We finished our Early Intervention therapies at the end of January. While it was a little sad to see them end, I'm glad that we've transitioned very well. I got cards for the therapists and Bug "wrote" on them, which made me happy too :)
Speech with Laura is going very well I think! We do 45 minute sessions and it seems like Bug does pretty well for the first 30 or so, then starts getting a little more resistant to her tactics. On Friday I was sitting outside the room and it was neat to see Bug sitting down and playing with Laura, offering phrases and repeating the words she said. Happily, I feel like we're seeing at least some of that come home with him too. He can often tell us "Daddy/Mommy, I want ____" without us prompting. He even will correct himself sometimes if he pronounces something wrong.
OT...Well, I finally got a hold of the office we want to go to and scheduled an eval for Bug. Unfortunately, it's not until the middle of March so we'll be having a bit of a lag. I've been trying to get Bug some sensory experiences (playing with flubber, the bean table, going out in the snow, etc) but I can tell he's missing the parks and all that physical play and swinging. Happily, our weather should cooperate this week, so we'll probably be spending A LOT of time outside.
On the plus,
Next year I think I'm going to make him a winter coat all from fleece and see if he'll wear that. It's becoming very aware to me that he is bothered by certain textures, and I wonder if he doesn't like the roughness of most coats.
At the advice of our pediatrician, we've contacted a developmental pediatrician to seek a diagnosis for Bug. Basically the rationale is that if we have a medical diagnosis, that will open more doors for therapy options. We have to return paperwork before getting an appointment, so I'm not quite sure when Bug will be seen, but prayers are appreciated!
Onto fun stuff:
Bug also seems to be into balloons lately. I bought some for the boys' birthdays and once they stopped floating I took the strings off and put them in the playroom. Bug likes to throw them up and try to catch them--more interest in a game like that than he's ever shown before! Adam was throwing a ball to him through the tunnel last night and Bug thought that was super fun too. He kept bringing the ball back around for Adam to do it again. We couldn't get him to throw it back through, but it was the closest to cooperative play we've seen!
I took the boys to the library last week and Bug had a really good time. We'd gone before, with iffy results, but it looks like it'll start being a more regular activity for us. We happened to show up as they were finishing a toddler story time and they had a big parachute that they were throwing balls on and the kids were standing under. Bug insisted on going in there so he could join in! I guess I'll have to look up when storytime is! I do think it'll be a bit of a stretch for us, but worth a try! He also loves the huge windows in the reading area that overlook a pond with fountain. It was hard to pull him away from that when it was time to go.
I'm super proud of how well Bug has been doing in new or difficult situations. He still has the occasional tantrum, but overall he is cooperative and listens to me. Even at the doctor's, he did way better than he had in a really long time! Yay Bug!
Last night he tried taco meat--which he hadn't eaten in a really long time--it was great to see him revisit a meat that he did really like. We're still working to offer him new tastes, but it's definitely an uphill struggle.
So I think that catches us up pretty well. Things are going well, even if we're not seeing earth-shattering improvements. :)
