Time to build some muscle

Maddy saw her ped today. All is well as I expected, but she is concerned that Maddy is not sitting on her own yet, she's not bearing any weight on her legs, and that her overall muscle tone seems week. So, Maddy will be starting physical Therapy from our birth to 3 program. I'm very familiar with this program, Tristyn did her physical therapy with them also and I was very pleased with the results. The doctor said Maddy could be having this problem for a number of reasons: Heredity - seeing how Tristyn was delayed also - could be from O2 deprivation right after birth - or from the surgery. On a good note, she gave Maddy a little test & she scored very well cognitively & socially, she is using her prinser grasp (thumb & pointer finger), feeding herself finger food very well & babbling constantly with vowels & consonants. So, she will start the physical therapy in a few weeks, I am glad we are catching this early. I ordered her a Fisher Price Jumeroo, so I hope she likes it & builds some strength in her legs. It's time to crack the whip and start doing, situps, pushups, pullups, (LOL)

Teacher conference time! Yah!

We get to meet with Tristyn's teacher tomorrow. I am looking forward to discussing some praises & some concerns. The praises include: her becoming more independent, like feeding and dressing her self. She is also becoming a very good big sister. The concerns: she almost 4.5 and no where near potty trained. Although her speech has improved greatly she still struggles with comprehension. I want to talk with her teacher on how to improve this. I long for the day when I can have a conversation with her & find out thoughts and feelings. I want to ask her what she did in school and get a different answer than "played with the kids" or "sang a song" which are the answers I get everyday. Don't get me wrong I love those answers, and last year at this time her answer would have been yes or no. But I am looking forward to something more. And I know it is so frustrating for her when she can't communicate things to us. I was looking back at Tristyns baby book and comparing her milestones to Maddy's. I am relieved that Maddy is hitting her milestones 3-5 months ahead of when Tris hit them, its nice to know we have one less thing to worry about.

Ok done venting, I know the comprehension will come, its just everything comes slower for her.
It is hard on a parent when their 10 mo. old can't sit yet, 19 mo. old doesn't walk yet, their 2-3 year old only has a vocabulary of 10-15 words, and their 4.5 yr won't use the potty. I love both my girls just the way there are and I wouldn't change them for the world, but I just wish things would come easier for Tristyn.

All about Tristyn

The next few posts will just be a catchup on the last 4 years since Tris was born. How do you summarize 4 yrs? I'll try!

I'll start with Tristyn since she is the eldest. She was a very easy baby, and it started with a very easy labor & birth (only about 3 hours). She was always very content and slept through the night starting at 8 weeks. We became concerned about her gross motor skills when we noticed she was way behind other babies her age. She didn't roll until 5 months, sit up - 9 months, crawl 13+ months, walk 18+ months, etc. She was enrolled in the birth to 3 program and they helped her out alot. One of the problems they found was that her joints were hyper flexible. At 2 1/2 years old she was still only using simple words - mom, dad, ball. So we also started speech therapy for her. She graduated from the program at age 3 and we started her in a early education program. This was the best thing we could have done, in 1 years time from age 3-4 she has progressed so much. Last year she went three 1/2 days a week, and this year its five 1/2 days. Since we live in the country she gets to ride the school bus and she is so excited for it every morning.

When Maddy was born Tris was a little traumatized. I believe it was mostly because all of a sudden Mom & Dad disappeared for 2 weeks and she was sent to Grandmas house. Tris was able to make the 4 hr trip to Milwaukee to visit us 2 times, which was nice. It amazed me how much I missed her, and it seemed like she grew a whole lot in those few days I didn't see her. Maddy was 7 days old when Tris got to meet her. The first thing she said was "baby Maddy is shiny and new" it almost made me cry. Since bringing Maddy home Tristyn has adjusted, she is learning how to be gentle, but still needs to be reminded often. She is very good at making Maddy giggle, it is so neat to watch the two interact.

Take care & God bless!