BITS -N- PIECES VOL. 4

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My frustration with the Doctors and Specialists is growing by the minute. When we went to the Doctor a couple of weeks ago, I forgot to ask for a script for the gait trainer we want to order so I called last Monday and left a message. They say on the message to allow two business days for them to respond and here we are nine days later and still no script which means no gait trainer for Alex. I hope it comes through this week so I don't have to drive down to get it in person.

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The past two days of therapy, Mr. Alex has been a little stinker to his therapists. He is coming into his own little personality more and more and he isn’t afraid to show it. He absolutely hates four point (bearing weight on all fours) He can do it, but doesn’t like to and he has expressed that very clearly both yesterday and today. Overall Alex is a happy kid. He smiles, laughs and cuddles 90% of the time. But lately he has been expressing his displeasure not only in therapy but in what I like to call “Evan Interference”. This is when I am either assisting Alex in sitting or standing while he is playing with a toy and Evan comes up and wants to play to. Sometimes, Alex is in the right when Evan steals the toy or plays too aggressively, but when he is just there wanting to play alongside his brother, I have to explain to Alex that he needs to share.

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Over the past six months or so since Evan has been walking, I have had to discipline him a lot more than I have Alex. Obviously with Alex not being as mobile, he doesn’t really get into much….with one exception: The blinds. We rearranged the boys’ room awhile back so that Evan was away from the window (and the blind cord) and we put the changing table in front of their window. Every time Alex is on the table, his little fingers dig into the blinds and he pulls on them. I always say his name in a lower tone so he knows I mean business, and his face is priceless. Sometimes I have to turn my head to keep from laughing or smiling because he is so cute because he knows he is in trouble. Like most toddlers he has a short term memory so this has become a daily discipline.

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Speaking of blinds, Evan has a new obsession with the ones in the family room. It’s kind of funny because this is definitely something he gets from me. Our family room has three windows and if you open or close the blinds on any of the three windows, the other two have to match! It makes me laugh just to think about it! Every morning now, our routine is to go around to all three windows and open the blinds. Tonight, Eric closed one and Evan was right there pointing at the one next to it saying blubber words to close it. It took him a few minutes to realize that the third window on the other side of the room was still open, but he made sure to tell Eric to close those as well. People who know me know I like balance as well, so this is something that Evan has gotten from me! It’s also probably why I had twins. One child would have been unbalanced for me!

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Today in Alex’s OT session, he practiced picking up small food and attempted to feed himself. This is NOT an easy task for my little man. He has never been able to do it on his own, but I feel like now is the time for him to get started. When food is on his tray, he rakes his left hand at it and if he does happen to scoop up a piece or two, he instantly drops it. I haven’t had the patience to sit and work with him like I should, but it’s something that needs to be done. I don’t feel like they have focused on it as much as I would like them to in his sessions, so I suggested we start today. I was very impressed with his first attempt at it. It took him most of the session to work on it and after many failed attempts he scooped a little goldfish up off his tray and put it right in his mouth! Of course I cried and so did Jen (his OT) which made me cry even more because it just shows how much he means to her and how much she cares.