Walk This Way, Talk This Way

The other night Graham did something we’ve been waiting a long time to see him do, he walked! The first time he took 4 steps. The next night, he walked halfway across the room!



Just in time for grandma and grandpa to see it, as they left the following morning.

You may have noticed Graham is a bit late on this milestone. We noticed late last year that Graham was a bit late on most his gross motor milestones. Graham has slightly low muscle tone. Basically what that means is that in their normal state, his muscles have a bit less tension than an average child’s and they fatigue quicker. So for Graham, it means he will get there, but it will take him a little longer and he’ll have to work a little harder. So as you can imagine, walking is a HUGE accomplishment for him. His doctor recommended physical therapy for him. So, he has been in physical therapy for quite some time. We recently increased the frequency to twice weekly and it has really helped as you can see.

Graham in his therapy session, with Stephani.

His doctor and therapist also think his vision has had a lot to do with it. Without good vision, he would not have good coordination, balance, or sense of position in space. This all not only affects his ability to achieve gross milestones, but also his confidence, affecting his desire to achieve said milestones. Bad cycle.

They also did a urinalysis and found Graham had a B12 deficiency with can lead to lack of energy, so he is now on supplements. He was getting enough in his diet, but for some reason it didn’t seem like he was absorbing it fully. Not sure if it’s doing anything, but he does seem a bit peppier.

We will never know exactly why, but the important thing is Graham is so well!! Hopefully he will catch up soon. As for long term, if we’re lucky he will totally grow out of it. Or maybe, he may tire faster than other children and it will be important for us to keep him active. Either way, there are MUCH worse problems! We have had our ups and downs dealing with this over the past 9 months. Balancing being the at-home therapists and parenting can be tough, however lately we have been more and more positive. As Graham gets older and learns new things every day, we become more and more confident that this is just a physical challenge.

So onto some of those new things Graham has learned. As the title of this post suggests, Graham is talking up a storm. He has 50 words now. Wow! It seems like every day there is a new one. He knows many animal noises: snake, monkey, sheep, lion, cat, dog, and cow. He can identify 10+ body parts. He can identify and say the letters “a,” “e,” and “v.” He sorts, he stacks, and he’s starting to learn his colors. A lot of these skills are well past his age range. So, basically he’s doing awesome in pretty much every area.

And before I forget, he gives hugs and kisses. He will hug anything. The other night, I stuck out my foot and asked him to hug it, sure enough, he did. I’m so mean, but it was really funny! :)

We are so, so proud of our little guy!

*beaming*