Hip Helpers

On Dec 21, Marissa will be 15 months old. She has yet to crawl on her knees, but I'm okay with all that. She receives physical therapy 2 times a week, occupational therapy once a week, speech 2 times a day, twice a week, and music therapy once a week. She's a busy little girl no doubt. But, I'm talking about her crawling. One characteristic of Down Syndrome is very low muscle tone. As a result of this low tone, Marissa is hyper-flexible. Rather than pulling up onto her knees to sit, Marissa will swing her legs around to move from her belly to sitting. It's almost as though she's double jointed the way she can swing them around. Some people might think this isn't such a big deal, but transitioning to ones knees is a precursor for crawling, pulling up, standing, and then of course walking. If Marissa continues to take the easy route for sitting, it will take a long time for her to be walking on her own.

One thing that out therapist recommended to help resolve this issue is to wear hip helpers. We tried these once before when Marissa was younger and not quite as mobile, but I didn't care for them because I didn't see much of a difference. Well, now I have seen great strides. Since she started wearing them, Marissa has started to low crawl a lot more and is even trying to pull up on furniture. She wears them pretty much all day every day, even while she sleeps because she also over-extends while she's sleeping. Hip Helpers are these little pants made out of a spandex type material, that I like to call "hot pants". They are sewn slightly in the center and they are very form fitting, hence my nickname for them. Essentially, they are there to teach Marissa the "correct" way to sit. I think they are a WONDERFUL invention and any parent of a child with DS should consider investing in a pair.

A to Z Thankful: V-Z

I feel bad it's taking me so long to get through my thankful list. It's been a busy time around here lately. I'm going to lump the rest of my thankfuls together, but everyday I think about something I am thankful for. Here are a few more things I am thankful for...

V-I am thankful for verses: song verses, bible verses, and poem verses. Feeling blue or feeling just fine I can find a verse to fit the moment of the day.

W-I'm quite thankful for walks in the winter.

X-I'm thankful for the XX chromosome without it I wouldn't have my beautiful little my baby girl.

Y-Pan de yucca. This is a bread that I had while living in Ecuador. I was a foreign excahnge student when I was 16 years old. Pan de yucca was a type of bread that was sold at little roadside vendors in town. It was so good and always nice and warm. Absolutely delicious!

There's so much in this life to be thankful for. Whether good moments or bad, we learn something from everything that enters our life, whether we see it in that moment or not. Life, we should be thankful, for every moment that we are given. It's God's gift to experience his wonderful creation. Thank you Lord for all that you have given us and all that you continue to bless my family with.

Z-Based on my experience in Ecuador, I was fortunate enough to learn spanish. Although I'm not fluent like I used to be, I can absolutely understand much more than I can actually speak. But given this, I think it's fair for me to be thankful for zapatos...shoes! ;-)

A to Z Thankful: U

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I'm thankful for underwear. haha! There's a wonderful saying from my parents. "Hold onto your underwear." It takes root from, "hold onto your horses", but with a little bit of spice and silliness added to it. I don't know if it started with my mom or my dad, probably my dad because that's just something he would say. Most of my family says it, and chances are I will say it to Marissa when she gets older too. It'll probably embarrass her to no end until she gets to be about 25 when she starts to retaliate and say "I'm not wearing any!" Since this is what I say to my mom now when she says it to me. Only kidding though, I don't leave the house without it :-D So when you're feeling under pressure or a little anxious about timing, just remember to "hold onto your underwear" and it'll all be alright.

A to Z Thankful: T

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving. This wonderful holiday reminds all of us of how many things we have to be thankful for. The list in endless and ongoing. God truly did bless this country to grow and prosper and Thanksgiving signifies our growth. I can only pray that this country continues to find itself centered on the principles of Christ and that we might bring joy and honor to His beautiful creations.

A to Z Thankful: S

I'm thankful for slippers and sweaters. Just means "comfiness" to me. I'm thankful for showers, smiles, silly jokes and Saturdays and Sundays when I just to spend lots and lots of time with my baby and before too long with Bradley as well.

I'm most thankful for my Super wonderful father-in-law. His name is Brad Lee, but I am thankful for him so since I think he's "s"uper, he fits well with "s". :-) He's easy-going and easy to be around. I can't say I've ever seen him in a really bad mood. Granted, this may be because we don't see each other very often, but when we do make it north to visit he makes the trip worth the drive. My fondest memory is actually when we went to see the musical Christmas house in Muskegon. I imagine he was miserable driving through the traffic to go see it, but he did it because it was something I wanted to do. Well, I can blame this on Mom Heath too because I'm pretty sure she wanted to see it too. But anyway, it was just nice of him to go through all the trouble and hassle just to take us to see a musical house. It seems silly as I'm writing this, but it was a nice thing to do and pretty darn memorable at that.

A to Z Thankful: R

I'm thankful for my mom, Ruth. She's always been there to listen. Spent countless hours helping us with homework, and just being there. She was always there for all 4 of us kids. I know my mom & dad had to sacrifice a lot to provide for all of us, but none of us ever felt like we were missing out on anything. Mom was always there for us, baking, cooking, doing crafts with us, reading...I couldn't have asked for a better mom. My fondest memory of her is actually sitting down together in the mornings and reading a book together, The Secret Garden. When we first started reading it, it seemed like such a LONG book, but we read it together. Every morning we would read a little bit and I loved it, that was my time with my mom, just her and I. Just my mom and me. I hope that I can be a great mom just like her.

I'm thankful for my mom-in-law, Rebbecca. She's has this infectious personality that you can't help but to like her. She's sincere and kind and always willing to help ANYONE in need. She'll tell you exactly what's on her mind, whether you want to hear it or not, but that's honestly one of her best qualities. She raised an incredible kid, that although he seemed to have a rough start, he grew into a very generous and kind man. Thanks mom for raising such a wonderful son and for loving me for me.

A to Z Thankful: Q

I'm thankful for Quick and speedy travel. We went to Georgia over the weekend and saw my mom, Jessica, & Josh. It was such a nice visit. I'm thankful that getting to their home from ours is a fairly quick travel route. We were slowed down a little on the way home with a traffic jam, but Marissa slept for the majority and we made it home safe and sound. Abby, my cat, sure did miss us though.