Every parent knows that feeling when your intuition tells you something about your kiddo is just “off.” Maybe they ate slightly less at dinner, or woke up an extra time or two last night and you wonder if they’re not feeling well. Maybe it’s something bigger, like a nagging feeling they just aren’t talking as much as you would have expected for their age.

Our youngest (affectionately known as “the baby”) was born with what we described as a “wonky foot.” When he came out, his right foot was bent out and up so that the top of his toes and foot were basically touching his calf.

His foot eventually relaxed down, but I noticed he had a head turning preference about a week after birth. I mentioned it at some well baby visits, and followed the “wait and see” advice for a short time, but eventually acted on my mama gut and talked to an awesome PT (physical therapist) I used to work with. Sure enough, he had torticollis from his position in the womb and needed some physical therapy. After working on it, we thought it was resolved and he was dismissed.

Until lately when something just didn’t look right to me. When he would stand, his ankles were rolling in and he wasn’t standing evenly on his feet. After consulting our PT again, we found out this morning he is indeed still having some trouble caused by the torticollis, and as he’s been more mobile we’re starting to see it again.

All of this to say, trust that mama or papa gut feeling. When I meet with a new family for speech therapy, I always tell them my philosophy up front–early intervention works, and I’d rather be proactive than reactive. When you can get in front of a speech and language delay or some muscular difficulties like my son has, you give your child a better chance of catching up with peers and meeting milestones on time.

So if you’ve been thinking your child might need some help in a particular area, now is the time. Talk to a therapist or pediatrician, or call your local Birth to 3 office. Or, if you suspect your child has a speech or language delay, send us an email or give me a call. We’d love to help you help them be successful!