At our last round of NICU follow-up appointments, we met with a prosthetic specialist. They recommended we start Jaron with a prosthetic sleeve to get him used to having something on his flipper.
Once he's acclimated, they can 3D print attachments to screw into the sleeve. Those can be basically anything we can dream up to make a task easier for him. They want their clients to actually use the prostheses, not let them sit on a shelf getting dusty, so we as parents start the conversation when we notice Jaron avoiding doing a task because of his limb difference. The example they gave was of a boy avoiding riding his bike because it was too hard for him without a second hand. He had tried, got frustrated over and over, and gave up. I think that's the key: frustrated to the point of giving up.
So far, Jaron has tolerated the sleeve well! I caught him a half second before he smiled which is why he looks hesitant in this picture.
We're not in a rush to get an attachment, but on our radar is something to give him more leverage for crawling and/or to help him pull to standing. He's not quite at either skill, so we'll see how things progress with his determination...
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