Any early interventions I can do at home?

[faithhope]

Hi, sorry I have not been very responsive, I have read everyones messages and postings, but my internet is really slow and then it just freezes.
Hugs to everyone and thanks for all the lovely responses.
So now my question is:
Is there anything I can or should be doing with Noah (3 mos. almost!) at home to stimulate him?
Again this is my first baby, so I have no clue, my mom is great help, but of course with Noah having Ds, I am sure we should be doing more. He seems to be pretty smart, he smiles and giggles a little. He is very quiet, his cry is like a kitten, like many of you have said of your babes. He has strong legs when he kick and he tries to crawl and stand up, but of course can't. He also reaches for our face when we talk to him and reaches for toys, (not always but often). He lifts his head up and hold his neck for several seconds! Almost a minute sometimes.
Also, we are moving to Florida in 2 weeks. Anybody from Florida who can point me in the right direction, with programs. We are moving to the St. Petersburg area.
Thank you, Love,
Jess

[twosomy21]

he seems to be doing great, every child is different but by what your describing he is working hard already. i really think at this age the advice i got was just treat him like any other baby-he is that first and i think we introducing textures to soles and palms,to try and avoid sensativity issues. trying to think ,but kyle and loren are older,you will have plenty of responses soon-good luck and when you get settled in fl. the programs will help

[damarasmom]

It sure does sound like he is on the right track...he is doing so much more than Damara did at that age. I hope that someone with a younger child will give you some ideas, I can't even remember what we did for her at that age...hmmm???
Good luck on your move....

[Chris]

He needs lots and lots of tummy time to encourage him to lift his head so put him on his tummy and encourage him to look at you or a toy.

Put him in a bouncy seat and move a toy at eye level to encourage him to track the toy with his eyes.

Just enjoy your sweet little boy. Getting him to smile and giggle are probably the best stimulation ever. You are doing great, Jessika!

Chris

[Pat]

Jess, I think Michelle lives in that area. Someone who knows how to get ahold of her might want to help you. I think someone else lives there too, but I can't remember who. Maybe they'll post up.
Noah does seem to be on track. What you're doing is just fine.

Jessie, do you know her number??
Pat

[Jackie]

Jessika...do you think that "playing" with a baby just comes naturally to you? If it does...then just do everything you instinctively would do with Noah if he didn't have a disability.

If not, go get a book that tells how to play with a baby. I do think its a bit of a disadvantage having Noah as a first child because you don't have a frame of reference for his development. I have met many first time moms with DS babes who expect developmental milestones way toooo early. With Noah they might happen exactly on schedule, early, or a bit of a lag....just with kids who do not have DS...LOL A book on developmental milestones can be good here...do they still publish the books that come after What to Expect while You are Expecting...the one about baby's first year?

But I think it is far more fun to "play" with a baby than to "do therapy". I was an Occupational Threrapist in my younger days and I still maintain that for DS the best therapy is mom and dad!

Sing to Noah, tickle him, get him a baby mirror, bounce him, talk to him, cuddle him, give him plenty of tummy time.

If you are not in an infant stimulation program...get in one and the therapists will no doubt give you some things you can do at home to stimulate his mouth and tongue muscles and when he is ready..they will help you to teach him good sitting posture...etc.

But whatever you do...make it fun...not a project. His 'babyness' is first...his DS is second.

And we are here to give you ideas that have worked for us...and to cheer him on.

Hope this helps...others I am sure have great ideas

Jackie

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

When Brook was little like Noah her PT would come over and play. Yup, play. Goofy stuff like mom's do. Tummy time, looking at toys, following the rattle, listen to tunes from the music box, fun stuff that all babies love to do. Remember Noah is just a baby who want's to play
Stimulation exercises was a must for Brook's PT. Just taking her where ever I went (liike I did already), doing alot of strolling outside so she could look around, introducing her to the world of cool stuff. You know rock, sticks, leaves, flowers and dirt. All the fun stuff Heck when Brook was 6 months old I had her in a back packer thing and she was hauling hay w/ me and Gramma
My mom was adamint from the get go that exercises were very important. When Brook was still in the hospital and the doctor was talking about low muscle tone my mom pop's off w/ "We will start an excersise program right when she gets home" I guess she couldn't wait that long. I went to get some lunch and I come back and here she was playing "run a race" (you know, when you have there little feet and move them back and forth like they are running a race) She was over almost everyday having Gramma/Brook exercise time. She's kinda silly my mom
When Noah gets a bit bigger you can do more "PT" type stuff. For now I do agree w/ the others though, just have fun baby Noah time. When you get to Florida and get hooked up w/ a program they will be a big help for you I hope. If I hear of something down there that's a good resorse, I for sure will let you know.
This is what Brook did at physical therapy yesterday

[jelanismom]

Jessika,

Is Noah receiving in home therapies? Sorry, I can't remember if you've mentioned this. In any case, enjoy this time with Noah and
like twosomy said, introducing textures is good, so here's a couple pics Jelani is older than Noah here...6months in first and 10 mos in second pic... but the idea are the toys he's reaching for and he was always busy with this...I also think reading to Noah and letting him feel the book and pages is fun and someone said mirror...yeh the crib kind is good. If you were here I'd give you these things, still have 'em!


here's my "gummy bear" ;D

Ok one more! I can't help myself, LOL

[faithhope]

Thanks for all the great advice!!!! I definitely feel better, I was starting to worry that I was doing Noah a disservice by not having him in any programs. Since we are kind of on hold here in So.Cal, and I was really out of it for the longest time = )
I love all the pics too!!!! Googs and Jelani are soooo adorable!
Oh he does alot of tummy time, and he loves to look at himself in the mirror, it excites him, too funny.
Love,
Jess

[jelanismom]

Where in So.Cali are you? Did you get the referral from your hospital to call regional center? I remember a social worker gave me the number to call and an intake worker from Rc came rightaway and brought an OT who did an assessment for qualifying services. Jelani started receiving therapy at 3 months old. Can you tell me what "on hold" means? Are you moving soon?

[faithhope]

Hey Dawn, I live in Palmdale. You know where that is? Up the 14 fwy, the high dessert. Well I remember that a social worker came to speak to us adn gave us literature with #'s to support group out here, and other resources. I was so depressed those first weeks that I would look at those papers and cry, Not my baby!!! Also my husband refused to believe he had Ds. We only tested him cause my parents said I needed to know, they could see how affected I was, and I did need to know, though I did not want to know. So I am ashamed to say that in one of my moments of despair, or just kidding myself, I threw away all papers related to Ds! I know I could get those #'S online or through the hospital, etc. However since we are moving to florida on March 26th, I didn't see the point.
That is what I have meant by life being "on hold". We are moving across country so soon, that we are just sort of existing right now.
Love,
Jess

[jelanismom]

Oh ok Jessika, sorry...I do remember you said Palmdale. Wow are you excited? I know it's a big move going across the country and I wish you all the best. Maybe in the meantime if you feel like it you can contact the local regional center in the area you are moving to and get the info mailed to you...but more than likely the sevice coordinator for 0-3 will want to make an appt. to send someone out to your new house for an intake to assess Noah... Don't stress too much, it'll be an informal meeting and they love children, just remember the earlier you contact the RC in Fla the earlier little Noah can begin receiving "free" therapies that he needs.
Wow,March 26th is so close...does that mean we'll need to wait till you're back up online to hear from you? Goodluck and if you ever feel like emailing me I'm at [e-mail].

[Myria]

Hi Jess, Ayden was about 4 months old when he started PT and OT, they didn't really do anything for him that I wasn't doing already, pretty much just observing what he did and playing with him. I am the same way as you, always wanting to do whatever I can at home to help him. At Noah's age, I would say let him have lots of tummy time, introduce new textures to his hands and soles of his feel(smooth, bumpy, maybe an ultra fine sandpaper, fuzzy, etc.) anything black and white colored is great, Ayden has the black and white floor gym by tinylove, he loved playing with that. I also used an oral stimulator and rubbed it on his lips and gums, he really likes that. I think it definately helped with his feeding skills. It is like a little plastic stick with knobs on the end of it. His OT gave him a motorized one, he likes that too. It vibrates his gums and tongue. Infant massage is great too, after his bath try to focus on each area one at a time, his arms, then his hands, then fingers, etc. I also have a couple of knobby rubber balls that I roll on him also. I also play games with him like wheels on the bus, where he acts out the parts of the songs(bicycle kick his legs for the wheels, spread his arms out for the doors opening and closing, roll him side to side for the wipers, lift him up for when the bus goes up and down) He loves that. I also play"where's mommy, where's Ayden" with a towel or burp cloth over our faces, I think anything you do to stimulate Noah is going to benefit him, either physically or mentally. It sounds like you are doing a great job, keep it up! If I think of anything else I will email you. (I know theres a ton of other stuff I just can't think of now!)

[Chris too]

Stevie started PT at 4 months & the therapist did tons with her. Right away she had her up on elbows, on knees (she hated that), and sitting, playing with things in front of her in each position - all with support in the beginning. She worked on reaching for toys at mid-line (both hands) as well as holding onto toys placed in her hand. She worked with her to get her to roll herself over. I can't think of all that woman did in her one hour in our home. She was busy, busy, busy & as long as she was not having to play on her knees, Stevie was loving the whole thing. Boy she hated being on those knees! We are on our 3rd PT & each one is very aggressive with Stevie, but I think it's because she responds so well - she just keeps on trying & it's all play to her.

Stevie had feeding issues at that age, so we got her the therapy right away because of that. I don't think Noah will suffer at all for having to wait until you get settled into the new home, but don't leave it too long. I don't know about FL, but here (Indiana) all it took was one phone call & the coordinator took it from there, filing all the paperwork, scheduling the evaluations, etc. So easy that I'd wished I'd done it as soon as we had the diagnosis, not that she suffered from not having therapy sooner, just would've been nice - therapy is fun.

I hope your move goes smoothly!

[meghans_mom]

i skimmed the posts so sorry if this is a repeat

first, as others have said, its OK to let Noah just be a baby right now....it doesn't last very long, and just enjoy it -

once you get settled, depending on what types of services, etc Noah qualifies for you may want to buy the Woodbine books to help you learn what to do at home
the Gross Motor skills & Fine Motor skills books are good to start with:

www.amazon.com/Gross-Motor-Skills-Children-Syndrome/dp/0933149816/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205416237&sr=8-10

www.amazon.com/Fine-Motor-Skills-Children-Syndrome/dp/1890627674/ref=pd_sim_b_title_7

I never used the fine motor book but did use the gross motor book with meghan, and we now use the books for the older kids (she's 7, so the reading and math ones...those you have time for, lol!!)
they're very well written, and are chock full of good things - but don't let yourself get overwhelmed!

My best piece of advice is to watch your therapists, and learn from them and then carry out what they show you on the days that Noah is not in therapy...use it as a tool for YOU,
You don't have to have full blown, formal, hour long therapy sessions (between him and you) daily but break it down into smaller segments -- I firmly believe that therapy, while helpful for the child, is way more for the parents so they can guide and teach their children, since they are the "first line"

best of luck with your move, hope all goes well!

laurie