W-sitting

I've titled this photo "perseverance."

Our greatest glory is not in never failing,
but in rising up every time we fail.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until about three months ago, I had never heard of W-sitting. When we picked Hannah up nine and a half months ago in Taiwan (she was 11 months old, 8 months adjusted age) she was great at standing and pulling to a stand, but not so hot of a sitter. She preferred to sit in a W or hurdle style (modified W with one leg out front), but was more often in the hurdle style. It gave her better support and allowed her to tip over less frequently. I thought it looked kinda funny, but didn't think much of it until our pediatric nurse practitioner brought it to our attention three months ago. Hannah was held during most appointments, so they didn't get to see her sit. I don't even remember anyone asking me about how she usually sat... that is until she started showing walking delays.

Today, our physical therapist's assessment is that Hannah has underdeveloped oblique muscles due in part do to W and hurdle sitting. W sitting allows children to sit in a stable position without having to think about balance.

I did a quick google search and came across these two articles on W-sitting.
Just Say No to W-Sitting
What's Wrong with W-Sitting

The way she explained it is that if your oblique muscles are weak, you have a hard time learning to balance on one foot. If you can't balance on one foot, you walk with you knees held stiff.

Our assignments are to correct the W and hurdle sitting with the command "fix your legs" to encourage Hannah to sit Indian-style or with her legs straight out, practice sitting on a ball, and practice walking up and down Kevin's Wii Fit step.

Shoes. Sigh. Or as Hannah says, "Shoezzzzz!" Our physical therapist doesn't like most of Hannah's shoes. Most are soft sole Robeez or Pedipeds. Sob sob! I love those Pedipeds, and I thought I was being a good mama by buying soft soled shoes so she could feel the floor. Guess that's just not what's right for her. She says that Hannah needs shoes that have a lot of heel support and a flexible sole. These OshKosh shoes from Target had a flexible sole and some heel support. The physical therapist's favorite shoes from Hannah's shoe basket were Stride Rite hand-me-downs we bought from Lora and Allie that look kinda like this, but are still a little too big for Hannah.

I'm reading through the service report from today. "Hannah was a little reluctant to participate in activities requiring hand on facilitation." That's okay, baby. I don't like strange ladies putting their hands all over me and dissing my shoes, either. Hopefully she'll warm up to the physical therapist a little more next week.

Three day weekend! Ahhh!