This post has been a long time coming.
On February 4th, it was a relatively normal evening--we were scrambling to get dinner on the table. E and Vivian were proving a little more high maintenance than usual. After what seemed to be forever, we were all finally sitting down and ready to begin our meal. And, just like clockwork, just as the forks are coming to our lips, E confesses: "I have to go to the bathroom".
SIGH. I'm so exhausted. "You know what? You have your shoes and braces on. Just go."
Jason's eyes go REAL WIDE. E gets down from her chair and heads to the bathroom. She's never tried this before--normally we have been right by the door, ready to spring into action to avoid a head injury. Jason and I were frozen in worried anticipation. if E fell, this could be a horrible setback. We didn't end up having to wait for thud, though...E kept giving us the play-by-play.
"I'm on the potty!"
"I'm not falling in Mommy, don't worry!"
"I'm WIPIN!"
*singing now* "I AM PULLIN' UP MY PANTS!"
"MOOOOOOOM! I decided I'm NOT GOING TO HANG UP THE TOWEL 'CAUSE I CAN'T REACH THE HOLDER."
"I'm DONE! MOOOOOOM! I'm comin' out!"
"HERE I COME!!!!"
She is practically DANCING her way back to the table! For us to NOT have to drop everything to help her to the bathroom is a HUMONGOUS change in our lives. Not to mention the confidence boost this has given E--she wants to do everything she can--get her own drink (we now put a cup so she can get water from the fridge--she can even walk to the table with it!), help bring dishes to the sink (relatively clean, light, ideally unbreakable tableware), swiff (she can even do it without holding on to the wall!), and has started putting some of her toys away (only when she feels like it). She can do these things when she is wearing her shoes and braces.
I have a feeling this will be the way things are for a while--when she is wearing her shoes and braces, she can do a certain tier of things; when she is wearing her sneakers sans AFOs, a different set of things, and when barefoot, much fewer things. That's okay--we're determined to turn those few things into many.
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
New Year's Goals
I have to write "Goals" instead of "Resolutions", b/c that's really what they are. Here is what I've come up with for E this year--some of this has been discussed with her therapists, some of it is my own design. In no particular order:
--E will be completely potty trained. We are really making some great progress on this. E can use a standard potty without extra equipment entirely by herself, as long as she is wearing knit pants and her shoes with AFOs. She can undress, get on the toilet, wipe herself (I only trust her to do this with urine, though), dress herself, flush, and then walk to the sink to wash hands. Right now, I say outside an open door while she goes potty (just in case she runs into trouble, or she needs a voice cue). She needs more instruction on how to wipe herself after a bowel movement, and how to undress/dress herself when wearing something other than pants.
--E will make some progress to get her clothes on herself--including socks and pants. Right now, E can undress herself completely if she is wearing anything but tights. We have not worked on dressing herself at all, with the exception of putting on her jacket.
--E will be able to ambulate barefoot at the pool without scraping the tops of her feet into a bloody mess. I don't care if she uses her crutches, or walks with a hand held--just the difference of not injuring herself is a huge win. Our dorsiflexion drills and using her sneakers at home and during CME exercises (without braces) are helping this effort.
--E will be able to move backwards in some way. I tried this a while ago, asked E to take a few steps backwards. She did pretty well--she did three steps in place. Backwards is a whole different game.
--Elena will jump, and get some air under her feet, without holding on to something. Even if it's a millimeter. She can almost do this, her confidence and desire is there. I didn't say she would stay upright afterwards, though.
--E will be able to go up and downstairs herself, with supervision. E can do this with one hand on a standard railing and the other hand held. I'd love to be able to just be next to her without her hand holding mine in a death grip.
--Elena will be able to hold hands with a friend and walk a little. Normally if another little person tries to hold E's hand while they move around, they both end up on the floor. E's balance is getting better, so she might be better equipped to deal with being tethered to someone her own size.
And Resolutions for me:
--Keep up with this blog. Especially reach out to those who have supported me by reading it. Thank you.
--Commit to doing CME exercises with E at home. Once a week, for a good 20+minute session with block equipment; certain exercises a minimum of 4 days a week (ideally every day, but I'm being realistic).
--Spend some one-on-one time with Vivian. I spend A LOT of time and effort on Elena, and I think that is important...but I want Viv to know she is equally loved and cherished.
--Try to find some time for myself. I know all you parents out there are like, OF COURSE, if only that were so easy. HA!
--E will be completely potty trained. We are really making some great progress on this. E can use a standard potty without extra equipment entirely by herself, as long as she is wearing knit pants and her shoes with AFOs. She can undress, get on the toilet, wipe herself (I only trust her to do this with urine, though), dress herself, flush, and then walk to the sink to wash hands. Right now, I say outside an open door while she goes potty (just in case she runs into trouble, or she needs a voice cue). She needs more instruction on how to wipe herself after a bowel movement, and how to undress/dress herself when wearing something other than pants.
--E will make some progress to get her clothes on herself--including socks and pants. Right now, E can undress herself completely if she is wearing anything but tights. We have not worked on dressing herself at all, with the exception of putting on her jacket.
--E will be able to ambulate barefoot at the pool without scraping the tops of her feet into a bloody mess. I don't care if she uses her crutches, or walks with a hand held--just the difference of not injuring herself is a huge win. Our dorsiflexion drills and using her sneakers at home and during CME exercises (without braces) are helping this effort.
--E will be able to move backwards in some way. I tried this a while ago, asked E to take a few steps backwards. She did pretty well--she did three steps in place. Backwards is a whole different game.
--Elena will jump, and get some air under her feet, without holding on to something. Even if it's a millimeter. She can almost do this, her confidence and desire is there. I didn't say she would stay upright afterwards, though.
--E will be able to go up and downstairs herself, with supervision. E can do this with one hand on a standard railing and the other hand held. I'd love to be able to just be next to her without her hand holding mine in a death grip.
--Elena will be able to hold hands with a friend and walk a little. Normally if another little person tries to hold E's hand while they move around, they both end up on the floor. E's balance is getting better, so she might be better equipped to deal with being tethered to someone her own size.
And Resolutions for me:
--Keep up with this blog. Especially reach out to those who have supported me by reading it. Thank you.
--Commit to doing CME exercises with E at home. Once a week, for a good 20+minute session with block equipment; certain exercises a minimum of 4 days a week (ideally every day, but I'm being realistic).
--Spend some one-on-one time with Vivian. I spend A LOT of time and effort on Elena, and I think that is important...but I want Viv to know she is equally loved and cherished.
--Try to find some time for myself. I know all you parents out there are like, OF COURSE, if only that were so easy. HA!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
PT recap: Musical Chairs, Move to Independent Toileting
One of the reasons I've been pushing for E to be more independent with maneuvering her sitting position is for her to be able to use a slide. Another is to have her be able to get in/out of a chair during mealtimes at school. And another--the Big One--is for her to be able to use the toilet independently. The fact that there is a hole in the middle of the toilet seat changes EVERYTHING. I know some of you parents of kids like mine know EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!
Anyway--Theresa thought of introducing E to Musical Chairs. It was a GREAT idea! Notice E's positioning when she almost has her feet on the ground when getting off the chair--I think doing bridges every night during our stretching regimen has really helped this motion.
We walked to the bathroom at the therapy center to try to see how E gets on the potty. This one has sidebars; this is the first time she's tried getting on a regular-size toilet seat (and the first time she's had one with sidebars).
We've actually been working on this (when we can--usually we don't have lots of time) since this session. Most of our efforts are for her to try to reach to the toilet paper, tear off some, and wipe herself (there is not much success with any of this yet), then for her to get down from the potty herself (most of the success is here, depending on her confidence) and then pulling her clothes back on (needs heavy assistance for balance at this point, but she gets the idea). The good news is the fundamentals are there, but the toilet size is the big problem. In some shopping malls, they have a "family bathroom"--where there is a miniature potty and sink. She can actually do ALL THAT HERSELF (two times, in two different malls)--it takes a lot of time and contact guarding, but she was SO PROUD of herself (and I was too!)!
Anyway--Theresa thought of introducing E to Musical Chairs. It was a GREAT idea! Notice E's positioning when she almost has her feet on the ground when getting off the chair--I think doing bridges every night during our stretching regimen has really helped this motion.
We walked to the bathroom at the therapy center to try to see how E gets on the potty. This one has sidebars; this is the first time she's tried getting on a regular-size toilet seat (and the first time she's had one with sidebars).
We've actually been working on this (when we can--usually we don't have lots of time) since this session. Most of our efforts are for her to try to reach to the toilet paper, tear off some, and wipe herself (there is not much success with any of this yet), then for her to get down from the potty herself (most of the success is here, depending on her confidence) and then pulling her clothes back on (needs heavy assistance for balance at this point, but she gets the idea). The good news is the fundamentals are there, but the toilet size is the big problem. In some shopping malls, they have a "family bathroom"--where there is a miniature potty and sink. She can actually do ALL THAT HERSELF (two times, in two different malls)--it takes a lot of time and contact guarding, but she was SO PROUD of herself (and I was too!)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
