PT/OT/ST...oh my!

Cooper is officially in all three therapy disciplines: physical, speech and occupational. I feel like we're there all the time!

Physical therapy: Cooper is still unable to sit-up, crawl or bear weight on his legs. His PT has said that he is at a 6 month old level. He works so hard during his sessions and at home so I know it's just a matter of time. Every now and then, he'll sit-up unsupported for like 10 seconds and he'll bear some weight on his legs for a brief moment...and, that's progress! He's rolling all over the place now though! He can't crawl but he is mobile! He sees something on the other side of the room and will roll to it! He has the biggest smile on his face when he finally gets there and that smile brings joy to my heart~

Speech therapy: For the record, this has nothing to do with him talking which confuses people. Hypotonia affects EVERY muscle in the body which includes his tongue, his throat muscles and even the muscles around his lips. His tongue is weak which makes it difficult for it to move the food down his throat and more often than not the food pockets in the side of his mouth. He also is unable to use a sippy cup because his mouth can't get around the spout tight enough. It still takes him about 30+ minutes to do a bottle. She's going to teach him how to swallow correctly, move up to finger foods, use a sippy cup and straw...eventually, we'll move up to language and then he'll be able to tell us the meaning of life, you know those sorts of things....

Occupational therapy: Everyone seems to find this one hilarious because Cooper doesn't even have a job...yeah, that joke is getting old! This therapy helps him with his fine motor skills. He had his eval today and she has him at a 7 month old level. His fingers are weak so he uses his palms to pick up things so he needs to work on using his fingers more. He has now started some imitating like clapping when you clap but she wants him to start doing these things on a more consistent basis. She was very impressed with how well he follows commands and how he concentrates on you very hard so you can tell that he's trying to figure out how to do things.

Overall, we've got a lot of work ahead of us but I'm there with him every step of the way. He's an inspiration for me because he has such a sweet spirit despite everything that goes on with therapy. Everyone loves him at the therapy place...who wouldn't, really? ;)