Jojo just turned two, and like every parent says on their child’s birthday, how is she two already (or some version of that). But seriously. How is she two already. This birthday is a little complicated for me. On Jojo’s first Christmas she was 9 months old. We were in Michigan for the holidays. I was spending an evening with my mom and sister and we were guessing when Jojo would walk. My prediction was that she would crawl at 18 months and walk at 2 years. This was based on absolutely nothing and at that point I only had 4 months of experience and knowledge of hypotonia.
Now I know she will likely walk before she crawls, and may never crawl. I also know there is no way to predict when she will walk, but in harassing her physical therapist I’ve learned she’s had kids with similar severity of low tone and they started walking around age 3. I’ve also learned that when kids with low tone are strong sitters, it is a very good indication that they will eventually walk. Jojo is a champion sitter. These are the little bits of information that keep me encouraged.
So Jojo is two. Something in my mind has shifted and she is now definitely a toddler. We often think of babyhood ending at one year of age and toddlerhood starting because that is normally when toddling / walking starts. And with movement comes the transformation of beautiful, chubby, baby-like features into toddler features – the elongation of the neck, the thinning of the chub. Without that movement Jojo still has her beautiful chub. And with the low tone in her cheeks, well, you’ve seen her. So it has been hard to think of her as toddler when she looks like a giant gorgeous baby. Thinking of her as a toddler helps to expect more of her and push her to do more. Which is exactly what she needs.
Jojo’s second year is bringing lots of change. She is starting a new program at a new school. It is an early intervention program at an integrated preschool. She will go two full days a week on Thursdays and Fridays. She will continue to get speech therapy at home twice a week. Her home physical therapy is going from once to twice a week. She is so ready for school. We are so grateful that there was a rare opening. This will open up her world. She will get comfortable with being outside our home, around other kids, with other adults (which she has zero tolerance for now). I’m expecting a very difficult transition. And that is exactly why she needs this program.
Jojo The Strong 