Leo, Our Little Lion Man

    We're back home! Haven't had an appointment in weeks, and still going strong!     Being at Wayumi and the cabin with a little one was very enlightening. I knew in my brain what to expect, but you also just have to experience it for yourself to fully process the limited freedom, new priorities, and self-sacrificing necessities. I don't mean to sound dramatic, though. It was a good time.     Leo did so good! Wayumi was definitely over-stimulating for him at times. I tended to remove myself from the group in the afternoons and get some quiet time with Leo in our room to do some therapy and nap. He didn't always sleep the greatest during the day, but at night he was a champ! He met lots of new friends, too. That presented another new experience of telling new people about Leo's story. Basically, I just wanted to tell anyone who held him about his high muscle tone because you don't expect a baby to be that strong. People were very encouraging and loving to Leo. I

    Since we don't have as many appointments, it's hard to organize my thoughts to update you all. But there are plenty of things to share! Let's start with his "appointment" first.      Leo had another great therapy session! She was so pleased to see so much progress from one week to the next. He is doing really well with lifting his head up. He's pushing it higher than before, holding it up longer, and able to control it a little more (and moving it to both sides). Something that we are working towards is for him to be able to hold his head in the middle (looking straight up) when he is on his back. As far as his limbs, he is still extending and contracting them. It's a bit challenging for him to bring his hands to his knees but we are seeing it some. He is kicking his feet, but needs to work on abdominal strength. So, I have exercises to practice with him and ways to lay him down so that certain things are supported to help him work on specific muscles.

      I actually don't know when our next appointment is. I know that it's Lactation because we are going to do a one-month-breastfeeding sort of check up on Leo. But other than that, we are on therapy sessions, 3 month neurology check-ups and monitoring, and normal pediatrician check-ups.      We had another therapy session and it went well. Leo was a little fussy, but still did a lot. He seems to be getting stronger in the neck. He can lift his head up better and is definitely supporting himself more and more. That's our tummy time workouts showing themselves valuable! We're still working on eyes, and I feel like that's going to be a long road. We are just working on focusing and tracking. And, to be honest, it's hard to not get discouraged when working on that with him because it's difficult for him. Every now and then (doing therapy or not) it'll just make me sad that I'm trying to get my kid to look at me. But, oh, it is sweet when he does and I