Re: From Michelle RE: preemie-l Preemie Legs (fwd)

Michelle Way (msway@csrlink.net)
Thu, 20 Jun 1996 13:23:16 -0400 

At 07:33 AM 6/20/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Michelle:
>
>	I'm just curious.  Why would you use the walker, jump-up, etc., 
>even after being told that it could cause problems?  I don't intend this 
>critically at all, I'm just trying to understand.  So often we encounter 
>noncompliance with recommendations without really understanding the 
>parent's side.  I usually try, but often unsuccessfully.
>
>Sheena
>
>

Dear Sheena,

For one thing, no one ever told us of any potential problems.  The
therapists came to our house 1X month, gave us goals and ideas for achieving
those goals.  Most of their clients (from my understanding) very poor, not
well-educated, and live in much-less-than-neat-and-tidy conditions.  One
therapist told me of a house where she literally did not ever sit down,
because there was feces (of ALL sorts, canine and human) everywhere.  Also,
Sammie never had any problems with anything.  She was just behind, but she
always achieved her goals.  Sammie wasn't in the johnny jump up very much,
maybe 10X, and only when I was desperately trying to clean without her
"helping!" (she was crawling by that point).  And as far as babies standing
in your lap, pray tell what one is supposed to do in certain situations when
your baby is wailing while in the carseat, but fine while you're holding
her?  And how many term babies do this?  It is one of the most natural
things.  If someone had told me this was bad and I was definitely not to do
it, then I wouldn't have done it.

I guess the bottom line is this:  all of those activities seemed safe to me.
The PT questioned only the walker, and only told us that we should watch
Sammie closely while she was in it.  That we did.  If she had told us
anything else, I would not have permitted those activities.

So I guess I don't really fit the mold of parents ignoring therapists' advice.

Yours truly,
Michelle Way

PS.  I didn't take your questions as criticisms at all... you were just
trying to get some understanding!