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Monday, December 5, 2011

Therapizing

Yup, we're just plugging along with therapy. We took a break for about 4 weeks to recover from surgery, but we are back in full force now! She is cruising and pulling up on everything. She still stands wider than normal but she is doing so GOOD. The new trick we are trying to master is going from one piece of furniture (or door) to another while actually letting go for a split second. This helps her learn how to adjust her body weight.
So I have a chair placed about 30 inches (or so) from the door and am using those clingy decals to get her to move back and forth. She doesn't quite trust her balance, but she is oh-so-close!


I had to put down my camera to help her the last bit of the way but she almost has it! Go baby girl! And oh my is she proud of herself! I love how she claps for herself whenever she does something good. LOL. Too cute! I also love that she is HAPPY to do this - in the past an activity like this would have been met with complete resistance. Like roll-around-on-the-floor temper tantrum resistance. What a change I can see in this girl! She even let Tricia, our wonderful PT, pick her up! Really?!?!


Oh happy baby girl, this proud mama is *SO* ready for you to walk! But I know you will do it in your own time, when you are ready :-) I would just prefer it be sooner rather than later. LOL.

We are also doing some major work on signing! She really doesn't talk, except for saying "owwwww" when something hurts (like her nose or her mouth - poor thing!). She also makes noises to get our attention and does this "ayayayayayayayayaya" thing when she's really excited about something. She claps and dances like a champ too. She understands most of what we say to her, but it's obviously so important that she be able to communicate with us as well. So we're doing a lot of sign and it's pretty cool. Her sign "vocabulary" consists of:

hi/bye (I think that counts!)
yes/no
milk
bedtime
play
all done
eat/hungry
more
help
blanket
bath
come here
napkin
wash hands
sorry

Those are all signs that she can actually use - she does them herself and understands when I do them also. Below are signs that I am working on ... she understands some of them but not all:

book
thank you
shoes
car
I love you
mama
dada
brother
sister
dog
coat
hat
please
scared
happy
train
stop
toothbrush

I need to add more to the "work on" list ... she is so smart and can pick up a new sign in just a few minutes if it's a "thing," although it takes longer if it's more of a concept. I am a little concerned that learning so much sign will make it easier for her to not talk when the time comes, but I'll deal with that down the road. For now, I am elated that she can communicate with us, and I think she is too!

6 comments:

  1. She's doing SO great! That's wonderful. She'll be walking in no time. It's a huge blessing that she'll sign...just wanted you to know that. Shu will not sign even one word, and he has no vocal words, either. He still tantrums through every PT session, and I truly believe his refusal to sign is a play for control...his way of withholding that aspect of relationship with us. We're getting a speech eval soon...not that he'll cooperate with a speech therapist. But it's nice to have some support anyway. He'll just do what he'll do in his own sweet time, and I'm super happy he's walking! Anyway, Brooklyn is beautiful, and I so enjoy hearing about her progress. :)

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  2. Oh, good gracious!! Your girl is so beautiful!! I love staring at her pics! I think our little girls are about the same age?? My Annie was 17 months on Dec. 3. Annie picks up signing very quickly too!! Do you have a signing book you recommend?

    Blessings,
    Jenn

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  3. I don't know that it's scientific or not, but our daughter came home and required multiple therapies and her therapists all commented that kids seem to focus on one area of development at a time, and some areas might even lag for a bit until something else is mastered. In our daughter's case, once she mastered walking, the other skills/milestones seemed to fall into place (slowly, but surely) -- but it all started with walking! I think we underestimated how weak she was when she came to us, and how much strength and brainwork is involved in this skill. It took a lot longer than we expected, but it eventually came!
    Your daughter is beautiful!

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  4. Beautiful beautiful girl! Way to go! I know she will be walking in no time :-). We are in the throes of recovering from palate surgery over here. Pray for us if you remember - Lily is doing great, but she has some pretty needy and intense times. Lord bless you all! Chenning

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  5. Loved seeing her in action...like we were there to see it in person! She is so adorable.

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  6. I love that her whole personality and demeanor is changing now that she is settling in. So sweet.

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