Mei Tei Baby Wrap!

With baby E taking longer than usual to walk and crawl, we've needed some other "modes of transportation!"

We use a sling (mine's from Hotslings, via Goodwill).

A better carry for a baby of this size is the hip carry (they sit in the sling as if you were carrying him on your hip, but carry baby's weight on your shoulders through the sling instead of your arms! E, unfortunately, still has some trouble keeping his head up, so this isn't so easy yet. Smaller babies can be cradled.

And my homemade Moby wrap was wonderful since it helped calm E when he was having his 4 hour screaming fits. (The link shows a good picture, but I've seen them made with tee-shirt type material, so you don't have to sew anything.)  I have also appreciated the mei tei (Yes, I have a lot of baby carriers!). this is the one I have been using...

Much thanks to my lovely friend who lent it to me, but its not quite appropriate for Eli!  She calls it the "Easter Egg" herself! I'd been eyeing up this tutorial for a loooong time, and since E is also not so great at supporting his head yet, I think the headrest is perfect for him! It can be worn on the front for a smaller baby or in back for a larger baby/toddler. I believe you can do a hip carry too, but I haven't figured that one out yet.

Here's how mine turned out:

With almost-3-year-old L!

See how that headrest helps him out?

I did not read my tutorial closely enough, thus the 10 lines of sewing along the waist belt...

This is the inside; I used soft, yummy Minkee fabric.

Here it is with the headrest/hood loose. It can just hang, or can be tied up over baby's head for a little hood while sleeping.

I'm pretty excited and am looking forward to really trying it out one of these days! It wasn't super difficult, other than sewing through all multiple layers (the waist band has fleece inside to cushion you while wearing). Online, a good mei tei can cost you around $80-90. Mine cost about $15-20 (that's a guess, I haven't looked at my reciepts well enough...).  But a HUGE savings over a purchased one! If you want to try making your own, click HERE. These directions were fabulous; I feel like a have a very sturdy, well constructed carrier. 

E's getting stronger!

We and E's therapists are getting excited about his progress! He's getting much stronger!

 He's holding his cup on his own (sometimes!). He picked up drinking from this cup much more easily than his sister!

And just so L doesn't feel left out...

Don't ask me where she comes up with these things! 

E's new bath tub!

Remember, tomorrow is your last chance to enter to win Monkeyshiners merchandise!!! See below for details!





As our E cannot sit up quite yet, we were getting a bit worried about how to bath him. He's almost too big for the baby bath tub.  So thanks to our great  physical therapist...

Yes, that's a laundry basket!  Set right down in the tub, with thiscomfy bath sponge that he sits and leans on! It works great. Our PT suggested putting non-slip shelf liner under the sponge, but I didn't have any; it worked ok without though I may try putting a wet hand towel under next time.

This would work great for any baby who's getting a little too big for their baby tub but can't quite sit up yet. Or if you just need a safe spot for ypu baby to play while big btother or sister shares the tub! It keeps bath toys from floating so far away as well!

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!

Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

E's Early Intervention Therapy

I thought since its been so long since I posted, I would write up a quick post on E's Early Intervention Therapies.  I haven't taken many pictures, but have a few of him working hard! 

I'm so thankful every day for the 3 wonderful women who come to our house once a week (each).  It's so nice to know that they don't care what it looks like: how many toys are scattered on the floor, if there's a pile of cookie crumbs or L's breakfast bowl in the living room, baskets of folded (or unfolded) laundry sitting around.  They don't care about any of that, just about E and his progress.  I love that you can tell, every time they see him, how much they care about how he's doing and what progress he's making.  I won't show any photos of these three lovely ladies, as I don't  have permission, but we appreciate them so much!

In case you don't know, E has been diagnosed with Complete Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum, meaning that his corpus collosum (the part of your brain that is the main bridge of communication between the two sides) did not develop.  We don't know yet what this will mean with regards to his future, as there is a huge range of development for individuals with ACC.  Some people never know they have ACC, and others are noticably affected in various ways, whether it be in their physical abilities, speech, etc.  Whatever happens, we are believing that God has a plan for our beautiful boy.  In my heart, I want him to be "normal" but we know he will be amazing no matter what his capabilities.

E has been working hard in therapy and is very close to sitting by himself!  We are also working on weight bearing activities, and helping him take steps.  He is still not very interested in toys, so we pray (and ask you to pray with us!) that the opthamologist, who we will see tomorrow, will find some way to help him be able to see those toys better.

So, without further ado, here are some photos of our almost one year old (TOMORROW!!!!) working hard at his therapy.

Daughter L was SO excited when our physical therapist brought this big ball (she's been asking  for one everytime we go to walmart!), and has done a good job of "sharing" it with E! Here he is working on standing- Isn't that ball just the perfect size for him?!  We also have him sit on it and roll it slightly so he has to work at bringing himself back up straight as well as doing tummy time on it which he seems to like a little better than the floor!

And of course, later when L is playing, she does some therapy too...

We do this activity with E also! 

Working on crawling!

One of my favorite therapies with E is water therapy!  We spend time in the pool, and are excited to see his legs start kicking more!  I don't have any pictures of that, but here's a photo of what's been happening every time we go to the pool.

Yup, he's sleeping... I guess he really loves the water too!

As I said E turns 1 tomorrow; seems like this year has gone too fast for that...

We know lots of our family and friends have been praying for him, and we would love if you'd continue to do so!  We are so excited to see what this year brings for him!

Summer Fun in the Pool

We LOVE to swim... especially on these ridiculously hot days we've been having.  And we've been blessed with generous neighbors who have a pool! But since I'm home alone with my 2 1/2 year old L and baby E, we weren't taking advantage of it too much, until we found the best floaty ever!!!  L can float all around the pool by herself!  She can lean forward to practice swimming or float more on her back (or straight for that matter!)

And best of all, mommy has 2 arms to hold baby E who is currently doing some aquatic therapy for his ACC (agenesis of the corpus collosum-more on that in another post). His therapist is excited to see how this helps him and so are we!  It's very simple movement things, and makes you wonder sometimes how its going to help him at all, but he loves the water (when its not too cold!) and it's so relaxing to do the exercises with him! He's even taken a nap or two in the water and definitely sleeps great once he gets out!