I went back to work yesterday. It's nice to get a shower and be out of the house by 7:00am. I'm adjusting to less time at home to do my other full time job - ordering meds, supplies, making appts, keeping track of insurance, cleaning, and etc. My nurses are making the transition very easy for me. I don't worry about the babies, at all. I know they are in very good hands while I'm at work.
Shortly before Christmas, I ordered a baby walker for Kinnick. My PT didn't recommend it, I just all of a sudden decided that Kinnick needed one. I'm so glad that I got it. She's always sat in one place and just felt around for toys to play with. Now, she's all over my kitchen exploring things. She touches the blinds, the oven, the cabinets, the chairs, and anything else she comes across. She can't wait to get moving when we put her in the walker. She immediately takes off. At first, she kinda hopped in it to get around. She really didn't know what to do to get it going. Now, she digs her little heals into the floor and goes right/left/right/left. We hooked a portable O2 tank to the back of her walker, so she doesn't have O2 tubing in her way. She's definately figured out left/right. She was having a hard time figuring this out before the walker. Now, she's also hanging onto our hands (or we hang onto her trunk) and free walking all over the house. She can't do it without our help, but this is a big change from where we were before the walker. We start a treadmill class tomorrow. The treadmill class was supposed to teach her left/right. Now, I'm not sure whether she needs it or not.
Carver sat in the exersaucer today and actually held his head up pretty good and played with his toys. He's starting to put a lot more weight on his legs. He still buckles at his knees quite a bit, but this is a change from a month ago. A month ago he wouldn't even attempt to put weight on his legs. He's doing the treadmill training with Kinnick. He seems to understand right/left, he just can't hold himself up. The treadmill training uses a harness system that suspends the child above the treadmill. The suspension covers most of the torso - going up the chest and under their crotch. It has quite a bit of support, so it shouldn't have any problem holding them above the treadmill. We'll do the treadmill training for 3 months unless we aren't seeing any benefit from it.
Carver sees his Audiologist tomorrow. He'll get new maps for his CI. Most likely the new maps will just be to increase volume. I'm not sure how many map changes it will take before we are at normal volume. I'll have to ask that question tomorrow.
That's all for now. I'll try to get my pics developed so I can post a few.
3 comments:
I got a walker, as you know, even though they weren't really recommended. Of course, I didn't know that she'd take off on her pony. We've seen so much growth with Olivia since she can be mobile. Walkers can't be all bad.
hey shanon,
conner did the treadmill a few times at pt. it's pretty neat and it definitely held him pretty snug. he didn't love the whole harness thing that much but it helped him learn the motion of walking. i hope the kids like it. i'm glad to hear they are both making such big strides. it's nice to see progress isn't it!!
let me know how you like the treadmill.
stacy
I just have to say that your positive attitude comes across loud and clear in your posts. Your children are so lucky to have you in their corner! My daughter has cp and deafness along with developmental delays and it is a challenge to keep up with all her therapy. I'm sure keeping up with twins is even more difficult. You and the children are an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing their journey and keeping the rest of us inspired!
Kristina in Delaware
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