Two quick things. I just asked Parker if he was all done or wanted more. He looked right at me and signed "more." :)
Also, this morning I was making breakfast in bed for his amazing father (whom I adore) and Parker was rolling around playing on the floor. He got into some bins on the toy shelves! I actually had to take some stuff away from him. My two year old is getting into stuff!!!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
So many good things are happening and I just want to write them all down!
Okay, so when we first got home from the hospital 6 months ago, I was talking with his new therapist (who is absolutely wonderful) and we talked about goals and she said that any form of mobility encouraged brain development. We decided to work most on rolling and sitting and to not worry about crawling right then since his right arm was so weak. You kind of need 4 limbs to crawl, but not to roll or walk. Sounds good to me.
This whole time I have been really wanting him to engage that right arm, but have really struggled on good ways to successfully do that at home (besides pinning). The best way to start is to weight bear on that arm. We would work on it in therapy, but I just did not have it down at home and there is just SOOOOOO much to work on- really EVERY aspect of his life...
About 2-3 weeks ago, I brought up crawling again with his therapist. I had been messing around with it at home and discovered that I could get him to weight bear on that right arm if he was on his hands and knees. She said why not?! She showed me how to place his hands and feet and that the first step to crawling is to rock back and forth, back and forth, then side to side, side to side. So we play "back and forth" a lot.
What is so cool about this is how everything overlaps right now. The weight shifting side to side is so important both in walking and crawling. His trunk control and strength is sooooooo much better than even a few weeks ago, hence also good timing for hands and knees.
The other part that is cool is his legs. When we first started trying to teach him to crawl in the hospital and transitioning home, we had to be an octopus. You had to have enough arms (and legs) to hold both legs in a kneeling position, support his weight, keep his right elbow straight, head up, trunk up, and somehow help him move his limbs--diagonal limbs- at the same time. (left arm/right leg...) Whenever we attempted it, the hardest part was that his legs would shoot backwards and everything would collapse. Over and over. He is a strong kid.
Well, about 4 weeks ago his therapist introduced me to a new game that Parker and I call "GO!" Parker sits in my lap, then stands up. It seems simple, right? The problem is that every time he tried, EVERYTHING would fire at once- meaning his whole body would go straight as a board and he would shoot backwards into my chest. The remedy is to bend his waist and lean his body over his legs so he HAS to use his leg muscles to stand instead of the tone (ie all muscles firing at once). It is pretty difficult, but he somehow really likes to do it. :) We stand up, then he raises his left hand (speech) and brings it down to sign "GO!" and he gleefully falls back into my lap. I showed our new game to the therapist. As much fun as gleefully falling backwards is, she showed us how to have him "fall" correctly- ie bend his knees and actually sit instead of fling himself backwards. These are important skills. Trust me.
So after weeks of "playing" GO! multiple times a day, he will now vocalize "uuuuuuuup" as he stands, look back to make sure I am watching, smile, sign "GO!" and then actually bend his knees and sit back down!!!!!! I need to get this on video. It is an "all hands on deck" kind of game, though.... hmmm. Maybe I will employ a small child to video- like I did this one today.
Okay, so when we first got home from the hospital 6 months ago, I was talking with his new therapist (who is absolutely wonderful) and we talked about goals and she said that any form of mobility encouraged brain development. We decided to work most on rolling and sitting and to not worry about crawling right then since his right arm was so weak. You kind of need 4 limbs to crawl, but not to roll or walk. Sounds good to me.
This whole time I have been really wanting him to engage that right arm, but have really struggled on good ways to successfully do that at home (besides pinning). The best way to start is to weight bear on that arm. We would work on it in therapy, but I just did not have it down at home and there is just SOOOOOO much to work on- really EVERY aspect of his life...
About 2-3 weeks ago, I brought up crawling again with his therapist. I had been messing around with it at home and discovered that I could get him to weight bear on that right arm if he was on his hands and knees. She said why not?! She showed me how to place his hands and feet and that the first step to crawling is to rock back and forth, back and forth, then side to side, side to side. So we play "back and forth" a lot.
What is so cool about this is how everything overlaps right now. The weight shifting side to side is so important both in walking and crawling. His trunk control and strength is sooooooo much better than even a few weeks ago, hence also good timing for hands and knees.
The other part that is cool is his legs. When we first started trying to teach him to crawl in the hospital and transitioning home, we had to be an octopus. You had to have enough arms (and legs) to hold both legs in a kneeling position, support his weight, keep his right elbow straight, head up, trunk up, and somehow help him move his limbs--diagonal limbs- at the same time. (left arm/right leg...) Whenever we attempted it, the hardest part was that his legs would shoot backwards and everything would collapse. Over and over. He is a strong kid.
Well, about 4 weeks ago his therapist introduced me to a new game that Parker and I call "GO!" Parker sits in my lap, then stands up. It seems simple, right? The problem is that every time he tried, EVERYTHING would fire at once- meaning his whole body would go straight as a board and he would shoot backwards into my chest. The remedy is to bend his waist and lean his body over his legs so he HAS to use his leg muscles to stand instead of the tone (ie all muscles firing at once). It is pretty difficult, but he somehow really likes to do it. :) We stand up, then he raises his left hand (speech) and brings it down to sign "GO!" and he gleefully falls back into my lap. I showed our new game to the therapist. As much fun as gleefully falling backwards is, she showed us how to have him "fall" correctly- ie bend his knees and actually sit instead of fling himself backwards. These are important skills. Trust me.
So after weeks of "playing" GO! multiple times a day, he will now vocalize "uuuuuuuup" as he stands, look back to make sure I am watching, smile, sign "GO!" and then actually bend his knees and sit back down!!!!!! I need to get this on video. It is an "all hands on deck" kind of game, though.... hmmm. Maybe I will employ a small child to video- like I did this one today.
Parker is walking so well! (Even if this video does not show it that well.) We had a nice long wait for a doctor today- which I was expecting- so we came prepared and did LOTS of therapy while we waited including walking and walking and walking some more. It is so nice that he actually enjoys these things.
This week his sitting has really taken a turn for the better. He has been on the cusp for so long. He can now sit for over 40 seconds- pretty much as long as he does not fall to the right. Righty just needs more practice catching the fall. Lots more... Anyway, today he was even playing with his toes and lifting his foot up with his hand- all while maintaining trunk control. Again- it sounds simple. It is not. This is HUGE!!!! I now don't touch him at all when he is sitting, just sit within arm (or leg) reach. Remember the octopus from before- your whole body becomes really adept at holding, helping and catching.
So back to the crawling. Remember how his legs would shoot backward? This week when I was helping him crawl, he actually held "hands and knees" for 4 seconds! When I move his right arm forward, his left knee moved forward all on its own!!!!!!! When I move the left arm, sometimes the right will shoot backwards- which shows me he is trying and the muscles are all firing. The "sit to stand" GO! game has helped immensely with his leg control.
It is really just amazing to me to realize how everything fits all together. He is making so much progress this week and it is all interrelated. I am so proud of how hard he works and for what a sweet kid he is. We are so lucky to have him around in our lives.
And this is totally the way to make a Mommy's day. Or week really. :)
And just for laughs...and giggles.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
I have not done an update in a while. We are all doing well. It has been a bit hard this past week knowing that Parker is having seizures because now I get to go back to worrying constantly. He has 1-2 an hour all day long. Nothing has changed much, except knowing that they are seizures now. For now, we get to play the medicine game again to figure out what will work to stop them. Poor little guy. They seem to not bother him too bad. I've started taking the tray off his high chair when he has them because he kept having these mysterious bruises in the same spot on his knee until I figured out they were from when he kicks his knee in his high chair during the seizures. Sorry I keep coming back to these- but they are ever present in our day and minds.
On a brighter note, Parker is doing really well. I was really worried when we started this particular seizure med because while some side effects were great- calmer mind and body and better able to focus- if he was left alone to play by himself he would just stare off until he went into a staring episode/seizure. He is finally going back to playing by himself! He will roll a bit and talk to himself and eat/play with whatever toys are in reach. This is huge! I simply cannot give him my attention every second of the day. I love what my brother-in-law advised- he said that one of the things he had to learn with his child with special needs is that his is not a father of one child, but of four. The other three kids need their parents, too. The other night I went in to tuck my oldest daughter in and she was sobbing, the chest heaving kind. I held her and loved her until I could ask what was wrong. She looked at me amidst tears and said "I miss you." It had been a crazy week/day with extra doctor appts and I had been gone a lot. I've been trying, but I've redoubled my efforts to spend one on one time with each of my kiddos. It is amazing how these times simplify your life for you into what is truly most important.
Parker is continuing to work on and improve in sitting and walking. He is getting incrementally better every day. I've been saying this for weeks and months, but he is so close to sitting independently. I have moved into the "catching" roll instead of the "support every aspect of your body" roll. I most often hold only his right hand when he is sitting. He can sit on the floor, on the bench next to me in church and we are working on a chair. He is improving soooo much in his "sit to stand." It used to be that every time he went to stand (or move his legs in crawling) his whole body would fire at once and everything would extend- which means if he was trying to stand, he would shoot himself backwards. We counter that by having him lean forward while he stands which breaks the extension and he has to use his muscles. I have found this helps in so many aspects- including crawling.
We initially were not going to work on crawling because he was so interested in rolling and walking, and his right arm is so weak. I asked about it a couple of weeks ago because I REALLY want him to start engaging his right hand. I was really struggling to get him to weight bear on that arm (one of the first steps) and he was really motivated to weight bear on his hands and knees. I talked to his therapist and she said sure! She showed me how to rock him back and forth and side to side to encourage and teach weight shifting. Sometimes I have to lock his elbow either with my hand or with a "no no" arm brace from our hospital days, but last night he was completely weight bearing on his right on his own!!! To teach crawling, you move the left arm forward followed quickly by the right leg. Then the right arm followed by the left leg. He was really motivated last night and tried so hard!!! He was doing great a few weeks ago when we started, but the last two weeks he has melted and bent both arms every time I've tried. Last night was great again. He even moved his left leg on his own!!! Oh- and with the leg extension, whenever he would try to move his legs to crawl, his legs would extend and shoot back and it was impossible to have enough arms and strength to hold him up and keep him in position. Now, he is starting to be able to move his left leg independently when crawling and he does not just automatically extend everything!!!
Sorry this is so long and detailed- again this is for me. :) He is improving so much in his grasp and pincer grasp with his left, feeding himself, chewing with using his tongue and not getting "lefty" finger involved moving the food around his mouth, he his saying "mmmmm" and "mam" this week and back to babbling "b" and buzzing his lips. He makes eye contact, giggles when I tickle him, lets me read him books, sings along with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and he is happy.
On a brighter note, Parker is doing really well. I was really worried when we started this particular seizure med because while some side effects were great- calmer mind and body and better able to focus- if he was left alone to play by himself he would just stare off until he went into a staring episode/seizure. He is finally going back to playing by himself! He will roll a bit and talk to himself and eat/play with whatever toys are in reach. This is huge! I simply cannot give him my attention every second of the day. I love what my brother-in-law advised- he said that one of the things he had to learn with his child with special needs is that his is not a father of one child, but of four. The other three kids need their parents, too. The other night I went in to tuck my oldest daughter in and she was sobbing, the chest heaving kind. I held her and loved her until I could ask what was wrong. She looked at me amidst tears and said "I miss you." It had been a crazy week/day with extra doctor appts and I had been gone a lot. I've been trying, but I've redoubled my efforts to spend one on one time with each of my kiddos. It is amazing how these times simplify your life for you into what is truly most important.
Parker is continuing to work on and improve in sitting and walking. He is getting incrementally better every day. I've been saying this for weeks and months, but he is so close to sitting independently. I have moved into the "catching" roll instead of the "support every aspect of your body" roll. I most often hold only his right hand when he is sitting. He can sit on the floor, on the bench next to me in church and we are working on a chair. He is improving soooo much in his "sit to stand." It used to be that every time he went to stand (or move his legs in crawling) his whole body would fire at once and everything would extend- which means if he was trying to stand, he would shoot himself backwards. We counter that by having him lean forward while he stands which breaks the extension and he has to use his muscles. I have found this helps in so many aspects- including crawling.
We initially were not going to work on crawling because he was so interested in rolling and walking, and his right arm is so weak. I asked about it a couple of weeks ago because I REALLY want him to start engaging his right hand. I was really struggling to get him to weight bear on that arm (one of the first steps) and he was really motivated to weight bear on his hands and knees. I talked to his therapist and she said sure! She showed me how to rock him back and forth and side to side to encourage and teach weight shifting. Sometimes I have to lock his elbow either with my hand or with a "no no" arm brace from our hospital days, but last night he was completely weight bearing on his right on his own!!! To teach crawling, you move the left arm forward followed quickly by the right leg. Then the right arm followed by the left leg. He was really motivated last night and tried so hard!!! He was doing great a few weeks ago when we started, but the last two weeks he has melted and bent both arms every time I've tried. Last night was great again. He even moved his left leg on his own!!! Oh- and with the leg extension, whenever he would try to move his legs to crawl, his legs would extend and shoot back and it was impossible to have enough arms and strength to hold him up and keep him in position. Now, he is starting to be able to move his left leg independently when crawling and he does not just automatically extend everything!!!
Sorry this is so long and detailed- again this is for me. :) He is improving so much in his grasp and pincer grasp with his left, feeding himself, chewing with using his tongue and not getting "lefty" finger involved moving the food around his mouth, he his saying "mmmmm" and "mam" this week and back to babbling "b" and buzzing his lips. He makes eye contact, giggles when I tickle him, lets me read him books, sings along with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and he is happy.
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