The Early Intervention, Early Start Program

Nothing can be more scary then thinking your child might have a physical or developmental delay! This was the case with my little one, Kaitlin. I wanted to share this on my blog simply due to the fact that I had read so much information via the internet, but there weren't enough personal stories. At least none that I could find anyway. Perhaps I wasn't looking in the right places.

As a parent, we are told that our child hits certain milestones by certain ages. Grant it, the age range for a child to hit these milestones is fairly large, but being a first time mom, it can cause a bit of panic if you hear from every Tom, Dick and Harry that their child was sitting by 6 months (mine was not), crawling by 8 months (again, mine is not), and standing by 10 months (I'm 3 for 3 on this one!).

It became so frustrating for me as a new mom because there were articles telling me not to worry, yet there were articles telling me to seek help right away. Not to mention there were the seasoned parents that told me, "My baby was doing that by 4 months. Have you talked to her pediatrician about that". I developed a worry that no doctor could shake.

As a precaution, and as a way to ease my mind, I took my daughter to her pediatrician who told me that indeed, my daughter was slightly physically delayed. This, of course, freaked me out!! She tried to assure me, however, that she wasn't delayed to the point where I needed to worry. She just told me to wait two more months until her next appointment and if I saw no improvement by then, then she would look deeper into the root of the problem.

"2 months!" I thought to myself. I couldn't agonize on knowing whether my daughter was delayed for a week, let alone 2 months. I wanted to find out if there was an issue now so that I could do everything possible to help my daughter become the best she could be later. I didn't want to sit around and do nothing (knock on wood), in case something was indeed wrong.

I did what any neurotic mother would do. I googled to my hearts content on "developmental and physical delays in babies". After hours of article reading and a few posts from moms on various sites (many of the posts were very old, however), I came across a mom who mentioned something called the Early Start Program.

I quickly googled Early Start Program in California (its name varies from state to state, but most states have this program or one that is similar). It turns out, if I had any concerns at all, all I had to do was call a number, let them know my specific concerns about my baby, and if they felt there was enough reason to believe that my child may perhaps be delayed, then I could go and see a physical therapist who would assess my child and determine for themselves whether I qualified for free physical therapy at home (they do send you paperwork, of course, but it's a small price to pay when it comes to your baby). It was nice because I was the one who referred my daughter and I didn't need a doctor or someone else to do it for me.

She got an appointment fairly quick. I would say within 2 or 3 weeks. Normally, it might take a little longer, but because she was so young, they wanted to assess her as soon as possible so that they could start therapy on her if there were some physical delays.

The physical therapist and occupational therapist that assisted her were great!! They pretty much played with her on a little mat and took notes on everything they saw. They then asked me a few questions regarding her behavior at home and from there, they were able to tell me where my tiny tot stood on the "normal development" spectrum.

Kaitlin's appointment was about a month and a half ago and I am happy to report that no extreme delays were found. She is slightly physically delayed, just as the doctor had suspected, but that was due to a lack of sufficient tummy time (Mommies of the world, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of tummy time. Do it with your child as early as possible so that they can get used to it. It helps develop their back, neck and shoulder muscles as well as their core. These muscles will eventually help them to hold up their heads, roll over, and eventually crawl). I was told that delays were common in babies who didn't have frequent tummy time (Kaitlin hates it, but I started forcing it on her since her appointment with The Early Start Program and I have seen a VAST improvement).

Kaitlin is now 8 months old and developing wonderfully (at least by my standards). My advice to any other mommies out there: babies do indeed develop at their own pace. If you personally feel that there is truly something wrong, especially in your child's development department, definitely seek medical advice, whether it be from your childs pediatrician or a program similar to Early Start. Don't feel embarassed if it turns out there is nothing wrong with your child. Like that old saying goes, "It's always better to be safe then sorry." Also, don't fret whether your friend's baby hits a milestone earlier than yours. Chances are, your baby will hit that milestone when he or she is ready. It's similar to certain subjects in school when you were a kid, some things you learn at lightning speed, other things come to you at a slower pace (math has always been my vice, but I eventually got it, it just took me some time). This is the same case with babies, just give them time.

Kaitlin started sitting up unassisted at 7 and a half months, and she is now 8 months. She is showing no interest in crawling, but after all that time I spent worrying, I realized that I hadn't enjoyed the things she COULD do such as rolling over (and she does roll EVERYWHERE like a ball) or babbling in the cutest baby voice ever!

I have also realized that she is coming into her own and just because the standards say a baby SHOULD be doing certain things by a certain age, it doesn't necessarily make it wrong if your baby doesn't. They will in their own time. Look at my little one, for example. I was told she should be sitting unassisted by 6 months. It took her a little bit longer, but now she's sitting like a pro! Like I said, give it time, and everything will fall into place when it's supposed to, otherwise, seek medical advice because it will definitely ease your mind knowing that you did something rather than waiting around worrying.

High Needs Baby!

(Top Picture: Kaitlin at 4 months, Bottom: Kaitlin at 7 months)

I don't know about any of you other mommies out there, but I have seen the doctor for my daughter so many times, read numerous articles and I have since discovered that my darling little girl is a "high needs baby".

Certainly, to a first time mom, the term "high needs" doesn't sound pleasant and I can assure you, from personal experience, it is not. If you're unfamiliar with the term, consider yourself lucky. Haha.

A high needs baby (in my own lament terms, so please don't quote me on this as I am not an expert) is an infant that requires constant stimulation and constant attention. A high needs baby is one who bores easily with the simple things that most babies enjoy and most often times (at least from my own experience) always needs to be held and can rarely sleep through the night. My daughter Kaitlin, for example, has numerous toys! Mountains and mountains of glowing, shiny plastic that doesn't seem to interest her in the least. She'll play with certain toys for about 5 - 10 minutes and then she gets into these fits of rage where she either wants to be carried or simply wants the company of another person (preferrably, a familiar face). She has a jumperoo, a bouncer, a swing and a walker. Grant it, I have heard that many of these things are bad for babies to use and have taken that into great consideration before purchasing many of them, but Kaitlin got so difficult at one time that I was honestly desperate. I know that sounds bad, but being home alone and pregnant with a screaming baby for more than 8 hours is a bit overwhelming, wouldn't you say? By the way, I should add that Kaitlin has been high needs since the day we brought her home. She was a firecracker from the very beginning, even the nurses at the hospital warned me that she would not be an easy baby (boy they weren't kidding). =)

At first, I thought perhaps that I was just spoiling her too much and I began to limit the amount of time I would carry her or I wouldn't carry her immediately after she would start crying. I would make sure that all her basic needs were met, of course, and if they were, I would simply let her cry it out. I then realized that letting her cry it out didn't work. I took her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have colic or acid reflux and that is when her pediatrician told me that I had a "high needs infant". My jaw hit the floor and I suddenly felt a twinge of panic!

"High needs?? What in the world is that and how can I cure it? Is it life enabling?? Dangerous?? Will she develop normally??"

These were the questions that rushed through my brain, but before I could blurt them all out (as I often do when I have questions for the doctor), she simply told me not to worry. High needs babies are very common and they aren't normally developmentally delayed or anything, they just simply require a bit more work then other infants. I still didn't quite get it, so she told me to look it up on the internet and if I had any further questions, I could give her a call, but to rest assure as my baby was perfectly healthy, just a little high maintenence.

"High maintenence" now that term I was famliar with and as soon as she said that, everything began to click. I quickly went home and researched the words "High Needs Baby" on the internet. You'd be so surprised at how many sites offer advice and information on these types of babies!

Although each baby is different, they all have similar patterns of behavior. For example, constant fussiness, always wanting to be held, grows bored easily with toys, HATES tummy time, etc. The list goes on. My little stinker fit the bill to a T! However, I also read in an article that although these babies require a little extra, they eventually grow out of it and I have also read that these babies grow up to be quite the little geniuses. I don't know how true that is, but if that's the case, I don't mind putting up with a little fussing and fighting.

I'm still waiting for my little one to outgrow these terrible tantrums and bursts of fussy fits, but in the meantime, it's been quite an experience so far. I, of course wouldn't trade this experience in for the world and if I have any advice to give, the only real thing would be patience...that and earplugs (haha...just joking). I've found that a strict schedule works well for my daughter, but it might not be the same for everyone. If there are any mothers out there who can relate and have any advice on what to do with a high needs baby (maybe some advice on how one can get some sleep or how one can get things done around the house without allowing their little one to scream their little lungs out, I'm sure other mommies would appreciate the input tremendously).

Until then, please know, new mommies out there and seasoned ones, if you have a high needs baby, you are not alone! Let us all unite and join as one, not to stop the high needs frenzy, as it is part of our little ones darling personality, but to come together, vent, share experiences and give advice! After all, who would know better then other mommies who have the same thing going on, right?