Eight months Home with Heidi

Eight months home with our sweet, brave Heidi!

This has been a month of growth for Heidi. We started sensory brushing on April 9^th and we brushed her back, arms, and legs every two hours for two weeks. We noticed changes in her right away. She used her teeth to take big, firm bites of a dried strawberry and was able to chew it and swallow it. 

Her speech also improved significantly. She said, “ow ba-ba” (ow, baby!) after playing a kissing game. My mom used to always say to all the babies, “give me some sugar, baby!” then after receiving a slobbery baby kiss would say, “ow, baby!”. We've continued this with all our girls, and to hear Heidi say it and lean her head in for a kiss is one of the cutest things ever.

She says “mama” on command. She was self-feeding applesauce. She went to her high chair and cried to show us she was hungry. She climbed up three stairs then slid back down on her belly (she was afraid to go down the stairs on her own before this).

Heidi has the most contagious laugh and is showing a great sense of humor. She is attempting to repeat sounds that we make. She patted the dolly's back and said, “sshhhh”.

All of her new curiosity has led to a new development. Being told, “No!” She was hitting the entertainment center with a can that I keep pens in (that she first dumped on the floor). When I told her “No”, she literally threw herself onto the floor, kicked her feet, and threw a downright proper fit. While we don't want to see that all the time, we get so excited when we see “normal” two-year-old behavior.

(See, she still cries)

She is attempting to mimic “I love you” when we say it to her. She will open her mouth at “I” and sometimes say it. I've heard “lu-lu” for love you sometimes. She said “hi” on the Facetime call with her Occupational Therapist. When she does something like that it's hard to know if she truly understands, is parroting what she hears, or what the case is. Regardless, we were excited to hear it.

(We love bugging daddy while he’s working)

One night at dinner Trent made a bad dad joke and the girls were groan-laughing. Heidi said, “HA-HA” clearly enunciated and the most fake laugh you'll ever hear. When we all laughed, she of course laughed even harder.

(Quilt that grandma made for her!)

Heidi took Caroline by the hand and pulled her away from the piano and took her to the office door to play an open/shut the door game. Seeing her begin to communicate her wants/needs in this manner is very exciting to us.

Heidi had previously been afraid of the slide. It was a therapy goal to get her to enjoy it. It took one time of going down on Carrie's lap and she was hooked. She wasn't thrilled initially with going down by herself, but by the second time down on her own she loved it. She especially likes a hard bump at the bottom.

She is making herself known by saying “na-na-na-na-na” for “no”. While watching a Helen Keller movie she heard the word, “Doll”, and she instantly repeated, “doll”, then smiled. We were all shocked. One day at lunch I told her to say “more” and she said, “mah” in immediate response.

While playing outside she went to her swing and pulled on it to show she wanted to swing.

She said, “mama” without prompting!! She liked that I looked at her as soon as she said it. I think this means she is grasping that “mama” is me and that she will continue to use this word to gain my attention.

This month she also learned to fake a yawn and stretching. If she sees someone else yawn she will stretch and do it, too.

She learned to like “tick-tock, Heidi's a clock,” where you hold the child by their legs and turn them upside down. At first she didn't like it, but I did it to Carrie and Ruth and their peals of laughter enticed her to try again. Now she runs up to me and reaches her arms up so she can have her turn.

She thinks taking things out of her bedroom and throwing them down the stairs is hilarious. It's not uncommon to find a pile of toys/balls/pillows on the landing as evidence that Heidi has been there.

She held onto her headboard to “jump” (bounce, really) on her bed. Heidi climbed up onto a chair using Anne's leg as a tool to get her up.

(Tolerating her barely bigger sister carrying her and showing their size difference)

Heidi brought me a maraca that she wanted me to shake and a book she wanted me to read. Seeing her initiate play is amazing! Anne was airplaning Heidi around and when she stopped, Heidi picked up a doll and airplaned the dolly.

Heidi made a new sound: ga-ga. She also learned to click her tongue!

Like I said, it has been an incredible month of growth for Heidi. We are so impressed with all that she has learned. We believe the brushing played a big role in what she has done this month.

We are so grateful to the therapists who work with us and teach us how to teach her. While we do wonder whether she will ever fully catch up or live a “normal” life, we know that regardless that we are blessed to have her in our lives. She is joy and sunshine and laughter and light all wrapped up into the cutest package of snuggles. She's a gift to all who will ever know her and we just feel lucky that we're the ones with the front row seats to watch all these miracles unfold.

Happy eight months home, Heidi the brave! We love you!