Maddy's Tummy Time

 I try to get Madeline on her tummy for a few minutes at least once a day.  Here's a play-by-play of one session this week.  The mirror motivates her to raise her head to look at her reflection.

 And before I could even get a photo, she rolled to the right by accident.  Her head usually leads the way.  Her head is a force of nature.

 Trying again.  Counterbalancing by raising her legs in the air.

 She got her head and shoulders up really high that time.

 Face plant.  But she soldiers on.

 Legs in the air again.

 And a face plant again.

 She tried to recover but rolled to the left this time.  It was at this point that she threw in the towel.

Her reward for enduring tummy time: gazing at a beautiful baby in the mirror, while resting on her back. She's a trooper.

Easter

Our Easter ham coloring eggs.

Finding the basket that the Easter Bunny left for Ben.

Eating a Kinder egg, the German chocolate eggs that have little toys inside.

Ben learned how to crack and peel hard boiled eggs.  He did three in a row and wanted me to eat all of them (but I didn't).  He wouldn't take a single bite of egg and was very suspicious of the yolks.

Cuddle bunny.

Our friends had us over for a fantastic Easter dinner.  Maggie is two months older than Maddy...and a lot more mobile.

The adorable kids' table.  Ben was super excited to be with other kids.

Hunting for hidden eggs in the huge backyard.  We forgot to bring his Easter basket so he used our host's European shopping basket.

Pretty decent attempt at a family photo.

In her Easter bonnet.

Five Months Old

I can't believe that Miss Maddy is five months old already.  Time is flying by so fast that my head is spinning.

 We sit her up for short periods of time and she seems to like it.  She grabs lots of things now.  And of course everything goes right to her mouth.

She is moving a lot more, too.  She can wiggle around on her playmat to move herself from one side to the other.  She's getting close to rolling over.  She can almost turn her hips enough to get up on her side.

She loves having our full, undivided attention.

 Riding around on Daddy's shoulder is one of her favorite activities.

Cat naps are pretty popular, too.  I sure would like her to nap for longer than 20 minutes at a time, though.

She Adores Him

Story Time

Sunshine

 We have lots of nicknames for both our kids.  We end up calling Madeline "sunshine" a lot because she is so joyful and full of smiles.  These are some of her smiley pics from the last month.  Our PC crashed last week and it's been slow getting all my photos organized onto a new computer.  I'll be getting back to regular posts soon.  Hopefully these photos will make up for this last week of no pictures.

Right after spitting up on Daddy's back...now that's something to smile about.

Physical Therapy

 Madeline started her physical therapy sessions last week.  Her therapist, Ms. A, has come to the house twice.  The goal is to help with her gross and fine motor skills.  Some things, like head control and rolling over, will happen in their own time and we shouldn't try to rush them.  But we can help her do things like reach for toys.  Up until last week she would only raise her arms to prop up her bottle while sitting up (like in the picture above).  When I put her on her play mat, she would look at the toys hanging in front of her but rarely attempt to reach for them, even when I held them very close to her.

 Ms. A went over a bunch of techniques that we can use to encourage Madeline to interact with objects.  And ever since then, she has been noticing her toys more and reaching for them; it's like a light bulb went on.

 Ms. A showed me how to roll up dish towels and place them under Maddy's upper arms to give just enough support to make it easier for her to reach for a toy in front of her.  Gravity makes it hard for her to lift her arms when she's flat on her back, but raising them just a bit helps a ton.

 It didn't take long for her to become really interested in the objects we placed near her.  She loved shaking this rattle once she realized she could grab it.

And once she started grabbing things, she started putting them to her mouth, just like babies this age do.  It was amazing how quickly she became interested in her toys!  Ms. A gave us a bunch more hints to help Madeline become aware of her hands and feet, and to encourage her to reach and grab for things.  Some of the techniques involve propping her up in a sitting position for short periods of time - I'm a little apprehensive about that, but the research I've seen says that's fine.  I can't believe how much more engaged Madeline has become in just a few days!  Click here to see a short video of her playing with her rattle.

Holding Madeline

We have to be extra careful with Madeline's head, neck and back.  Her large head puts a lot of strain on her neck and lower spine, and her neck and back muscles aren't very strong yet.  If she sits up without support for too long or doesn't have firm back support, she could develop kyphosis (a hump in her back).  Supporting her back while holding her is important.

 There are also restrictions on the kinds of baby carriers and equipment we can use with her.    Some infant swings allow too much of a curve in a baby's back or swing in a motion that could cause injury for a baby like Madeline.  This swing (an awesome hand-me-down) has a solid, straight back that only elevates her head about 45 degrees.  It also has a slow front-to-back gliding motion that is easy on her neck.  Unfortunately for me, she has limited tolerance for this swing right now.  I hope she starts to sit in it longer.

 

We need to avoid umbrella strollers because they have soft fabric backs and don't recline far enough.  This European stroller (again, an amazing hand-me-down - we have some great friends) reclines almost completely.  She is happy in it for a decent stretch.

 I have read that the best place for babies with achondroplasia is the floor or some other flat surface.  That would be fine with us...it's just not fine with Madeline.  She would much rather be held.  So at mealtimes Mike and I sometimes take turns holding her...

...but if we're lucky she sits near the table in her rocker.  And it's another hand-me-down!  I don't know what I'd do every day without this rocker.  Soft slings or carriers that don't support her head and neck are highly discouraged.  So, no Baby Bjorn or Moby wraps for us.  But this rocker has the same solid, straight back and 45-degree angle that the swing/glider has.  It's technically for newborns, but her size and the fact that she's not rolling yet will allow us to keep her in it for longer than usual.

The best part: SHE SLEEPS IN IT.  Even on a bad nap day, odds are she'll at least take a catnap in her rocker.  I think having her head a bit elevated makes it easier for her to breathe when she's congested.

But she would still rather be held.