Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, I've been trying real hard to take some pictures that document Charlie's progress, but that's easier said than done. I tend to delete pictures I don't like, so I don't have a ton that would be good for comparison's sake.

Here are the changes I've noticed in Charlie's body:

Charlie's neck has made the most changes. His Adam's apple has moved down and rather than being under his chin it's now at the very top of his neck. I'm starting to see all the veins and the shunt in his neck and he does a much better job of picking up his head while on his stomach. I can't wait to work on the back half of his neck!

He's lost one of his eyes here, but you get the picture.

His abdomen has made major changes too, but it's hard to really capture that in a photograph. His ribs used to be almost pointed at the bottom of his rib cage--the whole thing looked like a diamond. Now, he still looks like a rounded diamond, but that's still an improvement. The big change in that area has been how much flatter his chest has gotten. The bottom of his rib cage used to be the highest point of his abdomen. Now, it's flatter and more balanced. When I pick him up I feel how much stronger he is. Best of all is the un-measurable: sometimes Charlie will be sitting in some one's lap and he looks complete and utterly normal. I think all special needs mommies do that thing where we stare at our child and wonder if they're "passing" for normal at a given moment. Usually, Charlie is close. Sometimes now, however, he's dead on--even his eyes. I can't quantify it, but it sure is awesome.

The final area we've been working on is the jaw/larynx area. I struggled with this area--first I had the position wrong, then I had trouble with Charlie waking up when I tried to do it. Plus, it was uncomfortable. I e-mailed the peeps at ABR and some other parents, did some fiddling and things got better. Then, I bribed myself: I buy current episodes of One Tree Hill on iTunes and I only let myself watch them when I'm doing Jaw/larynx.

I finally saw a change after putting in some hours. I think it's from the jaw/larynx exercise, but I suppose it could also be the neck. Anyway, his tongue is changing. Since I took Charlie home from the hospital, he's had a forked tongue. Sounds creepy, but it's not that bad. Charlie's doc keeps asking me if I want to snip it, but it doesn't seem to be causing any problems, so we're not snipping anything right now. Well, it looks different sometimes now. The center part is still tighter, but he seems to have more control over it and sometimes it doesn't look forked at all. His speech therapist agrees, so I'm not crazy. Well, I may be crazy, but not about that.

Christmas photo.

Here's a picture of us doing an activity with drawers--namely, how to open them, and what goodies may be inside.

As a final note, I'll add that after two Feldenkrais sessions, Charlie lunged for something with his right hand. This is pretty unusual since he favors his left side for almost everything. If he does use his right hand it's usually for support or help--not the lead hand. It could be a fluke, but I feel like I should write it down for posterity.