1 day Ago By Nic Garcia
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Three-year-old Leo is bright and full of energy. But before he was born, his parents and doctors weren't sure how his development would progress.
"We had a scare during pregnancy," says his mom, Lili Garabedian. "In our scans, we found out there might be a brain abnormality. As soon as he was born, by God's grace, it was gone.
That put us at a higher risk for developmental issues in the future. Those first three years, especially, were important for us with the guidance of our pediatrician to make sure he hit all his milestones." "Before we talk about milestones, it's really important to talk about what a milestone is," says Dr.
Carmela Sosa. "A milestone is if you think about walking a mile, for example. You might have a marker every quarter of a mile.
You've walked a quarter mile, you've walked a half-mile, now you've walked three-quarters of a mile. Now, you've walked a full mile." For a baby, those milestones mark motor, language, cognitive and other developmental skills.
It's important to remember that not all children develop at the same rate. "Variability is normal," Dr. Sosa said.
"When we get concerned as pediatricians is when kids are behind in several areas or are significantly behind where they should be." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a free app called "Milestones." It's a quick and easy way to keep track of your child's development.
Lili used the app to track Leo's developmental progress, and she's using it now to stay on top of her youngest son, Levi. "If a child is just a little bit behind, it's very easy to intervene and get them caught up," Dr. Sosa said.
"If you wait months or even years, they're even farther behind, it's a lot harder for them." Leo's family is thankful he didn't fall behind. "He started speaking full sentences before the age of two," Lili said.
Speaking of speaking -- in addition to English, Leo understands Armenian and Russian. Dr. Sosa says speaking multiple languages to a baby does not confuse them or cause language delays.
"When you're counting up the number of words your child says, you can count the ones in English and in the other language or in whichever two languages are spoken in the home," she said. For news updates, follow Nic Garcia on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram ..
