Our new friend...

Or maybe not. Yesterday was a long, long day of fitting and squeezing, pulling, testing, and of course-crying. (Both of us, Jake and I.) The Taos is new and different and not totally what we expected. But what we know is that this will get easier, this will get easier, this will get easier. (This was my mantra yesterday.) I tried putting him back in it it yesterday afternoon when Bobby got home from work and he was not having it. Not.at.all. I was frustrated and he was frustrated so I bagged it and figured we'd try the next day. I know from all the hours and hours of therapy that if I am frustrated and he is frustrated we both don't do well. He doesn't like to be restrained and this system is very restraining and weighs a lot. Poor kid, yesterday about broke my heart. He didn't walk in it at all and I realized with some help from Kelly (who I LOVE!) that I need to have realistic expectations and he probably won't walk in this for about 6 months although every child is different. What we are focusing on for the next couple of months is just getting him used to being in the Taos and making it a fun and exciting experience. He will be gaining so much cognitively by just being upright and spending more time weight bearing on his legs and having him arms to play with while he is standing. Knowing realistically what the therapists see happening with Jake makes me feel a little more at ease and I feel like we can enjoy playing and getting used to the walker without having to "jump" into therapy exercises right away. He won't see his PT or OT until January so it'll give us time to get used to putting it on and off and spending 30 minute sessions 3x per day playing. 90 minutes doesn't sound like a lot but he can't entertain himself while he is in it right now and he shouldn't ever be left unattended so when we "play" we have to have lots of toys and things to play with around. Christmas seriously could not have come at a better time!

Today he is wearing the white t-shirt and yesterday was the sad picture with Kelly adjusting the buckles!


Fast forward to today-I was dreading, DREADING, dreading putting him back in the Taos (which needs a new name and some flare added to it-any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!). After a long nap and a big lunch I went with it-however I was armed with a big bag of mini Oreo cookies, the sure way to his heart. He let me put on the shoes over his orthotic while still munching on Oreos. Then I have to lay him down in the contraption and screw his shoes into the base part of the Taos. This is not easy with a rolling and kicking toddler-Oreos or not. Once he gets in the bottom part the rest is easy. He gets lifted to the base part and strapped in by all kinds of safety straps. Apparently some kids LIKE this and they get a little crazy and can pop out of the base...huge ouch! He had some tears but overall with the Oreos being shoved in his mouth and a 15 minute game of throwing the ball and laughing while I run all over the place getting it, it was almost time to get out of it. You can crank him up off the floor and wheel him around the house so we played chase the dog (but the Taos has a wide base so it is a little difficult) and we did some rocking on his feet. He let me know at about 25 minutes that he was done so I got him out and that was that. Now I am counting down until the next time he gets to go in it-hopefully it will get easier and easier!