Does anyone here have a baby that got physical therapy?

amother

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:00 pm

I have a few questions
If a baby is in need of physical therapy (low muscle tone or floppy, cant roll over at 8 months or not walking by age 18 months etc..)
and they do NOT get any physical therapy- does it have some sort of ramification on their health? If a baby is very delayed physically, but otherwise healthy, and it takes them a lot longer to reach milestones then the traditional ages, and they dont get any therapy for it, does it have some sort of bad ramification?eventually they will reach those milestones just many months later. (No diseases or underlying reasons for the delay)

and what kind of therapy exercises have physical therapists done with your babies if they received PT? can anyone please describe some simple gentle exercises
that a PT did with your infants?

My baby is already 14 months and looks like she is 7 months. Shes tiny and only now learned to roll over. She can only sit up with support. She is nowhere near crawling let alone walking. She hates tummy time.
The thing is I have 3 older kids who were the EXACT same way. they were all delayed. none received therapy. Eventually they caught up. they are all solid healthy running around kids now.
They did not get therapy for reasons I cannot disclose.
The thing is my instinct says that this baby is even more delayed than her siblings . and my mothers heart wishes she could get therapy. Its not an option and please dont ask why.

so my question is will it have some sort of lasting effect and can anyone please describe some gentle therapy I can do with her myself?

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:08 pm

My daughter got PT on and off from about 4 months old until 3 years old. She's doing great now. I wouldn't know if it's the therapists that helped with it or not, but I followed my gut, and her pediatricians recommendations.
How about you discuss it with her pediatrician, as they're the one who should be following your child's development?

amother

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:17 pm

doctor isnt concerned about her health. she is perfectly healthy and he sees no specific reason for her delay. if she was 7 months old then she would be like any regular baby. all my kids were like this and theyre all fine now and caught up. but dr recommended PT which is why Im asking.

amother

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:19 pm

amother [ Babyblue ] wrote:

can you recommend any things I can do to help strengthen her ? Ive been googling non stop but cant find any specific ideas of things to do with her practically.

amother

Aubergine

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:27 pm

Why would you not get her evaluated by EI to see if she qualifies?

Pediatricians arent experts when it comes to things like that or speech. I'm an SLP and it really bugs me when pediatricians give false information about milestones/they're not concerned about a child being below level...when really they're not clinically competent to be giving over that information.

**ETA: Im sorry I skimmed through your post about not being able to get her services. Hope you get the help you need iyH

nanny24/7

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:30 pm

Can you get an expert PT evaluation only just to rule out more serious issues? Only let it go if it's nothing serious?
Scoliosis or torticollis for example can cause PT delays and it can be medically problematic to leave untreated.
You would ideally need a PT evaluator who is really knowledgeable about infants. I have had PTs totally miss my baby's torticollis until I was lucky to catch it and treat it properly.
Hugs and hatzlacha!
Whatever your personal struggles with this, I am sure you don't have a happy reason to be struggling with this decision. And I respect your choice to protect your privacy.

nanny24/7

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:31 pm

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

This.
Pediatricians are really not experts on infant development. At best they might pick up a warning of some issue if no one else noticed before. But that's where it ends.

amother

Violet

Wed, Aug 05 2020, 11:50 pm

You say not to ask you why your kids “can’t” get therapy but In my humble opinion this is really and truly deeply important.
You don’t have to say it here but do a deep search inside yourself to make sure that the reason isn’t selfish.
My mil never gave my husband the therapies he needed and as a result my children and I suffer every single day.
Please don’t do this to your children’s future spouses.
Thank you, zei gebentcht.

amother

Salmon

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:02 am

My babys pt does exercise with her using a small exercise ball - ex putting her on her stomach on it or sitting her on it (obv holding her at the same time) and rocking it alittle - it forces her to use her muscles to stay balaced. She doesn't like it that much, but I think it helped.

amother

Coffee

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:05 am

It's usually impossible to know if the child will catch up on his/her own it not. I can tell you that if the child does not catch up, you will regret not giving her/him help as an infant. Also, important to know that many, many children will not start talking until comfortable walking, so delays can be compounded.
My suggestion would be at a minimum to just get an evaluation and ask for tips on what you can do on your own. Exercises dont need to be done by a professional, but they should be done.
Good luck!

tichellady

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:08 am

I don’t think anyone can answer for you without knowing the details of your child’s situation. My daughter did have 2 pt sessions mainly to rule out any issues and give me some tips but there was not a serious issue which I couldn’t know without having the evaluation. If the child is just low muscle tone and risk averse he/she will develop in own time, if there is an issue with the legs being even or a hip issue etc intervention may be necessary

amother

Lavender

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:37 am

My daughter has down syndrome and so low muscle tone so she has pt. The main reason kids with low muscle tone need is to build up their strength so they can overcome their low muscle tone. You probably should do pt but there is a lot you can do at home. The most imp thing is tummy time. If it's hard for her roll up a blanket and put it under her upper chest to give her extra support and help. As she gets used to it make the blanket it smaller and smaller until she can be on her stomach with out it. Then make sure she is resting on the arms. Get her to pull on things and you gently pull the other end. Sit her on you in such a way that she has to lean back and look at you. But the main thing is tummy time, all day. I would get at least one pt session, where you can take videos of the pt telling you what excersizes to do at home then you can practise with her yourself.

advocate

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:44 am

Hi
I have an idea. I am guessing that the reason you can't get therapy might prevent you from getting a book on this subject. Is that accurate? Is there someone to whom I could mail or email copies of pages?

Here's another idea: https://pathways.org/baby-mile.....num=2
You enter your child's age, and it gives you motor activities to do.

Perhaps I could put you in touch with a physical therapist that you could call anonymously to get some ideas?

Hatzlacha rabba!

amother

Cyan

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 12:55 am

My daughter had the same issues as your daughter and not only did she get PT, she had torticollis as well. That means she has what you feel as a stiff neck, all day, every day. That can impede her rolling and tummy time. My daughter screamed when put on her stomach! You asked in the title about people that did PT but it sounds like you are asking for people who chose not to do PT seeing as everyone who does it, chose to, and sees results. You want to know people's results if they skip PT. Excercises are usually geared towards a specific child and using them on your own child may not be effective /helpful because your child may need a "lighter" or "heavier" excercise. It's unique. If your instinct is to do excercises, maybe Google specific things that concern you. For example, don't write PT excercises for babies, write "8 month old not rolling" etc. Also, low muscle tone can also affect speech/communication. Babies who can't roll usually don't wave, start putting sounds together to make words and attempt to communicate as fast as other babies. In early intervention, majority of the babies getting PT will also get speech therapy too. My daughter aged out of early intervention after getting speech, DI, and PT and she is still behind other kids her age. She is growing steadily and we see changes daily but she is consistently below her age level and I have no idea if/when she will ever catch up. Because she has a December birthday, I was able to choose to push her up or hold her back so I chose to hold her back so she is the oldest and her gap doesn't make a big difference. I am definitely hoping she catches up though! Good luck!

amother

Denim

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 1:07 am

As a mother of a child with severe neurological issues who is getting pt for years, here is my opinion.

Not all pt is equal. A good one can be helpful in some ways and a bad one can do more damage than doing nothing.

A healthy child with a healty brain will do well and catch up without therapy in the right enviroment. In a compromised child pt might cause tone issue which causes not being able to move well and with ease.

Don't underestimate your power as a mother to play therapist. PLAY WITH YOUR CHILD. Touch and move your child with slow calm movements with attention. (massage like) Eye contact and vision is also important. If you think there might be a problem with the vision check it out because it can affect development.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Aug 06 2020, 8:33 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

can you recommend any things I can do to help strengthen her ? Ive been googling non stop but cant find any specific ideas of things to do with her practically.

Only a trained PT can evaluate and treat. Otherwise you may actually make the prob worse by doing random stuff from online, or at best not help the problem improve. I think getting your kids the medical care they need is part of being a parent.