The highchair arrived before the baby did. It was a gift and I didn’t realize when we decided to put it in storage, it was one of those things I saw as needing months and months into the future, that time would fly by so quickly. We pulled it out a month ago when Button’s paediatrician said she’s ready for real food, but couldn’t use it. She slumped, couldn’t hold her weight up and her shoulders went quickly. I figured we’d need a special chair with support for her about three weeks after she was born and put a request in for a referral to an OT to get one, but six months later and that referral hasn’t happened yet. So the health visitor recommended we feed Buttons on my lap where I can support her shoulders.
I watched her play yesterday. She’s sitting upright without issues, her shoulders crunch when she pulls up on furniture or hands, when she turns over in bed, when she puts weight through them. Sitting up seems to be okay. So we fetched the high chair from storage again and this time had much better luck. She’s comfortable and happy and enjoying food that much more.
It’s easy to fixate on the help needed, the things one can’t do is there, every day, reminding you of the obstacles that you try to overcome more often than not. It’s easier to loose sight of the obvious. Some times, you don’t need help or expensive equipment, time changes things and sometimes for something to work, all you need is time to change things. And not to forget to cover the same ground again at regular intervals just in case solutions have decided to jump out of the woodwork and present themselves with a flare.
