The Breakthrough Meal

Any tubie mom knows the feeling you get when you walk into your child's room in the morning to get them out of bed and see this:

That sinking, stomach-in-your-throat, heart-in-your-belly feeling.  The feeling that you get when you know you have unwittingly deprived your child of 900 calories that he so desperately needs.  You can't give him those calories back if you want him to eat orally throughout the day, so they are lost, gone forever.

These things happen in the tubie world, and it's almost always a pump issue.  This time it was totally our fault.  A miscommunication between Shane and myself led to the lost calories, but it turns out that it was totally worth it.  

Our son was hungry today.  Hungry.  I saw him ferociously seek out the snacks in his therapist's bag when she arrived.  I saw him (without asking) rip open the baggie of crackers and instantly begin putting an entire cracker in his mouth, not taking his normal crumb-baby-bites.  I saw him ask Ms. Maria to eat instead of playing their normal games first.  Asking to eat.  

I watched him climb up into his chair at our table and pour the entire bag of mini Ritz crackers out on his plate and without blinking an eye popping them in his mouth like he'd been doing it for years.  I watched him grab other baggies of snacks that were laid out, open them, and pull out the contents, trying each one.  Feeling lucky, Ms. Maria and I added a tablespoon of peanut butter to a bowl, and I watched as he spread peanut butter on his mini crackers and ate them like he didn't have a sensory issue at all.  I even watched him  scoop heaps of peanut butter onto his little knife and bite it off.

In about 30 minutes, Greyson had devoured more than he has ever eaten in one sitting.  29 mini Ritz crackers, 1.5 Tbsp of peanut butter, 3 Ritz flatbread crackers, and 5 cheese balls.  308 calories.  

My child had a typical meal.  I'm not sure if this feeling can even be described appropriately.

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 23: Sensory Bins

Most people don't think about sensory bins as gifts, but they are the perfect, personalized, homemade gift for toddlers.  They are inexpensive, and can provide hours and hours of fun for little ones!

Sensory bins can be made from almost anything safe for children to explore.  We have a few different kinds of bins right now, but the possibilities are numerous.  All you need is some kind of container with a lid to keep the items, and an imagination to decide what items to place in the bin!  Here are some ideas from our collection:

Simple Sensory Bin  #1

• beans
• plastic animals or bugs
• measuring spoons or cups

Simple Sensory Bin #2

• dry split peas
• toy vehicles
• measuring spoons or cups

Pom Pom Sensory Bin

• craft pom poms
• measuring spoons
• ice cube tray

The key to a really, really good sensory bin is to appeal to all of the senses (or as many as you can).  Smell seems to be a difficult one to appeal to, so think about adding a few drops of essential oils or some other scent that can spice up the sense-factor.  And remember, you can't always taste things in the sensory bin ;)

Go through any dollar store with an open mind, and you can create an amazing sensory bin for very little money!

Sensory Bin Ideas:

• beans
• rice
• dirt
• Easter grass
• sawdust
• sand
• rocks/stones
• pasta/noodles
• cotton balls
• feathers
• flour
• sugar
• koosh balls
• corn kernels
• cereal
• acorns
• nuts
• water beads
• epsom salts
• water/bubbles

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 16: Peg Boards

Many people have never even heard of peg boards, but almost everyone has seen this fun little game:

While it's not quite the same, you can imagine how much fun a kid would have with their own version of this game that we all can't get enough of.  This is an open-ended toy that can be used for so many things, all at the discretion of the child's imagination!

Skills:

• fine motor
• math skills (counting, patterns, sorting, adding/subtracting)
• colors, shapes
• creativity

{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 15: Bathtub Art Supplies

There's lots and lots of learning that can take place in the bathtub, which is why I've included bathtub art supplies on our list.

This is another gift that can be homemade for a more personal touch.  I will caution you, however, that we've tried a few bathtub crayon recipes without luck.  The colors just don't write vibrantly on the tub like we'd hoped, so make sure to test them before giving.  We love using our Easy Bath Tub Paint, but for a different texture paint with more vibrant colors, it's nice to use good old store-bought sometimes!

Skills:

• fine motor
• creativity
• sensory
• color and color mixing
• concept skills

 

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 14: Art Supplies

You cannot go wrong when giving a toddler art supplies, due to the fact that the supplies are used up in no time.  Greyson goes through construction paper so quickly, and crayons get broken (don't throw them away!) or lost almost as soon as you open a fresh container it seems.

There are some art supplies that can be homemade for more personalized gifts.  While I have not tried out any homemade paint recipes just yet, it's certainly worth a look if you'd like to go that route.  Those broken crayons that seem to pile up?  Pop them into a cute silicone ice cube tray, melt them down, let it cool, pop them out, and you have brand-new and fun-shaped crayons!

Making Crayons Tutorial at Skip to My Lou

Skills:

• fine motor
• creativity
• early writing skills
• sensory
• concept skills

Art Supplies:  

• crayons, markers, colored pencils
• paint (washable, finger)
• paintbrushes
• paper (construction, card stock, lined)
• dot painters
• scissors (child safe)
• stickers
• stamps/stamp pads
• coloring books
• popsicle sticks
• pipe cleaners
• glue
• pom-poms
• glitter
• art smock

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 10: Building Blocks

I titled this post building blocks because there are many, many kinds of building blocks besides the brand that immediately comes to mind, Legos (nothing against Legos, because they rock).  Bristle blocks, mega blocks, snap cubes, etc, building blocks are one of those toys that have endless possibilities.

Skills:

• fine motor
• problem solving
• creativity
• math skills
• sensory

A Few Things to do with Building Blocks:

• sort them (by color, shape, size, number of "nubs")
• count them
• make patterns
• build anything you imagine

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{30 Days of Simple Toddler Toys} Day 2: Play-Dough

You'll notice that I spelled Play-Dough incorrectly in the title of this post, but it was completely on purpose.  There are so many, and I mean so many types of play-dough that I do not just mean the branded Play-Doh that most people think of.  Also try Moon Sand, Play Foam, and/or Modeling Clay.

        

There are also many easy recipes out there for play dough that can make a much more personalized and fun gift for the children in your family.  Here are just a few of our favorites that can be altered easily for different children:

Skills:

• fine motor
• sensory
• pretend play

Cloud Dough (comparable to Moon Sand)

(recipe from Kiwi Crate)

Materials:  

-baby oil (1/4 cup)

-flour (2 cups)

Directions:

1.  Mix together, and enjoy!

Play Dough (comparable to Play Doh)

(recipe all over the internet, but I use from Buggy and Buddy)

Materials:

-1 cup flour

-1 cup water

-1/2 cup salt

-1 Tbsp cream of tartar

-1 Tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil)

-food coloring

-any scents or glitter (optional)

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients together.  Add glitter or other scents to personalize.

2.  Stir over medium heat continuously until it forms a ball.

3.  Dump out onto wax or parchment paper until it cools.

4.  Knead a bit until it is fully mixed and enjoy!

Yummy Dough

Edible play dough!

Materials:  

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1 Tbsp. granola (optional)

-bowl

Directions:

1.  Measure brown sugar and peanut butter into the bowl.

2.  Squeeze with hands to mix.  If too sticky, add more brown sugar.  If too dry, add more peanut butter.

3.  Add granola (optional), and enjoy!

No matter what kind of dough you are going to give as a gift, it's perfect to pair it with some cookie cutters, rollers, and dough utensils to explore.  This is the set we have on G's list because it is heavy duty and unique.

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The Honeymoon is Over

Greyson's been doing really well at his therapy sessions, despite being a very tired boy.  On Thursday, we moved to trying some diluted apple juice (50/50 water/juice) on a spoon, and he took 2 ounces during one session!  That is a major, major deal.

Friday morning, some diluted applesauce was introduced.  Greyson had a lot of trouble with the texture of it, even though it was heavily diluted.  He sputtered and spit out (or wiped out) the few bites he did accept, but quickly decided he was not going to accept any bites.  He began crying, reaching for me, and calling my name.  It's very hard to see your child obviously upset and wanting/needing you, but being able to do nothing.  That behavior (during mealtime) is something that needs to be ignored, so as to not reinforce it in any way (positively or negatively).  There was also some obvious manipulation, because at one point, he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and smiled.  That boy.  We always end sessions on a positive note, usually Greyson accepting one more bite, and then lots of praise and he can get down. 

Easy Bath Tub Paint

The bath tub is a great place for children with sensory issues to explore different textures, because if they don't like the feeling of something, they can quickly rinse it off.  We have tried whipped cream on G's high chair tray before, with absolutely no luck at all.  In fact, a tiny dot on his finger made him gag and retch.  We thought the bath tub would be a better setting for him to try this type of texture out, and it was very successful!

Easy Bath Tub Paint

Skills: Sensory, Fine Motor, Art, Colors

Materials:  

-shaving cream

-food coloring

-paintbrushes

-cups

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, huh?

Authors Read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish on YouTube

To celebrate "Read Across America" and Dr. Seuss' birthday (March 2), we have been reading a Dr. Seuss book each day this week.  Today, we planned a fun Dr. Seuss activity with G to end our fun week.

We don't have all of the Dr. Seuss books yet, but G has asked for some for his birthday.  I really wanted to read him "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish", but don't have it.  We found this wonderful video on YouTube of authors reading the classic Dr. Seuss book aloud, complete with the illustrations!  We put this on while working on our activity.

Our activity.  Let's just say, it worked out, just not how we planned!  Having a kid that doesn't so much enjoy cold, wet textures didn't fare out too well for painted hand prints!

I planned a variation on this "One Fish Two Fish" activity where you trace the child's hand on colored paper to recreate the cover of the book.  I thought it would be fun to do painted hand prints instead!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, huh?
Skills:  sensory, fine motor, colors

Materials:  
-paper (construction works best, but can be any)
-washable paint (yellow, green, red, blue)
-paint brush
-several wet paper towels

Homemade Gak

It's been a long winter of illnesses for everyone, so G's been very isolated from the world.  Everyone was healthy, so my sister and I made plans to get the kids together to make homemade Gak!  We both remember making this when we were young, and how much fun we had with it.

We used this recipe over at Lil' Luna.  We experimented by halving the recipe, and it worked out wonderfully!

G had lots of fun just waiting for us to get the ingredients ready!

Homemade Gak
Skills:  sensory, fine motor, life skills

Materials:  
-4 oz. bottle of Elmer's glue (it seems that Elmer's creates the best consistency)
-1/4 cup warm water, and 4 oz. warm water
-1/2 tsp Borax (laundry aisle of most grocery stores)
-medium to large mixing bowl
-a cup

Pom Pom Bin

G has been struggling with different textures for a while now.  We had a consult with an occupational therapist to get some ideas of how to help him get used to the textures he doesn't enjoy so much.  We got lots of ideas from her, and of course, I pinned a ton on Pinterest :)  Here is something we made up on our own.

Pom Pom Bin
Skills:  fine motor, size, color, sensory

Materials:
-some kind of bin or bowl
-measuring cups
-spoons (wooden, measuring, regular, etc.)
-ice cube tray
-craft pom poms