August : Alba Highlights

I am definitely finding it helpful noting down the little wins we have with Alba. Progression is very slow, in fact we've been pretty down about it this last week or so. We've had the 'is this the way she'll be forever?' conversations. We don't know. And we may never know. So I think for now it's important to try and keep focusing on the good stuff. I often get told how strong and positive we are, and how amazing we are for Alba. But truly, what's the alternative? It's a slippery slope to begin descending, so I ty not to let myself fall too far. Anyway, let's get on with the August positives!

Alba got her first pair of Orthotic shoes. I wrote a little before about going to choose them, and couldn't believe the amount of options. We had a quick appointment with Orthotics at a local hospital where the lovely man measured her feet and gave me a Fitz Kidz catalogue to choose from. He proceeded to tell me we'd probably make our way through most of them eventually, so I opted for a little pair of purple high top trainer shoes. I thought we may as well go funky! I have memories of seeing kids when I was younger with thick, clompy black boots so I'm incredibly grateful for Alba at how far the industry has come!

I had hoped we'd see an immediate difference with these new shoes, and I guess secretly I imagine putting them on her and watching her stand up and walk round the room. We're not quite there yet, BUT she has made some huge improvements. Alba is hypermobile meaning her joints are super flexible. It requires a lot more effort to stabilise those joints and build up the muscle required to counteract the extra wobble. The Orthotic shoes come up above her ankles and have quite hefty insoles to give her an arch. When barefoot, her ankle bone is pretty much on the floor - that's how flexible she is! With the ankle support in place, it's given her that extra bit of stability needed to boost her confidence and enable a bit more independence. For the first time she's walked holding on with just one hand. Very solid, stiff movements but a HUGE progression in terms of independent movement. We also shared a teary moment in town this month as we walked down the street with her between us, each holding a hand. Perhaps something that most parents do on a regular basisand don't bat an eyelid, but for us it was a truly special moment.

Alba has also pulled up from sitting on her own this month. We bought her a tri-climb type frame for her birthday (one of the many gadgets and gizmos added to the 'this will be the magic thing that changes everything' collection) and she hasn't been that into it. But we've started using it as a standing aid and she will make her way very slowly around it. We were practicing sitting to stand with her on my lap, and I thought I'd try with her sat on a pouffe. Straight away she reach forward, corrected her hands to a higher bar and pulled herself straight up. The aim is obviously for her to stand without needed to pull up, BUT again, this is huge for little Albs.

As I'm sure most of you are aware, Alba was born just before the first lockdown, at the end of February 2020. We missed out on a hell of a lot, but so did our families. At the beginning of August, Alba met her Great Auntie for the first time at almost 2 and a half years old. I love watching her with family and friends, she's such a social butterfly and just laps up the attention. She was absolutely showered in love, laughter, songs and cuddles from a bubble of Shepherd gals, and I'm so grateful for the love and support we have from them (along with the rest of our family and friends!).

Alba's always eaten well, and I loved the weaning stage. Thinking about it now, it's maybe the one area of motherhood and Alba's development that I often feel smug about. Right from the start I was cramming ginger and cinnamon into her baby rice, steaming veg with sprinkles of basil, thyme and rosemary before moving on to even stronger flavours. We're actually not sure now if it's all down to sensory input, and perhaps she needs these strong flavours! But I'm still so glad that she loves her food. The one thing we have struggled with is texture. Things with meat in had to be whizzed up until only a few months ago, and she's not been able to handle tougher textures like raw carrot or apple without gagging which often results in a vom! BUT a few weeks ago she carefully made her way through a whole carrot stick, then a piece of apple! And since then she's regularly managed chicken breast. Another big step for Albs! We have seen Speech and Language about her eating and gagging difficulties and as with everything else, her skills (in this case chewing) were 'behind' and it would be a case of wait and see if she caught up. But it looks as though she's getting there!

Alba used to absolutely love baths and water, and all of a sudden about 6 months ago something switched and bathtime was a real battle. We reduced baths to every other day, or every few days because it just wasn't fun for anyone. As the weather got really hot, I was anxious about how I was going to keep her cool knowing she wouldn't just sit in a paddling pool and play. So I dug out our Tuff tray an popped only a cm or two of warm water, literally just to cover the bottom. Low and behold she loved it! She splashed in her shallow tub and definitely enjoyed herself. The next step was toove to the paddling pool, so I did the same thing but with a bit more warm water. Again, she absolutely loved it. A couple of weeks ago we were on the beach with Alba's cousins and Dan dipped her toes into a rather large pool on the way down to the sea. She ended up almost up to her waste and although there were a few sharp breaths, once again she seemed to enjoy being in the water. I think her giggling, splashing cousins probably had something to do with it too! But bathtimes have also become easier and more enjoyable, and even though she still doesn't really play, she's started splashing again and most importantly she's happy being in the water.

August has been great, and I can't believe the summer is over! Alba's starting nursery next week so I'm excited to see what September brings.

Keep it up baby girl, you do you 🖤