Soft Sensory Play

September has been a whirlwind of activity for Lil' Row. She's had several appointments and evaluations, made lots of new friends through Milestones Therapy Clinic, and successfully transitioned into the Cabell County Homebound Preschool Program. YAY!! Earlier in the month we attended a birthday party for one of Rows little friends at an alternative therapy clinic called Tangible Alternatives. One of the favorite activities there was a big pool filled with a wide variety of softly textured stuffed toys. A lot of the children seemed to enjoy the pool...almost as much as the Snoezelen Room! So we thought we'd try something like it at home! Although it is visually busy it's also very soft and quiet. We're hoping it will provide Rowan with a bit of calm after the September storm!

August Field Trips

This month we took Rowan on two field trips where she met up with her favorite little friends! First we took her to The Pottery Place in Pullman Square where she, her sisters, and her friends from our support group "Moms In Common" painted plates, tiles, ornaments, etc. Our next outting was to the Clay Center in Charleston where we visited the Avampato Discovery Museums Gizmo Factory, Science Gallery, Kidspace, and Earth City! Rowan and I both had a great time...next time we hope to catch the Planetarium exhibit!

Sad sad baby girl!!!

Today I made my precious lil' Rowan soooo sad! And very mad! She's never been a fan of "tummy time"...but since the placement of her g tube she flat out hates it. She throws such a horrible fit over the Creepster Crawler (seen on her blog) that we've given some serious thought to alternatives. This is what we've come up with...that was reasonably priced , ofcourse... a hammock purchased at Gander Mountain for $30, and an Iron Man Chin Up Bar purchased at Dicks Sporting Goods for $20. And you have a crawl trainer with a combined weight limit of more than 300lbs. Row can use this, albeit unhappily, for quite a while!

La La La La!!!

Rowan has had a very busy week this week! She's been all around the world school shopping with her older siblings...managed to throw her hearing aid out in the road and get it run over! But hey...just think of the fine motor skills it took for her to take it out and then to throw it?! Way to go Row! hahaha And with her oldest bubby going off to college we've moved everyones rooms around...and Row gets the green room! Her new favorite color! That's something to sing about!

The Great Outdoors!

After spending the better part of a week practicing indoors with the Traveltech Backpack from Evenflo, we finally gathered the courage to venture out into the yard. We showed Row the differant trees and let her feel the textures of all the leaves. She did so well that next we plan to tackle one of our beautiful state parks. We will be bringing along a spotter ofcourse...the additional weight throws off moms center of gravity a bit! Our hopes for the Traveltech are to use the cotinuous movement and shifting weight to help strengthen Rows trunk and neck muscles. Moms too while we're at it! haha

ABC's and 123's

Rowan has reached the age where most typical children begin preschool! However after much deliberation her father and I have decided she's just not ready! In addition to her daily therapies at home she will receive physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech from a local childrens therapy clinic . We will provide peer socialization through field trips and playdates, and hopefully be able to introduce Row to all of the same info/input she would be exposed to in preschool!

I Feel Pretty!

We've just introduced Rowan to what the over priced catalogues would call the "Infinity Corner"! Four 5 dollar door mirrors fixed into a corner with a reflective toy suspended from an eye hook in the ceiling above! We also intend to place lighted switch toys on a table in front of Row, and maybe try hanging visually stimulating things from suction cups attached to the mirrors themselves! We hope to encourage Rowan to look at herself and eventually identify the parts of her beautiful little face! Wish us luck...