Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Swing me, Rock me, Bounce Me

Higher, faster, wilder

N started doing some mild head banging yesterday. Okay, it was more like rocking her head into what was ever behind her. Not hard, more like a tap, but it still didn't thrill me. I picked her up and put her in the excersaucer so she could bounce. OT came today and witnessed it. She didn't seem concerned and said she could be doing it because her head is stuffy, etc. and we would have to wait to see if it was truly a sensory issue. She said the excersaucer was a good choice and we walked around the house and talked about other alternatives like the excerball, the swing (which she doesn't really like because it doesn't swing wild or high enough for her), the pool, bouncing in the pool, the rocking horse, etc. In spite of what the OT says, my gut tells me sensory. I remember distinctly thinking sensory months 3 - 6 when she was first home with the hospital when she would not cuddle/fall asleep in your arms and spent many full or parts of night in the swing. I have the Out of Sync Child (or something like that) checked out from the library so my mind can research what my instinct is telling me. Now, to only have the time and energy to actually open and read it at the end of the day.

Speaking of swings, N is asleep in one right now. Sadly, the battery operated swing part of that no longer swings. The manual swing method got old after 5 minutes. However, she seems to have fallen asleep, hopefully for the night, in the amount of time it took me to go to the neighbors to reborrow their swing that I had returned months ago. Maybe we wont need it after all, but I'm glad I have it in reserve...just in case. Life is so much better with a halfway decent night sleep.

ps. I never really would resort to violence on my poor (probably not so innocent) cat, but I do think about it on occassion, like now when he is meowing and bugging me when I just want a bit of peace and quiet at the end of a long, busy day. At least this time, I know why. I've moved his water bowl. I've shown him where its new spot it, but he isn't thrilled. The problem with the old spot is that it was in the master bathroom and with the babies moble, the bathroom door gets closed off for most of the day so he doesn't have access to it. The new spot is on the table right next to his food and the other water bowl he refuses to use. I can tell a power struggle is going to ensue. I'm prepared to win this one this time. He keeps at it, he will be banned for the night.

2 comments:

Julie said...

They say cats don't like to drink next to their food. I have no idea why, just mark it up to weird cat behavior?!?!?

Care said...

N's headbanging and rocking is a familiar thing - Ethan is a headbanger and rocker and has been since infancy. At 8, he still does both, although he is better able to moderate it. He definately has sensory issues, and OT, when we can get it, helps, but my insurance won't cover OT for sensory reasons (claims it is experimental and not proven or some such garbage). I have several good books at home (incl the Out of Sync Child) which I found helpful - not at home now or I'd tell you what the others are. I think I found it harder to watch the headbanging then it really was on him - for Ethan is was both a method of stimulation as well as his way of calming and self soothing. Proprioceptive - think that was the sensory issue involved in the banging and rocking. In OT we learned that he needed to have some sort of proprioceptive stimulating activity before doing homework, or other activities that require him to have prolonged focus. Has been an interesting road.