Soundtrack to my day
Maisie recently turned 15months old and we are so proud of her achievements to date. This time last year we had a tiny baby struggling to feed and a few weeks from receiving open heart surgery to repair a VSD, or hole in the heart. I couldn’t do much tummy time with Maisie due to her health issues and although the focus was on getting her surgery done there were times I felt anxious wondering was her physical development going to suffer as a result.
What I would like to tell that parent who worries about their baby reaching developmental milestones is that they will happen. Maisie worked at her own pace and although there were moments when I felt guilt and frustration at how slow things seemed to be going, suddenly she would start doing something unaided such as rolling over or sitting independently. In the last week Maisie has started to army crawl forward and the excitement it caused at home, well that’s what creates wonderful family memories. I realise that it’s best to focus on what Maisie can do and the rest will follow, at her own pace with us her family helping and cheering her on.
As far as our daily routine goes I try to do some exercises with Maisie in the mornings before she has her first nap which, we integrate with play. We are working on getting Maisie to crawl and it’s amazing to see how much stronger she gets with every week passing, from being more sturdy on all fours to standing for longer with my support. My daughter Evie comes home from playschool usually demanding tv but then we settle into play together incorporating music, song, sign, reading and toys. Evie might happily play on her own or drift over to Maisie and I. I do feel lucky that Evie likes to play independently as it was a different scenario when my son was that age! I remember feeling a little overwhelmed about having to learn Lámh (sign language) but once I started picking some signs up I realised it was fun and easy and my other two children learned them quickly as kids do. Apart from trying to do a little physio daily I don’t get too bogged down with lots of structure to our day..by this I mean that Maisie’s routine is very similar to that of a typical baby.
Feeding obviously is a big part of Maisie’s routine and this is where I sometimes feel the mundanity of the repetition with each meal. Yet having come through the challenges of weaning her off an NG tube over several months I know how lucky we are that any feeding issues we had to deal with when she was a baby are well and truly in the past and she is thriving. She loves her food!
Lockdowns and being in baby jail have had their similarities although third time around I’m conscious of how fast the time goes and Maisie will be a toddler in no time. She is the most lovely, easy going baby. I might not have much time for myself (although this blog gives me a creative outlet whilst I wait for an opportunity to get back into my studio more)but I’m grateful for the time I get to spend with my kids..well, apart from when my the older two are squabbling!