I know there is something amiss....

[Mollydolly]

I don't know whether I'm doing the right hting posting on this thread but am at my wits end and don't know where to turn. dd2 is 8 months old and since she was 4 months have noticed something is wrong with her right arm/hand. She only ever batted at toys with her left and progressively she has developed a hand preference for her left. It is like her arm is painful to move but she does not cry out etc. Her index finger and thumb on the right seem to be bent most of the time, and although when forced to, she grips with her right, the grips seems weaker and not as sturdy and she passes whatever it is she is holding into her left hand stright away. Took her to the GP at 6 months who said she had a full range of movements in her hand and arm and she is developing normally (siiting up unsupported since 6.5 months, trying to crawl etc) and to wait for her 8 month check (whcih is closer to her being nine months incidentally) The problem I have is that dh and my mum etc do not seem to eake me seriously when I say I have concerns and I'm starting to get paranoid. My HV is a waste of space and I am becoming increasingly sick of them saying "well its not right but don't know what it is..." I love dd2 and whatever is wrong I know we will cope with but am becoming frustrated as no-one seems to believe me, and I KNOW something is not right. Does any one have any advice?

Sorry you're going through this. Don't have any advice specific tom your problem but would say:

1. Trust Your Instincts! Mothers' instincts are very good.
2. Hassle your GP. If your HV is no good, just keep badgering your GP to get your dd seen and assessed properly.

Good luck.

mollydolly agree with ponygirls advice

also my ds2 from birth his right hand and arm was very stiff and rigid
learnt from portege some relaxing techniques such as masssage and commands
it is not as visible now as it was
hope you get something sorted
xxx

Thanks ponygirl and doormat - I think I will get an appointment with GP as soon as possible.
Doormat - did you ever find out what caused ds2 arm problems? Excuse my ignorance but what is portege?

mollydolly
ds2 has global developmental delay from birth
portege is when there are probs identified and a woman comes and helps you with exercises and things before child with sn goes to school
and they help with assessments too
hopw this helps as it is hard to explain

ps mollydolly
going to try and explain this the best I can over the internet on exercises

but with ds2 I used to rub down his arm from shoulder to hand (and open the palm) and say "lax your hand" at same time as touching his palm
did this non stop for weeks and months and now it is so ingrained into him (the poor thing-am such a mean mum) that when I say "lax your hand" he will do it automatically without touching him

Hope you understand what I am trying to mean

You need to get your GP to refer you to a paediatrician for a developmental check. They do a much more detailed list of tests than the few questions you are asked at 8 month check. Also ask for referral to physio/OT. The waiting lists are often huge, so best to refer now because you're unlikely to see them till after the paed has decided what the problem is - if there is one. You can always cancel in good time, someone else will snap up the appointment.

like the other posters have said, trust your instincts you know your child, i knew there was something wrong with dd early on but was accused of being paranoid and i have been proved right.

She has development delay and CP, she doesnt use her left arm or hand due to this but portage are working on it, my portage lady said that parents can refer themselves, so if you cant get anywhere you can always give them a call yourself.

Dont let them make you think that you are wrong, go with your instinct.

Hi mollydolly,

To cut a long story short my son was v poorly when first born, when around 4/5 months noticed he had no interest in picking things up, etc.

So, mentioned it to HV (wait until 8 month check) blah blah. Anyway, eventually had him referred to child development centre and he is moderately delayed in development (sat up at 11.5 months). They say he was probably blind for the first 6 months of his life (he is fine now)

I know my sons experience has no relevanco on yours, but, my mothers instinct told me there was something wrong and I did not let up. My husband is 100% behind me, however I find that my friends and family think I am worrying unnecessarily and say he is fine (which bloody annoys me - what the hell do they about my son that I do not!!!), I know people mean well, but at the end of the day i was right to worry and he is now getting all the fantastic support he needs. As ponygirl says hassle, hassle, hassle!!! Good luck and go for it, you need to know one way or the other for your own piece of mind.

It is really annoying and disconcerting when people disregard your concerns. I did think dd2 had CP but am a bith thrown by her not having delayed development? Any thoughts?

mollydolly, I knew from 7 months that something was wrong with my son. I was called parniod and overprotective. When he was 2 1/2 years old, we finally were told that he had CP, and it had occurred between the 28-33 weeks of pregnancy.
Trust your instincts and keep pushing.
good luck
xxx

Mollydolly - AFAIK CP can manifest in so many ways. Some children are generally delayed while others will only have difficulty in one area.

I would echo what others have said "trust your instincts" and really push for others to take you seriously.

In the meantime, I would maybe try and 'work' with your dd's right hand as much as possible: Massage it with different textured things, try and get her to explore different shaped/textured objects with it as much as possible, use your hand over her hand
(if she will let you!) to encourage her to use it; always put toys on her right hand side/feed her from the right hand side etc; if she passes an object immediately into her left try and hand her another object (same or more interesting) to see if she will take it with her right etc.
HTH

another one: if she uses her left hand to play, then put toys quite far over on her right hand side so that she has to 'prop' with her right hand/arm, while she plays with the left so that at least her right hand is 'doing' something.

sparklymieow - what was it that made you suspect something was wrong? Sometimes I doubt myself as her arm/hand seems better some days than others.

Heartinthecountry - thanks for the suggestions, I will try them at our quiet play times.

Incidentally, what kind of tests should I expect her to be given?

PS I suffered from PIH with dd2 and took labetalol. I also had an infected cyst for which I had to take antibiotics? Could this have had an effect?

He couldn't sit up, and crawled flat on his belly, dragging his legs behind him. When he started walking we had to postion his left leg, and then he would stumble about for a few steps. He has asmyatical(sp??) spastic diplegia CP which means his legs are more involved than his arms and more so on the left side.

sparklymieow - thanks for your advice and information, I feel better already just knowing I am not being paranoid. I am at the point where I just need to know IYSWIM. I feel like whatever it is, I can deal with as long as I know

Ditto to all the below!
I was convinced from about 4 weeks that there was something wrong with my dd1 eyesight and that she seemed to move 'funnily'! (she is now 18 weeks)
My inlaws kept telling me that I was just worrying(again!) and literally laughed at me over christmas. Luckily my family convinced me to go privately to an eye consultant who agreed that my dd1 does have problems with her eyes - Now the next thing is that I am concerned that she has CP and I have pushed for an appointment with the neurologist - would definitely say that if you are concerned you need to push for appointments and then push again because a couple of weeks in a baby's life time is quite a lot!