And speaking of riding, Cecily had her lesson today. I can't say enough nice things about the women at PoVa in Poway. They are sooooh good with Cecily. They are just wonderful, good, big-hearted women that surround Cecily with everything she deserves: love, attention, direction, energy, compassion and care. She still has some tears with the riding but she loves to pet her little BlueBelle, feed her carrots and watch the other ponies run around the ring. Next week the sensory trail opens and I am sure Cecily will enjoy that very much! She loves to be outside. She is a nature girl with a passion for fashion. And yes, she has a tendancy to like to look in the mirror and I blame Grammy.
I am so proud of Cecily for working so hard every day. There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel encouraged by her drive, or motivated by her sheer desire to climb, talk or giggle. She is one stubborn baby and I love it!
I need to hang on to that motivation when I get frustrated about other areas of Cecily's development that may not be progressing as quickly. And when I say frustrated - I don't mean frustrated with Cecily! I could not be more proud of her. I just mean a little worn down because it is not easy to try and feed a child repeatedly and have them show no interest in eating. It is hard to always feel like you are pushing, pushing, pushing and perhaps I should not be. I wish I had the answers.
I always promised to write this blog with honesty and so yes - there are days when it is hard. We have had a few sleepless nights this past week and Cecily has not been tolerating her bolus feeds through her g-tube as well as we would like. We would love to reduce the amount of time she is feeding on her pump so she is free to explore the world without her cute little black bag (aka pump holder!). When parents reach out and ask me about Cecily's feeding challenges I realize that I should likely talk about them more in this blog. It is hard. It is tough. But I just try and tell myself that if we had not pushed with the PT she would not be cruising! If we had not pushed with tummy time she many never have gained the muscles to push up and support her weight. We will continue to fight and do our best to support Cecily. It is not always easy but I just find that dwelling on the positive, or the silly things like pink boots, helps us get through the harder parts of the day! The best advice I can give (not that anyone asked) is to always look for the bright spot in the day. Every day will have its ups and downs and perhaps even spirals... I just find for our crazy family we can take it in stride if we choose to celebrate the little victories and to worry less about what Cecily is or is not doing. Afterall there is always tomorrow! And perhaps tomorrow I will find the matching pink cowgirl hat Cecily clearly needs for sun protection...
Onwards and upwards!