A New Sensory Toy

It's been a while since I've done a true Toddler Tuesday but today I discovered a toy I have fallen in love with and I have to share. As many of you know C has lots of sensory issues. Things have been getting out of hand again so we have been looking for a way to help him keep himself calm. This is going to be super important when the new baby arrives because I know it is going to be stressful for him.
Today our therapist brought a great new toy. It's therapy putty! I was super impressed with how this simple toy kept C's attention for almost an hour and how relaxed he was while he played. So many things we have tried only work for a short while or he just doesn't seem interested.
At first I was supper worried that this was going to be a messy toy that would get all over in my carpet but I was impressed with the fact that it doesn't stick to things. The boys had lots of fun making it flat and then rolling beads up inside to hide so they could find them. They played with it much like play dough but it was much cleaner AND it did help C relax. The putty we used was a medium resistance but they make it in a variety of different thicknesses. I can't wait to get some of this for the boys! It will be a perfect sensory activity for on the go because it will easily fit in my diaper bag. If your child has trouble sitting still or other sensory seeking problems I highly suggest you try some!

Project: Play Silks

C is super sensory seeking right now and is driving me crazy! I have been looking for simple projects I can do to help him have toys to feel his sensory needs rather than filling them by doing things like biting and licking walls.

I found these play-silks over at The Evolving Homemaker and think this will be our project of the week. Rather then spending the time to order scarves as she did however I think I'm going to use some of my old slips. If I cut them up and finish the edges my kids will never know the difference.

Please let me know if you have a favorite sensory toy that is easy to make. We'd love to try it out!

Book of the Month: Mr. Brown Can MOO! Can You?

Most of you have probably read this book however I can't talk about favorite books at the Kerr house without mentioning this one. B & C both love Mr. Brown and all his silly sounds and so does Ms. B.

Right now we are using Mr. Brown to encourage C to make more sounds. He is learning to sign, slowly but surely, however he still frequently gets frustrated and throws tantrums. Mr. Brown is helping because we can all read it together and C gets the chance to try all the sounds Mr. Brown makes. B loves to help read this book and make the sounds too. It is amazing how much B's sounds improve each time we read and how many more sounds C can make every time he tires. Sometimes it is hard because it seems like he is not making any progress but if you watch closely you can see his little lips move as he tries to do what we're doing.

Thank you Dr. Seuss for writing such a wonderful book for us to enjoy!

New Mom’s Guide to Baby Massage

I loved this article over at Hip Chick's Guide to PMS, Pregnancy, & Babies. We have done quite a bit of Baby Massage with C to help in his therapy and I believe it has helped a lot. Anyway, if you are interested in some great tips and techniques make sure you check out her article HERE.

Game: Ring Around the Rosies

Today I thought I would share with you a simple game most of you probably played when you were young. I had forgotten all about Ring Around the Rosies until our therapist introduced it to us as a therapy game with B.

B was, what am I say he still is, a very stubborn little boy. The final goal he needed to achieve before graduating from PT was to stand up in the middle of the floor without assistance. We tried everything to get him to do this but because we live in a small home he would simply crawl to the furniture and stand up using it. At one point we even tried taking him to an empty gym and playing in the middle of it but he still refused to stand up without using something for balance. Then one day his awesome therapist Ms. T. came with no tools other than this song. And guess what, it worked. It took a few times but soon enough B was so excited to be playing that he forgot all about crawling to the couch to stand up. We haven't had a problem since. It always amazes me how the simple games used with children, that we think nothing of, can be such a huge help in their development. Below are the words in case you've forgotten.

Ring around the rosies
A pocket full of posies;
Ashes, Ashes
We all fall down.

Cows are in the meadow

Eating butter cups;

Thunder, Lightning

We all stand up.

C Update

C is also doing well with therapy.

Speech - Mrs B has finally gotten through! C used to just sit quietly and look at Mrs B during therapy but in the last month he has started responding to her. We still have A LOT of grunting but he is learning signs and loving it. I love that he can tell me when he's hungry, thirsty, or all done too.

Occupational - Mrs A is doing a wonderful job. The problem we have is that she has so much work to do. C did however take his first steps this week so we are excited to tell Mrs A today! We are also working very hard on C's eating skills. He's doing so much better but is still very specific about cups and certain foods. Hopefully we can get this fixed by March when he goes to nursery.

Physical - C also got a PT evaluation this month. She said he is behind but Mrs A is doing all the right things. We also got a few more tips on how we can help and with them he is showing greater progress already.

We are so grateful for the Infant and Toddler program. Thank you to all you wonderful therapists who work so hard to teach mom's like me how to help their kids!

Tomorrow, A pregnancy update!

B Update

So I've been promising you an therapy update on B. Well here it is.

Speech - Mrs. B is great! B has come so far with her help. His new favorite words are "maybe", "probably", and "honey" (we really need to start calling each other mom & dad apparently).

Physical - We had an evaluation and it seems he is keeping up. We were a little worried he was falling behind again but the therapist says he is staying at the same level (comparatively) that he was at a year ago when he stopped getting PT.

Developmental - Mrs. E is still working with B. She is the only therapist that has been with us since the very beginning. We're working on colors, stringing beads, and making lines & circles in paper. So far B loves learning new things and is continuing to catch up.

We will have a transitional meeting this month as B will no longer be eligible for therapy through this program once he is 3 and his "progress" will than be monitored by the schools.

So far so good. I still can't believe how far he has come!

C's update tomorrow. :)