Long Time Coming

I am about to step on to a BIG soapbox. Stop reading now if you're easily offended when it comes to your kids.

I was at a work party on Saturday and a fellow PT brought her little boy who is 2 months younger than Maisy. Cute kid; except for the helmet. I was flabbergasted. How could a PT let something like this happen? Just because we don't work in peds doesn't mean that we can't notice that our kid's head is always turned to one side creating a flat spot. So what do we do? We stretch them until they're symmetrical. It's what we do. How could you let something like this happen? I can't turn off the PT in me. I hold a kid and I'm facilitating their muscles or challenging them somehow. I can't stop.

Also as a PT we know what normal gross motor development is, and we should be freaking out if our kids aren't reaching those milestones. Just a refresher: (I'm super glad that someone else said this first on instead of me, because I'm strongly of the same opinion.)

Rolling back to stomach - may occur later because we do not place our children on their stomachs to sleep and therefore they are not playing in this position as earlier as children were in the past

3 – 6 months:
Hold head up in supported sitting
Rolls
Weightbearing on forearms, elbows, and hands when on stomach
Reaching with one arm when on stomach
Gross motor skills start to emerge at 4 months therefore increase floor time
Concerns: arching back – this prevents normal development

6 – 9 months:
Transitions into sitting from all fours
Sits independently
Uses trunk rotation
Pulling up to knees
Crawling
Protective reactions
More floor time – develop proximal control in shoulders for use later (handwriting)
Look for a variety of movement patterns
Spend less time in walkers and saucers – these increase toe walkers

I don't care if you sleep your kids on their back. SIDS is scary. But they need to spend every waking second (exaggeration) on their stomachs to ensure normal development. The fact that both of my kids crawled at 6 months does not make them freaks. So everyone quit being surprised. And to quote another study that I don't have the reference for kids need a minimum of 81 minutes of tummy time/day. Their back sleepers, they hate being on their stomachs. I get it. Be the parent and do what's best for them. Increase it slowly everyday, until they tolerated it better.

Sometimes I wonder if the head shaping helmets are some kind of racket with SIDS studies. No one is going to do a study to see how real SIDS is. In the mean time, kids have an increase in torticolis and flat heads. As a PT I should be stoked that the torticolis is increasing business, but seriously those head shaping helmets are around $3500. We know that cost is crazy inflated because it's a medical supply, but still.

Deep breath. Step off the box.

These Crazy Kids

Dylan was in rare form tonight, so I pieced together this video. Just so you can follow it: he starts by calling in his "band mates", then sings Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue", followed by some soulful crooning, and ending with the giant from Jack and the Beanstock. Enjoy.


But I couldn't leave out this Little Bit of drooly cuteness. What a great Saturday night.

Best Night of Sorting Ever!

Not because we won. I never even finished a round. But because my grandma rode with me. It was so great to see her on a horse and ride with her. I also had my own cheering section which made me smile. We had a great event and raised the most money yet.

So Much Left to Do

So to review my New Year's Resolution, it's a little disheartening.

1. Make a good friend in the new ward: kinda there; not BFF's, or call to talk to just because, but good to chat with in RS

2. Double my food storage: didn't happen. We've been eating through it at a rapid pace due to decreased grocery shopping habits.

3. Let Sampson hit full speed without being scared: barely ridden the old boy this year. Having a new baby makes it tough.

4. Win a sorting event: let's hope this happens at our fund raiser Saturday.

5. Find and participate in a Ride and Tie race: I've been researching this and the closest ones are in CA and NM. Too far to trailer a horse then race.

6. Don't eat more than 3 cookies/day: Definetly on this one since I started exercising again. Before, it was hopeless.

7. Learn to make 3 new dinners: I think I have this one down.

8. Lose 25-30 lbs: I think maybe I have 5-10lbs to go

9. Go camping to someplace new: So didn't happen

10. Take 10,000 steps/day: I never got a battery in my pedometer. Most days I'm really feeling like I've taken 10,000 steps.

11. Be more sincere: I hope I've improved with this one. I want to be a compassionate person, but it surely doesn't come natural.

12. Read only Church lit. on Sundays: Still don't have this one down.

13. Clear the wake with a grab: Got it, if just barely.

14. Do 1 tri-sprint and 1 10K: There's still time for a 10K. It could happen.

15. Have FHE every week: We're doing much better on this one.

They were all attainable goals, and yet I haven't done a great job. I'm a little disappointed because I know I could do better. There's still time for some of them.

Unisex

I've noticed that the more I stay home, the fewer things rock my world. I just stay in a bubble thinking about how great my kids are. So for a change of direction; Wes and I went to California last weekend where I had a running conference and he went to play with friends. We ditched the kids at my mom's house and snuck in a few hours at Disneyland; the happiest place on Earth.

This is what I observed in my jaunt to the wide world. A few years ago I was somewhat behind this emo style. Now it's ridiculous. Why would boys and girls want to date each other when they look alike. Same clothes, same haircuts, same eyeliner.I'll admit I went through a dressing like a boy stage and about killed my mom when I bought boys shoes.I've had boy short hair and no figure to speak of.I shocked my brother when I bought a pink, flowered, sparkly wakeboard while on his mission. But at this point I've pretty well embraced being a girl, and think nothing is more fabulous than shoes like this... And maybe someday I'll stop wearing watches that look like this...I just wouldn't want to makeout with/grope someone who looked that much like me.

Dead Inside

So we had an experience tonight that makes me want to bust. My kids got through to Wes' stone cold heart. His brother frequently asks me if Wes is dead inside. I'm not saying that it doesn't make him happy that Dylan gets so excited when he comes home, or occasionally he thinks Maisy is cute; but it's pretty fleeting. But it's not on a regular basis that he thinks our kids our so freakin' great that he almost wants to gush about them. And by gushing I mean he said, "that was a Kodak moment." I feel like I have about 50 of those a day.

Anyway tonight the kids had a bath; Maisy was done first and playing in the hallway outside the bathroom. She thinks her brother is so fantastic, that she's usually pretty content if he's just nearby. After a little bit, Dylan said he wanted to get out so he could play with Maisy. I have a feeling Dylan is not that different from most 2 year olds, that he's rarely interested in his baby sister, and usually only interacts with her to humor me. So they played for a little bit, then it was time to say prayers for bed. I was just going to hold Maisy, but Dylan wanted me to put her in his bed. So after prayers he climbed in next to her and wanted her to stay and sleep with him. Of course every time she looked at him she busted up laughing and it's the best sound in the world. It was too tempting to leave her there, but I'm pretty sure she'd fall out of his bed and not for the first time. Anyway, I'm always thrilled when something good can get under Wes' skin. Especially when it's as simple as our kids being happy.

Playing Dress Up

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