to be frustrated when they can solve the problem another way. My daughter's therapist points out that they are required at a younger age to use problem-solving, and so these kids get so smart, so fast. When you are good at so many things, why would you want to waste your energy on something you aren't able to master due to your limitations? I don't think I would work too hard at it, either.

There are, of course, consequences to developmental delays, and there are ways to minimize them. My daughters head began to become VERY flat. This is a condition known as Plagiocephaly, or "flat head syndrome." It happens when a baby spends most of their time on their back. The "Back to Sleep" campaign has helped us to fight SIDS, but not Plagiocephaly. We went to see a pediatric neurosurgeon, and he informed us that her head was not severe enough to need a helmet, but he did suggest that she was old enough to sleep on her tummy now, and so we began to reposition her during sleep. A year later, you can not tell at all that my daughter had a problem with plagiocephaly. Going to the doctor is a great idea, and there are many treatment options. If you are dealing with this, may I suggest also http://shopboppy.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=14&zenid=ff2db94c070966016803ea4609614c35. It will bring you peace of mind while you deal with the bigger issues, like what to do about Erb's Palsy. Or, what kind of music you want to listen to today.

My daughter began crawling at 8 months old. Sort of. She used her arms in the normal crawling fashion, but she used her right FOOT and left knee to scoot about on the floor. While it was cute, it was necessary to always keep her in pants so that she would not get rug burn on the left leg she was dragging around behind her. We also worked on that in therapy, but she would never crawl normally until AFTER she began walking.

When you look at the big picture, none of these quirks are that big a deal, but when you as a mother see your child struggle, it hurts your heart. In the end, though, my child has ended up being so bright and funny, and I know she can do anything. Physically, she is far beyond her peers. She can climb anything, she can run so fast, she can jump. She can walk on her tiptoes, too. Which she does often, while sneaking around the house creating chaos in her wake. Sounds plenty normal to me.