Look at Me! I am standing!!

Wyatt said, "Mom, this isn't very that exciting, I don't know why you are jumping up and down. It's no big deal."



We get so many questions asking about what Wyatt can do, what will he be able to do in the future, and where is he in his development. These are all good questions and I am happy to answer. One day, Wyatt will be able to do everything and maybe even be the first person to walk on Mars. He is a smart little guy and understands everything that you say. Sometimes, by the way he listens to you, I think he is older than his age. He is an observer, thinker, and soaks everything in. Cognitively, even with his IVH Grade 4 brain bleed he functions as a 14 month old. Physically and speech-wise he is a little behind since he was in the hospital for five months with many hurdles to overcome. Wyatt is sitting up confidently, but not crawling, walking, or standing on his own. He dislikes tummy time and screams every second. So we find other ways to strengthen his upper body by using the Big Blue Ball... we sit him on top of the ball and slowly slide him down to a standing position while Elmo is on TV. Susan, our nurse works with him very often doing this. The idea is to allow weight to bear on his feet. We also use the ball for tummy time too. Wyatt is also starting to like the Jumperoo which allows him to bear weight on his feet too. Wyatt wants to be mobile around the house and he is making progress ... just very slowly. He is at a point now, where he feels comfortable in different positions to allow us to move forward in his therapy. Wyatt is cleared to eat small amounts of food. A swallow study has not been done (only when he was 5 weeks old) since he does not know who to swallow yet. Even though he is cleared to eat some baby food, it's like World War III. He gags, spits up, etc... So instead of forcing anything on him, we feed me for enjoyment. He enjoys licking a cracker on his own, chocolate pudding on his lips, and some food in really really tiny amounts. We try oral stimulation/food every day. Wyatt can say a few things speech wise and his voice is about loud as a 14 month old even with the paralyzed vocal cord. He can say Ma Ma, Hot, Gru, Ba, Gub. When I ask him where Mommy's nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, he grabs them. We read to him daily and he turns the pages in the book by himself the right way. He is starting to stack blocks, and loves to play the drums and other banging musical instruments. He puts things in containers and takes them out. So that is where he is development wise. We need to work on upper body strength, eating, and speech. I could not be happier with him and am extremely proud of how hard Wyatt tries each day... always with a positive attitude and always with 100 percent effort.