Friday, April 6, 2012

Guest Post: Reaching the milestones

Daddy catches Jamie in the act of standing in his crib for the first time!
Daddy catches Jamie standing for the first time
One of the biggest worries parents of children who have clubfoot face is, "Will my child reach the crucial developmental milestones the same as other children?"  That could be one of the strongest motivations behind choosing to pursue treatment in the first place, or being complaint with the bracing - the big "What if" factor.  What if my boy's foot reverts because I didn't give him the full 12 hours of bracing a day he was supposed to have?  What if she doesn't improve enough if we don't have the tenotomy?  These concerns are normal and show how much we care for our little ones.  The important thing is not to get bogged down in worry.

Trust your doctor to guide you along the right path to get your baby developing normally.  And if you don't trust your doctor, trust me, the biggest worrywart of them all!   My baby did well with holding his head up and rolling over pretty early, but I was really concerned about how he would do with standing.  Since Jamie has unilateral club foot, I wasn't convinced that his right leg would be as strong as the left leg.  When he came out of the casting process, I saw a visibly corrected foot as well as atrophied muscles.  And, how in the world would he be able to stand when wearing a brace 23/7?  But just a week before he crawled at 7 months he learned to stand in his crib.  And, praise the Lord, he was taking his first steps a few months later at 11 months.  I'm still wondering about how night time potty training is supposed to work with a brace, so I'll let you know how we deal with that.  :)

Your baby WILL be able to sit up, roll over, crawl, and walk in his or her own time.  So if nothing else, trust in the strength and resilience of your precious baby.




Oh, and get a Roomba.  Seriously.  They are the best inventions for busy parents ever.  You'll see what I mean when - and I mean when! - your baby starts to crawl.

This is a guest post from Victoria, who has been a bloggin' machine for Faith Feet & Love.  She's previously written an Our Story feature as well as sharing some advice about the Importance of Humor when dealing with clubfoot.  We want to thank Victoria for writing such an awesome guest post!  If you'd like to write a guest post, please contact us for more details.


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