Getting There Slowly

Little C is always doing new things. She is 2 1/2 now, and some days I am amazed because she seems more like a 12 month old. Through all the progress, I am constantly reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race.

Although she is still not walking, she is getting stronger every day. We now have braces on her ankles. This is helping her learn to use other muscles to steady her self. Her physiotherapist is suggesting new tools to help her, like a ride on toy. All things I never thought of.

She says "Hi" now, which is amazing!

The biggest excitement for me is the way she has responded to the newest addition in our extended family. My sister in-law recently had a new baby girl. Little C is very jealous of me holding any children, so I was very nervous about the new baby. Little C surprised me. He adores her new cousin, and is mad if I give the baby to anyone!
To add to my joy, she is now playing with her dolls! She is engaging in imaginative play, and imitating the adults around her! This is a huge step in her development, one I am very happy to share with you all! It just shows again, be patient........children are full of surprises! 

Focusing on Speech

Hearing your child's first words is a joy for every parent. it doesn't matter how many children you have, each time is new and exciting. What happens when that moment isn't coming? When you suspect that your child might have a speech delay?
Each region has different resources, but in most areas like with any specialist, there is a wait. So what now? How do you encourage your child to speak, or help improving the quality of the speech they do have?
We have been through speech therapy twice now, and are receiving some for Little C right now. It is very difficult when your little one isn't talking, but there are things you can do to help.

Have them drink from a straw
I wish I had known this one! Little S's therapist let me know about this one. When you use a straw, you are using the same muscles that are used in speech. Developing these muscles assists in the easy formation of words. Whether your child is just learning to drink a sippy cup, or already in school, a straw can help. 

There are many straw cup options for kids of all ages. The earlier they start, the greater the benefit. 

Use Baby Sign Language

Yes, believe it or not this helps speech. Not only does signing help prevent frustration in babies, and help you comunicate with your child at an earlier age, many studies show children who sign speak earlier, and have a bigger vocabulary than children using speech alone. In our family I noticed an incredible difference when I introduced signs to my children.

Play the "Echo" Game
When your baby or toddler babbles, repeat what the "say" back to them. This teaches them about conversation, and about turn taking. Repeat them a few times, and try using similar sounds back to them encouraging them to echo you. The more they enjoy it, the more likely they are to "echo" you. Gradually increase the difficulty moving from vowel sounds, to consonants, and finally words.

Name the Objects Around
The best thing you can do to help your child is model speech for them. Name objects, show them what speech is for, even with your infants.

These are only a few things, but it is amazing how much these few things can help! 

The Best Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day for most Moms is breakfast in bed, a day off, a day at the spa maybe. Flowers, cards chocolates, hugs, kisses, just love from the kids. For us, Mother's Day is a bit trickier. Our Sundays are always filled with church activities. We hold 2 services, plus Sunday School, and since we rent a space, we have to set up and clean up. All I ask for is no cooking! This year I received more, much more. Something so special I am tearing up just sharing it with you.

As you may know from past posts, Little C is disabled. We still don't know what the cause is, and we may never know. She shows she understands, but it is usually subtle things,  milk, cookies, Daddy, bye bye.
While she was in the church nursery, the volunteer made Mother's Day cards with the children. She traced their little hands as stems for flowers. That in it self it a wonderful gift, but that is not the gift that makes me teary. I was showing the paper to my brother while holding Little C. She reached out and placed her hand on the hand print. She then repeatedly pointed to the cut out hand print. She remembered it was her hand.  She understood! This is the most amazing thing I have ever felt.

I am so filled with joy over she showing me this. I always question how much she really understands. Now I know. Not all gifts have price tags. Some don't come on a plate, or paper. Some times the best gift is seeing something so precious, and letting it touch you heart a little.

What is the best Mother's Day gift you have ever received?

The Waiting Game

Some days I just want to cry. I try to wait patiently for all the therapies that are being offered, and all the doctors appointments, but instead I have to call and chase to get results! I have spent most of morning calling to check on the status of different referrals, and therapies.
I have gotten the same response from multiple places "you are right, it should not have taken this long," and "I'm sorry. I will look into it." It should not be so difficult to receive necessaries services! I am thankful to live in a country that offers me support and help, but it concerns me that I have to chase the specialists to do their job.

Here is what I had happen today. I have been waiting for calls from several different departments for Little C, and Little S. For Little C it was speech therapy and a social worker. I received letters months ago stating I would receive a call back, and never got the call. The social worker apologized and agreed she was supposed to have gotten back to me by now. The speech therapy has to look into the situation to see if there are any services that can be offered to Little C.

As if that wasn't enough, I had to make a call I was dreading. First, the back story. Little S was receiving speech therapy form an amazing therapist. We loved her, and she was making huge leaps and bounds with Little S. She was concerned about his fine motor skills, and wanted to send us to an occupational therapist to see if they could help. Little S was just under 3 at the time. It wasn't long before we got an assessment. Little S is very shy, and clams up around new people. He was not receptive to the therapist, and she did little to make him comfortable. This was 3 years ago. She only saw us 3 times, wrote things in her reports that made her appear to be helping when she did nothing, and left me with the impression that she was going to continue giving Little S therapy. Now that Little S is school aged, we don't have any thing. She dropped the ball, and left us with 3 years of waiting for nothing.
I spoke with the supervisor, who after apologies, said she would look into how this happened, but is unable to do anything to get Little S therapy now. A referral was made to the school, and now I have to wait to hear from them and see if they are willing to extend therapy to him since we home school! It is just so frustrating to trust in a system, and have it let you down, repeatedly.

Ok, rant over. Thanks for listening!

Baby Steps

Rant alert!!!

Baby steps can be huge in a little one. I'm not talking about literal walking steps, but steps in progress and development.

Take Little C, she will be 2 in just over a week, and with her delays, she is no where near where I expected she would be right now. Each time she does something new, it is huge for us. When she began to show interest in self feeding my heart burst with joy! I hate to admit it, but at this point, this would be bigger for me than if she started walking....

With 5 kids, a husband, home schooling, and housework, it is hard to sit and spoon feed my 2 year old. So you can imagine why this is so huge for me. The road to self feeding with Little C was harder than I ever could have imagined. She goes on food strikes and refuses to eat things a certain way, or anything but her favourites. What is a mother to do?

With my boys, I was (and still am) a tough love mom when it comes to meals. I don't run a restaurant.  I will not be the mother making 4 different meals to accommodate different tastes. I'm not mean about it. Little S HATES potatoes. I only give him a small portion, but he has to eat that small portion before he can have something else. I make salads with our meals. At first, each of the boys insisted they did not like salad. I always have an other vegetable on the table, so I made a rule: no seconds until you have some salad. You don't want salad? No problem. Be happy with the portion you have.

Little C is throwing all my rules out the window! It can be so frustrating buying a snack for Little C and having her shake her little head at me when I offer it. This girlie wants to live off  yoghurt, oatmeal and potatoes! Ok, I think my rant is over ;)

Some Progess in Both Areas!

This has been a big month in Little C's life. She has pulled her self to stand, eaten a cookie all by her self (That's the really big one for me!) and tomorrow we go see the Geneticist. This is both exciting and scary for me. We have been on the waiting list since last June, when Little C was first diagnosed as disabled. It has been a long wait.

And now, that wait is over.

Now we begin a new chapter, testing. I am very scary for me. I have no idea what kind of tests they will order. I am excited that the wait is over. I am excited to possibly get answers, but realistic. 80% of cases don't get an answer to the question, "What is wrong with our child?" Or the bigger one, "Why?"


When I look at Little C's smiles, none of that matters. I love my sweetie no matter what. And that is what really matters, right?

New Year, New Goals

2012 was a very emotional year for me. In the spring, we received confirmation my little baby girl is disabled. That was a hard one. She was diagnosed with a Global Development Delay (A delay in more that one area) with Neurological abnormalities.

 We began physio and occupation therapy, gave her glasses, and made peace with the possibility that on top of dealing with the disability, we may never know what is wrong.

We watched as she was sedated to have a MRI, and rejoiced when the results came back normal.

We waited, patiently at first, now a little impatiently, for a development counsellor.

We rejoiced when her Neurologist found no warning signs of a Neurological condition, and yet shuddered at what that could mean. More doctors, more tests, maybe with no answers.

We are still waiting for a Geneticist to assess her to see if they can find out the cause.

Now we are beginning 2013. Looking at the next year, we need to set goals for Little C. In March she will be 2. She does not walk. She has only pulled her self up to stand once. She only says Mama. Setting realistic goals is challenging. Set them to high, and she may not meet them, causing disappointment. Set them too low,   and we won't push her to her limits.

I want desperately to make walking one of our goals for her, but am hesitant. Little C has low muscle tone. She tires easily, and has weak legs. As a mother, you always want your child to exceed, but we need to remember that each child is different. I have accepted that Little C may never walk, and that would be ok. She may always need me to care for her, and that's ok.

Goals for Little C in 2013
Increase vocabulary by 5-10 worlds
Build leg strength to support weight
Begin self feeding
Introduce 10 signs

When ever you have goals, it is wise to revisit them. I plan to do a quarterly visit to re-evaluate. Who knows? Maybe 2013 will bring enough answers that Little C will surprise us all.......