Poem: Sorry

I may have been upset,
But what I did was wrong;

I may have been angry,
Still I did a wrong thing;

I may have been hurt,
Still not an excuse.

Instead of solving my small problem,
I inflated it into a big problem.
I could have handled it better,
But I made a mess.

Sai the super boy became Sai the stupid boy.

I apologise for my bad behaviour.
I am sorry mommy and daddy.
Please forgive me and love me always and forever.

- SAI KISHORE

(Nov 17,2018)

Poem: May there be a good life ahead!

I know that you have been suffering
physically, mentally and financially.
I know that you have been trying hard
to come out of this.

I know that you are working tirelessly
towards your goals.
I know that you are hoping
for a change.

I can see that the beautiful life you deserve is going to become a reality.

Your hard work will reap fruits very soon.
That day is near.
Very near.

You will live the life you dreamed of.
May you have the best of whatever life offers you.

- SAI KISHORE

(22/10/2018.)

Poem: I love my life

I have a dear mommy, daddy and brother.
I have a beautiful house where I can do my program.
I have a marvelous brain that is growing every day.
I eat healthy foods and drink clean water.
I am very strong and healthy.
I am having a wonderful family
They help me achieve my goals and dreams.
I am blessed with a beautiful life and I love it!

- SAI KISHORE

( YEAR 2018)

Poem : I love history

History is beautiful,
History is life of the past,
It is interesting and very captivating,
I can’t stop thinking about it.

It is like a black hole,
but of the good side.
Pulling me in deeper and deeper.
I tried resisting it
but I failed.

Joann Fletcher gave me an insight on Egypt.
I will show the world the beauty of history.

Many will love it,
but I will be a humble history man.

I will be happy.
I will love my life for I will be creating history.

I will be remembered as a great history man and writer.
I will make my parents proud.

- SAI KISHORE

( YEAR 2018)

Poem: Don’t lose hope

I was like you,
Hopelessly trying to make sense of my life.
Many days were an absolute misery.
I have cried myself to sleep because
I was in pain.

Pain was not just in the body.
It was in my brain.

I suffered to understand the reality.
I never got it right and
I kept on failing.

Failure is a bitter experience,
but it is a good teacher.
Failing to understand is not really a failure
failing to try is.

Don’t lose hope.
Help is around you.
Open your mind.
Let the light inside.

- SAI KISHORE

(YEAR 2018)

Poem : Brain is beautiful

I have a small brain,
I am brain injured,
I have a deep injury,
But nothing of that matters!

My brain is beautiful,
It can learn anything.
It is not a fixed machine,
But an ever changing one.

It is complex and there lies its beauty.

I have a marvelous brain.
I can learn many things and remember them
and use them when needed

I am proud of my small but efficient brain.

I can do math.
I can creep and crawl.
I can read and understand English, Tamil and Spanish.

I am growing my brain everyday.
I am a beautiful brain boy.

- SAI KISHORE 

(YEAR 2018)

Poem : Love is a gift

Love is a gift


Love is beautiful,
Love is caring,
Love is real,
It is a golden egg.

Many people want love.
But they do not give it.

Love is a nice feeling,
Makes me feel warm in the coldest times.
Love makes me smile,
It has made me work hard.

Love is tough,
but it is very forgiving.
Love is my strength,
it gives me power.

Love is sweet.
Love is great.
To every person it is so.

I am so loved,
To be loved is to be blessed.

Do I know that love is a gift?
Yes, I know.
How about you?

- SAI KISHORE

( YEAR 2018)

Chanakya turns one !

 Happy Birthday Chanakya ! 




New born - 1 year old photo collection



New born




1 month old
2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old

11 months old

1 year old !!!



Time flies, but memories last forever...

Sai Kishore is creeping with support now !

Sai Kishore is ready to creep...

That's what our IAHP advocate said to us on the last visit.

Eight months back, SK was able to crawl well and push himself up to the quad position and hold for 5 seconds at most.Later on, he was able to do it for a maximum of 15 seconds after which he will fall down and start crawling.

He was not able to move past this stage and was getting a bit frustrated.It was a tough period for us.He didn't want to crawl anymore. 

When we showed our advocate one such video where he holds the quad position, falls down and stays put there due to frustration, she said that he was ready to creep and that's why he didn't want to crawl. She advised us to give him some torso support to creep and it has worked. 

Now, he is happily creeping around the house ( of course, with support) and smiling at everyone with his eyes saying " Look, I am creeping now !". He wants to do it all day. 

Here is one such video where he creeps in cross pattern.



This is definitely a great moment for us.

There is still a long way to go but what is life if you don't celebrate the little things... For these little things add up to give great happiness one day... Every small achievement will soon be one amazing success. That's what we hope for and work for... 

April 2017

We returned home on 31st of March 2017, after Sai's first clinical evaluation. We were exhausted from the travel and we took a week's break in order to arrange the required things to start his program
We were greatly motivated to start the program as soon as possible. I took some time to bond with Chanakya as I was away from him for 4 full days. Luckily, the milk that I had stored was more than enough for him. So, no formula was required, thank God!

SAI KISHORE

We decided to resume the program slowly as the break had been too long to start an intensive program immediately.

At 31.1 months, his neurological age is 18.52 months. When we evaluated him at home after the WTD course, he was 14.2 months old with neurological age being 5.62 months. From 5.62 months to 18.52 months in approx 17 months is a great achievement for SK considering the fact that I was not able to give him intense therapy for the past few months.

His development profile now looks like this:


( Better picture will be uploaded soon!)

APRIL-PROGRAM

Masking- 30x
Taste - 10x
Crawling- average 350 ft
Patterning- 3 times
Quad - 15x
Reading books - 10 to 15 mins
Tactile II - 10x
Tactile III - 10x
Choice board - 10x
Optimum auditory environment

Our primary focus for this month was nutrition. From May we will be showing flashcards. SK is looking forward to it!

This is how SK looks now...

SK with his dad



CHANAKYA

Chanakya's program is based on the ' how smart is your baby?' book.
I have listed the activities that he did in April and where he was at his profile due to all the stimulation.

(Age approximately 8-12 weeks)
  • Visual
    • Stage III ( initial ) - Outline bits with simple detail
    • Stage III - Detailed black and white checkerboard with coloured silhouette pictures
  • Auditory
    • Stage III - Meaningful conversation
    • Environmental sounds
  • Tactile
    • Stage I - Babinski reflex
    • Stage III - Tickling & Massage
  • Mobility
    • Inclined Track - 10 x a day
    • Flat track  
  • Language
    • Having a conversation
    • Specific sounds in a poem
  •  Manual
    • Stage I - Grasp reflex and hanging
  • Balance activities - Stage I
At the end of 12 weeks 

Chanakya's Developmental Profile @ 3 months

P- Perfect
F- Functional

Chanakya - Crawling in Inclined Track

Chanakya's first swim: click here

Chanakya' s first swim

Date: 22/04/2017
Age: 2.5 months

A few pictures that we took ...




and here is a video ...






Baby C seems to enjoy being in water...

Clinical Evaluation Visit - Part 1

JANUARY 2017 

It was on January 11th, 2017 that I got an email from IAHP that, for the first time ever, a clinical evaluation visit was scheduled to happen in India. It was such a great surprise for us because we were wonndering how we could take SK to Philadelphia with so little finance in hand.

We registered for the evaluation visit as soon as we received the mail because we didn't want to miss such a wonderful opportunity.The Evaluation was to happen in the last week of March and that meant I would be less than 2 months postpartum when we attend the evaluation.I had to plan well before the visit on how to tackle any health issues that might arise during that period.

Our slot was confirmed and we were eagerly looking forward to that event. There were days when I would be so worried whether I could make it, health wise.I was wishing to have a normal delivery and for my recovery to be quicker so that I could attend the evaluation without much to worry about.

Arranging the finance was not an easy task.It was taking so much effort on our part and we were still looking for ways to pay the fee amount.

FEBRUARY 2017 - MARCH 2017

Welcome Chanakya !

Baby C was born on Feb 3rd,2017 after approximately 10 hours of labor. I got dehydrated when I was 8 cm dilated and I started to cramp during the pushing stage. I was getting tired with every push and the doctors had to deliver the baby using forceps for the safety of the baby as well as mine.

While I was being stitched, I realized how lucky I was to at least have a normal delivery under such a situation. Yes, it sucked that I had 30+ stitches, but we were safe and Baby C was healthy.

It took me a few days to even walk without trembling.Sitting was more painful than standing or walking.I had severe blood loss and my haemoglobin levels dipped to 6.6!I was not able to regulate my body temperature and I constantly felt dizzy. The doctors suggested blood infusion in order to up the levels of hemoglobin. After a session of blood infusion, my hemoglobin was 8.8. At this point, I was allowed to go home with a prescription of iron supplements.

There were many other ailments of which I am not going to write here but it was a really tough time. It took me more than 20 days just to sit and more than 40 days to sit comfortably. I used to worry whether I would be able to travel and attend the evaluation.It was only with the help and support of my husband and our family that I was able to recover quickly than expected.

A million thanks to my husband, without whose support and encouragement, I would still have been lying on the bed saying 'I can't'.

Even as I am writing this, I haven't healed completely; but, I know that healing takes time and that I would be totally fine in a few more weeks.

Planning for the visit

We planned to leave Chanakya with my mom so that we could attend the evaluation with complete focus on SK. I was exclusively breastfeeding baby C and I didn't want to him to be formula fed while I was away. So, I calculated the amount of milk that he would need when I wasn't around and I started pumping a few days before to build up a stash.

Other than that, I had to review all the old notes and write down the details which were required.It was a daunting task as I had 5 big notebooks that contained information about his daily program.

The Evaluation Visit

Days flew by and it was time to leave for the evaluation.So far, everything went as planned and I had 3.5 litres of milk in the freezer on the day I was leaving to New Delhi.It was not easy on my mind to leave a 6 weeks old baby at home but the fact that baby C was still getting my milk gave me some peace.

In order to maintain the supply while away from the baby, I had to exclusively pump every 2-3 hours. I had to wash all the equipment, sterilize it and safely store the expressed milk after every pumping session. It was tiring but well worth the effort because I bought back home more than 2 litres of milk.

Even after so much planning I had to face a few issues with engorgement which fortunately subsided after a few pumping sessions. Luckily, I did not get any plugged ducts or mastitis in that period.



SK with his paternal grandma at the airport


I was also worried whether SK would feel groggy or disturbed after travelling in the air. I was comforted by the fact that he managed the travel so well.Throughout the visit, SK was wonderfully co-operative and thus the evaluation went smoothly.

PART 2 - click here

Chanakya turns 1 month old + Stimulating the brain of an infant using the Doman method


Based on the ' How smart is your baby' book, we have been giving sensory stimulation and motor opportunities in order to help baby C achieve his full potential in each stage of the developmental profile.
His program was started on 16th February 2017- age 13 days

Week 1 of the program: 16/02/17 - 22/02/17

Sensory stimulation: 

  • Light reflex - 5x per eye 10 times a day
  • Startle reflex - 3x 10 times a day
  • Babinski reflex - 3x per foot 10 times a day

Motor opportunity:

The inclined track was not yet ready. Apart from that, the other programs were going great.
  • Flat track - at least 2 hours
  • Grasp reflex - 10 seconds, 10 times a day
  • Vestibular stimulation



Week 2 of the program

Sensory stimulation: 

  • Light reflex - 5x per eye 8 times a day
  • Black and white checkerboard
  • Startle reflex - 3x 8 times a day
  • Babinski reflex - 3x per foot 10 times a day

Motor opportunity:

  • Inclined track - 5x a day
  • Flat track - at least 2 hours
  • Grasp reflex - 10 seconds, 10 times a day
  • Vestibular stimulation

BABY C TURNS 1 MONTH OLD


Chanakya - moving in his track


Chanakya- sleeping in the prone position on his track




By the end of 1 month,

In addition to the basic reflexes, Chanakya was able to
  • Follow people or things when they move
  • Move down the inclined floor
  • Lift his head up for brief intervals of time
  • Turn towards my voice
NOTE: Check out Domanmom.com for wonderful resources like the colourful checkerboard that I have pasted on C's crawling track.She has provided for free, weekly logs of the program that are very useful to have on hand to keep track of the activities.