Stella has been so much fun lately! She is quite the wiggly little girl, and doesn't like snuggle or be held unless she is tired. Stella wants to move! She loves to scoot around the floor, gets in and out of 4-point, rocks, gets in and out of sitting, and has started to pull up on things. (Last night she scooted over to the train table and pulled herself up all by herself!) She loves to hold on to our hands and walk around, and is just starting to get the hang of cruising and walking behind a push toy. She smiles and laughs and it is the cutest thing! I was really starting to think she would never want to walk. I am so pleased with the OT and PT that we are using. I do think working with them has a lot to do with Stella's progress, and I think she is finally ready. It's funny to watch her, because she has that age-appropriate stubbornness and independence. If someone is trying to help her she will push the hand away. And she doesn't like anyone touching her hands.
Stella is babbling more, but still doesn't say any words. She does say Mama and Dada,but I'm not convinced she knows what they mean. I have seen her use the "more" sign a few times too, but again, I'm not convinced it was on purpose. She understands a ton though. We are starting speech therapy soon,so hopefully her words will come soon. I'm content with the progress in movement and I know she will talk eventually. At least she doesn't get frustrated by her inability to communicate verbally.
We've had a busy month, with a road trip back to IL and me being out of town a couple of weekends. Michael did great with the kids. It's so nice that they have such a good connection and that I feel comfortable going away for a few days. It gives me a much needed break! Stella is weaned now too, which makes things easier. That is bittersweet for me, but she was obviously ready. She got to a point where she preferred the bottle and she kept biting me. She is a wonderful eater, as long as it's finger food she can feed herself.She has no interest in being fed or in using utensils yet. And we haven't made much progress with a sippy cup - she still uses a bottle, but she does feed herself. Speaking of biting, Stella has 11 teeth now and is currently working on that last molar. Poor thing, these molars have been tough on her. Maybe after this she will get a break for a while.
Adjusting to a new Ocularist (Kathy Hetzler) has been tough, and she finds Stella to be challenging because of the way her sockets are shaped. We have had many instances of the conformers falling out, or twisting around, and Kathy has yet to find a design that fits well and that she can get in and out. The last couple of weeks Stella had one white conformer and one clear one, then nothing in the left eye for 1 week. Ugh. I hope this starts to go more smoothly soon. I am very much looking forward to the day when she has pretty painted eyes - probably brown.
Life is busy, and about
to get busier with adding speech therapy and all the appointments I have lined up with specialists to find out why Stella isn't growing. She has gained a little weight, but not gotten any longer since April. I'm guessing she will be starting growth hormone soon. At least I'm familiar with that, as my brother was on it when we were growing up.
Posts
