Tuesday, October 2, 2012
31 for 21 Therapy Tuesday: FUN AT THE FARM
On Tuesdays, Gwyneth goes to OT and PT at a therapy center called McKenna Farms. She has been doing hippotherapy and starting to get used to the horses now. Today was a day of celebration, of course, after her accomplishment yesterday of walking independently. She showed off her new skill at preschool this morning and at the Farm with her therapists. I could tell she was having so much fun today, because I could here cheers of "Yay Gwyneth!" and her own little voice saying "Yes!" She is very proud of herself and soaking up the positive attention she has been getting all day long.
Monday, October 1, 2012
31 for 21 Milestone Monday: FIRST STEPS
October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month and I have decided to participate again in the 31 for 21 blog challenge. Many many bloggers are taking part in this month-long challenge to raise awareness of Down syndrome by blogging every day in the month of October.
I was thinking of keeping each weekday to a theme to give myself some structure. I am VERY happy to say that I've made a last minute change to the Monday theme due to an unexpected MAJOR accomplishment by Gwyneth tonight. SHE STARTED WALKING. So I will kick off my 31 for 21 posts with the first "Milestone Monday"....
I have been waiting so so so long for this moment. Gwyneth is 4 years and 7 months old and today, October 1st, she walked independently. She walked willingly and happily. She giggled, she cheered, she beamed with pride. And I have not been able to stop smiling all night. I took about a million video clips of her.
A lot of factors in the last few months have come together to make this moment happen. Gwyneth's baby brother started walking in July (at 18 months old), Gwyn started back at school August 1st where she is exposed to hundreds of walking kids, Gwyn started hippotherapy, and she has been walking with only one hand held for two months. She has been building up her strength and coordination, and finally she felt stable enough to let go and take her FIRST STEPS on her own.
The best part of tonight was that Gwyneth was having so much fun reaching this milestone. At first she just took two or three steps for me, but we kept practicing and going further, and by bedtime she was walking ten steps and trying to push herself further. She tried getting back up to stand in the middle of the floor when she fell (when she has always only used furniture to pull up on to stand). I have never seen her so motivated to do something physical. She kept going and going and actually got herself out of breath.
I have a slight guilty feeling that my reaction to her walking is much bigger than when my "typical" son started walking a few months ago. But I think my reactions and celebrations of each event is in direct proportion to the amount of time I had been dreaming of the moment for each child. And because Gwyneth was my first child, I always thought I would be experiencing her first steps before I had any other children. So having another baby when Gwyn was almost 3 years old, and then watching him learn to walk first was a little bit hard. But I was definitely so proud and so excited for him. The difference was he learned it on his own, and for Gwyneth it has been an uphill battle with therapy and equipment and orthotics and lots of forced "practice."
So happy for our little girl Gwyneth! And I can't wait for her therapy sessions tomorrow!
I was thinking of keeping each weekday to a theme to give myself some structure. I am VERY happy to say that I've made a last minute change to the Monday theme due to an unexpected MAJOR accomplishment by Gwyneth tonight. SHE STARTED WALKING. So I will kick off my 31 for 21 posts with the first "Milestone Monday"....
I have been waiting so so so long for this moment. Gwyneth is 4 years and 7 months old and today, October 1st, she walked independently. She walked willingly and happily. She giggled, she cheered, she beamed with pride. And I have not been able to stop smiling all night. I took about a million video clips of her.
A lot of factors in the last few months have come together to make this moment happen. Gwyneth's baby brother started walking in July (at 18 months old), Gwyn started back at school August 1st where she is exposed to hundreds of walking kids, Gwyn started hippotherapy, and she has been walking with only one hand held for two months. She has been building up her strength and coordination, and finally she felt stable enough to let go and take her FIRST STEPS on her own.
The best part of tonight was that Gwyneth was having so much fun reaching this milestone. At first she just took two or three steps for me, but we kept practicing and going further, and by bedtime she was walking ten steps and trying to push herself further. She tried getting back up to stand in the middle of the floor when she fell (when she has always only used furniture to pull up on to stand). I have never seen her so motivated to do something physical. She kept going and going and actually got herself out of breath.
I have a slight guilty feeling that my reaction to her walking is much bigger than when my "typical" son started walking a few months ago. But I think my reactions and celebrations of each event is in direct proportion to the amount of time I had been dreaming of the moment for each child. And because Gwyneth was my first child, I always thought I would be experiencing her first steps before I had any other children. So having another baby when Gwyn was almost 3 years old, and then watching him learn to walk first was a little bit hard. But I was definitely so proud and so excited for him. The difference was he learned it on his own, and for Gwyneth it has been an uphill battle with therapy and equipment and orthotics and lots of forced "practice."
So happy for our little girl Gwyneth! And I can't wait for her therapy sessions tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
New Beginnings
A few weeks ago Gwyneth began a new school year of pre-K at a new elementary school with new teachers. She was transferred from our previous school because a new special education pre-K class was created at the elementary school that we are zoned for. So she is now at the school where she can continue into Kindergarten and through Fifth Grade. I think the transition has been much harder for me than for her. I had developed a rapport with the teachers from the last year and a half, but now all the new teachers and therapists will have to get to know Gwyneth and myself. Gwyn is riding the bus again in her wheelchair. I really hope she will be walking and out of the wheelchair by the end of this school year.
The other new beginning that Gwyneth will be experiencing this month is starting hippotherapy at the Farm on Tuesdays. We don't have therapy on Fridays anymore. We are going to OT and PT on Tuesday afternoons and Speech on Saturdays with our Speech therapist from last year. I thought we might be able to start hippotherapy today, but it looks like it will be next Tuesday when Gwyn will get up on a horse for the first time. She will alternate weeks, riding the horse with her OT one week and her PT the next week. They will work on different skills and building different muscles each week. It might take her a while to warm up to the horses, but I'm really excited for this new chapter in Gwyn's therapy.
The other new beginning that Gwyneth will be experiencing this month is starting hippotherapy at the Farm on Tuesdays. We don't have therapy on Fridays anymore. We are going to OT and PT on Tuesday afternoons and Speech on Saturdays with our Speech therapist from last year. I thought we might be able to start hippotherapy today, but it looks like it will be next Tuesday when Gwyn will get up on a horse for the first time. She will alternate weeks, riding the horse with her OT one week and her PT the next week. They will work on different skills and building different muscles each week. It might take her a while to warm up to the horses, but I'm really excited for this new chapter in Gwyn's therapy.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Friday at the Farm: Ready for Vacation
Today was our last Friday at the therapy center for the month of June. On Tuesday, my mom and I will fly back to Colorado with the kids and I'll stay for 3 weeks.
To keep up with Gwyneth's therapy, here's our "homework" right now for each area:
For Speech Therapy, we are trying to get Gwyn comfortable with some oral motor stimulation which is like a massage around her mouth. The therapist has suggested trying an electric toothbrush or something that vibrates.
For OT, I'll be bringing Gwyn's therapeutic listening headphones with us to continue that program.
For PT, I am bringing the kids swimming gear with the hopes that we can have some time in a pool. Also, we found a wonderful resource in Colorado: a place that sells used adaptive equipment for a very low price. We bought a pediatric reverse walker like the one Gwyn uses at home. So she will have that to walk around with at my parent's house.
Looking forward to a great vacation!
To keep up with Gwyneth's therapy, here's our "homework" right now for each area:
For Speech Therapy, we are trying to get Gwyn comfortable with some oral motor stimulation which is like a massage around her mouth. The therapist has suggested trying an electric toothbrush or something that vibrates.
For OT, I'll be bringing Gwyn's therapeutic listening headphones with us to continue that program.
For PT, I am bringing the kids swimming gear with the hopes that we can have some time in a pool. Also, we found a wonderful resource in Colorado: a place that sells used adaptive equipment for a very low price. We bought a pediatric reverse walker like the one Gwyn uses at home. So she will have that to walk around with at my parent's house.
Looking forward to a great vacation!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Test Results and Conversations
We have received the results of all the tests they did from the blood drawn two weeks ago. Everything is good! Gwyneth is negative for Celiac, the Thyroid panel was in normal range, and the Chromosomal tests confirmed Trisomy 21 but did not show any other genetic issues. So we have checked those things off our list to think about for now.
Before her surgery, Reid took Gwyn to the pediatric neurologist to have another X-ray done of her spine so she could be cleared for anesthesia. Last July, her C-spine X-ray showed possible Atlanto-Axial Instability which puts her at risk for a spinal cord injury. So activities such as gymnastics, hippotherapy (horseback riding), and being put under general anesthesia can be dangerous because of the risk to her spine. But good news: this recent second X-ray showed that the gap between vertebrae was small enough that the neurologist said her activities do not need to be limited. We are so excited that hippotherapy and maybe gymnastics could be in her future.
Gwyneth is now back to "normal" again after her tonsil surgery. We have not been back to therapy yet, but we are going tomorrow. She is better than normal really because she seems very active and much more vocal. Reid noticed very soon after the surgery that her voice seemed easier to understand. I think she is talking more in general, but she also seems to be enunciating better. I don't know if this is related to her tonsils and part of her adenoids coming out, or if it is coincidence. But with all of the new speech happening, we have been having some very cute and funny "conversations" with her:
Gwyn (waking up): "Go school today?"
Mommy: "No, there's no school today."
Gwyn: "Okay, watch George" (meaning: Allright, I'll just watch the Curious George show!)
Mommy (just before dinnertime): "Gwyn, do you want to eat some vegetables?"
Gwyn: "Mmm hmm, chicken dip-dip ketchup" (meaning: Yes, and chicken nuggets to dip in ketchup)
Gwyn mentions something about "School" (doing the sign language for School)
Mommy: "Gwyn, do you like school?"
Gwyn: "Yes"
Mommy: "What do you do at school?"
Gwyn (thinks for a few seconds): "Paint!" (adding the sign for Paint)
(At the grocery store check-out)
Check-out Girl to the kids sitting together in a cart: "Hi there"
Ryker: "Hi!"
Gwyn: "Hi, wanna play?"
Check-out Girl (laughing): "No, I can't play right now"
Each of these conversations was so unexpected and funny to me because she said words or concepts that I'd never heard her say before. "Ketchup" and "paint" are definitely new words, and we've never even talked about painting at school. She has been saying "Okay" and "Yes" a lot over last two weeks to answer questions and she really hadn't been doing that much before. And asking a stranger a question like "Wanna play?" is so surprising. I'm looking forward to reporting all of this to her speech therapist tomorrow who hasn't seen Gwyn in 3 weeks.
Before her surgery, Reid took Gwyn to the pediatric neurologist to have another X-ray done of her spine so she could be cleared for anesthesia. Last July, her C-spine X-ray showed possible Atlanto-Axial Instability which puts her at risk for a spinal cord injury. So activities such as gymnastics, hippotherapy (horseback riding), and being put under general anesthesia can be dangerous because of the risk to her spine. But good news: this recent second X-ray showed that the gap between vertebrae was small enough that the neurologist said her activities do not need to be limited. We are so excited that hippotherapy and maybe gymnastics could be in her future.
Gwyneth is now back to "normal" again after her tonsil surgery. We have not been back to therapy yet, but we are going tomorrow. She is better than normal really because she seems very active and much more vocal. Reid noticed very soon after the surgery that her voice seemed easier to understand. I think she is talking more in general, but she also seems to be enunciating better. I don't know if this is related to her tonsils and part of her adenoids coming out, or if it is coincidence. But with all of the new speech happening, we have been having some very cute and funny "conversations" with her:
Gwyn (waking up): "Go school today?"
Mommy: "No, there's no school today."
Gwyn: "Okay, watch George" (meaning: Allright, I'll just watch the Curious George show!)
Mommy (just before dinnertime): "Gwyn, do you want to eat some vegetables?"
Gwyn: "Mmm hmm, chicken dip-dip ketchup" (meaning: Yes, and chicken nuggets to dip in ketchup)
Gwyn mentions something about "School" (doing the sign language for School)
Mommy: "Gwyn, do you like school?"
Gwyn: "Yes"
Mommy: "What do you do at school?"
Gwyn (thinks for a few seconds): "Paint!" (adding the sign for Paint)
(At the grocery store check-out)
Check-out Girl to the kids sitting together in a cart: "Hi there"
Ryker: "Hi!"
Gwyn: "Hi, wanna play?"
Check-out Girl (laughing): "No, I can't play right now"
Each of these conversations was so unexpected and funny to me because she said words or concepts that I'd never heard her say before. "Ketchup" and "paint" are definitely new words, and we've never even talked about painting at school. She has been saying "Okay" and "Yes" a lot over last two weeks to answer questions and she really hadn't been doing that much before. And asking a stranger a question like "Wanna play?" is so surprising. I'm looking forward to reporting all of this to her speech therapist tomorrow who hasn't seen Gwyn in 3 weeks.
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