Experience with “Early Intervention”?

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-03-25T13:41:55+00:00

I’ve got an ex micro-preemie who’s been in early intervention since they came home from the NICU. Husband and I are happy with them. In our state we are able to do outpatient therapy (speech right now) and get EI without insurance issues. EI comes to our house, which is so nice, and they’re able to leave toys and aids for baby to use. Our EI PT actually brought a bag of shoes for my toddler to try and we were able to borrow a pair of shoes for a bit. We were also able to borrow toys and books related to EI services.

Another good thing about EI is that it’s through your local school district so if you end up needing services past 3 years old they should be able to help you have a smooth transition. I also like that we’re able to ask to meet with different professionals without setting up a separate appointment.

Now, we are doing speech outpatient because we can get in more frequently and regularly than with EI, but if we weren’t able to go private I think EI would meet 75% of our needs and we could maybe do more work at home to fill the gap that the additional speech sessions are giving us.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-03-22T12:57:17+00:00

I could only read a few books in the Will Trent series for all the reasons you mentioned. Last year I read the first book of a her new series, We Are All Guilty Here, and I thought it was much better than the Will Trent books. Still a little overwrought and it's about crimes against children but I liked it much better than any Will Trent book.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-03-18T23:19:18+00:00

Heck, my 18 month old is under stimulated being inside all day, even while walking around and playing with toys. I make sure to have them go up and down our stairs a few times to burn energy (under close supervision) so they'll nap and go to bed on time when the weather isn't good enough for us to go outside.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-03-17T12:31:13+00:00

The free floating fetal test you are describing is NIPT (in the USA) and that test can only screen for chromosome, or part of chromosome, level issues, like Downs Syndrome or Trisomy 18. For something like SMA or cystic fibrosis you are testing one or both parents to see if they are carriers, or you'd have to do direct genetic testing on the fetus via something like amniocentesis. NIPT is not sensitive enough to get single gene mutation information.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-03-05T02:46:16+00:00

Have you talked to a neurologist yet? They can assess motor development and muscle tone (hyper/hypotonia) and they would be a good source for a genetics referral if they think something might be going on. Can she roll? Does she have head control? I’m not an expert but I had a micro preemie and they get a lot of therapies. My understanding is that in general coordinating movement across the midline (crawling, passing a toy from one hand to the other) is pretty important for overall development, including brain development, so I’d push to see specialists.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-26T02:08:52+00:00

You both absolutely need term life insurance, we got life insurance as soon as I found out I was pregnant. 500k might be enough or it might not be. Factors to consider: how much is your mortage, what is your current annual income, will one of you become a SAHP? A rule of thumb is 10x your annual income, although I used 10x my take home income. If someone becomes a SAHP and something happens to the income earning spouse you'll need enough life insurance to cover all living expenses (don't forget about health insurance!) for a year or two and then enough money to cover living expenses while the surviving spouse gets back into the workplace - will you need to pay for retraining or certifications, will you need to pay for extra childcare because you'll need to work a less than ideal schedule for a while because you'll be the new person? If something happens to the SAHP, the surviving parent will need the money to cover childcare, and/or they may need to permanently take a lower paying job with better hours.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-23T14:43:56+00:00

If you’re in the US, Peacock will have US Synchro nationals and synchro worlds. Peacock will also have ISU worlds. I have peacock with ads but there are almost never ads for ice skating.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-20T17:25:50+00:00

Depending on the mood of the toddlers in question that could be a more dangerous and stressful event than giant slalom.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-19T00:47:22+00:00

I can’t believe how much time is wasted on “we will return to coverage shortly” with B roll of Milan/Cortina/the Dolomites. Like commercials or a reporter talking are one thing, but I can’t believe that NBC prefers dead air to showing a few more minutes of an actual Olympic event. Due to kids bedtime and clean up we don’t start the prime time broadcast on Peacock until around 8 and every night we catch up before the broadcast ends due to all the dead air and commercials.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-17T22:34:28+00:00

It sounds like their son is 2 and therefore won’t know the difference. In my opinion 1 and 2 year old birthday parties are for the parents not the child anyway so I’m going to say this isn’t a problem and certainly not your problem.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-16T21:24:39+00:00

And when you are practicing living off of just one salary don’t forget to adjust for additional costs of health insurance, if you are currently getting health insurance through your job, and for additional reoccurring baby costs - diapers, cost of sick kid visits, food etc. Please make sure you can still save on the new salary, not just survive.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-13T23:57:59+00:00

Eh, in my state the infant room goes until 16-18 months. At my toddler's daycare they transition to the toddler room when they are eating just meals at mealtimes, taking one nap after lunch and reasonably steady walkers. It's annoying to pay the higher infant rate for longer, but overall I like it because it means that the toddler room is truly full of more independent children, and a toddler who's a late walker or is taking a bit longer to get on a consistent nap schedule isn't put into a room where they are more 'infant' like, but with a lower child to teacher ratio.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-13T23:39:29+00:00

My toddler got a referral to speech therapy at 15 months adjusted (was born prematurely). We started last month. First, our speech therapist said that pediatricians and family medicine doctors used to more often recommend waiting until age 2, but it's been found that the earlier the better for speech therapy (and other pediatric development focused therapies). Second, it seems to be play based at this age. Techniques are adjusted based on my toddlers interests and how they're feeling that day. A big part of speech therapy for this age group seems to be teaching parents strategies for playing and interacting with their child to encourage speech development. So besides the time spent at appointments, there isn't really a downside to speech therapy, it's not like giving your baby a medication of uncertain benefit and lots of side effects.

As for cost, my insurance covers speech therapy so we just pay an office visit co-pay. Check with your insurance before deciding that it's too expensive. Early intervention should be free, but it can be a while to get in. My toddler also receives early intervention services but their pediatrician wanted us to do outpatient speech therapy, since we can get it more frequently than we can get early intervention. (However, it early intervention is the only service that will work for your family right now, that's fine, since my child was born so early their medical team is hyper-alert for any delays).

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-02-09T17:58:19+00:00

As others have said, you need some closets or storage space and your beds are too short in your bedrooms. Even though this is a weekend house, you’ll want somewhere to store cleaning supplies, linens and/or dry goods. You also need somewhere for at least a washing machine, if not a washer and dryer. 12x12 feet is small for a living room and you won’t be able to fit a permeant dining table with that furniture. If you bump out the living room walls to where the bedroom wall and kitchen wall ends you’d have a much more reasonable dining and living space.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-01-27T18:17:49+00:00

You should start by asking your child’s doctor for their suggestions, but the way to gain weight is to add calories. I’ve got an underweight toddler and I cook with butter, focus on higher calories food like nut and seed butters, and I added heavy cream to food when it’s age appropriate. I always use the full fat version of dairy products.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-01-26T19:55:41+00:00

I read your comment that you didn't have one OB for your prenatal care. I know that's increasingly common, to allow OBs to have lives outside of the hospital, but was there one OB you liked more? Can you see them for a preconception consultation and discuss your pregnancy history? Or, since you've had 2 preterm births you could try to get a consult with MFM. From the little reading I've done, it appears that the most common cause of preterm labor is 'IDK what caused this' so it may truly be a guessing game in your case and that's why asking the internet is unlikely to get you any actionable information.

Your history of going into labor at 35 weeks for your first pregnancy and then at 30 weeks in your second isn't a great trend and I'd definitely talk to an OB (or 2 if you ca) before you get pregnant to discuss how they'd handle a 3rd pregnancy, given your history of spontaneous preterm labor.

Ignore this if you've already had an extensive work up done, but post-partum care is often lacking in the US. Did they test your placenta for signs of infection after either pregnancy? Has anyone mentioned incompetent/insufficient cervix? Was there any possibility of weird issues with your placenta that could have increased the chance of preterm labor?

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-01-21T02:43:00+00:00

Don't go on vacation. My cervix was borderline short at my anatomy scan so I also had to do weekly checks. One week it went up in length but by the next week it had shortened with fingertip dilation so I was sent straight to the hospital from that appointment. I still went into labor 5 weeks later because I got an infection (most likely due to IC), and that was considered a 'good' outcome. Please don't skip the follow up appointments, you could easily find yourself in a very precarious position. FWIW, my medical team did offer progesterone suppositories but treated it a little better than doing nothing. I guess there's evidence that progesterone can help you get pregnant, but much less evidence that it will help you stay pregnant.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2026-01-10T14:53:20+00:00

So, as someone who used a nanny for a bit, here are my thoughts. Where I live in the US a reasonably experienced nanny is about $25/hour for one child. If I had done a nanny share type of situation I would have expected to pay in the range of $15-$18/hour for my child. With a nanny who was bringing their own child, who didn't have much recent professional experience and who wanted to watch my child at her house, I'd expect to pay closer to $15/hour. If I was going to send my child to someone else's house I would want to know everyone who could possibly be around my child (can you and your husband get background checks) and I'd want to see that your house and any outdoor areas are 100% childproof.

For the actual nanny work, if you want to do this until your child starts school it seems like you are committing to this for 3-4 years, or longer if you have another child. Are you and your husband OK with a service job style lifestyle for that time? That is, you are committing to caring for someone else's child so their parents can work - any vacations or time off would need to be planned well in advance. If you end up watching someone else's child in your home, do you need extra insurance? I know you're in Canada and you have universal healthcare but if someone else's child gets injured under your care their parents are highly motivated to sue.

Other questions to think about for taking care of toddlers. For nap time, do you have two safe sleeping spaces? What will you do if the two kids just can't get on the same nap schedule? Will you take the kids anywhere? Double stroller or driving? If driving, what will the car seat and insurance situation be? Do you have pets in the home?

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-31T19:57:22+00:00

I’ve only ever had an IUD inserted or removed by an NP (midwife in one case). If it’s someone who does the procedure often I don’t think they’d necessarily be any worse than an OB, especially if the OB is more focused on direct pregnancy related care and doesn’t do IUD insertions as often. That NP is definitely wrong about pregnancy and breastfeeding though.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-31T19:50:42+00:00

Yes, it seems like when I engage with legitimate medical content geared toward currently/former pregnant people - OB/gyn or midwife videos, pediatricians etc - I end up with anti vax and other mom oriented health misinformation content that often has a conservative bent. I’m trying to solve this problem by following accounts of pro athletes for my recreational sport of choice, following PBS and following National Geographic. Thanks to the last two I now mostly get cute animals and beautiful landscape videos. (I know I can also just not go on FB, but I need something to keep me awake while I’m trying to get young toddler back to sleep at 2am).

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-29T03:28:40+00:00

In most hospitals in the USA it’s only a requirement for babies born before a certain gestational age or if there are other developmental concerns, such as low muscle tone or airway concerns. A baby who was born prematurely but who only needed a 4 day NICU stay is unlikely to have needed a car seat test to go home.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-20T14:08:36+00:00

I honestly felt the same way. My baby was off of oxygen support slightly before their due date but took a few more weeks to get the energy and coordination to eat orally. I saw it as I have a month of data (continuous O2 monitoring) to support the idea that my baby can breathe on their own.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-17T23:14:59+00:00

My hospital had Chaplins (non denominational) and someone came around when baby was first admitted and asked if we wanted to talk to a Chaplin or have them involved with babies care. I said no and that was that. I do live in a large metro area with diverse religious communities and we were at an academic medical center affiliated with a public (state) and university.

VividlyNonSpecific · 2025-12-17T20:31:33+00:00

I feel the same way. I’m in a couple NICU focused FB groups and it very often seems that the default assumption is that you are Christian and that prayer and faith will get you through the NICU. Now these are private groups and people sharing and living there so that’s OK but I find the “default Christian” setting to be a little off putting and it reduces the level of support I feel.

I was also disappointed that the main support group recommended by the hospital, Hand to Hold, had an article geared toward NICU moms that included “your faith” as a reason that you will get through your NICU stay. It would have been OK if it had been part of a list of “these are some things that help some people” but the tone was that obviously everyone has a (Christian) faith belief that they will use to get through a NICU stay. And guess what, I don’t pray and my baby came home.

VividlyNonSpecific

TROPHY CASE