Some New Fun (Therapy) Toys!

First off is our new Leckey stander.  This beauty came to us totally free (thanks SO much Gina for letting us know about it and putting it on hold for us!!) and works great for both of the girls.  It helps Ramya feel secure so that she can focus on standing (she has a big fear of getting dropped and is used to supporting herself with her arms, so we are working through that with her).  It's also nice for Madi's legs because it holds them in a different position than her HKFOs do, giving her a different stretch.  Her legs have been less tight since we started using it.

 

 

Our next new items are our new Floor Surfers (tummy scooters or tummy board) from Southpaw Enterprises.  They have an awesome contoured base and nice foam top for comfort.  It's been great for building Ramya's upper body strength and Madi loves how fast she can go with it.  In fact, instead of crawling long distances on her own, she'll request it so that she can get there faster.  Both girls are really having fun with them!  These were purchased using the money from our Amazon Associates Account.  A HUGE thank you to each and every one of you who purchase using our link, or share it with friends.  These have been amazing therapy tools for the girls, and they would not have been covered by insurance.  Here they are in use...

 



 

And last but not least...

 

A while back we bought Madi a set of used special tomato padded seats as she outgrew the toddler highchair we had at the table for her.  It held her booty great, but held her legs in an odd position because the seat was too long for the padding.  It also slid around on the chair a lot, changing her positioning during feeding frequently.  When we had her feeding evaluation, the specialist said that she thinks a big part of Madi's gagging/choking/throwing up during eating is positional.  She felt that getting Madi in the correct feeding position would help a lot with these issues.  We like the special tomato chair because 1- It goes with the padding we already had, 2- It isn't bulky but still gives her enough support and 3- It's easy to adjust and wash and 4- For a feeding chair, it's pretty affordable.  We could have requested it through insurance, but we are STILL waiting on the shower chair that was requested and fitted in January of this year so that she can take showers.  We were very ready to help Madi stop gagging during eating, and decided to use her Amazon money for one instead of going through insurance so that we could get it right away.  gh, We tried really hard to find a used one but never did.  We found a discount code, thouand saved a bit of money on it, which was nice!  So far it's been great and we've noticed a ton of improvement.... Yeah!!!  The foot pads don't match the pads we already had, but Madi doesn't seem to mind :).

 

 

 

Thanks again for all of your support.  We love our "village" and are loving our new equipment!

 

 

An Amazon Shopping Spree for Madi!

Another big "thank you" to everyone who uses Madi's Amazon link to purchase your Amazon items, or for those of you who have passed it on.  It is such a tremendous blessing to have that money there to use when Madi needs "extra" things.  There were quite a few things Madi was needing, so I had a mini shopping spree ;).  Here's what we got:

1- A cute little backpack for her to carry all of her cathing supplies and underwear in when we are on the go (when are we not on the go????)

 2- Wetbags to carry in her backpack to put soiled "underwear" (training pants ;)) in...
3- Floaties so that Madi can have some independence in the pool (well, as independent as she can be with me right there with her ;)) and a little more stability...
 
 
And lastly, this is not from Amazon, but we got Madi some night-time trainers (big girl undees ;)) to wear at night.  We love love love her "underwear" that she uses now, but sometimes at night she leaks enough to soak the bed, which means lots of laundry (especially since she still sleeps in our bed and that means king-size sheets and a king-size mattress protector) so we needed something with PUL (basically a waterproof layer built-in) to stop the leaks.  During the day, her underwear from The Pampered Tush are AMAZING and are perfect, so we are all set there.  They fit her great, they are trim and cute, and the absorb more than we need.  If I could just convince Wendy from TPTush to add a layer of PUL to her undees, we would be set!  That might be my next venture ;).  For now, though, we got Madi these....
 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74573966/overnight-4-pack-potty-training-older
 
I love that these help her feel like a 'big girl', are environmentally friendly, and are just plain super cute!  It's a bummer insurance doesn't cover things like this instead of disposables.  Even if we wanted to use disposables, which we don't, we couldn't because Madi gets wicked rashes after a few days in them.  Anyhow, I'll update everyone on how we like them and how well they work once they arrive.
 
 
 
 
Thank you again for helping us provide all these amazing "extras" that make our lives so much easier/better!

Such an amazing blessing!

I just got the tax information in the mail from Madi's Amazon Associate's Account.  Last year, our commission from Amazon purchases was over $800!!!   Can you believe it?!?!?!?!  It has been such a HUGE blessing to have this money for Madi.  With it we were able to purchase forearm crutches, her Rifton Dynamic Stander (mobile stander), her little training pants so she can have "big girl undees" and her First Toddle system, which got her WALKING!  I wanted to say a big "thank you" to everyone who purchases through her link and/or shares it with your friends and family.  I know it seems like no big deal, but it really amounts to something huge!  We are able to give Madi those "extra" things that add so much to her quality of life and self-esteem because of this money.  THANK YOU for blessing our family!

http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=missmadi-20

Madi showing off her stander....

Proudly displaying her "big girl undees"... Don't ask me how her legs can do that!  At least she is getting good at fixing them and not 'w-sitting'!

Showing off her first toddle system

We modified a little purse from the consignment store for Madi's stander.  Now she has a place for all of her treasures and her baby dolls!

Madi loved meeting Corbin of Zebra Sports at a friend's party.  She thought his chair was pretty amazing!

P.S.  Madi's stander is a Rifton Dynamic Stander.  For more information, go to http://www.rifton.com/products/standing/ :)

We found it!!!!

Problem solved!  My friend Stacy works as an early interventionist locally.  She read my post about needing something similar to our Christmas tree box that would help Madi with walking and standing.  She knew of someone local that made a product called the First Toddle system.  It is a 5-in-1 system designed to work for babies on up to preschool age children (and even beyond that I'm told).  I e-mailed the company and the owner got back to me quickly.  We talked quite a bit and I decided to use Madi's amazon associates money and give it a try.  It works perfect!!  Today was the first day using it, but Madi really loves it!  In fact, she threw a huge two-year-old fit when it was time to get out.  The nice thing about this system is that it has 3 different height adjustments so it can grow with your child.  Madi fits perfectly right now on the lowest height setting.  I had been contemplating making one for Madi out of PVC pipe, but I loved that this one was pre-made and would grow with her.  I'm all about simple these days ;).  It is a tad shorter (length-wise) than I was wanting, but that's an easy fix.  Early in January, they are going to be adding an extension kit you can buy for a little over $20 that will make it longer.  The owner wasn't sure if using two extension kids would make the product to weak or not, so I think I will try extending it out by 1 first and seeing how that goes, then possibly trying 2 extension sets to see if it is durable enough.  Madi is barely over 20 pounds so she really does not apply too much weight to it.  The one improvement I would make to it would be the width.  The width fits madi perfectly right now and it also fits Conner, but at some point, she will outgrow it  It would be awesome if the width was adjustable just like the height is.  Overall, I'm really happy with it and I'm so glad Madi is too!  I haven't set up the hockey net yet, but Madi is loving the basketball hoop.  I love that it has a little table you can velcro right on top  It's really neat to be able to have Madi up standing and being able to do activities at the little table.  Even though it's small it is still big enough for playdough or coloring, snacks, etc....  I haven't tried the mat that comes with the set yet either, as I have been using a cushioned mat we got at a local consignment store, Hissyfits (LOVE their stuff!!)., but I'll give it a try tomorrow so I have feedback on that part of it too.Oh, and did I mention it is lead and BPA free?  Here is a link to the website (right now they have a 10% off promotion with free shipping):

http://www.firsttoddle.com/

And, yes, you can purchase it on Amazon.com.  Just make sure that you pick which color accessories you want, as you can get pink, blue, or a mixture.


I took a picture of Madi playing in it tonight but I used my camera on my phone which takes pretty crummy pictures.  I'll try to get a few better pictures tomorrow so that it's easier to see how it works.  I love that she once again loves standing and walking!!  Another big "thank you" also for everyone who uses Madi's link when they shop at Amazon.com.  The money we get from there allows us to get things for Madi that would normally be out-of-pocket expenses for us and those really add up fast!  We try to spend the money wisely and use it for things that help improve her quality of life.  It is such a blessing to have it there to spend when we find something special for our special little angel!  THANK YOU!

Nothing can stop her now!

Today we got to go pick up Madi's first ever wheelchair!  We had fun waiting for it and trying out different chairs while we did, as you will see below.  Madi calls it her "zoom zoom" and it is the cutest little thing I have ever seen.  Madi is already in love!  She amazed the therapists by getting on and zooming away.  She was so ready for this!  She got home and wanted in it right away.  She played at her play kitchen for a while then went to explore.  She even got a little help from her brother, who decided it needed to go a little faster.  Now we get to work on all kinds of fun stuff, like we never zoom in the street without mommy and daddy right there.  Without further ado, here it is!

We saw it right away!

Conner picking out his ;).... we have some major wheel chair envy going on

Testing them together

Finding other fun things to test while we wait

Testing her new walker

And there she is!!!

Learning how to use the wheelchair and adjust it

We are all excited!

Uh oh, she's already figuring it out.....

Cause I'm just too cute

Sittin' Pretty

Cooking food in the kid's kitchen

Extreme wheelchairing (within safe limits ;))

 Conner is such a great helper!!

And in other news....

Madi is frustrated by her walker and just wants to go.  Tami and I decided forearm crutches might be a great thing for her to use instead of a walker.  Of course, trying to order a pair would take another 4 months, and we need them now, so I went ahead and ordered them online with Madi's Amazon Associate's Account money.  Yeah for having that money!!!!!  I got her these.... http://www.walkeasy.com/shop/product_details.asp?ProductCode=562 and we should have them in a few days.  Another HUGE thank you to everyone who purchases with her link.  I know it seems like no big deal, since it's stuff you are ordering anyway, but it gets us the things we need to help Madi succeed, and that is priceless!  Thank you again!

http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=missmadi-20



Madi's second wheelchair... http://www.aworthyjourney.com/2013/05/her-new-wheelchair.html