A little Tear

The past couple nights after our night time routine after I kiss Camryn goodnight she waves goodbye. It breaks my heart just a little to know that she is ready to be by herself at the end of the day. She is growing up so quickly before my eyes and without a bye bye or anything she just waves for me to leave.

Butterfly World

This weekend we went to butterfly world with Cams grandparents who came to visit from Texas! It was awesome! Camryn had a great time seeing the thousands of butterflies, birds, and plants.

Mixed Feelings

I have very mixed feelings about our appointment today. The doctor was very happy with Camryn's progress but she also has a contracture and needs more botox in August. I'm so happy she's doing great but to have another thing to have done is yet just another thing. I'm starting work the week before for the firs time in a year and I already have to take a day off for Camryn. It just makes me feel so uneasy and stressed out. I know I already made it clear that Camryn came first when it came to me going back to work, I guess this just makes it more real.

Crayons and OT

We started working with Crayola Crayons today. They are the bigger ones for 24+ She only tried putting them in her mouth once so I was pretty happy with that. It was really a struggle to get her to make marks with her left hand but, we'll keep working on it.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is kind of a big day for us. We are going down to Miami Children's to see the specialist (Dr. Grossman.) We've only seen him once for a post op appointment (It's been a while.) I'm really curious as to what he's going to say or suggest. Last time we were there he said to continue doing what we were doing. It seems to me that Camryn has come along way so it will be interesting to hear the teams thoughts on how Cam is doing. On another note, Cam got a new elbow splint yesterday.

Exhaustion

I'm utterly exhausted. My husband was away this weekend so I had Camryn all to myself which isn't so bad since I do it everyday but I haven't had a break from her in a while. She's also starting to finally get her two top teeth and was up 3 times last night screaming. (I was up too)..Today she was super clingy and cranky. I just put her to bed and could go to bed myself right now. I love spending time with Camryn especially now that she is learning so many new things and being so cute (unless she has a temper tantrum ahha.) But I'm just exhausted...I need a good nights sleep...

Purposeful Play

Improvements

My husband and I have noticed some huge improvements in Cams arm/shoulder. We aren't positive if we are really seeing things or she's compensating somehow but we go see Dr. Grossman next Thursday. (They were a little concerned about her twitching towards her left side, as am I.) Some of the improvements we've noticed are that she is : using both hands to play and pick things up (holding a ball and picking it up from floor) and we also noticed that she is getting better overhead. She'll even try to reach both hands up at once. Not to mention she is finally walking!! She leads with her right leg sometimes but it is still walking. (We are working on the leading with the right side in therapy and thinking of ways to get her left hip to come forward) When I think of all we've gone through this year it all makes it seem worth it when we see Camryn improve. Her arm may never be perfect but it is so much better than it was. Hopefully, she'll continue to improve.

Working on Using Both Arms

New

Cam got her arm all the way up and rotated back on her own! This is a big deal! Her scapula is doing the right thing too! ( she is taped right now!)

Finger Paint

Today we decided to have some fun and do a sensory activity. We made edible finger paint. My goal was to really get her to use her left hand and arm more. It sort of worked, here you can see her tasting the paint with her left hand. Making the paint was super easy. (Plain Whole Milk Yogurt and Food coloring) It was such an easy clean up because we did it in the tub.

Walking

I thought for sure that Camryn would be an early walker because she never really crawled and did her tripod thing. Boy was I wrong. She is just starting to walk on her own and she is so unsure of herself because of her balance issues. Once she gets her left shoulder forward it seems a little easier for her. It gets me so mad and frustrated at the same time. Not only is Camryn a big girl and almost too big for me to carry anymore, I feel like she's hit every big development milestone either late or at the end of when they say they should be doing it. I know it has to do with her Erb's Palsy but it just seems to never end. She's fine developmentally with eating, and playing and doing other things it's just the walking, sitting up, crawling, and big gross motor skill things that she is having trouble with. Is it always like this with Erb's babies? When did your little one start walking? 

Spiders!

After finding a huge spider this morning in our bedroom, we took another look at Camryn's bites. Camryn definitely looked like she got some type of spider bite. After thinking it was a Recluse Spider and of course thinking the worst we took her to the doctor. (not to mention she was up this morning at 4am but I thought she was just teething.) The doctor said it was definitely some type of bad bug bite and that it was most definitely infected..(She even had a low grade fever) She didn't scratch them, so I'm not sure how this happened. The one on her thumb is pretty infected and it makes me think it got infected because the circulation isn't the same in her arm and hand in that arm because of the Erb's. Has anyone else had this happen to their little one? So, now we are on antibiotics for the bite, and if we need diflucan for diaper rash since Camryn is prone (and allergic to nystatin and lotrimin.)

Bug Bites

So I think Camryn might be allergic to bug bites. She has some terrible bites on her ankles and her left thumb. The one on the thumb is starting to get better but the bites turned into blisters!  They were weeping yesterday so we put a little calamine lotion on and gave Cam a baby dose of benadryl. It looks painful. They look much better today and are starting to dry out. What do you all do for baby bug bites or reactions to bug bites? 

Rolling neck

I've noticed recently that sometimes Camryn rolls her neck. It's just started recently and I'm wondering if it's new nerves firing in her neck or if her neck is uncomfortable. Has anyone's child experienced this? What do you do?

HANDS UP!

We were having a somewhat difficult time getting Camryn stretched out but I think we have found a solution. We have started singing "Hands Up" with Camryn every time we have to stretch her. This song for sure reminds me of my childhood and all the bar and bat mitzvahs I attended where the DJ played this song. Whatever it is about this song it works.  I don't know if it's the fact that I look utterly ridiculous singing and stretching Cam's arm up at the same time or if she actually likes the dancing and singing. Whichever it may be it WORKS!

Ready for the 4th

When Camryn has a Bad Day

What do you do when your little one is just plain out having a bad day?! Yesterday, Camryn spent the majority of the day either crying or whining. (We think she's teething) She had terrible naps and was just in a terrible mood. Finally, at the end of the day I just decided to get in the car and drive around with her. I was at my wits end by the end of the day. I put her to bed early and had a big glass of wine. I didn't even want to cook dinner I was so drained. What are some of the things that you do to get through a bad day?

Bumps and Bruises

I know it's normal for toddlers to have bumps and bruises, but I feel like Camryn has too many. She really is having a hard time keeping her balance and lunges into things. She's just starting to learn to walk on her own a bit and she sometimes lunges forward not realizing that she can't catch herself and she misjudges the distance between a parent or couch and falls into a piece of furniture or toy. I'm not really sure how to handle this as I know it is somewhat normal it's just the fact that Camryn can't brace herself and now has 3 bruises on her head. No matter how many times I try to catch her I can't always be there. This is one of my biggest fears for daycare. Any advice?  Anything that you've done to teach your children differently?