Posture update

We had a follow up appointment with the physical therapist this week to evaluate Kiya's posture and neck again. The appointment went surprisingly well. Kiya had her moments where she was just done being fussed over and she made sure to let us know but she did well and I was proud of her.

As far as her neck muscles go, the therapist thinks there has been great improvement. She had good range of motion and her head isn't as tilted as it was before. We worked on some more exercises to help even more.

As for her posture, well she is sitting up straighter sometimes but still prefers to slouch. The therapist says this can be common for kids that scoot versus traditional crawling. She did notice improvement which was good but we for sure need to keep at it.

Where does the big green monster fit in? Well Kiya is no longer afraid of it. She sits on it and bounces and will roll on her back on it with our help of course. She is getting there and she has learned to say "ball".

We will also be working on getting Kiya to bear more weight on her knees and to try and get her to kneel in a more traditional fashion. If she kneels her legs look like she is sitting Indian style and not straight out behind her. She isn't such a fan of this but we do a little bit multiple times throughout the day so it isn't too bad.

Kiya showed off her many words while there and she showed the therapist how she gets herself into a sitting position. Last time we saw the therapist, Kiya couldn't put herself into a sitting position from laying down so the therapist was very pleased to see this improvement.

So the plan is to keep working with her both at home and at daycare. One of Kiya's teachers is familiar with the exercises and the therapist as her son also went through something similar so she is helping Kiya. We will see the therapist again in March for a progress check.

In the meantime we are just chugging along and watching our baby girl flourish in her own dramatic fashion.

Adventures in meal time

Meal time in our house has become quite the adventure. You see Miss Kiya has decided that she would prefer to feed herself. Not just finger foods mind you but cereal, yogurt, soup, anything and everything and she wants to use a fork and/or a spoon by herself.

Here are a few pictures of our recent adventures. To her credit she is quite good with a spoon I think for being almost 15 months. She scoops quite well and actually holds the spoon pretty well and gets it mostly in her mouth. Sometimes she puts too much stuff on the spoon which is fun.

As for a fork she can't quite stab the food herself but if you help her get the food on the fork she can feed herself from there. As you can see in the photos she is quite focused and very proud of herself. We are proud of her too and are learning to let go of the utter mess that has become meal time.

Could she be any cuter even when she is so messy? Our baby girl is growing up and is so independent.

Mixed Messages??

I was reading an interesting conversation about haircare and African American women and their children. The premise of the discussion was if an African American mom really wants her daughter to have natural hair should mom have natural hair also?

Now obviously I am not African American but I do want my African American daughter to have natural hair and be proud of it (at least for as long as I have say in that matter). Kiya's hair is thick and tightly curled and well fabulous. Sure it isn't super easy to take care of but we are learning and I LOVE her luscious curls.

That said the conversation I was reading got me thinking. Am I going to send mixed messages to my daughter about being proud of your natural hair if I color and straighten my own hair? I mean I am going to try and raise her to be proud of her culture, her beauty, her hair, everything. So is it weird if I don't embrace my own wavy, thick, slightly graying hair?

I don't know but I fear it might. Now to be honest I am not sure I am ready in my early 30's to live with gray hair so the hair color is going to stay. However, I am going to give my waves a try. I have avoided them at all costs. I either pull my hair up in a ponytail or messy bun or I blow dry it straight. I am going to let it be natural and wavy and see what happens.

Why? Because I don't want to be a hypocrite with my daughter. I want to set a good example. Little girls look up to their mom's and I want Kiya to look up at me and see integrity and confidence.

9 months home

9 months. 3/4 of a year. I can't believe it and yet sometimes these last 9 months have been more unbelievable than I ever could have imagined.

Being a Mom is everything I thought it would be and so much more and sometimes that has been a good thing and sometimes a not so good thing. I want to believe that I am a good mom. Deep down I know I am. I am doing the best I can at every given moment but it isn't easy. I am not sure I thought it would be but it is hands down the toughest job I could ever imagine.

I have come along way in realizing my own motherhood in these last 9 months. I have learned to let go a little but not too much. I have really and truly fallen in love with my daughter and with my role as her mother. That didn't happen over night nor did I think it would. Kiya and I had to figure each other out, I think we are starting to get there but we aren't totally there yet.

We have our good moments like when she climbs into my lap and wants me to read a story or when she snuggles her head on my shoulder or gives me that goofy grin as she hands a piece of food over the side of the high chair to Badger. There are so so many good moments...too many to list. She is the highlight of my life and I really at this point can't imagine my life being any different.

We have our not so good moments too though like when she hits me repeatedly or when she shys away from a hug or when she wants nothing to do with me when other people are around. I know the hitting is a developmental thing and I know other moms who are the targets for such aggression but it still stings both literally and figuratively.

The not wanting a hug or anything to do with me (or so it seems) brings me back to when we were first home. Just when I think that we are truly attached and bonded and one or both of these things happen and I wonder. Maybe we aren't as securely bonded as I would like to think...maybe we have more work to do.

When I think about it, we will always have work to do. We will have our highs and lows and all I can do is weather them, and be a strong, supportive mother. That is easier said than done while she is screaming and kicking on the floor but I have learned that I have to trust my mommy instincts.

I spend the most time with Miss Kiya and I am so grateful to have that time. We have learned a lot about each other in these last 9 months and I look forward to what lies ahead. She is an amazing little girl and there is really nothing I wouldn't do for her. I am her Mom and her best advocate. I will stand up for her when she can't and stand by her when she is ready. We will have our highs and lows as all mothers and daughters do.

9 months. The best and most challenging 9 months of my life. And while there have been some lows, I wouldn't change any of it because the highs we have experienced far outweigh those few lows. I live for those highs. I live for the smiles, the hugs, the goofiness, the non stop chatter and everything that is my little girl.

Wordless Wednesday

And we are back

I know bad blogger again but this time I have a really good reason. I was on vacation. We went to San Antonio in hopes of finding some nicer weather and spending time with family. We had two beautiful sunny days...and well we won't talk about the other days. We had a good time hanging out with Kiya's godmother/Auntie Sarah and her boyfriend Jerod. Kiya was quite smitten with Jerod. It was really cute.

I was looking forward to the time off but not to the travelling with a toddler. Let me go on the record here and say the Kiya never ceases to amaze me. We had to get her up at 3:30am the day we left and she was such a happy girl. She was waving and saying hi to all the other passengers on the plane. She ate well and slept well the whole way there.

On the way home we had what turned out to be an almost 5 hour layover in Detroit--yeah not fun nor planned but darn snow storm was a brewing. She did beyond great. She wasn't such a fan of eating by this point in the trip but she was a very pleasant and happy girl. She played with her toys and books, waved at some more people and then slept most of the way home on the plane.

While in Texas, we discovered that the poor girl was teething something awful. This led to some crabby times, a whole bunch of not eating and not the best sleeping. Overall she did really well and was pushed to her limits. She was a super star and I was really proud of her.

We had to cut a few things short a dinner here (too late) and the Alamo (she decided to pee her pants), but overall we had a great time. Kiya was beyond thrilled to spend so much time with her Grandma and Grandpa. Though if I have to speak for Kiya I would say the highlight of the trip for her was the pool.

Wow does she LOVE water. She has quite the frog kick already and she at first accidentally stuck her face in the water and we expected she might freak out but nope she just kept doing it. So cute.

We took her to the zoo for the first time and she kept calling things dawdee or doggy when she was awake. She seemed quite fascinated by the fish that swam in the pond where the hippos live. We got her a stuffed hippo since she loves her belly button book so much.

It was an action packed trip and we are glad to be home. Weren't sure we were going to make it for awhile given the weather but we did. Now if we can just get Miss Kiya to eat on a regular basis and sleep without screaming that would be fabulous. (I gave in and let her nap with me on the couch....couldn't take the screaming and she settled in and snuggled with me for over an hour). Tomorrow we hope to get back on track and back in our regular routine. Wish us luck!

The big Green Monster

A little back story before I explain the Monster.

When Kiya was in for a sick baby visit a couple weeks ago, the pediatrician, that I very much dislike was the only one available at the two clinics closest to us, made a passing comment that Kiya's ears are asymmetrical and that she has a flat head and would likely need to wear a DOC band to correct it. She said nothing else and barely answered my questions and sent me on my way with the antibiotics for Kiya's ear infection, a referral to a pediatric therapist and a TON of anxiety.

No one who regularly interacts with Kiya thinks she had a flat head but I made the appointment with the therapist anyway. I was going NUTS. I truly believe all medical websites should be banned for new parents. They are AWFUL!

After a week of obsessively checking Kiya's head every chance I got, we had our appointment. The physical therapist was nice enough and she was willing to explain things which was helpful. She measured Kiya's head and said her ratios of length to width were all very good. She did think Kiya's ears were a little off but let me tell you this was a less than accurate test as it involved trying to get Kiya to sit still and then using her fingers as the measuring device. Anyway, after hearing what she had to say, we opted not to go the DOC band route as much research suggests that they aren't effective in children over 10 months, it cost $3000 and the therapist felt that Kiya's head shape wouldn't necessarily change and wasn't in anyway severe or even moderate.

While there though, we did discover that Kiya has TERRIBLE posture. She slouches. It is very obvious if you look for it. She has stronger neck muscles on one side which is part of the issue. A lot of this stems for her finger sucking. She leans that way to suck on her fingers so her body has gotten comfortable that way. The therapist and I went through a bunch of exercises that we are starting with Kiya to help straighten her out. We will see the therapist again in a few weeks and then decide what to do next. One option may be calling Birth to 3 again and having them come out and reevaluate her and proceed that way, but we shall see.

One of the things the therapist suggested was to get a big yoga ball and use it to help Kiya stretch her back and core muscles as well as practicing shifting her weight from one side to the other. So obediently I went out and bought one. I got the smallest one I could and yet we now have....the Big Green Monster.

Kiya is terrified of the ball. This came out of nowhere as she was fine with the ball at the therapists office. She freaked out. We worked with her slowly and sat on the ball with her. She is getting better but will only bounce on it, rock side to side on it and stretch her back on it. We haven't been able to successfully stretch her tummy out on it as that freaks her out. We will keep at it and hope she gets used to it. The first day if we even walked by it she would grab on to us harder and start to fuss. By Sunday she was able to sit on the floor next to it and pound on it with her hands.

So it will be slow going with that one. We do have other exercises to work with her on also which she isn't always a fan of hence maybe the need to call in an outside therapist so we aren't always the bad guy. Time will tell. We have noticed more of a desire to pull herself up on just about anything and everything and she will even venture for 1 independent step before lunging forward and laughing hysterically and last night she was laying on the floor and the got herself into a sitting position. I know most kids do this long before this age but she just never did. The therapist said it is likely due to the way her muscles have developed so the exercises will help.

We are anxious to see Kiya's progress with all of this. It was nice to hear the therapist say that overall developmentally Kiya is doing great and showing progress which is a very good sign. She felt that Kiya's fine motor skills were really quite good and that for gross motor she was at the low end of average. She would be more worried if the desire wasn't there. The desire is there she just needs a little push in the right direction and the therapist said it was totally fine that Kiya wasn't walking. We knew that but still nice to hear.