Are We There Yet?: August 2013

There are far too many updates to write a separate blog post for each. By the time I got even half of them written, we'd be just as far behind yet again. So instead, I've been compiling a list of all of the blog worthy updates that I want to capture in writing and I'll list them over a few posts...trying desperately not to blink in fear of missing yet another amazing thing my children are growing through.

1. A miraculous gift - I'd been debating for weeks about whether to consider a walker for Caleb. He lacks balance and leverages furniture not just for stability, but to lean on and to prop him up. Our therapists have been pushing us to get things like buckets and chairs for him to push around with our supervision, so my mind started going to an actual walker as a tool for him. He tends to lean forward onto everything, so a posterior walker would be something that he wouldn't have that luxury with, something to force him into a little more understanding of his center of gravity. When I brought it up to our PT, she said that he is too unstable to use one now and as soon as he becomes stable, he won't need one- he should walk on his own. But I couldn't get it out of my mind. I saw it as a tool to practice on, and to build motivation so he can feel maybe just a little "upright" freedom sometime soon. I decided to go around our Early Intervention program and reach out to our long term care coverage to see what we could get. Walkers are expensive, so buying one out of pocket would be tough. They had us come into the Rehabilitation Clinic and did an eval with their PTs. The PT at first mentioned that he would probably need a front walker, that he wouldn't be able to cognitively grasp the idea of pulling a walker behind him while stabilizing himself. I asked if we could just try one to see how it fit and how much work we would need to get there, so she brought in one of their practice walkers. It wasn't three seconds after setting the walker down behind Caleb that he had already grabbed onto the handles and started taking steps forward, pulling it along behind him!!! I actually had my eyes on Grace as she was pulling all of the bean bags out of one of their bins when the PT said "You're gonna want to look at this". I turned around and was completely stunned. We all were! We spent the next 20 minutes trying out different motivation tactics to keep Caleb walking. He wasn't sturdy by any means, he couldn't walk independently- he needed someone to stand right with him and help him if his feet got tangled or if he leaned forward too far, but he ended up walking the entire length of the rehab center, up and down a long hall way, stopping from time to time to grab some of the paper stars hanging from the walls. It was like a dream. I never could have imagined- watching my son get his first taste of freedom. Maybe just an appetizer, but it was glorious!

The PT noted that because he isn't independent on the walker, they couldn't make one for him. She looked me in the eye and said that she could tell that our little man needed a walker, and she knew everything happened for a reason. She left the room and came back in with a shiny green walker adorning two cartoon stickers and a tag labeled "Donated to CRS". They had just received the walker from as an anonymous donation for a child who needed it but couldn't have one made. It was surreal. She asked me to promise that we'd bring it back to donate to the next little one who needed it as soon as Caleb was walking. I cried, thanked her profusely, and left that clinic with more hope than I'd had in months. It was an unbelievable morning.

Caleb walks with it every other day or so, up and back our kitchen or down the hall upstairs. Our PT still doesn't like him using it too often, she's afraid it will be dangerous or eventually become a crutch. I just see it as the next step, a little green teaser of Caleb's potential.

2. Bubbles - I want to make sure I document the first time Miss Gracie really loved the pool. I have a bit of a soft spot for swimming and I want nothing more than for my littles to love the water and be able to swim happily and safely. I've been working with both of them, with a lot of help from my Mom, on trying to blow bubbles. We recently just took the plunge and dunked them both under the water. Caleb didn't love it, and likely inhaled a bunch of water with out coughing it up :/ but Gracie seemed to latch onto it a bit better. Sure, she coughed and choked a few times, but recently, she's really taken to putting her face under water and glowing at the reaction she gets from a very happy Mama!

A couple of weeks ago, my family came over for a pool day and Grace decided she wanted to ham it up in the water. She was blowing bubbles all over the place, practicing kicking, crawling around the edge of the pool hanging onto the side, and asking over and over to be thrown in the air! My favorite was how excited she'd get when I put her on my back to actually swim around. She loved that, as well as being lifted all the way out of the water by her legs and reaching way up in the sky! This little one loves taking risks; I see some gymnastics in our future. (I think the swimming will last a bit longer, this little girl is likely going to be 6' tall!) So now she's caught the water bug and every time we're in the bath tub she's trying to swim around, blowing bubbles and kicking her feet. It's pretty much awesome (and very, very wet).

3. Progress - Caleb just started ABA therapy with an AMAZING therapist, Katie, who is BCBA certified and incredible with him. She's so gentle and patient with him, but she does a wonderful job of engaging him and enforcing what needs to be worked on. He just stares at her sometimes, like he's just as amazed as I am. :) We met with the Developmental Psychologist a couple of months ago and he introduced ABA to us. We had been doing many of the high level philosophies already, but had been completely inconsistent and steered away from it in situations where it could have been critical. We started discussing communication most and when we met with the doctor again, he gave us a few tools to start using. Almost immediately, we saw a change in Caleb. His capacity to learn was so much higher than what I thought it was and he was picking up the things we enforced, consistently, really well. That consistency part is the tough thing, however. We decided we wanted to continue working with this doctor and we hired on one of his therapists to do Caleb's ABA, and to do it consistently. She started coming last week and we plan to have her come every morning if possible. In just the three days that she's worked with Caleb, I've been blown away by the progress he's made. He now says "Bah" for binky and "Dah" for duck!!! He makes a sound for things that he wants instead of just signing "eat" all of the time. He makes choices for different types of food that he wants by reaching (usually for K.ix, he always wants Ki.x) and he proactively requests food (with his sound and sign) rather than just us prompting him! He also learned how to stick out his tongue on command and he is now mimicking us when we do it, something he had never done before! He also learned how to "cover his eyes" with his hands when I ask him, and he plays peek-a-book like that now! I don't think I could use enough exclamation points to express this. It's astonishing what we take for granted, myself included, with our kids. When Grace began mimicking my actions, like clapping or sticking out her tongue, I moved right on to the next "milestone" she was supposed to reach. If there is any silver lining in this, it's the true understanding of how amazing life really is- the capacity that each of us has, the abilities. Comprehension, just mere comprehension, is a true gift. I've been able to see these gifts in a whole new light because of my little man. I celebrate his accomplishments, his victories, with such fierce admiration and gratitude; it's an emotion I never would have known without him. He's truly inspiring.

The last three months - a quick glimpse. Remember, don't blink!

Mother's Day brunch out on the town

Such a happy, happy dude!

Little princess

New water table - Mommy's Mother's Day gift! :)

With his best friend- the Big Bear

Silly man

Gracie helping with his hat

Afternoon tea with Nana and Mama

Baseball game!

We bought a castle and slide to put in our loft- the nanny puts blankets over the top to make a cool fort and they bring glow toys in to play!

Typical scene- Gracie dancing around and Caleb on a mission :)

"Watch Caleb, just throw your leg up here and start to pull yourself up onto the back of the couch and you get to hear Mommy yelp in fear!"

One of my favorite tools- Caleb's honey bear cup. It comes with a soft straw and an adapter top to help teach him not to chew on the straw. He loved this thing and it was the reason he learned to use a straw so well!