So, Monday, our interventionist came over and went over Buddy's progress. She was very excited with everything that he is doing. He showed her how mobile he is, and how interested he is in getting into everything, as well as playing peek-a-boo. We also told her about things like his mimicking sounds we make and how friendly he is. She kept saying, "that's a 10 month skill..." over and over. (Buddy was just past 10 1/2 months for the visit.) I finally asked her if she was using a list for visually impaired children, and she wasn't. She said that he is right on target with all of his development, and he was well above his age level for his interpersonal skills, which I think is great, because that was what they were worried about before. So, at the moment, we are at a "No Big Deal" stage.
We have been working with Buddy on clapping. He understands what we are asking him to do, but a lot of the time, he just looks at us like, "why do you want me to bring my hands together repeatedly? You are weird." While the interventionist was here, he actually did clap for us, and we cheered so loudly we scared him. Finally, today, he started clapping again. It still takes a lot of work from us, but he is starting to get it. We are so proud of him.
He is just starting to show interest in books, and yesterday we looked at a puzzle. The puzzle said for ages 1+, but he likes holding the pieces, so I figured we'd play with it.
We are supposed to work on waving, too.
When I first started this blog, it was partially because I needed somewhere to write down my thoughts, and partially because I couldn't find many resources on the web that gave information for other parents going through what we are. I realize that part of this is that after the initial shock, it's just not that scary and there isn't as much to say.
I did find another blog with occasional posts by a mother of a child with nystagmus in the UK, and earlier this month, she re-posted a post from another blog written by a woman with nystagmus. Here is a link to that particular post. I will put links to both of the blogs on my resources page.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Peek-a-boo!
In Buddy news, we have had tons of fun lately. We bought him a bouncy seat (the kind that hangs from a door frame), and he loves it. He has figured out how to make it spin in circles and swing back and forth, on top of bouncing. We got it at an amazing consignment sale, and it was well worth the $7.50 we paid for it. When we first put him in it, he didn't want to do anything other than bounce. He didn't ask to be fed, or want to do anything but bounce.
A big THANK YOU!!! goes out to Emily, the owner of Bouncin' Big!, who invited all of the kids (and their families) that are served by the Division of Blind Services to spend the morning bouncing a few Saturdays ago. Buddy loves bouncing, and had quite a morning. It was nice to have somewhere fun to take Buddy, and it was also nice to get to meet other families.
Friday, he got his first hair cut. Some of it was past shoulder length, and in front it was past his nose. We kept putting off cutting it because he's a baby and a haircut would change everything. However, I'm so glad we did it. I think he is possibly even cuter now. We had an awesome stylist that loved playing with him, and she was very patient with him. Every time she tried to cut the hair on the back of his head, he would try to look at what she was doing and turn his head. She was amazing, though, and kept giving him combs and clips to play with and kept right on going. She also made sure I got the clippings so that I could keep a lock of his baby hair.
Also on Friday, the Buddy's Daddy started saying, "Mwahahahaaa," which Buddy thought was quite funny. By the end of the night, if you said, "Mwahahahaa," Buddy would giggle and say, "Ha...Ha...Ha" back. This is, of course, very cute, but it also made me happy because he is supposed to be imitating us now. He still doesn't do facial expressions (unless you count sticking your tongue out and going, "Pppppbbbbbbbbtttttttttt"), but I think imitating sounds is good, too.
Wednesday was my grandfather's 90th birthday, and on Saturday we went to his party. We had lunch at a nice restaurant on the St. Johns river, and Buddy was very well behaved the entire time. My parents were nice enough to take him outside and walk around while we waited for the food to be served, but while we were eating, he quietly snacked on french fries and a few bites of chicken and didn't make too much of a mess. He spent the afternoon playing nicely and spending time with the family. He also got to play with a balloon for the first time. We were so proud of him for being so good, and it was nice for him to get to spend some time with the family. They were all interested in his progress, and it is nice to see him doing so well.
Saturday's biggest accomplishment was playing peek-a-boo. People have been playing it with him lately, and his babysitter may have been practicing with him, but I don't know. We were waiting to eat lunch and my dad gave Buddy a napkin to play with. I think I put it over his face to play peek-a-boo, but after the first time, he just started lifting the napkin up in front of his face on his own. He is so cute to watch. A few times, the napkin was only covering one of his eyes, and he stopped to rearrange it to cover both. He varies the time that he covers his face, and waits for you to say "peek-a-boo!" when he uncovers his face. If you don't say it fast enough, he stares at you as if to say, "well, don't you know what comes next?"
Buddy is 10 months old now, and he is doing so well. He has six teeth, and has become a biter. We are working on the not biting and not hair-pulling, as these are both painful for the mommy and others. We are also working on being quiet in church, which is quite an endeavor. However, I think it will be much easier and reasonable to train a baby than to re-train an older child who doesn't understand why he used to get his way and be walked around and entertained during services and is now expected to behave. (We are not unreasonable. He can play with quiet toys on our laps, just not expect that he can fuss and then get up and be walked around in the middle of the service.) We are also working on clapping, but he doesn't seem to understand WHY he should spend time bringing his hands together.
Having Buddy is so much fun, and rewarding. I didn't realize that seeing a baby learn to play peek-a-boo, or repeat a phrase would be so exciting. The next month and a half should also be quite eventful, as he learns something new all the time, and I get the excitement of planning the Buddy birthday party, which is going to have an ocean theme.
'Til next time!
A big THANK YOU!!! goes out to Emily, the owner of Bouncin' Big!, who invited all of the kids (and their families) that are served by the Division of Blind Services to spend the morning bouncing a few Saturdays ago. Buddy loves bouncing, and had quite a morning. It was nice to have somewhere fun to take Buddy, and it was also nice to get to meet other families.
Friday, he got his first hair cut. Some of it was past shoulder length, and in front it was past his nose. We kept putting off cutting it because he's a baby and a haircut would change everything. However, I'm so glad we did it. I think he is possibly even cuter now. We had an awesome stylist that loved playing with him, and she was very patient with him. Every time she tried to cut the hair on the back of his head, he would try to look at what she was doing and turn his head. She was amazing, though, and kept giving him combs and clips to play with and kept right on going. She also made sure I got the clippings so that I could keep a lock of his baby hair.
Also on Friday, the Buddy's Daddy started saying, "Mwahahahaaa," which Buddy thought was quite funny. By the end of the night, if you said, "Mwahahahaa," Buddy would giggle and say, "Ha...Ha...Ha" back. This is, of course, very cute, but it also made me happy because he is supposed to be imitating us now. He still doesn't do facial expressions (unless you count sticking your tongue out and going, "Pppppbbbbbbbbtttttttttt"), but I think imitating sounds is good, too.
Wednesday was my grandfather's 90th birthday, and on Saturday we went to his party. We had lunch at a nice restaurant on the St. Johns river, and Buddy was very well behaved the entire time. My parents were nice enough to take him outside and walk around while we waited for the food to be served, but while we were eating, he quietly snacked on french fries and a few bites of chicken and didn't make too much of a mess. He spent the afternoon playing nicely and spending time with the family. He also got to play with a balloon for the first time. We were so proud of him for being so good, and it was nice for him to get to spend some time with the family. They were all interested in his progress, and it is nice to see him doing so well.
Saturday's biggest accomplishment was playing peek-a-boo. People have been playing it with him lately, and his babysitter may have been practicing with him, but I don't know. We were waiting to eat lunch and my dad gave Buddy a napkin to play with. I think I put it over his face to play peek-a-boo, but after the first time, he just started lifting the napkin up in front of his face on his own. He is so cute to watch. A few times, the napkin was only covering one of his eyes, and he stopped to rearrange it to cover both. He varies the time that he covers his face, and waits for you to say "peek-a-boo!" when he uncovers his face. If you don't say it fast enough, he stares at you as if to say, "well, don't you know what comes next?"
Buddy is 10 months old now, and he is doing so well. He has six teeth, and has become a biter. We are working on the not biting and not hair-pulling, as these are both painful for the mommy and others. We are also working on being quiet in church, which is quite an endeavor. However, I think it will be much easier and reasonable to train a baby than to re-train an older child who doesn't understand why he used to get his way and be walked around and entertained during services and is now expected to behave. (We are not unreasonable. He can play with quiet toys on our laps, just not expect that he can fuss and then get up and be walked around in the middle of the service.) We are also working on clapping, but he doesn't seem to understand WHY he should spend time bringing his hands together.
Having Buddy is so much fun, and rewarding. I didn't realize that seeing a baby learn to play peek-a-boo, or repeat a phrase would be so exciting. The next month and a half should also be quite eventful, as he learns something new all the time, and I get the excitement of planning the Buddy birthday party, which is going to have an ocean theme.
'Til next time!
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