Anywho, this past week Am started swimming on a weeknight (gotta say, I love it...she is nice and tired and easy to get to bed that night). It is a repeat of the Swimmer 1, but she still has issues with jumping in the water, and with getting her face wet. She is doing better, since she is starting to cup water to her face in the bath, so I am hoping that we won't see as much of the resistance to certain activities this time around that we saw in the fall program. She is also super excited that her sweater is almost all done. At every stage of it, she has wanted to try it on, even when it was in pieces. Here it is looking almost completely like a sweater:
Only thing left to do is put the buttons on. And block it. I usually leave blocking until the very end, as I find there to be no point in blocking it while it is still in pieces. Shapes change when the seaming is done. Meh...is my opinion.
I've also gotten about halfway done the red version of the cabled sweater for Riley. This picture was taken a few days ago, but I love how bright the red is. So much brighter than what it seems all wound up in a ball:
The Ravolympics start in a few weeks time, and I think I have figured out what I plan on making for that. Wanna do my BKG team proud. :) So, the militia coat that I have been talking about for a while is what I plan on entering. The rules are that you can't start until the torch is lit. I have swatched (which is allowed), and have everything ready to go. Now just to figure out what I will do until then. I mean, I have been doing really good with the finishing up UFOs lately, and only really have one or two small things left, i.e., the match to this (which is at the heel now):
In non-knitting related news, I have to say that I still find it very amusing that everyone seems to get differing advice and on differing degrees. As Riley is a preemie, I find myself often reading the blogs of other preemie mothers (not that I am saying those preemies don't have dads, but I haven't ever seen a blog by a preemie father in which they discuss the challenges and such of dealing with a preemie). And it endlessly amuses me, and would endlessly confuse me if I took everything everyone's doctor said to heart, that everyone seems to get different feedback about similar or even identical things. For sure, there are things that are baby specific. For example, I know many preemie parents who don't have to deal with the breathing and lung issues, or the kidney issue, or any issues at all. I know others who deal with brain bleeds and heart problems. It is a smorgasbord of health issues.
But I find it interesting that certain specialists that preemie parents all see (i.e. the neonatalogists at the follow ups), ones that you would figure would all agree on things, don't. I was reading through various blogs today, and in the course of reading 4 different ones, I came across the following opinions respecting exersaucers, bumbo chairs and bath chairs:
- Our doctor says they are fine in moderation, as they help our daughter with stretching and reaching;
- Our neonatalogist would kick our ass if we dared to put our daughter in an exersaucer, but she is fine with the bumbo chair;
- The people at the follow up said not to put him in any of those types of contraptions, at all;
and our follow up, we got the "all of these things are bad and horrible and will stunt him in learning to walk and/or hold himself up". This wasn't just their theory with Riley, but with all children, preterm or not. Now, personally speaking *only*, I used the exersaucer with my daughter. She didn't want anything at all to do with the bouncy chairs. She loved the exersaucer, and it was wonderful for me to actually be able to get things done (i.e. I could put her in it with me while I was in the kitchen doing dishes...she was happy and amused, and I got to eat off clean dishes for another few days). And the other day, just since I desperately needed to get in and organize Riley's room, I stuck him in the one that I have for him. Well, lo and behold, he loved it. There are objects above him, so he was actually reaching up to play with them. He was interacting with the music pieces, and was actually holding himself up (meaning that he had his feet flat on the bottom of it and was actively turning himself around AND holding his body weight up to the degree that those items allow them to). With Riley's torso muscle issues, he already has issues with holding himself up, and even if we are there to support him, he still finds it difficult, especially if you try to get him to grab at things or interact with anything at all. Truthfully, he was only in it for maybe an hour, but in that hour, he did more of his OT therapies than I can usually get him through in an hour on our mats.
Now I am very much an "if they are happy, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing" type of parent, so I am thinking that so long as he is happy and it is working him (meaning he is still doing all the stretching and reaching and he is actively placing his feet on the ground instead of letting the seat hold him up 100%), I am giving up on the various reports that I see/hear/read. If he wants his exersaucer and to use it too, he can. No, he won't live in it, and yes, we will still get down and do the OT exercises, but it is a nice sub, especially since I am terrified that he will bounce himself over in the chair (which he seems to hate with a passion now and bounces that thing to the point that it actually comes off the ground...yep, no more bouncy chair for you, little man).
Tis all.
ttfn
k.
