my son is 5 months, 3 months adjusted. This may sound silly but I'm worried because half the time he curls his toes and hands. now he has very good movement in all four extremities but the way he turns his foot in or fist his hands concerns me. Is this a normal preemie thing? he can roll over and grab things (when he wants to).
Our son Henry often did that. It took a long time for his toes to relax.
A lot of preemies have sensitive feet, owing to being poked and prodded so often. I would often massage Henry's feet so that he would replace his negative associations between touch and feet with positive ones. When you massage, the strokes should be firm, so that they don't tickle the baby, but not so hard that they are uncomfortable in any way.
When he was 8 months adjusted and pulling to a stand, the PT had us buy him sandals to teach him to relax his toes. Curled toes can interfere with balance, because the whole foot isn't being used.
Around 5 months adjusted, we requested a massage therapist through our son's EI program. She visited us twice and trained us in infant massage. We found infant massage incredibly beneficial for his overall development. The empirical research shows that massage helps babies learn the boundaries of their bodies, stimulates the appetite, and helps babies sleep better. I wish that we had started infant massage earlier than we did. I recommend taking a session or two infant massage if you can.
If you have any concerns about physical development, I recommend contacting your state's early intervention program. It is free. They will evaluate your child's developmental progress. We have found our son's EIP very beneficial. When anything looks odd, it is better to have the experts double-check, just to be on the safe side.
Best wishes.
My girls also curl their toes/hands. My dev dr. said that would stop when they began to put more walking weight on them, and sure enough it is slowly going away. I also did range of motion exercises with them, which helped a great deal. Any PT/OT can show you how to do it. I agreed that you should have an EI program come take a look. it is really better for you (peace of mind) and your child (expert eyes looking at him developmentally)
Blessings
Just like one of the moms said weight bearing is the best way to decrease the "curling". How much time is he spending on his tummy? Tummy time with weight on the hands causes the hands to open up more and more. Are his thumbs in or out of his hands when they are "curled"? Let me know if they are "in" and I will give you some more specific ideas.
The "curling" is not unusual but don't ignore it.
Hope this helps.
Vickie Dakin PT
vickie@magicalinnovations.com
www.magicalinnovations.com
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