General Catchup – June 2009
At 21 months Louie is still our little star. Vocally he is using lots of 's', t', 'm' sounds and developing those sounds daily. He'll point to a clock or your watch & say 't,t,t,' for 'time', and 's,s,s' for 'snack' time. He is proficient in the use of the sign for 'snack' and he'll let me know if he thinks it's time for a little bite to eat! He recognises the signs for sitting nicely, bathtime, upstairs, no, time to go, breakfast, dinner, lunch, to name but a few. We continue practising letter sounds with the phonics flash cards.
We went swimming this week, only his 2nd time due to winter illnesses & cold weather! Being that bit older he seemed more confident & less clingy. He was more comfortable to let go of me with one arm to splash about in the water. He settled more with the distraction of other mums & dads with their children coming into the pool.
Just this week Louie seems to have 'up'd the anti' a bit! By this I mean that his little character is coming out strongly. As with his brother & sister, it's almost as if someone flicks a switch. I got to the end of the week & thought 'goodness, you've been hard work this week!'. Louie is vocally very forward if he dislikes something or is getting frustrated – a sort of clench your fists, Grrrr, type of vocal!
All of a sudden nappy changes have to be done on the move – 'catch me if you can' - sort of thing! And as for getting into his car seat, or out of his high chair – well if he doesn't want to, I end up with a very rigid, straight baby, who refuses to bend!!!! All of this I went through with his brother & sister, but as I would expect, with Louie we are going through this at a slightly delayed age by comparison.
I think I am going to find Louie's strength a bit of a challenge if he continues to 'wriggle' so. With 3 pregnancies having played havoc with my back, I regularly have to admit defeat – Louie wins another one!
With a lively & VERY LOUD brother & sister, it's no surprise that Louie is getting loud too! Again, something to be managed with lots of appropriate signs – 'too noisy, calm down, shhh!'
Some very positive progress below, which continues to give us all immense hope for Louie's future. Long may it last.
Louie's Heart is Given the All Clear
When Louie was born he had a small gap in one of the valves in his heart. The Doctors wanted to monitor this & as such he was given a hospital appointment at 18 months.
Louie's heart was listened to, then the doctor had a good look with the ultra sound. To our delight the doctor said he was comfortable with Louie's heart & that he didn't need to see him again. There is still a slight gap there, but it is a normal anomaly which could be found in any one of us.
Needless to say tears of joy were shed – after all, the heart is a pretty major thing eh?
Louie's Thyroid Test is Given the All Clear
The thyroid gland produces hormones which keep the body's metabolism functioning properly. An under-active or over-active thyroid means too little or too much of this hormone is being produced. Symptoms can include lethargy, weight gain/loss, hyperactivity, hair loss, voice change, & in children it can impair development of teeth & brain.
All of this is easily treated through daily medicines. It is however vital to catch any thyroid dis-function as soon as possible, hence annual testing for the condition.
Luckily this year, Louie's test proved fine. Well done Louie.
Louie's Hearing Test is Given the All Clear
Twice now we have made the arduous journey to the hearing hospital (nightmare to get to, no parking, long walk to get to the entrance & I think it has rained on both occasions!) The first time, which was a dead end trip, I outlined in the August 2008 entry below. This time with Louie much older, our trip was a definite success.
The ear piece test was used initially, but the technicians decided we still weren't getting very far with this. Apparently most 2 year olds & under, don't like this method. The traditional method was therefore reverted to. This is basically where a noise is made behind the child & a response of some kind is looked for – ie: a flinch, or eye movement, or turning towards, or the touching of the ear or side of head that the noise is coming from.
This turned out to be very successful with Louie responding to all the noises made.
Afterwards the Doctor checked his ears & we were told there was no sign of any glue ear, & that his ear canals seemed to be a good size. This was quite important to know as a child with Down's, can have quite small canals which could lead to glue ear & /or other complications. Louie was just recovering from a heavy cold too, so given that he was still a bit blocked up, the news was all the more encouraging.
Louie will now take his 6 monthly hearing test 'in the community' which means no need to make that trip back to the hearing hospital. Wonderful!
Louie is discharged from the Physiotherapist
At 20 months, Louie is now standing alone for lengths at a time, walking 'miles' (!) using his little trundle toy, cruising absolutely everything he can, (including our legs!) crawling at break neck speed & doing everything a child of his age should be. Our lovely physiotherapist made a very quick visit a few weeks ago, saying 'you don't need us any more!'.
She described Louie as 'an absolutely delightful little boy', who is 'progressing exactly as he should be'.
Another one bites the dust!
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Louie's progress & developments are coming in leaps & bounds. I'm still desperate for him to walk, but he is so, so near now. When he just gets that final leap of confidence, he's going to go...........and fast.
As with all children, Louie & his brother & sister, continue to challenge us in both similar & different ways. But oh boy, do we love them all to absolutely bits. Hugely our pride & joy, all 3 of them. Again I say this - a very proud Mum & Dad.
Mummy - 7th June 2009
A Word from Louie..........
Congratulations to my Great Aunt Jaquie & Great Uncle Tom who celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary on the 20th of this month in Canada. XXX
Louie - June 2009
