Little man workout program

Today was a physical therapy follow up appointment. Nana and Papa were in town so we all hitched it down to the University for our appointment. It felt strange being back there again but no matter, Mason Stone had to be checked out to make sure everything was going according to plan.

The physical therapist was the same that we had while in the NICU and her assistant so it was kind of cool to see her reaction to how large he has become. He weighed in at 13 pounds 10 ounces today but that was not why we were there. They were going to put little man through the ringer!!!

They started with him seated in Julie's lap and they did some visual and reactive tests. They rolled a ball across the table to see if he could track it with his eye and head movement. They put blocks on the table to see if he would reach and pick them up. He did not do so well with the reaching and picking up part, which I attribute to him being respectful of other people's property as opposed to him NOT being able to do it ha ha.

Then she put a small pill sized purple thing on the table to see if he could see it and if he would reach for it. He saw that just fine which blew her mind. She said that was something that very few children his age could do so he is, of course, awesome.

Then they put him on his back and they ran his body through tests for muscle development and movement. He did very well with these exercises and we learned that we were not focussing enough on moving his hands together and downward toward his knees. He goes up and out (like a hugging motion, go figure ha ha) very well, but down is not his forte at the moment.

His legs are doing very well and the doctors loved the way he is moving his lower body. He is still not rolling from his back to his belly very well, but they were not that concerned about that too much as they liked the way his lower body was moving so they believe he will be fine.

He also moved well in "space" while he was being held and not grounded. I attribute that to the number of "flights" he and I take together. I hold him under the shoulders and lift him up in the air so he is parallel to the ground. He holds his head up very well in that position and kicks his legs so he looks like Peter Pan.......so cute. We will get a proper photo at some point for posting.

In all, he was "average" on most tests for his adjusted age of 4 months. He was above average on one test and that was head circumfrence. In short, he's got a big head. I attribute that to our teaching him advanced geometric equations and such. He has a brain the size of a baby in the 90th percentile of a child at his adjusted age. Truth be told, he is in the 90th percentile, but it is not a measure of his brain or his functions, he is just a premature baby and has a big head ha ha.

The doctors say that everything is alright and that eventually his body will catch up and he will have a better time keeping his head stationary and rolling over, sitting up, standing, etc. will all follow in proper timing.
We have a few new exercises to try with him and we will be getting a regular physical therapist to help us along with his development.

After the exercises, Mason was bushed and crashed out. He slept for a while and we took him home and all was right in the world. Good job little man! We are so proud of you and love you a ton! Thanks to the physical therapists and everyone that has helped get our little miracle in line. Your dedication to your craft is not unnoticed!