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/

The dark days are mostly behind us..

Hello dear family and friends

I missed posting last week because it was a zoo at work but today is a grey day and its causing the street to be quiet. 

There's our boy all snug as a bug in his little bed in the NICU. 

Having a baby in general is an incredible journey and many mothers feel a surge of emotions a few days after the baby is born (it usually coincides with milk coming in) and not all of those emotions feel good. I feel that it is so important to spread awareness as a doula and a mother that having a baby is an exciting time but its okay if it also feels bad. 

After Huxley was born I was in shock and a constant state of fight or flight. Everyday that I sat with him in NICU I tried to 'pull up my socks' and be the bravest I could be. Hux was about four months old when I felt like I just couldn't be brave anymore. I needed help. I was so fortunate to be referred to an amazing clinical counselor  named Traci McGee. Here's a blurb from her website: 

Typically, mothers access the Post Partum Support Program by a referral from a public health nurse, physician, midwife, social worker or an agency that is part of the Greater Victoria health community. The Post Partum Support Program is sponsored by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (Island Health).

It is an amazing free service available for mamas in need in the Greater Victoria area. 

The two things in these sessions that I felt helped the most: 

1) It is okay to feel the way I was feeling. It is odd but sometimes as humans we just need permission to feel vulnerable and afraid. 

2) I needed to find my tribe. (My words not hers haha). I was a part of several new baby groups but unless you have a child with special needs you can't fully understand what its like. I needed to find people like me that had children like Huxley! I don't know why I didn't think about it myself but that simple suggestion from Traci guided me to the biggest support we have. 

HOPE FOR HIE

The link above is the foundations page but the Facebook forum which has a 1000+ members that all have children like Huxley has been an incredible resource and place of refuge. The moment I joined the group and started reading the posts I felt a big wave of relief wash over me. The children described were Huxley. Finally I wasn't alone anymore. 

We are SO lucky to be living in this age of social media. I cannot imagine how trying it would have been to have Huxley in the years before the internet and social media. 

Whatever your struggle is, I'm certain there is a group out there waiting to meet you. It is okay to be vulnerable and it is okay to seek help.  

Our days are filled with love, hope, and so many hugs. Sometimes the darkness creeps back up but one smile from our beautiful boy and it all melts away. 

That's all for now folks, so much love. 

Inchstone Update :)

Hi Everyone :)

My amazing attentive and determined hubby has been working a lot with Huxley to get him comfy with the 'Tomato Chair' and here's a VIDEO to show you how its working!

Sitting and eating!

He ate macaroni and cheese like a big kid!!

Happy in his chair!

Sitting with mama!

Happy boy working hard :) So proud of my hubby and his dedication to Huxley.

xo.