Another brief update and a guest appearance

Since I have been back from New York I have been to the Pilanesberg and Cape Town. It is now 2 days from Bella's 2nd birthday and I am still battling to get back into my routine. I have not yet had a chance to write up a post on New York. GaLou has been far more diligent and given me her post which I have included below.

Briefly on the Bella front, Bella stood up all by herself last week without holding onto anything. I unfortunately did not see it and she has not done it since, but she can and she will when she decides to... She can also do all the actions to the song "Pat a Cake" which is amazing.

MaGoGo arrived today to be here fore her Great Grandaughters 2nd birthday. Its going to be a great week.

Without further adieu....

GaLou's New York post

It is now over a week since we returned from New York, and Cathy has asked me to write something for her blog. By way of introduction, I am one of Bella’s “extra” grannies, affectionately known as GaLou, so named when big brother Max was first learning to speak. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Cathy and Bella in New York last month, a city I had never visited. I guess January is not the ideal month to see New York for the first time – somewhat grey, and definitely chilly to very cold but none-the-less, it was a wonderful experience.

I went to most of Bella’s therapies with her, and it was really nice to see it first hand, but more so, to see the progress she made so quickly. Marcy worked a lot on trying to get her to stand and one evening, when Cathy and I were sitting on the hotel floor, Bella calmly put her hand on my knee and stood up! Not for long, but she definitely made a stand! She also worked on getting Bella to use her fingers to press buttons on her toys rather than giving them a heavy whack to get the music to play, and we also saw progress in this regard.

I managed to do a bit of sightseeing both with Cathy and on my own at times. I visited the Intrepid Museum, a retired World War II air-craft carrier which I thoroughly enjoyed, although I did not enjoy getting home afterwards. None of the taxies would stop for me and I ended up walking about thirty blocks back to the hotel, through some very dodgy areas, promising myself never to go anywhere without Cathy again. However, I did venture out alone again, went up Rockefeller Centre (in the mist), walked through Central Park and saw Grand Central Station. In between the three of us also managed some Harley Davidson shopping for Grandpa, had some wonderful meals, and cruised the shops in Columbus Circle, as well as Toys-R-Us in Times Square.

Most of all, I enjoyed spending so much time together with Cathy and Bella who, almost all of the time, was the most delightfully smiling little angel, as you can see in the pictures Cathy has already posted. Her smile slipped a bit on the flight home, when she decided it was definitely not sleep-time and I got to spend nearly two hours with her on the jumpseat in the galley playing “Pat a Cake” – but that’s just one of the many joys of being her granny!

New York photo reel

I have been wanting to write up a long post on our time in New York but have just not had the time. GaLou sent me the pictures she took while we were there so have posted them here in the meantime. Enjoy....

Having fun in the bath!

Bear standing

Bear walking

Just being too cute

Kissing her new puppy toy

Patting her new puppy toy

Loving her duck in her new "beary" cute winter pyjamas

Just taking a break... note the crossed legs

Peeping out our hotel window at the last remaining christmas lights

Shopping

Enjoying a taxi ride

In Times Square

Enjoying her new electric toothbrush

First day with Anat Baniel therapy

Today we had our first 2 sessions of therapy with Marcy Lindheimer. Marcy was very pleased with the progress Bella has made over the last 4 months since she saw her in September and commented on how much more aware and available she is. I think because I see Bella every day I don't notice the changes as much unless I stop to think about them. We are working on teaching Bella to stand up by herself. She has already been pulling herself to standing against people and couches but we will work on her implementation and confidence with this. It is really good to be back in New York and getting another perspective on Bella and how to enhance her development.

Another thing is that Bella is eating really well and is very willing to try new foods which is very 'unlike' her. I believe it is due to the biomedical approach we are taking and the GFCF diet. I think her gut is more 'comfortable' which leads her to be more willing with food.

Max stayed at home today because there was so much traffic after the storm last night that Grant went back home. The tree fellers arrived shortly after and there was no way Grant was going to get Max away from the tree felling action. Apparently by the end of the day he was good friends with all the guys. That is just so like Max!!

Max is going for his Grade 0 assessment at St David's next week Tuesday which I am really upset to missing. I can't believe he is going to big school next year. Here is a picture of Max the night before I came to New York.

Cockroaches and Poo

Today started off rather early. Bella woke up at 3:30am so we had a very early morning before heading off to Toys R Us in Times Square. We then had a good nap at lunchtime before heading out this afternoon. As we were leaving a huge cockroach about the size of a R5 coin scurried across the floor in front of Bella. Initially I thought it was a peach pip rolling across the carpet. It seriously freaked me out so I asked the hotel to clean out my room on our way out. (I am sure the haven't so the king kong of cockroaches is still lurking in here somewhere).

Bella has not had a poo since we left Sout Africa other than a small one this morning. We went to a small diner called Josies for a early supper and just as my food arrived Bella had the most explosive poo. The people at the table next to us heard the noise and looked at us. I quickly picked her up to take her to the toilet only to find that the poo had gone all the way up her back and down her leg and was very visible on her white vest. I then saw that my cream top was also covered in the stinkiest poo I have ever smelt. It was so embarressing!! I have never seen a take away box packed and a bill paid so quickly.

After a big bath I decided I needed to take all the clothes and towels to the laundromat because I certainly did not want to attract any more cockroaches into our room. So we spent the rest of the evening at the laundromat.... Not what I had envisaged myself doing in New York :)

Tomorrow is our first session with Marcy. I look forward to seeing Marcy again and seeing how Bella responds to the ABM therapy.

Back in the Big Apple

Bella and I are back in New York. It seems quite surreal and almost like I never left because everything is so familiar. Which is a good thing. The trip here was much harder than last time because Bella was not happy to sit in one place for so long. She really wanted to crawl all over the plane which is fantatstic that she is getting so adventurous. Here she is with one of the few times (for safety and security reasons) that she was allowed on the floor.

The weather is not as cold as I was expecting but still cold enough. Bella is not happy about being wrapped up with a beanie on her head. I managed to coax a smile out of her in the second photo.

Yesterday Bella and I met up with Lori, an old friend of mine and had some lunch.  I had to keep Bella awake to try get her onto New York time but she was sobbing with exhaustion by the time she went to bed last night. 'Poor wee lamb' as Magogo would say......
Today I did some shopping and and have already broken my rules but all the winter sales are on!!!!!!!!!!!

We start therapy with Marcy on Wednesday and I am very interested to see what she says about Bella's progress in the last 4 months. She is doing so nicely and is now bear walking all around our hotel room including up a stair into the bathroom so I better go rescue her. Bye..

Can't believe I didn't tell you...

how Max superglued his eye shut in December. He was trying to build a chicken house and rubbed superglue in his eye. Here he is in the emergency room after having his eyelashes cut open and his eye cleaned.

January 2010 - Full steam ahead

Its only the 12 January and it has been a hectic month already...

We went to see the DAN practioner on Wednesday last week and she has put Bella on GFCF diet and a whole range of supplements. We are sending some tests off overseas to confirm what she saw in Bella's live blood analysis. One of the tests required her hair to be sent to the lab so I had to cut off a huge patch of hair at the back of her head which looked so silly with the long curls on top of Bella's head. In the end we had to cut most of her much shorter which is quite upsetting because I was enjoying 'styling' her curls with pretty clips etc. Anyway, small things..... We started Bella on the new diet regime and she is definitely sleeping better and seems a lot brighter and doing a lot more exploring around the house. Its hard to pinpoint it to the diet because she has also finished the Phenobarb completely. I would love to chat to some Moms who have done the whole GFCF thing.

We went back to the Opthalamologist for a check up because I had noticed Bella seems to have a squint developing. The eye doc was very happy with improvement in her vision since October 2008 (when she now tells me Bella couldn't see anything). She said that her vision is perfect and that the squint is quite common and she thinks unrelated to Bella's other problems. It will either go away or she will need glasses or eye surgery. We have to go back in April to see what has happened. I discussed this with Bella's OT and she has recommended some eye exercises to strengthen her eye muslces if it is just due to eye muscle weakness. It is quite possible so because it is an intermittent squint which happend randomly in both eyes.

Bella had her check-up EEG yesterday which was supposed to be a 2 hour sleeping EEG. I didn't sedate because she normally doesnt react well but instead decided to time it over a sleep time. Needless to say Bella thought it would be way more fun to pull the cords of her head and try to climb out of her pram.

After her EEG cut off the offending glue with the extra long curls to try and turn her bad hair day into a good hair day..

We should get the results of the now 20 minute EEG this week before we leave for New York this Saturday. I can't believe how quickly time has passed and we are off for our second Anat Baniel Method session. I am not sure what I want to come out of this session. Last time I wanted Bella to crawl but I do not want to push the walking yet because she needs to spend a fait bit of time crawling. So I think I am just going to go with the flow...

I am so stressed out about leaving Max. I have had the feeling that he is more prepared for it than last time but as the time draws nearer I can see that he is starting to get stressed :(

The next time I write I will probably be in New York.

Christmas, New Year and a look back at 2009

I have not written anything for quite a while so sit back and enjoy...

Christmas and New Year

We have a had a wonderful December holiday. We all went to stay with my Gran in Simonstown in Cape Town for Christmas which qualifies as our second beach family holiday. My sister Helen came out from London, my uncle and cousins from Canada and my Aunt and cousins from Minnesota. It was wonderful to see everyone and for everyone to meet Bella. The last time my Uncle Al saw Bella was when she was in a serious way in hospital with her seizures. We have come so far since then.

Max and Bella both loved the beach! Max had so much fun spotting penguins, collecting shells, throwing see weed on everyone, building sandcastles and having brief swims in the cold water. Bella just loved digging in the sand and sitting at the edge of the water. It was lovely for Grant and  I to visit the beaches we went to as students with our 2 beautiful children!

On New Years Eve, Mom and Lexi looked after our kids so we all went to a party at Gordie and V's. Mom drove us there in Sheens car with us all sitting in the boot. We all had a good laugh because we felt like teenagers again being dropped off at a party by our parents :-) Oh what a night is all I can say... If you want more details you should speak to Helen. And Helen if you are reading this, please hurry up and send me some of the holiday photos you took so I can post them on this blog... Mwah!

I am now back at work getting everything organised for out trip to New York next week for some more Anat Baniel Method therpay. Bella's eyes have started to squint a bit so I have managed to get us an appointment with the opthalmologist this Friday after a lot of begging and pleading with the receptionist. I did not want to wait until February. Bella is now off the Phenobarbitone YAY!!! But she put on a fair bit of weight over Christmas (didn't we all) and so we may have to increase her Tegretol levels. I am desperate to keep her stable as any hiccups and I will have to cancel her trip to New York.

I have also decided to move forward with the biomedical / DAN Defeat Autism Now / Nutrition interventions. I am seeing Carin Smit tomorrow who is one of the only DAN practitioners I can find in Johannesburg South Africa. I am quite excited about this intervention and after a fair bit of research this holiday I think it will benefit Bella. On of the Mom's blogs I read did a great post on alternative therapies which you can access by clicking on this link Alternative Therapies  The very last therapy she covers is the Biomedical interventions.

Max is growing up so fast but still is my little boy. He is so sensitive and caring and I am so proud of him. Some of the things he says are too cute for words and I am planning to do a blog of all of his expressions.

He is staying in play school this year and will only start big school next year. I know he will miss me when I go to New York but I think he will manage better this time..

Oh and by the way, I haved stopped smoking as of  yesterday using Allen Carr's Easyway!

Looking back at 2009

The best way to review this year is to start at the beginning, 1 January 2009 12:01am :

On New Years Eve 2008 Bella had just been released from hospital after having another series of breakthrough seizures. We stayed at home with Helen and Rico and had a quiet night. As the clocked ticked over to 2009 we were listening to the song The Rose by Bette Midler and very worried about what lay ahead for us. At this stage Bella could roll from back to front and vice versa, she could sit with a lot of support and was a very smily girl.

In January and February we had two more incidents of breakthrough seizures and Bella was diagnosed with Cortical Dysplasia on the righ parietal lobe just before her 1st birthday. We were very happy to find that she had a non progressive static condition but this condition or 'label' brings its own expectations.

After February 2009 things settled down for us. Bella did not have any further breakthroughs, she stopped the ACTH steroids and started to progress. We added Tegretol and started the Phenobarbitone weaning process. After the many ups and downs of the year I can list Bella's majpor milestones as:

Can sit up independently

Can crawl on hands and knees

Can pull herself up to standing

Can feed herself with a bottle

Can feed herself with some assistance with a spoon

Anticipates events and sequences

Understands object permanence

Understands cause and effect

Starting to vocalise Ma ma ma

Has seperation anxiety

Can pick up her bottle with one hand

Can do very basic multi-tasks

I am sure there is more but I just can't think of them right now. But most importantly she is a happy, affectionate and playful little girl. I doubt I would have believed it if I had been told where we would be at the end of 2009..

And of course Max's achievments are endless but I will list the ones that I am particularly proud of:

Max knows all of herbs and has planted a beautiful herb and veggie garden with Grant

Max's body image pictures at school progressed from a primitive circle and lines to a body with clothes on and a background of grass, sky, sun and trees

Max has learnt to hit a tennis ball, kick a soccer ball, hit a cricket ball, bang a volley ball with huge accuracy and determination

Max has learnt to swim unaided and is completely fearless about jumping into the pool off a high ledge

Max learnt to ride a pedal bicycle in record time (about 10 minutes)... super balance

Max has grown up into a very empathetic and protective brother. He always considers Bella in anything he wants to do and is respectful and understanding of her current limitations...

Max my boy, I am super proud of you!!! Grant, let me know if you want to add anything

What a crazy and unexpected year it has been. I hope that 2010 brings similar blessings as 2009 did.

Back to Normal

I have not written anything for quite a while because I have just been busy enjoying being back to normal. For a long time everything has felt like a long hard battle. Recently things have been going smoothly and we have been doing lots of 'normal' things. Grant and I have been to quite a few christmas functions including The Killers concert which was awesome. Bella has been progressing nicely and is very happy. She is improving almost daily now that we are nearly off the Phenobarb (last day will be 28 Dec)..All of her therapists have noticed the change in her. She is far more explorative, focused and interactive. The other day she crawled from the dining room into the kitchen and started pulling the cereal boxes out of the cupboard.

This last weekend we went to our annual kids christmas party with friends and I refelcted on how far we have come in the last year. Its really quite amazing!! Last year Sheens took the kids to feed the bunny rabbits next door and they saw an owl. This year, on Sunday, we saw an owl swoop down onto the tree in Sheen's garden, followed shortly by another owl and then another owl. Three owls in total.....

Max has been such a super star this last year and has really been through a hard time as well. Bella is now at a stage where she can play a bit with Max and he is such a gentle protective brother.

Everything is as it should be and we are back to normal (albeit our new normal)

Phenobarbital Question

Bella had her appointment with Dr T today. Her phenobarb level is 27 umol/L which is well below the therapeutic range which starts at 41 umol/L. Her dose is now 1.8 mg/kg which is also below the normal dose. We are going to speed up the weaning process slightly and she will be off the Phenobarb by the end of December. Even though the level is so low I still worry that it may be having some therapeutic effect at these levels. When Bella was on Phenobarb monotherapy she needed a level over 100 umol/L  and a dose of 10 mg/kg for seizure control so I am hoping that it is not still contributing to seizure control at these levels. Does anyone know if there could still be a therapeutic benefit at these low levels?

On a lighter note Bella is pulling herself up into standing which is a great new achievement.....

Tuesday update

I have been very busy lately and so has Bella.. Bella is now holding her bottle and feeding herself, she can crawl up a stair and is exploring a lot more around the house. The work we have been doing to de-sensitise her mouth seems to be working because she is putting a lot more into her mouth other than just her fingers...

Max had his school concert last week and was a fantastic lion. I cant believe this is his 3rd year at nursery school!! It amazes me how he manages to remember the words and actions to so many songs. Here is a picture of Max just after the concert eating some well deserved cake.

We are seeing Dr T on Friday and will be doing Bella's Phenobarbitone and Tegretol blood levels. Her Phenobarb level should be really low by now and hopefully we can finish the whole weaning process as soon as possible. I am very anxious for her to be off it and to see that she can cope without it.

This week is also special because it is 14 years ago today that I met Grant and it is also Grants birthday on the 1st of December...... Our festive season has officially started!

Sad, grateful and tired

I have had quite a strange week. I have been following little Gavin Owens website over the last week and felt very sad as he earned his angel wings. At the same time am I so grateful that Bella did not have a metabolic or mitochondrial disease as it was initially thought. I am also tired, very tired of not knowing what the future holds. But at least Bella is with me, is moving forward, is wanting me, is happy and is alive!

Holiday photos

Bella loving being outside in the sun

Still teething

Max enjoying breakfast at The Lighthouse Cafe

On the beach and loving the sand. Look at the little hippy ankle bracelet

Brother and sister, like two peas in a pod

Happy and clean after a long day in the sun

My song for Bella

Whenever I hear the song The Climb by Miley Cyrus I think of Bella....
Here are the lyrics. I don't think I need to say more...

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb


The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause


There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb


There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about
It's all about
The climb

Fishing and drinking Vida coffee

We arrived in Umhlanga yesterday after having a 2 hour delay on the runway. The airplane was delayed due to bad weather. When we arrived Max spotted a fishing net in the hotel shop which we bought. Max then gave Grant and I a lecture on proper fishing protocol. You only ever eat the first fish and the rest you put back. Very importantly you must give the fish you caught a big 'love' before you eat it! This morning he spent a long time in the tidal pools but did not catch anythig. Then.... on our way out he made a beeline for the Koi pond at the hotel entrance and tried to catch a Koi fish!

In New York we worked on Bella's intentions with her hands and tried to get her to take her bottle. This skill has come a long way and she is now reaching for her bottle and bringing it to her mouth. She will even choose which bottle she wants if I put a milk and juice bottle next to each other. This morning we got a Vida E Cafe coffee in Umhlanga and Bella tried to take my coffee cup and drink it. Associating my coffee with something to drink is a big step forward!

Bella loved exploring on the beach and was covered in beach sand from head to toe in no time!

We are going on a summer holiday....

We are going on holiday tomorrow!!! This is a major event since we have not been on holiday since May 2007. We are going to Umhlanga Sands which is right on the beach. Max is super excited and keeps talking about taking swimming slippers (which are in fact flippers). I am also really excited to see how Bella reacts to the beach sand and waves.

Bella is so cute at the moment and has suddenly become very interested in our dogs. She loves to watch them play and squeals with delight! She had a great morning at riding therapy and seemed to really be taking the whole experience in. Too cute for words.

Bella is back

Since we got back from New York Bella has been teething and never quite did what she was doing in New York. I was starting to get a bit worried and was wondering if I had imagined it but Bella is Bella is Bella... She does what she wants when she wants to and last night she was back to her New York self. Lots of babbling saying mamamama, wawawawa and babababa... She also crawled out of Max's room to look for me and then back into Max's room when she heard Grant talking! Yesterday she also had a really good day at Physio and crawled through a long tunnel a few times and she also crawled over a block obstacle course to reach her favourite toy. Bella is back!

For anyone who wants to know more about the Anat Baniel Method here is a link to the website:

Anat Baniel Method for Children

I haved booked to go back to Marcy in January. Marcy's full details are as follows:

Name: Marcy Lindheimer
The Children's Practice: ABM Center NYC
2109 Broadway #9-93,
New York, NY - 10023

"Specializing in ABM for children of all ages in NYC, Chicago and the ABM Center in San Rafael."

Phone: 212-362-8597
Fax: 212-580-8809
E-mail: mlindheimr@aol.com

Home sweet home

We arrived back on Friday after an uneventful flight. Bella has managed this whole trip extremely well!
It was so nice to everyone at home especially Max. He has been so sweet and loving to me but I can see that he has struggled and is a bit insecure. Our garden has just blossomed while I have been away and is looking lovely. It was my Dad's birthday on the 17th so we had a good South African braai on Saturday night. What bliss to eat home style food. Here is a picture of my Dad on hiw new Harley Davidson.

Bella went to see her Neurologist yesterday and Dr T is very pleased with her progress, We are now going to continue with her Phenobarbitone weaning schedule. I am a bit ner vous about it but it will be so good for Bella's development if we can get her off this medicine.

Bella has continued with her crawling though it did slow down a bit for the first few days we were back but she seems to be back on track now. I am busy setting up speech therapy for her now as she is now ready for it. That brings our list of therapies to 9 per week excluding everything we do at home. I am back to my hectic life already. New York seems like a breeze!

Last few days in New York

Bella has been doing beautifully. She is moving with far more purpose and I am really happy with the therapy. I intend on writing a blog which details my understanding about some the principles of the Anat Baniel Method (ABM). We will definitely be coming back again!!!

I have downloaded my pictures and have inserted them in some of my older posts...

We have had a very busy few days. Yesterday we went up to the top of the Rockerfeller centre, this is not for someone who is scared of heights. When you get in the lift they switch the lights off and the ceiling is made of glass. There are lights which light up the elevator shaft so you can see how far and fast you are going up as the lift races (and I mean races) to the top floor. Quite scary. Here is a picture of central park from the roof of the Rockerfeller centre.

Last night we went for a picnic in Central Park in the Strawberry fields just outside John Lennon's apartment building where he was murdered. (V had to educate me on the fact that John Lennon had a song about Strawberry fields). As we were leaving there were people singing and putting flowers down on the IMAGINE memorial mosaic.

It has been so great having V here with me. We have had a great time and I so appreciate her having joined me. Thank you V if you are reading this... One thing I can say is Oh Boy V can shop. Here is her 'Shopping Shelf' after just 4 days...

We are coming home tomorrow and I just can't wait!!

The weekend in New York

We had a wonderful weekend in NY with V. The weather was beautiful and we did some serious shopping! Bella only had one session this weekend just to give her a little break. This evening she crawled about 1 meter without a toy to entice her. I was standing in the kitchen and she just crawled to me!!

Yesterday we went to back to Times Square for some more toy shopping and had a lovely dinner at Isabella's.Today we went on a tour and saw Madison Gardens, Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty to name a few. In between all of this V and I walked about 50 blocks so we are both completely exhausted tonight. We also went to central park and had a horse drawn carriage ride. Tomorrow we plan on going to Harlem and on a harbour cruise.

To end off, I saw another NY character today, a Rastafarian Chinese man doing Yoga on the pavement outside our hotel....

Singing in the rain

It has been pouring with rain in New York today. Bella and I had a duvet day and just relaxed. Luckily there is a laundromat in the hotel so I did some washing. It was quite drama going to Marcy in the rain. There I was holding two umbrellas, pushing Bella's pram and trying to dodge the traffic and the puddles. While I was doing this Bella was squeeling with delight at the wind and rain. Her noises were so cute it sounded just like she was singing in the rain...

Here is a picture of Bella, its not a great one but I really struggled to take a photo in the rain.

My Dancing Girl

We had a good session with Marcy this morning. Again Marcy commented on how well Bella transitions. In fact her exact words were "Bella's transitions are exquisite" and that I must definitely take her for dancing lesssons when she is older because her transitions are so smooth and beautiful. Bella going for dancing lessons is not something I have thought of since she was born. Wow, what a mind shift!!

A lot of the work we have been doing here is trying to develop Bella's intentions. Marcy feels that she has all the capability to move but needs to learn motivation and intention with her movements. She is already more motivated in reaching her toys and intentionally crawling a few steps towards them. Once Bella is completely off the Phenobarb it will also help a lot with her motivation. A lot of Bella's toys are more 'amusement' toys and I need to look for more toys which will require her to do something to get an outcome. I certainly dont need any excuses to shop....

Tomorrow is September 11th and there is a lot of preparation going on here for the ceremonies. The whole block around our hotel has been barricaded so I am sure something is going to be happening in our block tomorrow.

V arrives on Saturday which I am really excited about. It will be really nice to see some of New York with her. I am looking forward to coming home and to giving Max his bag of toys and treats. The little M.A.N has been super brave.

Teething and Rollerblades

Bella has been super grumpy today. Shouting a lot and generally being otherwise. I noticed that she keeps putting her finger at the back of her mouth and when I managed to get a look in her mouth I can see that one of her back teeth is coming through. The inside of her cheek is bleeding and it looks like she has bitten the inside of her cheek. No wonder she has been so grumpy but its really bad timing. She also hasnt done much of her new crawling the last 2 days. But thats how she has always been. I will go and look for some teething gel tomorrow and hopefully it will be better than the South African ones because those dont help her at all. When I went to chemist to see if I could get some Panado or similar, they seemed horrified that I wanted it without a prescription from a Paediatrician. Luckily I seem to have enough with me anyway.

Marcy has also been talking a lot about sensory issues which ties in with what Kate (Bella's OT) says. I also noticed that a fair bit of the work Marcy does is similar to what Nicki does (Bella's Physio). From what it sounds like the Physio's in America do things quite differently to those in South Africa. I just keep realising what excellent Doctors etc we have in South Africa.

The kitchenette in our hotel room does not have an electric kettle. It has a 'pot' kettle which you use on the gas stove to boil water. This was quite a challenge in the beginning but now I am used to it. But, I am really missing Grant's cooking. The food here is so oily and I really dont know what to eat. I can't wait to come home and have some nice clean healthy food. Luckily I brought some Woolies Honeybush Rooibos tea with me.. Interestingly enough Starbucks coffee shop has Vanilla Rooibos on their menu. I must try it out...

I have done a lot of strolling on the streets with Bella. Now I know why Americans call Prams 'Strollers'. Today I saw a very funny sight. I was standing at a major intersection waiting to cross the road when a very old chinese lady flew across the road on a pair of rollerblades. The NY taxi's nearly crashed into her but she just carried on completely oblivious to the chaos she had caused.

More tomorrow..........

 

Day 4 for the Transition Queen

Today was our first day of double therapy and I was a bit worried about it because Bella seemed very sick
this morning. She did really nicely though and I think the antibiotic is starting to work. I was amazed at
all the different people who have come from all over America to bring their children here for ABM therapy
with Marcy. There are even people who have moved to New York so that their kids can have regular therapy. I
met a little girl who had a stroke at birth and is now learning ballet and to play the piano. Wow!!!

Bella had 2 good sessions and I am starting to understand the therapy more, the key elements being information
and differentiation. I am starting to see some progress with Bella and again Marcy commented on how well she
transitions between positions. She even said she is her Transition Queen. Now I am starting to worry about
how I can come back again in terms of money, time, leaving Max etc etc.... One step at a tim for both myself and
Bella.

Session 3

Bella had her third session with Marcy which went much better now that she has finally had some sleep. Marcy is impressed with Bella's movements and ability to transition between positions. She does not think her ability to move is a problem at all and wants to rather focus on working on her 'intent' /  'purpose' when she moves so that Bella can really understand what she is doing.

I have had so many comments on how beautiful Bella is, which is why her name Isabella which means beautiful is so appropriate....

Tomorrow we will have 2 sessions so I am off to enjoy some retail therapy now.