Best time of year!

Man alive I've been neglectful on the blog front! Partially its because the breastfeeding course I was taking kicked my butt. Thankfully the course is finished and I can now practice as a breastfeeding educator! 

Christmas season this year has been way way way more fun then it was last year, Hux was only 6 months last year at Christmas.

This year he is participating a lot more and it is adorable! Huxley's 'receptive' language is really blossoming and it is so neat! Each morning Huxley and I take part in the advent calendar that I made:) 

One of my favourite games is to ask Huxley where things are all around the room and he shows us where they are with his gaze because he isn't pointing. It is amazing to see all the words that he knows. I think 'advent calendar' and 'Christmas tree' are among his favourite haha. 

Huxley helped us decorate the tree, we've made a few Christmas crafts, and we have plans to go visit a few of the Christmas themed displays in town :)

In early December Huxley had an ABM intensive with a lovely instructor that came up from the states to work with a few kiddos. It was six sessions in three days, Hux was exhausted but we really love this therapy and see the benefits. 

Some new things Huxley is doing: 

1) You can ask Huxley to give you a 'low five' and he'll pop his hand into yours which is awesome!

2) A favourite game of Huxley's is to knock over things that are on the table with his foot, we call it 'skamp foot' he laughs his head off. 

3) As always, we continue to work hard on seating with Hux. He is being placed in different seating positions throughout the day and he is slowly getting more comfortable. 

Sensory bins help :) Beads and Christmas sparkles!

4) Huxley just got a walker, our physio said she wasn't going to give us one until she thought Huxley was ready and the other day she brought one! He loves it so far but its a lot of work, hoping to get a great video soon to post! 

5) Huxley knows to turn pages in a book :) 

6) I finally got Huxley on my back again in a carrier after a major break

As we come towards the end of the year I start to think about everything we did and how far Huxley has come! He is an amazing little person, we couldn't be more proud. Huxley is on a slow but uphill climb on this path called life. I just love how hard he tries and how curious he is to learn about everything around him. My biggest wish for next year would be to travel with Huxley in the car because there is a whole big world out there to see and learn about! 

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season! 

Love the Stuckenbergs <3 <3 

What happened in Spooktober??

October blew by. 

I'm heading into the final weeks of my breastfeeding educator course, tomorrow I will spend the whole day on the labour and delivery floor at the hospital to observe new mamas breastfeeding. I have several more observations to complete, a group project, and a final exam. Busy bee! 

In October I always try to do as many Halloween things as possible, it's a favourite holiday for me, it's right up there with Christmas. I had my fill of pumpkin beers, I carved pumpkins, got spooked at a haunted farm, and got to take Huxley out for his first trick or treating experience! 

Here's our little monkey and his treat pail :)

What's new with Mr. Huxley? 

• Huxley has been having fun learning to maneuver his belly scooter and I was able to capture this awesome VIDEO of him roaming all over the kitchen! 
• He loves knocking down block towers that we build, sometimes I can't build them fast enough haha
• He is really interested in how something can go into something and you can also pull something back out! I stuff his bunny into a cup and he pulls it out, he has been practicing putting one stacking cup into another one. It's adorable how excited he gets about it :)

• Here's Hux in his stander playing with cars! He loves cars, we have wind up ones that zip around really fast. He is reaching out purposefully so well for objects that he wants to play with. He's getting a bit locked up in his stander and other equipment right now so we might have to take a break. It's so interesting how one day he's totally fine doing a certain activity and then the next he has a full blown melt down. I have to remind myself that he is a toddler haha and that he is probably exhibiting typical toddler behaviour. 

• Huxley loves sensory play, I did this 'mess free' sensory halloween craft with him! Look at the beautiful art he created by smooshing paint around on a saran wrapped surface 

• This child loves swinging. Look at that pure joy. We have to buy him an indoor swing so he can feel this way everyday. 
• Sitting in equipment such as his 'tomato chair' is not going very well right now, as I said things sometimes come and go and we haven't been able to take him in a car for probably six months so sometimes we feel a little 'trapped' at home but our therapists are all very sympathetic and they are trying their best to help us to help him feel comfy. 

When some everyday things like 'sitting' are hard for Huxley its easy to get swept into worry. All we can do is give him the tools necessary to succeed and fill him with lots of love. I'll be so consumed with worry and then he'll show us something amazing like hold 'four point' (all fours position) all by himself for several seconds. It happened the other day and it surprised me so much! His determination has always been inspiring. As always thanks for reading <3 <3 

We are looking forward to Christmas and we have an Anat Baniel Method instructor coming from the states (she used to live in Victoria) to work with Huxley and that is very exciting too! Click Anat Baniel Method for more info :) Stay tuned pals!

World Cerebral Palsy Day!

What does this day mean to me?  

I believe that every day could be spent helping others to understand what cerebral palsy is in order to encourage awareness and support for the cause, but when there is a designated 'awareness day' it helps to spread the information faster with a mass of people that also want to share. 

A company called 'Firefly' that designs supportive equipment for children with special needs came up with a list of cerebral palsy facts and I'm going to share them in hopes that it is an eye opener for you and it will perhaps answer some of your questions and maybe spark some questions that you might like to ask, (I'm always happy to answer questions!)

 

 Such great information! I hope you enjoyed reading it :) 

What's new?

Hey all! 

I wasn't able to post last week because I had a massive amount of reading to do for my breastfeeding educator course! I'm so excited about this class :) Our first section of reading is about the benefits to breastfeeding. I'm finding it interesting reading about the protective enzymes in human milk and what it can do to boost a baby's immune system. It makes me want to re-lactate so Hux can get all the benefits!

Check out what I made! Wipe wash solution in the big glass jar and muscle rub for Huxley, we put it on his body for overnight because he doesn't get a nightly dose of Baclofen and it seems to help him feel more relaxed come morning time! I have a massive project list but these two are quick and easy so they were finished first :) 

Little Mr. Huxley having fun in the leaves :) 

We've started feeding therapy its a slow process, but Hux is still doing pretty well in the weight department so I'm thankful for that. We'll be going to a music/speech class in Oct/Nov so yay! Huxley LOVES music :)

Check out this VIDEO of Huxley! He's trying with fierce determination to get mobile !

I think that's all for now pals, until next time

xo

Pregnancy Happy Hour!

Locals to Victoria, Have you heard of Pregnancy Happy Hour?!

It's a fabulous pregnancy group that meets for tea and a chat every Friday evening at 5pm at 'Mothering Touch' the centre for new and expectant parents!

(which just so happens to be where I've been working for the past 4 years!) 

Pregnancy Happy Hour in the nest!

When I was pregnant with Huxley I closed the store at 6pm but always made sure that I ran into the space that we call 'the nest' to sit in on the last half hour of the group. It was a safe and comfortable space to share with others about everything and anything that was going on during our pregnancy. 

Founder, Director & Co-Owner of The Mothering Touch Centre

Mothering Touch's very own Eva Bild facilitates the group and I cannot say enough about how amazing her wealth of knowledge is on the subject of pregnancy, labour, postpartum care, and beyond! Eva always has a story to share and valuable advice to put you at ease. 

This group is fantastic at any stage of pregnancy, one thing I really enjoyed was the different perspectives that all the different women were able to give, each experience of pregnancy is unique and there is always something to learn about this very vast topic. Once you start going to pregnancy happy hour you can't help but return each week to see how everyone else is progressing and new questions pop up during each stage of the journey. The friends I made in the group became my 'new mom' friends after we had our babies, we started going to new baby group together, and now at a year we are all still friends! I felt so thankful to meet other expectant women because I was the first to have a baby out of most of my friends and this group made the experience feel much less isolating. 

Please feel free to share with your friends about the group because it truly is an asset for expectant women here in Victoria and we love to meet new people! 

Here I am at the start of my 3rd trimester in the nest!

Thanks for reading! 

Positive minds live positive lives.

Last posting I shared a little about what it was like living in what I can only describe as 'darkness' during the early months after Huxley was born. Matty and I used a white board to write down all of the positives that happened within the day as one way to feel uplifted and it really helped. The white board was turned into a schedule board a few months later and now sits unused. I think that instead of the board i'll share some positives on here every once and a while. 

As I sit on our couch with my feet up, dog by my side, hot cup of earl grey on the go, bedtime jazz playing in the background, and the smell of wet earth floating through the room mixed with cinnamon in-scents I realize that I am happy. 

For the moment all is well. 

If you hadn't heard, Matthew has graduated with his masters in political science. I had the privileged to attend his defense and I couldn't be more proud and inspired. How on earth was he able to conquer such a milestone with the year we just had?! Matthew is the most driven, passionate, and dedicated person I know. Through all the trials he still managed to be an amazing dad and my biggest lifeline. I would have crumbled if it wasn't for him. 

In thirteen days I will be attending a lactation consultant course at UVIC for one semester and I couldn't be more excited. Birth culture and community have become so important to me in these last five years or so and I am jazzed to add to my skill set and to become educated to help women with one of the most challenging things they will ever do. Feed their babies. Just as many refrain from sharing the massive shift that happens when you have a child, the trials of learning to feed your baby is also a best kept secret. Hopefully with this next level of education I will be able to help better inform women about not only the joys of feeding their babies but also the importance of knowledge when it comes to some of the challenges that can arise.

We had a lovely walk and lunch with some dear friends, Huxley did so well. Its not often that we dine out all together as a family so it was a rare treat. Here's a picture of a very sweet moment during the lunch :)

Today I decided that I need to start up a home yoga practice again. At times i've felt like i'm falling away from who I was before Huxley was born so piece by piece I'm going to try to put parts of my former self back together but modified a little with our special amazing boy.

Well friends that's all for now, bed is calling, tea is empty, my heart is full.

<3

Sensory play is awesome! And Updates :)

Hi everyone :)

Are you familiar with sensory play??

If not, let me enlighten you :) Sensory play isn't just for kids with special needs, it's fun play for kids of all abilities!

"Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your young child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. Sensory activities and sensory tables facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. Spending time stimulating their senses helps children develop cognitively, linguistically, socially and emotionally, physically and creatively."

Huxley LOVES sensory play! It encourages him to open his hands more, to reach/grasp objects, and to explore with all his senses! 

Mr. Huxley enjoying water play on the left, exploring how water feels on his hands and finding little objects too!

Playing with yogurt on the right, sensory play for taste, smell, and texture

Sensory bottle that I made, exploring the texture of ribbons and the noise of the crackly bottle, the bottle is filled with little coloured objects for his eyes to explore.

Huxley playing with kinetic sand on the left in his stander, on the right playing with bright colored noisy paper on dad! 

Feathers were a hit, can you tell?


In other news, QA brought us a table that works with Huxleys tomato chair! Now he can play like a big kid! Oh my goodness, it looks like he is at school. Oh my heart!

This lovely rainbow looking display below is my new favourite thing. It's an essential oil kit! A special needs forum i'm a part of has many users of essential oils and they were raving about the results on not only their kiddos but on themselves too. I've made a rub for Huxleys muscles, several different diffuser combos that help for various different reasons, and I plan on making many other treats with it! So fun! 

Finally I will share with you a medical update.. We finally got Huxley in to see the only pediatric ophthalmologist there is on the island! We have been waiting for months. He's worth the wait though, he is amazing. If you haven't noticed this about Huxley, his eyes wander sometimes. Dr. Pegado said that his muscles over time might be able to strengthen enough to resolve the wander but there is a 50/50 chance that he might need a super non-invasive surgery to correct in the future but he does not need glasses and otherwise his eyes look good. The picture below gives a good example of the wander. It's a muscle tone issue which of course is par for the course with cerebral palsy. 

Thanks for reading <3 

Tha

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Sensory Play and Early Child Development. (n.d) retrieved August 22 2015, from PBS.org Web Site: http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/sensory-play/