Playful Rooted

When it’s been months since I’ve written something, it’s always hard to know where to start. Not like anything monumental has happened around here, but it’s all the little updates that I’d LOVE to have the time to share that I simply don’t. The other day, Luca asked me why I hadn’t changed my shirt in two days, and before I even had time to answer, he was already asking me for another snack. YOU, child, you are why I don’t have time to change my shirt. Or write a blog post. Parenting three little ones is an all-consuming job – great and rewarding and so exhausting and there are no breaks.

So, I guess I’ll start with the biggest thing: our TINY girl. 🙂 She is 16 months old somehow?? And getting more and more fun all the time.

The primary thing you need to know about 16-month-old Pria is that she is so, so SWEET. Truly. I know all babies are sweet, but she just has the sunniest, giggliest disposition, and she loves everyone. She has been through some really tough stuff, and even still, she is such a loving and blessedly happy little gal. I am so grateful for that because, with all the complications she brings us, life would be way harder if she had a less cheerful personality.

Pria still L O V E S Luca and cracks up at almost everything he does. I am so excited to watch their relationship develop and evolve as they grow up together. They share a lot of personality traits, and he is almost as sweet on her as she is on him – except when she knocks down his MagnaTile creations. Because he’s the oldest and a boy, and she’s the youngest and a girl, I think they will have a really special relationship. (Not that she won’t have a good relationship with Sawyer, but. Well. It will be different.)

We learned a few months ago that Pria has joint hypermobility syndrome in her lower extremities – mainly affecting her hips, knees, and ankles. This means that these joints are much more flexible than the typical person’s, and that makes it really hard for her to gain stability. (I sprained my ankle in the car accident we were in over the summer, and it took me forever to feel stable again on that leg. And that was one loose joint in a person who had been walking for 35 years. I can’t imagine actually learning how to walk on a full set of joints that loose!) This completely explains why she has been so delayed in meeting the gross motor milestones that rely on those lower joints. She didn’t sit up on her own until 8.5 months (loose hips), didn’t crawl until 13 months (loose knees), didn’t pull up to stand until 15 months (loose ankles). She just has to work a lot harder than the typical kid to achieve these things.

Pria is finally able to get herself into an upright position while holding onto something, but because of the hypermobility, her knees and ankles turn out so much that all her weight rests on her heels, and her toes sometimes don’t even touch the floor. It’s really awkward and painful looking. We’re in the process of getting orthotics that will help turn her little feet forward, basically just putting everything in the correct position as she gains strength in her legs. We have no idea how long she’ll need the orthotics, but probably at least a couple years as she learns to stand on her own and then cruise, walk, and – wayyy down the line – run.

I’ve had multiple physical therapists assure me that they have seen cases worse than hers and that she will be able to overcome this, in a way. She will always be hypermobile, but as she gets older and gains strength, her muscles should be able to overpower her loose ligaments, and she should have less of a challenge with mobility. I’m very hopeful that is true and that it won’t cause her too much grief throughout her life. And I’m super excited to get the orthotics and give her some more stability so she can eventually take those long-awaited first steps!

All that said, I have been really relishing Pria’s very long “baby-hood.” The boys both walked much earlier – Sawyer started walking at 9.5 months! – and once they took off, they never looked back. Pria is my last baby, and so it’s been really nice to have a prolonged baby phase and to be able to hold her close for such a long time. It will be bittersweet when she wants to walk instead of be carried one day!

Pria is saying several words: dog, dada, papa, buh-buh (brother), buh-buh (belly button), buh (ball), buh (book)… notice what’s missing from that list?? Yeah, she still has not said mama. Not once! Luca also didn’t say mama until he was 16 months, so I’m hopeful it’s coming. Then again, since that day long ago that Luca broke the “mama” seal, he has NOT STOPPED SAYING it. Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom?! All day. Every day. So I guess she can take her time. 😉 And despite not saying mama, she is sure in a MAMA phase. She wants me pretty exclusively these days – even Ben sometimes is not allowed to hold her, and she’ll wail her little lungs out until she’s back in my arms, where she immediately quiets down. It’s really endearing and really exhausting.

Pria has also graduated from the high chair to a booster seat at the table, and she feels like the absolute queen of the castle. She copies everything she sees people doing – we were all recently VERY sick, and she learned to put the thermometer to her forehead and then look at it to check her temperature, which is the cutest thing ever. She still loves peek-a-boo, and now she’ll hide her tiny hand inside her sleeve, then pop it out and say, “boo!” She’s starting to stack blocks, play with her baby dolls, and point to things in the books we read. And she’s playing that perennial parent favorite game, “where’s your belly button?” Third kid, and it never gets old.

We had a looong wait at urgent care a few weeks ago (she’s fine), and she got her first taste of screen time with a cell-phone viewing of Daniel Tiger. Needless to say, she enjoyed it. 😉

She is still the teeny-tiniest thing ever, all the way from head to toes, but her growth is on track and she’s doing really well with eating. We struggled so much with food allergies in the beginning, but NAET treatments and the passage of time both seem to have really helped. There are still certain things we need to avoid, but she can eat almost everything, and that’s such a wonderful change from where we were a year ago!

Overall, we are just so blessed with how healthy and strong and sweet this little girl is. Yes, it is H A R D to have a child with physical challenges, especially with two other kids in the fray, but she’s a fighter, and she gets that from me, so together we’re a pretty good team. And most importantly, she is so happy.

What could be better than that?

xo!