Only the best!

So this past week was a busy one yet again!

The other night, Josh and I were in the living room and Brielle was in the family room with the dogs and the tree. She had her walker and was playing with the dogs. The dogs dropped their ball so Brielle went down to get it. She was in a crawling position and stood up all by herself with NOTHING to hold onto!!! Now, I dont think I can express in writing how HUGE this is!! We have been working on this for 2 months!!!! After Ms. Lisa has showed her over and over, she FINALLY DID IT!!! I of course, had to text Ms. Lisa right away!! She was soooooo proud!!! Ms. Lisa also has us standing her on a wall or the couch to let her get the feeling of getting her balance herself and then starting to walk when she feels ready! She is doing sooooo well!! She can take up to 5 steps! I think we get sooo excited, we make her soooo excited so she trys to run to us and then looses her balance. If she slows down she does better. But shes doing AMAZING!! Orthodics come Tuesday!


Monday we had Speech therapy. That was a good appointment. Over the past few weeks we have been working on getting Brielles Diaphram and rib cage to lower/stretch out. So to achieve this we take our thumbs and apply light pressure on her back. Our other 4 fingers go around her front and on her ribcage. You apply the light pressure on your thumbs and then the 4 fingers pull back towards your thumb. While doing that, you put her on your legs and bounce her. You can tell how she opens up because she starts "singing." Ms Lisa could definately tell she was opening up more and she said she sounded louder!! Thats one thing almost everyone tells me is that Brielle is soooo quiet. Hmmmm Must just be me that thinks otherwise :)

Tuesday we had physical therapy. She said Brielle is tighter than 2 weeks ago! Her hamstrings are tight and her lower back is now tight. So to stretch that we just put her on her back with her feet on the floor, knees bent and have her lift her pelvis to create a "bridge" NOT a big fan of Brielles! Her hammys are tighter due to her wanting to walk more and more! So just keep stretching as much as we can.

Occupational came Tuesday as well. We have been working more and more on Brielles Sensory Integration disorder (SID). She brought a bunch of toys. Im not sure the "correct" term what have you for them, but they are the slimy, stretchy etc. Brielle was not exactly into them but could not put them down. Her face was "YUCK, ICK, UH!" But she couldnt stop grabbing for them. Ms Terri gave us a "corn brush" to desensitize her. We have to rub each arm from pit to wrist, leg from hip to ankle, Back from Diaper to neck line, Hands, and feet Every 2 hours! We dont do her face or her head. This should help with the SID. "Red Flags" Of SID that we have noticed in Brielle are Sensitivity to loud sounds (ex. at the parade, she did not like the horns, loud music etc.), movements (If you scare her she really freaks out! Ask Papa Brad!!!!!) Those are increased sensitivity. She has Decreases Sensitivity to foods. She prefers spices and the more flavorful foods. As we are finding out with her refusing to eat, anything with alot of flavor such as Chix alfredo, lasagna, taco meat...Are more appealing than chicken nugget or cereal. Increase or decreased in activity level: Increased sleep. Brielle will usually sleep 12 hours at night and take 2-3 2.5 hour naps per day and then 1 hour nap. According to her ped, a "normal" 18 month old take 1-2 naps a day. Little signs, but they all lead to it. Brielles worst SID is on her feet and chest. My "Theory" and OT doesnt disagree with me, is that she had soooo many heel pokes (And has quite the scars to prove it!) she doesnt want anyone touching her feet! The nurses actually warned us of this in the NICU already. Her chest?? Not sure since she hasnt had any surgery on her chest. Maybe the leads???? Not sure where that one came from.

Wednesday we had her RSV shot. Number 2 this winter. Dad was unable to make this appt so I went by myself. Uhm, Ya! Probably wont happen again. The nurses always seem like they are in a hurry, as they usher you in a room, tell you to get undressed so they can weigh, rush off to get a new baby, put them in a room, come get you, get weight, go get new child, give shot, They are ALWAYS running! So anyways, I went to put her on the scale and she FREAKED.Out!.! She was trying so desperately to get in my arms they couldnt get a proper weight on her. So I had to try to force her to lay there which wasnt going to happen. After a minute she finally just caved and layed there and cried and we got the weight. Imagine that, From 2 weeks prior NO FREAKING WEIGHT GAIN! UGH! But I guess atleast she didnt lose any. So we get back to the room and shes fine playing what have you. I got her pj top on and put her coat on since I knew after the shot shes NOT a happy girl and hates putting her coat on anyways. The nurse took awhile to come back in. When she came back in, Brielle immediately FREAKED out once again! She wasnt even on the table and she was already crying. Talk about feeling like a shit ass mom when you have to lay your screaming child down to be pinned down by the legs to get poked not only once, but twice! I felt horrible!! I know the shots are the best thing for her but damn it makes me feel horrible to put her thru that! This poor child has been thru more crap than most adults have in their 40s!!! And then when I went to put her in the car she grabbed my jacket and put her head on my shoulder. AH! Talk about feeling bad for not being able to cuddle!!

Then Thursday we had to go down to Milwaukee to see a pediatric orthopedic about the never ending hip clicks. Josh lays her on the table so the doctor can just rotate her hips....Flips out!!!!! It amazes me how their little minds are sooo mature to know or remember certain events. The conclusion of that appointment was that Brielles hips look great. Hip Displasia out of the question as she is now too old and would have had it already. YAY! He said that she is a prime candidate to develop some sort of neuro muscular problem down the road, but it is much too early to tell if that will or will not happen at this point in time. He said that she has some soft tissue in her hips that is causing the clicking. But nothing to be alarmed about. He basically told me to ignore/forget/discard/try not to get excited about the clicking. YA okay! Everytime she clicks/pops/clunks etc I cant take it. It feels so prominate it hurts me! But I did ask him if she was in any pain and he said absolutely not! Okay, thats all that matters! As long as she doesnt feel it, Ill learn to "get over it!" Of course Josh had to say "Told you she was alright." Maybe she is. Maye I thought she was. BUT as a mother, it is NOT okay for me to not check up on any concern I have. If I would have waited a year and went in and he said "O if we would have caught this sooner......." I couldnt deal with myself. I guess from the gecko we've always had to cross our Ts and dotting our I's with her and I just keep doing that. I dont want to miss anything that can be fixed, slowed down, or altered in an way! Im trying my damnest to give my little miracle the best life possible! She deserves the best!