Logan is definitely doing less head banging these days as he explores more these days. His bald spot has even filled in. However, he still loves to jump, jump, jump which is a much better alternative. He will jump hanging onto the couch, he will climb the couch and hold the back and jump, and now he has a new jumping toy from his Aunt Meredith - A Trampoline!!
He is still getting used to it so he doesn't yet jump with his typical intensity, but I know he is working up to it. Here is a video of him checking it out. I also love how verbal he is in this video. His receptive language is suddenly seeming to take off so we are hopeful that spoken words are not far behind. He certainly seems chatty here. We also continue to use body cues with him to support language and to provide him with an additional tool for communication.
Also, if you are wondering why he is wearing a rash guard here, see previous post.
Logan has never been a huge fan of clothes and we compromise on bare feet whenever possible as they are one of his primary sources for exploration. Actually, until he was over a year he only wore socks and/or shoes if absolutely necessary due to the weather. Bare feet during the day also served a second purpose. His feet being covered was one of his main cues that it was bedtime. He was barefoot all day and then always wore footed pajamas at night. It worked really well for us and he would literally relax when the pajamas were slid over his feet.
As he got older this effect was less significant and he did start to need shoes more as he was using his feet for standing and now for stepping. He does still wear footed pajamas at night and I do think this remains somewhat helpful, but he wears socks and shoes more often now. He has increased tolerance of them than in the past. Especially close fitting, narrow shoes. In the very beginning he would scream at shoes until they were off. When he got temporary orthotics he was more tolerant as I think both standing and the shoes felt better. He started with some squeaker shoes at first which he also liked. We also had some great durable soft soled shoes in the beginning. He still gets really mad at shoes sometimes and will usually take them off in the car or at home right away. Unless they are needed we let him do so.
Although we let him often be barefoot we try to avoid having him remove his other clothes. Even though we know it feels better to him to have them off we try to have him keep them on when they are needed for warmth or whenever it is appropriate to be wearing clothes for other kids his age. There is another reason too. Once he gets the clothes off the diaper is next. This leads to big, dirty issues. I don't mean to be gross, but we really need help here if any one has ideas. He originally was safe in onesies, but he can now take them down from the top, or just brings his arms and legs inside as shown below. He also gets out of or inside one piece outfits, pants, and pajamas.
He is also at the top sizes for onsies and other one piece outfits anyhow so he won't fit in them much longer. We are so impressed with all the adaptive skills he is showing but do need the diaper digging to stop. During the day it is not a big deal as he is closely watched and it has been a great opportunity for him to start to learn the meaning of no. He actually responds really well now when we tell him no and to fix his arms. Truly this has been some of the first signs of receptive oral language which is amazing. However at night he is escaping his footed pajamas at times and will quietly create a large mess at times. Again, really not trying to be gross here, genuinely just seeking advice if any one has any for us.
There is a funny story with all this though. We have also been working on having him keep his pants on when appropriate. My father was watching him one day and Logan was particularly obsessed with pulling them down that day and every time he did my dad would pull them back up. So Logan tried to get a little sneaky and put his back to the couch, faced outward and tried to sneak his pants down from behind his back. Without any sight we are not sure how he knew this would be more sneaky, perhaps that he felt his body on one side and the couch on the other making it feel secure, but we were very impressed with his sly attempt.
