Watch Out....She's on the Move!

Whitney has become much more mobile lately. She has got the army crawl down and will not stay in one place. She is all over the house. As much as I'd like to keep her off the cold tile, she insists on scooting around on it. She literally cannot be left alone for more than a few minutes because she will get into something! You have no idea how happy that makes me :) Her favorite places to go are the laundry room and the pantry. She always finds something fun to play with on the floor in these rooms. She has also learned to stay away from Lilly's cage (our new puppy). We keep Lilly in an icrate in the kitchen when it's too cold outside and she is quite the nipper. She has some sharp little puppy teeth. Whitney has learned not to stick her fingers in the cage because we have warned her that "Lilly bites!" She will creep over to Lilly's cage and get really close, but then she looks over at us as if to ask, "Does she still bite today?" We say in a low voice, "Lilly bites." And she backs away and scoots into another room! I took a short video of Whit army crawling in the kitchen...

I have also been working with Whitney on walking with a gait trainer that her PT let us borrow. It is so exciting to see how much she's improved with the gait trainer. She used to cry a lot when we used it, but lately I can't keep her off of it! We keep her equipment in the dining room and she will scoot into the dining room and try to use the gait trainer without us! I have had to watch her more closely because she hasn't gotten the hang of pulling herself up unassisted yet and I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself without our help. She is really acting like she's ready to start learning to walk with the gait trainer, but I really want to get her a gait trainer like this Kid Walk that she can use on her own without us holding her hands in place and keeping her from falling. As you can see in the video below, she is still really unstable in the torso and with the Kid Walk gait trainer, she would have straps around her torso and a piece in the center crotch area that would help stabilize her and give her the feeling of independence that I believe she needs to start moving on her own. I am going to talk to her PT about either borrowing a gait trainer similar to the Kid Walk or finding help to purchase one of our own. I am still fighting hard to find help with the expenses of medical equipment, but am having no luck so far. She is also due for some new orthotic braces and I'm afraid she is going to need the taller version next time. She has begun turning her left knee in when standing with help whereas before it was only her feet rolling in. The equipment is all very expensive, and even with insurance we are still responsible for a large chunk of change.

We are also still working on getting Whitney a stroller that is adaptable to her needs. I was told about a stroller for special needs children that is similar to a real stroller, but with more support. However, I have been researching and have decided that it would be better to get a stroller that is also the right height to push up to a table and be used as a highchair. This way I could use it at restaurants, etc. We are currently carrying around a stroller and a portable high-back high chair in our car for her to use in restaurants. She is unable to use a typical restaurant high chair because they do not have a back on them and she tends to throw her head back randomly. We are using this high chair, which works great for now, but she is very close to outgrowing it. That is why I'd like to purchase a Leckey Squiggles Seat with Safari Tilt base. It offers the support she needs and is at the appropriate height for eating at a table. Whitney will be 2 years old in a few months and I'd like her to start "sitting" at the table with us. I can't believe she's about to be 2 in May!!! That is so crazy. She's still such a baby to us and I'm loving every minute of it!

Cook Children's has also moved her swallow study from February 4th to February 9th. This will work better for us because Jason will be off work that day and won't have to find someone to trade days with him. I also want to speak with their Speech Therapist who will be there for the study and ask what other services are offered for kids that are this far behind with eating. As you can see in pictures, Whitney is not missing any meals, but I firmly believe the earlier we can get her feeding herself and chewing food, the better her chances will be in the future for regular eating habits.

We are still working with her standing frame too. It is also made by Leckey Squiggles. I have loved this standing frame because she can stay in it for up to an hour a day. I try to play her sign language DVDs while she's in the standing frame. She's a captive audience during this time and I'm hoping she's absorbing the info. I've even got the boys watching the DVDs and working on signs with her. They love it!

There are also many other therapeutic treatments I have come across while reading other children's blogs such as Thera Suit Therapy (VERY expensive) and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy along with many other programs that seem promising. However, after reading these blogs about other children it is apparent that most of them have help from either government agencies or private donations. As I said before, we have been denied by every program that I have applied for. But, we will keep trying and find a way to help Whitney by offering every piece of equipment and therapy that we can.