Headphones with music help Andy to calm down

I purchased some noise-canceling headphones for kids on Amazon.com. I was looking for something to go completely over Andy's ear, and that he couldn't easily knock off of his head.

We hook the headphones up to an iPod. Andy loves listening to the Black-eyed Peas. We play the entire "The End" cd for him, and he loves it. He will listen to the songs over and over.

If Andy gets cranky, or becomes inconsolable, putting the headphones on him calms him down. It seems to distract him, and gets him to just focus on the music. He quiets down almost instantly.

I mainly bought these for an upcoming trip we are going to take to Florida on a plane. However, we've been using them several times a week to calm Andy down. One time he was trying to eat dinner and started crying. I put the headphones on him to get him to finish the meal.

Another time, we had some smaller kids over and the little one was crying. It was upsetting him, and he started to cry.  So I put the headphones on him, and he cheered right up. He started laughing and enjoying the music.

We do have to try and keep Andy from messing with the volume controls. We set it so he can't make it too loud, but he will start crying if he turns the volume all the way down. Then when I look to see what's wrong, I find that he can't hear it. My husband clipped the iPod to the back of his pants, and this kept him from being able to reach the volume controls.

These headphones have been great, and I hope they help on our trip to Florida. I also got a battery pack to charge my phone and the iPod if we are on a plane or in a restaurant, and the battery should go dead. I will also be bringing Andy's inflatable bed to sleep in at the hotel. We got it from Walmart. I use it, so I don't have to worry about him falling out of bed.

We will be visiting a water park soon too, so I will be bringing the bed and headphones. I am hoping Andy will enjoy the trip. He likes playing in water, so I thought he might like it.

Andy's practicing stair climbing

Andy doesn't have any balance and cannot stand on his own. However, when I hold him at the waist, he will take up to 25 steps at a time. He seems to be getting faster at it too. I've tried to have him go up steps several times, and he just wasn't ready for it.

I've been leading Andy towards the stairs again, to see what he'll do. He will lift his leg up to attempt to put it on the first stair. He doesn't usually lift it high enough, but I grab under his knee and place it on the stair. I then lift him at the waist, while he stands on the stair with one leg, then he brings the other leg down.

I am hoping that we can avoid having to buy a chairlift/ stairlift for Andy when he is too heavy to carry, if we are not back into a ranch (one-level) home by then. The bathtubs are all upstairs right now, so Andy has to be carried upstairs several times a week. He helped walk up the stairs the other day.

Andy does not crawl. I've tried to put him through the motions of crawling up the stairs, but it is frustrating for both of us. Also, it is so strenuous and straining on me to have him fight me the whole way up the stairs as I try to bend his legs to make him crawl that I don't do it. I can carry him on my hip right now up the stairs at five years old. Seven, eight or nine years old, this might not be possible.

For now, I am trying a little here and there to get him familiar with the motions of stair climbing.  Going down the stairs is a whole different story. It is very scary for him to be unfamiliar with how to step down, and he gets frightened and puts his arms over his face. It is much more easy to carry him down the stairs though, so I will be happy if he can help me with climbing up. He claps when we get to the top, so I think he knows we are happy he did it too.

Happy Day for Andy

Andy was so happy and cheerful today! I wish I knew what was putting him in such a good mood. He was laughing and smiling so much, it was so nice to see. He had a great day at school, and didn't cry at all at home. He was cracking up laughing a few times. I've never seen him smile so much at us.

This was a great day, and I am grateful for it. I am happy that we all got to have some good bonding time with him today. I think he felt a lot of love today, and it seemed he was really enjoying life. He also continues to take several steps around the house, while I hold him under his armpits. It seems to be good for his brain.