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…….Tomorrow! Woooooohoooooo. Can’t wait to see Mikey’s reaction now that is has been 4 months since our last trip. We come back on Saturday so hopefully I’ll have a few pics and videos to share asap. If not give us a few days ;o)

Since we’ll be celebrating Turkey day away from the computer we wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving a few days early.

I *think* Mikey might finally be close to walking on his own. Last night daddy and I sat across from each other and one of us would hold up a toy he really wanted while the other positioned him standing so that he could try taking steps. He’d take a step or two SUPER wobbly and then would fall forward. Over the weekend he has started walking if I only hold one of his hands instead of him having to hold both of my hands. So we are making progress for sure. I would sooooooo love for him to start walking this week so that he can take steps towards Pooh and Tigger when we go up to Disney. If not there is always next time.

We went to PT this past Saturday. What a refreshing session. It’s dead there on Saturdays which was REALLY nice! We primarily practiced standing and walking. We even went out of our little room to use some of the equipment outside in the main area since there weren’t many people around. Mikey even got to use a treadmill for the first time ever! Which was cute to watch!!!!!!

Here are some pics:

On Friday we went to the specialist to get properly fit for the TOT collar. She did some stretches so that they could bill it to our insurance as PT instead of a TOT collar adjustment since insurance won’t cover that. Let me tell you what a difference! It fits the way its supposed to now. She did cut the tubes which we never did because our therapist at PT told us we shouldn’t because his neck will grow. But I figured enough is enough I’m hoping he’ll wear this for 4-6 weeks and then he won’t need it anymore and I’d think his neck won’t grow that much in that time frame. So he’s been wearing it most of the weekend with breaks here and there. But so far very good!

We were supposed to have our conference tomorrow but since I was down visiting Mikey and they had time they squeezed me in today. Which was nice. They reassured me that they will practice walking and standing with Michael every day that he is there until he finally gets the hang of it himself. They said that his spot in the toddler room will be saved for whenever he is ready. Whether that is January or months after that, his spot is ready when HE is ready. Here is the summary of his report:

To Learn About Self and Others:
Michael has brief play encounters with other children and begins to participate in group routines.

To Learn About Moving:
Michael uses one hand to hold an object and the other hand to manipulate another object. Uses thumb and index finger to grasp and drop objects.

To Learn About the World:
Michael focuses on activity of choice but is easily distracted. Michael imitates the actions of others.

To Learn About Communicating:
Michael uses gestures, babbles, and combines sounds to communicate, using the rising and falling patterns of adults speech, and produces first words.

Favorite Activities and Special Interests:
Michael loves to play with different kinds of balls, he has a thing for balls.

Next Steps at the Program and at Home:
Michael likes to stand, so continue to walk with him so he can have balance and coordination

We had PT yesterday afternoon. I would have posted an update then but I just never have the time after we get back home. It was just a typical good appointment. Yes he’s tilting but its very mild. I told her what the specialist wants and she thinks that’s ok. She did agree with us going once a week now which is great. She did say that if he regresses that she’d like for us to go back to twice a week and I’m perfectly fine with that. So once a week it is, except for this week. Since we go to Disney next week I have to cancel his appointment for next Wednesday so his next PT appointment will be this Saturday.

Here are a few pics from yesterday’s session:

At our last appointment with Dr. Stelnicki he had told me that if Mikey was tilting at a year to bring him back in. Well when he turned 1 he was still tilting so I had made an appointment to see him and that appointment was this morning. We waited a freaking hour to get called back to our room! Which is ridiculous! BUT he is a good doctor so I’ll do it for him. He looked over Mikey and did notice a slight tilt, which he has had for the last week. He asked what we have tried and I told him that we tried the taping and the TOT collar and neither worked. He wants us to come in this Friday at his Ft. Lauderdale office to get refit for the TOT collar because I told him that when I put it on him within a minute it moves out of position and he ends up pulling it off. So we are going Friday afternoon for a fitting for them to fix it. I told him that our therapist was considering ending PT on December 3rd and he does not want us to end it just yet only because Mikey has been illness/teething free for the past 3 weeks. We NEED to see how he does with his tilt when he is teething or is sick so he wants us to continue. So I’m going to ask our therapist this afternoon if we can move our appointments to once a week for now, especially since he’s doing pretty well.

So we go back to Dr. Stelnicki the beginning of January for a follow-up to see how Mikey is doing with his tilt. If he’s still tilting then our next step is botox on his good side. He said that they’d have to sedate him in order to do the injection but he did not want to do it yet. I hope we can avoid that!

Yesterday afternoon I got to pick up Mikey’s 1st school portraits that he got taken 2 weeks ago at daycare. I’ll admit I secretly was hoping for a crying picture because they said he started crying when it was his turn. But alas, no crying pic. We got these two instead….

The scan didn’t do them justice but they are MUCH cuter in person!

Here are the pics from our friend Carmen that took Mikey’s newborn photos. Once again she captured our little guy just perfectly. Thanks Carmen!!!!

We had PT last night and it went pretty well. He is tilting but not nearly as bad as he has been in the past. Our therapist told me to make sure I continue stretching daily and hopefully it won’t get any worse. He’s not always tilting though. We see it more when he stands or when he’s walking. I’ve also seen it at times when he’s in his carseat, but its NOT all of the time. So there is still hope that come December 3rd when he is reevaluated he will officially get released from PT.

So in this session he got to try out a new toy. They have this swing contraption that attaches to the ceiling and she’d swing it forward and back and then side to side as he was standing to get him to correct his tilt and strengthen his trunk. Here is a pic of him using it:

She even practiced standing with him by coaxing him to stand with no back support by getting him to play with a toy that is in front of him.

And then we finished up PT with a walking session. Just like on Monday he walked all the way from his PT room in the back of the building to the front where the waiting room is. Here is is smiling at the girl that is running using the Wii Fit:

Here is a pic of Mikey walking the final stretch to the waiting room. Such a big boy!