Our big list of accomplishments

There is a big list of things that Sheena has recently started to do. It is all fantastic. I say 'our' big list because with her global developmental delay she needs a lot of direction and assistance with all of these successes. I notice this all the more now that she's got a little brother who has so much natural ability in everyway. Watching his little fingers point to pictures in a book takes my breath away.

Here's our list:

-Sitting on the potty about 6 times a day - and 2 successes with wee, or 'ssssssss' as she calls it. She is quite delighted with the whole ritual and often reminds me that it is toilet time!!!
-Telling me (using the toilet sign) that she is doing a poo (not enough time to get to potty yet).
-She can now get out of her car seat on her own (thankfully I still have to undo the safety harness, although she'd do that too if her fingers were strong enough).
-Setting the table, with a lot of guidance, but she is a very willing and able helper.
-Standing on a step to brush her teeth in front of the basin (she'd do this 6 times a day if I let her, she takes real delight in doing it). Its amazing what a bit of core strength enables.
-Walking up and down steps with no hands, although we desperately encourage holding onto the rail!
-Putting on her pants, although they always seem to get caught on her rear, and she needs help there. She's eager to put on her shoes but that is a lot harder. She regularly fetches them, and sits and has a go.
-She can jump, but needs a bit of a run-up. Its probably more of a skip than a jump.
-Putting her toys away with a fair bit of enthusiasm (most of the time).
-Rubbing her lotion and sunscreen in
-Being a great playmate to Roy, if not a bit bossy most of the time.
-Very competently playing with mega-blocks

A Date with the Dentist

Sheena has become a wonderful little girl, since her terrible recovery from the tonsils surgery and all the temper-tantrums and night-terrors that came with that. She took 4 or 5 weeks for that all to pass, and now she has a lovely steady mood, and is more switched-on and energetic than ever. Usually T&A surgery takes at the most 2 weeks to recover from, but people with Down Syndrome have a low immunity, and with her heart issues, and other medical complications it is not surprising that the surgery and anesthetic knocked her about immensely. Phew, nice to know it has passed. I realllly mean that - it was a very hard time to deal with. I am hoping the Pulmonary-Hypertension and Sleep Apnea has resolved, making her feel a lot better.

Sheena enjoyed the family holiday to the beach. We didn't manage daily trips to the beach, as Roy had a cold and Sheena had croup (only effecting her at night), but towards the end of the holiday we got to he beach a bit. In this photo, she fell in a rock-pool, and spent the rest of the beach trip freezing her butt off.

Since the holiday, she's seen a dentist. We got the Paediatrician to refer us to the dental clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital. I was very worried about her sensitivities around her head (i.e. hairdresser dramas), so I was too stressed out to take her to a local dentist. The RCH only sees children with other medical complications, so sure enough Sheena got in easy. She's got some deformities with her back bottom teeth, where the enamel has not formed correctly, so they are very susceptible to cavities. Great.... But she was a star at the clinic. She did get distressed during the examination, but they handled it well. She marched through the hospital like she owned the place. She held my hand when I asked her to. She was no stress in the lift which she was terrified of a few months ago. She came to the door and waved good-bye to the dental staff when I said we had to go with no complaints or fuss. I only put her in the pram once when I had to go into the chemist, because there was way too many tempting things for little fingers to muck-a-bout with. I was soooo proud. You have to enjoy the good times, especially after our tough month post-op.