Natalie

The next several days were difficult. Rach wouldn't fall asleep unless someone was there with her in bed. She had restarted this habit in the hospital, where there was always me, Alan, Charlie and/or Don with her, day or night. Alan, Don, Charlie or I would take turns staying with her until she fell asleep. I usually wanted to be the one to do it on the nights I came home early enough. Charlie and Don would sometimes stay with her together.

Rach began to. drink from a bottle again. She had just gotten used to the sippy cup before her accident, but now was clumsy with it. She'd start to get frustrated, and I'd put the milk in a bottle. However, Rach started insisting that I bottle feed her instead of her holding the bottle herself.

Charlie bought her a ton of toys that were noisy and needed to be pushed. His help really has been invaluable! I thanked him deeply when I found out that he had paid most of the hospital bill. It took quite a weight off my and Alan's shoulders.

Rach's bad habit of putting things in her mouth worsened. As it is, seeing babies do it as they're curious and their young tastebuds are much more sensitive than those of adults, but my little baby, having lost her sight, relied on them more. With the wheely toys, she still bumped into furniture, as well as the pets. Layla learned to scamper away at the first sound of any of those kind of toys. Don smartly thought to call her when she got stuck at a wall the first time. She turned, and pulled the toy for a bit, then would start to push it.

Too boot, she fell more, as sight is an important element of balance.

Finally, the day of the first lesson came. Gina, Don, Charlie, Alan, Rach and I were in the living room, when Bob, came in. He had brown hair and eyes. Alan introduced him to everyone.

"Hi Rach!" Bob greeted her in a very cheerful voice.

"Hafga?" she replied in confusion, not recognizing the voice. Charlie had her in his arms.

"Your mommy says that you're one! What a big girl you are!" Bob continued. Rach wore some everyday, dark blue overalls.

"AfAja!"

"Are you giving her a cane?" Charlie asked. "I read that blind kids get them very early on? I mean, studies have shown that blind Children who get them during the developing years are more likely to have a better gait and posture in later in life. And what about Echolocation?"

"Charlie, Rach needs to learn the basics before we can get into that" Alan said wisely. He told me that Charlie would go all out on his research.

"Your father is right" Bob nodded. "Today, I'm just going to get acquainted with Rachael, and hear about the goals and concerns you all would like to address."

"For the immediate future, I'd like Rach to learn to walk safely, at least around the house" Alan answered.

I nodded in agreement, and added "Rach's been using push toys to get around, but she bumps into things, and sometimes doesn't want to use the push toy, causing her to fall."

Don got one of her push toys, and told Charlie to put her down. It took little encouragement to get her to use it. Yet again, she soon hit a wall, muttered something in baby talk, pulled it, and pushed again.

"She seems to be learning some problem solving skills. " Bob said, as Rach bumped into a sofa. Carefully, he got a toy pig from his sack, and started to squeeze it. The toy gave out a pretty realistic pig squeak. This got Rachael's attention. She tried to figure out where the pig was. Bob then requested "Squeeze the pig, and get her to come to you." He gave it to me.

"Sure" I said, squeezing the thing. It felt rubbery. "Sweetie! Come to mommy! I've got you a new toy!" She definitely still understood the word 'toy'.

She squealed happily, and tried to come in my direction. In her excitement she forgot to use the wheelie toy, and fell after a few steps. Oh no! My baby started to whimper, and I went to comfort her. A part of me felt guilty for what happened. What if I had been there?

She sniffled as I picked her up and stroked her head. Alan joined us right away.

"Shhhhhhh It's okay..." he whispered to her. "Bob's here to help you not to fall so much"

"Does Rachael get this upset every time she falls? Bob asked, as the boys each tried to comfort Rachael as well.

"Most of the time, I'm afraid" Alan told him somberly. "I think it's from frustration more than being injured."

"Do you wanna cookie?" Charlie offered her with a huge grin. He was like an indulgent uncle.

"Sugar is the last thing she needs right now" I told him firmly.' She won't do as well on the lesson."

"Do you take her outside?" Bob asked. "And talk to her about what's going on around her?"

"We all do" I replied. "My husband and I have always made it a point to talk to her, even before..." I couldn't finish. I took a deep breath and Alan took my hand.

"She loves the park" Charlie piped up.

"You'll all need to be more intense about explaining the world around her. She needs to be allowed to feel and explore" Bob informed us. This made a lot of sense. Rach, by this time had calmed down and the pig's little head was in her mouth.

"Guess I could take her to the petting zoo again" I smiled, happy that Rach was feeling better.

"I bought her some of those baby einstein videos" Charlie added. They were pretty good, Rach liked to watch them...before.

Bob then asked us to take out more of her toys, and he started to play with her on the floor. At the moment, her idea of 'playing' consisted of making as much noise as possible, and putting the toys in her mouth. She no longer threw things.

"She seems to recognize toys by their taste and noise" he remarked after a while, then he asked Rachael, who held a mini kangaroo that squeaked, . "Hey Rach! Could I see that toy in your hand?" This wasn't going to end well. She didn't like to share. Gently, he got it from her, and she protested loudly.

"Baap!"

"She remembers that the toy exists" Bob said, and quickly returned the toy. Rach put it in her mouth, and then squeezed it.

Bob interacted more with Rachael, made some more comments, and before we all knew it, the first lesson was over.

The lesson gave me some hope, and I looked forward to the next one.

TBC