*there's PT

Out of all the things we do with Will, physical therapy (PT) is probably my favorite. He doesn't have severe developmental delays but I requested an evaluation to see if he could benefit. Since I have the time to work with him so I wanted as much help as possible. Luckily he qualified and it has been a really good experience. The first therapist came to our house weekly for a few weeks. We don't see her anymore because she moved to another state. But we got along well and she taught me several things about what Will does well and what could use improvement.

We've seen our new therapist a few times and she is really great too. We go to her one morning each week. I thought having PT at home was really convenient, but going to the place where the equipment is almost unlimited is much better than convenience. The gym is huge and has other PT sessions going on at the same time. I like that I get to see the style of the other therapists. The only downside is that Will is so observant he wants to watch everyone else rather than his therapist. She works with that though and uses the distractions to her benefit. For example, if she wants him to roll to one side, she faces him so that side is entertaining rather than just looking at her.

Every week when we leave she gives me a list of things to work on with Will for the next week. We're supposed to practice everything 3 times a day. Will has always responded really well to stretches and strength building. Sometimes it only takes a couple of days to see an improvement. This week we are holding toys to his sides to get him to reach across his body in both directions, having him spend time on his knees to build strength in his legs, and enticing him to roll from his back to both sides and stay there to play for a little while.

She also explains why he needs to do things a certain way and in a certain order. Because of the G tube on his stomach she is okay with him skipping the army crawl babies often use before crawling on their hands and knees. Since he doesn't like being on his stomach at all, it takes effort to get him to stay on his hands and knees to build strength in the right places. But in a matter of two weeks he is much more comfortable on his hands and knees and will stay there for longer and longer periods of time.

One of the cutest things Will has done lately is show his desire to move. He gets started but either doesn't know what to do next or is still gaining strength and coordination.

Here is an example. 

I will find him like this and leave him there to see if he figures out what to do next.
Can you tell what toy he was trying to reach? 

It's a pretty big deal that he willingly lets himself get in that position. He hates being on his tummy.

After letting him try on his own for awhile I help him get to this position:

Definitely pre-crawling!