the latest with CJV

My tiny peanut had a big week.

We had our developmental evaluation, and I am happy to report it was a really great experience.  It was both fascinating and helpful to see my baby through someone else's eyes.  Through the eyes of trained professionals.  Eyes that see lots and lots of babies at all different developmental stages.  Several times the occupational therapists mentioned things about her movements - like the fact that she supported herself on one hand while climbing out of the rice bin and used alternating hands/feet when climbing the stairs.  The speech therapist also mentioned that Charlotte is very quiet.  Twenty minutes into the evaluation, she had not made a sound.  It was reassuring to know that it wasn't just me thinking she's not babbling enough. 

I spent the hour talking, observing, answering questions, asking questions, and learning even more than I expected.  Charlotte spent the hour playing, getting to know new faces, having a snack, showing off her cognitive prowess, being adorable and cooperative.

And, in the end, we discovered that Charlotte demonstrated age-appropriate cognitive, fine motor, and social-emotional skills.  However, she has delays in gross motor and language skills.  The OT left me with several suggestions for motivating CJV to walk and scheduled a re-evaluation in six weeks.  We'll meet with a speech therapist to start some intervention in the next few weeks.

As predicted, I feel good about my ability to advocate for Charlotte and empowered by the knowledge of her delays and what we can do to support her development in those areas.