Kristie McNealy, MD

This week has been really draining and I’m not exactly sure why.  As a result, I’ve been having trouble findings thing to write about, not to mention actually getting the writing done once I do.  So, today I decided I wouldn’t do any work until the kids went to bed.  Instead, I decided to play and work on a few projects with the girls that I’ve been planning on for ages, but haven’t quite gotten around to.

One of the things I’ve been putting off is baking bread.  Today, it snowed, so I knew there was no way I was getting my preemie out the door to play outside.  She’s terrified of snow (and sand, and gravel, and well, just about anything on the ground other than grass and pavement), so I decided that since we were housebound it was as good a time as any to tackle the bread making project.

Now, one reason I got it in my head that we should bake bread is our littlest one’s food allergies, but my other motive was getting Camden to touch the dough and play with it.  She tends to shy away from things that are sticky, but we had a little breakthrough the other day with mashed potatoes (she actually touched them and didn’t cry), so I figured the bread dough would be an interesting way to push her a little further.

At first she was more than a little dismayed by the lump of dough I put in front of her.  She poked it with one very tentative finger, and jerked her hand away with a whimper.  I left her be and worked on the two lumps of dough that were in front of me.  Fortunately, her older sister was on the other side of me shaping her dough with all the enthusiasm a 5-year-old can muster, so eventually, Camden tried again.  By the time I was done with my loaves, Cam was elbow deep in bread dough and loving it.

Now, admittedly, Camden’s sensory issues are pretty mild compared to other kids we know, but they can still put a damper on fun family activities like a day at the beach or going sledding.  I have noticed her making a lot of progress lately though, as long as I don’t try to do too much coaxing or interfering.  So far, our biggest breakthroughs have been made by putting her in a situation where there is a little bit of an objectionable substance around (i.e. a small pile of snow left in the backyard after a sunny day), and then leaving her to her own devices.  If you actively try to get her to touch, stand on or otherwise experience something that freaks her out, you’re asking for trouble, but if you give her the opportunity to explore things in her own time, and in her own way, we all get a lot further.

The same approach seems to be working for noises and crowds, which both used to really set her off.   She isn’t exactly in the middle of things as far as group activities go, but at least she isn’t melting down in the corner quite so much!  After all of her other medical and therapy appointments over the past 2 years, it’s a relief to see her making some progress in this area on her own.  This time the results were yummy too!

If you’re coping with sensory problems in your preemies, are there any techniques or interventions that seem to be helping?  Any that have totally backfired?  Share your experiences in the comments section below!

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