He's going, going, going...gone

Our lives have changed dramatically here at the Case Haub household in just the last two days. After several months of somewhat stagnant development patterns, Jack has just sort of figured it all out in a matter of days. His 7-month-old buddy, Caleb, was crawling circles around him while he couldn't get out of a sitting position if his life depended on it. People kept asking, "Is he crawling yet? No? Oh, walking then?" Grr. You know in your head that you shouldn't compare children as they all develop at their own pace, and that there is a huge range in what's considered to be normal. Yet you just can't help but notice when the other kids seem to be advancing and yours is, well, not. Because he was a premie he is followed by a lot of health practitioners for developmental screening, and apparently premies have a higher incidence of developmental delays. So he's got a big group of people cheering him on and ready to intervene to help him along since he has been experiencing some delays in the major motor development of his upper half (arms and torso). His first appointment with the physical therapist is on July 18th, though she has come out twice to observe and make recommendations for care. She gave us some tips on things we could do to encourage him to get out of his comfort zone and start building up his arm muscles, and she said she had a feeling that he would catch on fast. She had no idea just how fast-- after a week of urging him to stretch a bit for his toys, VIOLA--he just figured it out. He can now get out of a sitting position, he is pulling himself up on tables and toys, and the big one, he is army crawling across the room. He's still not getting up on his hands and knees, nor can he get into a sitting position, but he is definitely a much happier baby now that he has a bit of self-controlled mobility under his belt. He has left his separation anxiety behind now that he has things to do when left in the living room while I get lunch ready in the kitchen, and yet my life is a bit more complicated now that more often than not he is joining me in the kitchen, trying to pull open drawers and scurrying around underfoot. Yikes! I guess it's true when people tell you to enjoy the times when babies can't get anywhere on their own. Childproofing, here we come! We are so, so proud of him. Every time he learns something new my heart swells with joy to watch his satisfaction level, and to know that he is just so dang smart and cute.