This week Halton Region celebrates World Breastfeeding Week. The theme this year is “Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers.” This is the second of two posts about how support with breastfeeding was key for my breastfeeding success.
Without asking for help EARLY, we couldn’t have done it.
My Pumpkin was born in the morning. Her first night of life was spent frantically nursing all night long. The next day I had cracked and bleeding nipples. Each breastfeed was getting more painful than the last. I couldn’t understand. I was doing everything right, everything I had been trained to do. But I could see that Pumpkin couldn’t get her upper lip to flange out, even when I tried to cheat and pull it out for her. Plus she was sliding off the nipple, making loud sucking noises at the breast and had dimpling in her cheeks. Continue reading →
This week Halton Region celebrates World Breastfeeding Week. The theme this year is “Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers.” This is one of two posts about how support with breastfeeding was key for my breastfeeding success.
When I was pregnant with my daughter I wrote a blog post, a contract with myself if you will, about how I would do everything in my power to get breastfeeding off to a good start.
Two years later, you might be wondering just how all that worked out for me… Continue reading →
‘Tis the season! No not the holiday season, it’s “my life is crazy busy starting in September” season. The start of school brings with it brisk cool mornings and the return to our hectic schedules. Does this sound familiar to you? I hear ya, I AM one of you. I struggle with finding a balance between structured activities and having some good quality family time.
How many of us have come across parents who gloat about how their child is developing faster than everyone else’s? You know, the “my son walked at nine months,” and “my daughter was speaking in full sentences before she was two” comments that make you feel inadequate as a parent. Meanwhile, you’re looking at your 19-month old wondering when he’s going to get off his hands and knees and remembering your daughter was three before she really started expressing herself clearly with her words.
Judgements, comments, comparisons and expectations are EVERYWHERE when you’re a parent. It’s like it’s in our DNA. It happened to me all the time because I had a kid that walked later than anticipated and another that took his time learning to talk and use the toilet. And many times I’d hear “What? He’s still not using the potty? Really?” And lately, if I hear, “Are the training wheels off yet?” one more time, I’m gonna…I’m gonna…haul off and stew about it! Continue reading →
A couple months ago I wrote a blog post about babies and toddlers playing with touch screens and suggested that we as parents should consider limiting our kids’ overall screen time. For one thing, it certainly seems that the various screen devices our kids (and even parents!) have available to them is getting in the way of bonding as a family. But what I didn’t think about is how touch screen devices are actually helping some families, particularly when someone in the family has a special need or communication barrier.
I have personally felt the benefit of touch screen devices – I am hard of hearing and lately I have been struggling with talking to my friends and family on the phone. Just the social acceptance of texting and emailing on these devices has helped me stay connected.
My colleague, Holly Paterson, is a Developmental Consultant and she works with children who have special needs. She has seen first-hand just how beneficial touch screen devices—especially tablet computers—are with kids who have trouble communicating. She just had to share this story with us:
Sophie, a little super star who happens to have Down syndrome was doing so well using sign language and some verbal words to express herself. Even her friends in preschool quickly learned her signs. But there were times when she just could not get her point across, no matter how much she tried to say or gesture. Small sentences appeared to be so frustrating; for example, “my turn with the train.” That’s when her mom and dad introduced her to a tablet computer. Sophie didn’t care much for TV (phew!), but was curious and intrigued that she could now put pictures together (with words) with a few swipes of her finger.
Within months she was putting 3 and 4 words together on the tablet, which would then say the sentence aloud, and then she would repeat the words to practice speaking!!! Amazing! Some kids learn language best when they can see a picture, see the word and hear the word all at the same time. And this leads to identifying letters, sounds, and of course reading!
Thanks to modern and relatively affordable technology, kids who struggle with using speech to communicate now have another option to express themselves, in addition to using their gestures, facial expressions, and body language. And this is an amazing thing, because when our children are heard and their feelings are validated, they feel good about themselves, and we feel better as parents too!
Has your child with special needs benefited from a touch screen device? We’d love to hear from you, share your experience with us:
Call HaltonParents by dialing 311 or 905-825-6000for parenting information or to speak directly to a Public Health Nurse (every Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
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