Cerebral Palsy

[wowzer]

Hello, My daughter called today about her youngest daughter. She was born at 37 weeks weighing 4 pounds 7 ounces. My daughter did have an emergency C section because the baby was in distress. She is now 8 months old. She only weights a little over 12 pounds and has only gained a little over a pound in the last 2 months. She is a big eater. My daughter wonders where it all goes even. She is doing the army crawl now. It is something to do with her legs because she crosses them and also has a hard time sitting. She has been referred to an endocronologist, so we have to wait and see how that goes. Her pediatrician did say if she has it, it is a mild case. Does anyone know anything about this?

[celiac-mommy]

Hello, My daughter called today about her youngest daughter. She was born at 37 weeks weighing 4 pounds 7 ounces. My daughter did have an emergency C section because the baby was in distress. She is now 8 months old. She only weights a little over 12 pounds and has only gained a little over a pound in the last 2 months. She is a big eater. My daughter wonders where it all goes even. She is doing the army crawl now. It is something to do with her legs because she crosses them and also has a hard time sitting. She has been referred to an endocronologist, so we have to wait and see how that goes. Her pediatrician did say if she has it, it is a mild case. Does anyone know anything about this?

My SIL was born at 27 weeks, has a mild form. My boss's daughter was born at 26 weeks, also has a mild form. The big thing that I have learned from watching both of these girls grow up is to treat them like a normal child. Recognize any difficulties/limitations they have, but DON"T cater to their every need, teach them to be self sufficient, and treat them as though they CAN do ANYTHING. My inlaws didn't know how to deal with a "special needs" child, and although she was fully capable of doing many things a normal child could do, they did everything for her. She's now in her mid-20's and is just now living on her own. She's got the maturity level of a 12 year old and she still has to be reminded to brush her teeth, hair, shower regularly and she lives comp;tely on cup-o-noodle. It's rediculous--and they totally regret how they dealt with her growing up! My boss's daughter is a normal 13 year old with some physical abnormalities, but she does well in school and play sports. They do recogize her limitations, but they treat her as though she's "normal" I know there are varying degrees of CP severity, in my 'medical' opinion, these 2 girls are of the same severity. I hope this helps, I think the biggest obstacles are at the beginning, when they're learning all the motor skills-crawling, walking etc.. there can be some spinal issues-curvature abnormalites that may need to be delt with, but a good chiropractor will be their best friend if that's the case. I wish you the best of luck. Keep positive and take one day at a time. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[wowzer]

Dear Rachelle, Thank-you for your nice reply. I guess the hardest part is the waiting until my daughter gets her into the specialist. I know that my daughter will treat her as a normal child. Thank-you, Wendy