While I never felt the need to tell the world about every single milestone that our girls reached, having a child with special needs seems to be different. I don't know if it's just to brag or if I feel like I must prove his worth to all the naysayers.
Granted, I have a blog now. I don't even know if blogs existed 9 years ago. And I realize that I have several different types of blog readers. Two of those types share things that are close to my heart.
1. I know there are several families who read my blog that are praying fervently about adopting an angel with a little something extra. I LOVE ADOPTION!! I pray that the Lord blesses us again and again and again through the miracle of adoption. These families come to places such as this tiny piece of blogland to "watch" how a family lives with the "extras"- therapies, delays, doctor visits. They also come to gain strength as they draw closer to making that decision. JOY lives here! I pray that each are able to witness the love our family has for a certain little boy and how he has changed our life.
2. The second group- Momma's who have little ones with Down Syndrome tend to stick together. We love sharing tricks of the trade- what works and what doesn't, setbacks and milestones, encouragement and tears. And prayers. I love to share the truths about where we are in our journey with Downs.
And while this blog is a blog about our life, I truly hope the Lord will use me especially to speak to these two groups. So, I love my girls with every thing I have and we rejoiced (and continue to rejoice) together at each milestone, but you will hear me shouting from the rooftops (over and over) when Charlie makes those same gains.
As promised, I want to share some of our faves. I try to be creative and use what we have when we see a need. Therapy type items are no different.
The little blue stool. We talked about making one for him for his birthday- just before I walked past the bathroom closet and noticed this beauty. Perfect height for sitting (and standing!!) or sitting something on to grab. It's also perfect to practice sitting on knees beside. This baby is from IKEA. I just found them on their website-
here. Only $4!! A steal!
I also love it because it is somewhat curved allowing C to place his legs in that curve. And look at the nonslip dots on top so he can't slide off. Perfect! Not to mention I don't see any way it could tip over- it's base is wider than it's top.
Follow Me Fred (sitting atop the stool) was loaned to us by C's therapist coordinator (actually her grandchildren:). He crawls just far enough (18-24 inches) to encourage C to want to follow. I believe she bought Fred at Walmart for around $14.
And Charlie has sisters. 3 of them to be exact, so many dress up/play girlie things have been reborn as therapy type toys. Take the sequin fabric for instance. Perfect for sewing something delightfully girlie, but also perfect for peek-a-boo and feeling the different crazy texture. C loves this one. The metal container holding the sequin fabric was actually a hot chocolate canister on it's way to the recycle bin when I claimed it. It makes a fabulous sound (LOUD NOISE!) when banged and even has a top we can put on so C can take off. Think outside the box!
Yes, these are CDs. Plain old, boring CDs except they sure are shiny! Perfect for working on fine motor skills because they are terribly hard to pick up. Did I mention they were shiny?! These are the exact things that enticed C to pivot around and around.
The green, rubber, spiky bracelet. He loves it! Like, crazy loves it! Now that he has teeth we have to stand guard while he plays with this one, but it is so perfect for (again) texture play. It's also great to put on C's arm and let him practice getting off. I picked this one up at Michael's for $2.
Toothbrushes. One day, a speech therapist told me to "get in his mouth every day". Now, Charlie really doesn't have any texture issues with his mouth nor any feeding issues. Is it because we're always "in his mouth"? Who knows, but we started early (about 3 months) and it's just something we do daily. He loves for us to turn on the Tigger one and just let him play with it. Walmart $5.
Ribbons, ribbons, ribbons. Different textures and lengths. Cut them shortish, stick them in a ziploc bag and put them in the diaper bag. Great for keep little hands busy in church or a restaurant. Have I mentioned anything about texture?!:)
Make sure you spice up the colors and have different textures. See, I even cut a piece of that beloved sequin fabric. Cost- as much time as it took me to gather things from our fabric dresser.
And yes, you are seeing right. That is a popcorn bucket and cheap metal pan. Oh my heavens!! When we brought that popcorn bucket home last week from my Mom's, you would have thought Charlie had died and gone to heaven. He is in love. Putting things in and out. Squishing and tossing. Sisters putting it on his head.
And the metal pan. Cheap (free in our case)!! See how dented it is. It makes a great drum and sounds really cool when you put different items in it to shake. Another love.
Textured balls. These are everywhere. Get some. Different shapes, colors and textures. Markana even gave C a purple one shaped like a football (and won from the "Claw" machine!). We have been given all of ours, but I know they are inexpensive.
Instruments. We have a large bag of these that we use every single day (many aren't pictured). And our PT loves them. So many different sounds and perfect for fine motor work. Look at those tiny cymbals. And the tambourine/drum with beads inside. We were blessed with all of these from our dear friend's, the Cox family. Thank you Cox family!!
The big bells- just Christmas bells that I tied some short ribbon to. The ribbon is long enough for C to hold on to and shake. The bells aren't flimsy and thin, but a heavier, nice weight.
One other thing that I forgot to take a picture of- small plastic cups (sets of 3 at the $1 store) and miniature water bombs. You know, those balls that kids squeeze, put under water, then release to absorb the water? Those are perfect to put inside cups and encourage taking out and putting back in. Also, we turn the cups upside down with a ball underneath. You can really use anything sort of small (but not too small for little mouths) in place of the water bombs if drool filled bombs gross you out.:)
So, there you have it. Just a snippet of what we use. DON'T spend a ton of $$$!! DON'T go to sites with the words "therapy" attached- they will always charge you significantly more than you need to be paying. And you can probably find what you need somewhere else anyway. If not, email me and we'll come up with something together.
In Him,
E
