Congrats Grad

Exactly six months ago Lucas started his physical and occupational therapy. I remember I was so sure that they were going to see how active he was and send us home and tell us he didn't need therapy after all. Looking back at the picture of him from that first day I can see his low muscle tone and how his skin just hung on his body that the doctors and therapist were worried about. It really is remarkable how much he has grown and how far he has come in just 6 months. I remember seeing "failure to thrive" written on one of his medical charts and taking it so personally and thinking that I must have failed him as a mother some how. Monday we found out that he is officially done with PT and OT. He doesn't even need any follow-up appointments. It feels so strange to be done with something that has been such a big part of our life for so long. I almost don't even recognize the little tiny baby in the picture from 6 months ago.
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Can You Hear Me Know?

Today was Lucas' first time back at physical therapy since the first head banging incident. This last week or so he has stopped banging his head except for every once in a while when he is made at us (for instance in the video I posted a few days ago of him crying. He head butts the Mr. Potato head he set in my lap.) Today at PT he tried it once on something soft but since he no longer gets a reaction like he did the first few times he did it he has moved on to hitting himself and his PT. (He's also hit us a few times at home when he gets frustrated.) The PT's solution to this is for him to go to speech therapy.

I thought ST was for kids who couldn't speak clearly or at all but it turns out that isn't the case. Basically, they think Lucas is really smart for his age and he gets frustrated that we don't understand him more. ST will teach him and me ways to communicate more effectively. One of the main focuses will be on sign language. I tried to teach Lucas a few signs months ago but he was never into it. Today his PT taught him the sign for "more" and so far he has used it twice with us at home. They are just going to combine his speech therapy and physical therapy into one appointment.

Little Head-Banger *

This morning at physical therapy Lucas learned a new trick, and not in a good way. He was getting frustrated that his PT wanted him to walk up stairs and he started to throw a tantrum. When he realized it wasn't helping him get his way he flopped down on his hands and knees and banged his head on the floor. I was instantly horrified and felt sick to my stomach. We quickly told him "NO!" and stopped him from doing it again. The floor is concrete (I think) with carpet over it and he got a little strawberry knot on his head right away. Being the smart kid that he is he instantly realized banging head= instant attention NO MATTER what.

I know his intention is not to hurt himself because the next time he went to bang his head again he hit his head on a soft chair and then a soft mat. When he did try to hit his head on the floor again he did it REALLY gently because he didn't want to hurt himself. I just wanted to cry. His PT kept apologizing like it was her fault and gave us both a hug. I just don't want him banging his head when he is frustrated or not getting his way but I don't know how to nip it in the bud. If I pick him up to keep him from doing it his negative behavior gets reinforced but if I just ignore him or wait for him to stop he could seriously hurt himself. I wanted to cry the whole way home. Instead I just kept telling him "baby please don't hit your head when you are upset, it hurts you and mommy!" I guess this is payback for thinking I did such a great yesterday with his first real tantrum.

*I forgot to add that before the tantrum started Lucas said "bubble" for the first time. Also when it was time to leave he was very enthusiastic about saying bye-bye to his therapist. He was waving so hard at her I thought his hand would fall off. He cheerfully said "bye-bye" all the way out to the car.

No Surface is Safe

Having a mobile baby is so over rated! He now can crawl on the couch and then on to the end tables. How do you baby proof an end table? I can only say "no" and get him down from the table so many times in one day. This kid is a fearless climber!

Lucas had his first OT appointment in over a month. His OT Wendy was so happy to see him and couldn't believe how great he is doing. He only have to go to OT once a week and in about a month it will drop down to even less. Right now he is working on different grasps and how to climb DOWN things.

Lucas is a Hugger

I thought I would post early since I still have to make dinner and go to the Gym and all before the new Season of Prison Break Starts Tonight. I plan on having my eyes glued to the TV at 8 PM. Don't worry Lucas will be in bed by then (knock on wood) so we won't have to choose between him or the TV ;-)

We had another awesome day at Occupational therapy today. He is continuing to improve everyday. It seems like the more he is able to do physically the less he wants to sleep. He has had maybe a total of an hour of sleep today.

Now that Lucas can crawl on his hands and knees he is always switching crawling styles. He will randomly go from hands and knees to army crawl and back. It is quite funny to watch him getting around right now.

Lucas is turning out to be a hugger. He will stop playing just to crawl over to us and give us big hugs and then he is off again. I know some people aren't huggers, (but I am) so it is nice to have a child that is one.

Lucas Laughing

Lucas has been going to OT & PT for almost a month now. Today for the very first time he crawled on his hands and knees all by himself. His occupational therapist and I were sitting on the floor next to each other giving each other these looks and saying "did you see that?!!?" She took him across the room to see if he would do it again and he crawled so far right to me. He climbed right up in my lap gave me a big hug and started to pat me on the back. Both his therapist and I had tears in our eyes.

It is such an amazing feeling watching him and seeing all he has accomplished in such a short time. Oh, and today he also stood without holding onto anything. He was standing up playing with these blocks at the bench. He let go of where he was holding on to grab toys with both hands. He stood there for a few seconds... before he put his hand back on the bench to steady himself.

Curt got home pretty soon after Lucas and I did. I laid Lucas down for a nap and went and worked out at the gym again. Such an awesome day!

"What a glorious feeling"

Today Lucas had a combined PT & OT appointment and both of his therapists raved about the progress he has been making. They both also said how surprised they were by how quickly he is progressing. PT & OT are becoming such a positive thing for Lucas. He has come so far in just a few weeks. He has more muscle town and he uses the things he learns at therapy playing at home.

After therapy Lucas and I had a lunch date at Queeny's with Brandi. Unfortunately, Queeny's was closed for some reason. We ended up following Brandi to the Firefly Cafe followed by my first trip (of many I am sure) to the Back in the Day Bakery (where they have the biggest and best Chocolate Chip cookies I have ever tasted!!!) I love getting together with Brandi because she always takes me to these great places I would have never found on my own. She is also a great listener and always has at least one story to tell me that always makes my nose very thankful that I wasn't drinking anything while she shared the details.

On our way home it started to rain. I love when it rains in the summer because I love how the cold rain drops feel on my hot skin. Just as we got home the rain was more of a sprinkle so I let Lucas feel the raindrops for the first time. (Yes he has been out in the rain during mad dashes to the car but he was always covered up and never before able to just enjoy the sensation of rain.) His had this blissful expression on his face as he tried to catch the droplets of rain in his hands. It made me so happy that he was enjoying the misty rain but then again I was always one of those children that loved when it rained because that could only mean one thing... mud puddles.

Our Day with Steven

Today we had the pleasure of babysitting our nephew Steven for the day. Lucas and I picked Steven up on the way to Lucas' occupational therapy appointment. On the way there Steven was very concerned and asked "is Lucas really sick? Is he going to be okay?" I was a little worried that Steven wouldn't sit still for an hour and might distract Lucas (only because Lucas' therapy takes place in a giant room full of toys, balls, and bikes... there is even a little slide in the gigantic therapy room.) Steven was great... of course it might have helped that I promised him I would get him a Kids Meal after Lucas' appointment.

After Lucas' appointment we went to my parents' house to go swimming. I figured the pool would get out any extra energy Lucas and Steven had. Usually after therapy Lucas is tired but he still wanted to swim. We left after a few hours because Lucas seemed sleepy and I wanted to take him home to take a nap. When we got home I laid him down and he didn't not want to sleep (he did sleep most of the 20 minutes from my parents' house to ours.) I guess he didn't want to miss playing with Steven.

Steven is a great kid. He doesn't care that Lucas is "just a baby." Steven played all day with Lucas and Lucas followed Steven around every where he went. If Steven left the living room (where we have blocked off so Lucas can't escape) Lucas would protest loudly and Steven would have to return to the "baby zone." Later on in the evening when everyone was finished with dinner except for Lucas, Steven kept him entertained by dancing and making silly faces while Lucas finished up.

Finally after dinner Lucas went to bed right before Steven left. I figured he was so worn out he would sleep great... NOPE! I guess since Lucas' didn't really get a nap today he thought he was taking a nap... he has woken up three times so far and is not in the least bit sleepy. He is currently playing with his Jungle Tree House which seems to be his new favorite toy since he got home from therapy (he does a lot of putting objects into things there.)

Lucas and Steven swimming

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