Sensory Diet

Isabella had her 18 month appointment today.  She continues to be a healthy and thriving kiddo.  She is 90th percentile for height and 80th for weight so the girl continues to hold her own with her 99th percentile counterpart Aj:).  It has become more interesting keeping her busy while we wait for the doctor.  Got an idea from pinterest to give her stickers to put on the paper they have on the examination table and it killed 5-10 minutes so we will count it as a win.

Got a clean bill of health though the poor kid has come to understand shots and understandably had a meltdown when the nurse came in, but alls well that ends well.

I went in with two questions and came out with no real answers, so that part was less great.  I asked for additional tips for separation anxiety and was told it sounded like we were doing the right things, don't add new experiences for me to go just to get her used to it, and time will help.  Cool.  I will tell the babysitters who have to listen to her cry when we do have things to do and can't bring her.  I'm sure they will be thrilled.

The other questions has to do with her "swimming".  It's this weird thing she does where she lays on her tummy, usually on a hard surface, and rubs her elbows into her sides like she's doing some kind of slow frog kick thing.  We've been in communication with the doctor about it since July and continue to not know the cause.  The doctor explained that the absence of other symptoms pretty much rules out a gastrointestinal issue.  Her thoughts were it may be sensory and to give a weighted blanket a shot.

Sensory?  Well that for sure sounds like my sensory seeking kid, so we will give that a shot.  In fact after I did some more reading decided to implement a sensory diet.  This essentially amounts to a few activities in the morning and late afternoon/evening to give her sensory outlets.  In her case after doing an informal assessment I found from an OT online she is partial to proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body) and vestibular (movement-go, go go!). 

So for the morning I am going to try rocking (chair or horse) and trampoline.  For afternoon/evening slide and swing (thank goodness the neighborhood playground is right across the street!).  These seemed the most appropriate and manageable from the list I found.  Hoping it helps!