Bring on the spirit

Taylor had physical therapy yesterday and a fun time was not had by all. Even though she had just woken up from a nap, Taylor was well, in a word, grumpy. She was not thrilled to do her exercises and Sarah had to work hard to keep her motivated.

Like last time, the focus was on sitting, tummy time, and hand motor skills. She started off with sitting and had pretty good balance. If her hands could catch her and help her balance, I really think she'd be sitting soon. She was able to hold her balance for awhile, even while holding a toy in both hands - which Sarah deems a "complex skill." Sarah is helping her practice placing her hands on the ground to begin catching her weight. We're also working on making sure Taylor's legs are bent while she sits - she has started to straighten them while sitting, which apparently is a bad habit.

Poor Taylor cried like a fish out of water when Sarah had her do tummy time, even when we pulled out her magic tummy time surfboard (which she usually tolerates). She just wasn't into it. We quickly moved on to hand motor skills, where she gets to lie on her back. We're seeing improvement here, which is great. She held link toys at the same time with both hands, reached for a toy with her right hand, and practiced reaching her feet. She also practiced sitting and tummy time on the bouncy ball.

Unfortunately, Taylor poops out after about 30 minutes and the session is supposed to be an hour. After it was clear that Taylor was done with Sarah, I tried to get her to do some of the exercises with Sarah's verbal coaching and we were able to make it the full hour, with some rests. I asked Sarah if we could break her therapy into two shorter sessions each week until she builds up more stamina. She said we could, but recommended that we wait a few more weeks to see if Taylor builds up her stamina. David and I discussed it and we think the key really is for us to seize the moments that Taylor is alert and happy at home for her workouts. Her schedule is still unpredictable enough that it is hard to know if she'll be in prime condition Tuesdays at 11am. We try to help the stars align, but babies are babies, so continuous work-outs through-out the day is probably our best bet for now. Thankfully, Julie (our nanny) is also great about working with and playing with Taylor.

It's interesting - we're starting to see more "spirit" in Taylor - and I love it. We, and everyone else, have always remarked about what a mellow, easy baby Taylor has been. Now that we know she has a few challenges, I'm thrilled to see more spirit in her - whether it's crying when I set her down and disappear out of her site (normal separation anxiety for her age), appearing irritated at Sarah and then laughing for me within seconds (normal parental recognition and preference for her age), or beginning to assert her opinion. Tonight, as I tried to place her in her swing (which she usually loves) to make dinner, she arched her back in defiance - as in "No mommy!". I was surprised, because she's never done that, but thrilled. Behavior that might be frustrating in other contexts is thrilling for me.

Tonight I asked the kids what they love the most about Taylor. Lauren said she couldn't say just one thing because there were so many. Those two really do have a special bond. Taylor just beams when Lauren talks to her. Jacob said he loved Taylor "up to heaven and back" - a variation of the "Guess How Much I Love You" book. I agree with Lauren - I can't say exactly why I love Taylor - I just do - from the bottom to the top of my heart. And I agree with Jacob - because you really can't say it any more fully than "I love you up to heaven and back."