Oral Therapy Toys (AKA.....Teething Jewelry)

So, lately, Ethan has been having spurts of days where he is chewing on anything & everything. I have talked before about how this helps Ethan, so we don't stop Ethan from chewing. We also have been trying to find therapy items that will allow Ethan to chew on the toys & not his clothes, fingers, or other kids! There have been a few days when Ethan will have 3 different shirts on in one day because he keeps chewing a "bib" on his shirt. However, I am reluctant to buy any type of oral motor teether or jewelry because they are about $15 each plus shipping & tax. And, I have no idea if he will like it or if it will be a quality item. So, as I have talked about before, I have been trying to find cheap chew items or things I can make for him.

Recently, Ethan's Speech Therapist told me about a trusted website which had therapy toys, but she also told me to check out Etsy.com. I never thought about that website! I usually use Ebay or Amazon. So I did....and this leads me into my recent project.

I am not an amazing seamstress or have awesome sewing skills, but I would say that I have fair skills. I took a sewing class in junior high, and I loved it. My grandma loved to sew, and my mom knows how to sew as well....although I don't know if she loves it. My mom has taught me a lot about how to sew, and she is still my continual teacher. I have made blankets, pillowcases, quiet books, curtains, shirts, a dress, pjs, and I can alter our clothes.....just don't look too close! So when I saw some of the items on Esty, you know what I was thinking........"I can make that myself!" So, here it is......

These are supposed to be worn by mothers who have babies, but I thought I could make one for Ethan to wear. This way he would always have something to chew on & save his clothing. Following the tutorial from Pretty Ditty, I made Ethan a chew necklace. I slightly altered from the tutorial example, but it is basically the same thing.

I started with a piece of scrap fabric that I left over from making Ethan's existing curtains.

I also had these small wooden beads on hand. When my grandma passed away, I was given most of her sewing/craft supplies, so these come from a hat box full of a variety of wooden beads. Thanks Grandma!

I needed to make a "sleeve" to put the beads in, so I wrapped the fabric around a bead in order to measure my sleeve size. I started sewing a straight seam where I had measured....right sides together.

Once I had sewn my seam, I cut off the excess in order to have a slim sleeve to fill with the beads. Can you spot the error in this picture? My first attempt, I did the wrong sides together...oops! I thought about using it anyway, but the words "RACING" would be backwards....and I would really confuse my word-conscious child.

Next, I needed to turn the sleeve right-side out. This is a trick my mom taught me....put a safety-pin on one in & thread it through....it makes it so much easier!

Halfway through turning the sleeve right-side out....

Then, I added a bead, then tied a knot in the fabric. I veered from the tutorial on this step because I thought Ethan would enjoying chewing on the knots as much as the beads. I did this over & over again until I used all the beads. Then, I stitched up the end seams.

Instead of tying a bow, I decided to add a button. This wouldn't agitate his neck as much as the knot in the bow, and it would still keep it secure. And I just used a random button that was in the bottom of my sewing basket.

This whole project, including my mess up, took about an hour to do. I was hopeful because as I was making this, Ethan kept coming to get beads to chew on! Well, turns out that he likes to chew on this.....but doesn't like to wear it. Hum????? Back to the drawing board......

I contacted an Etsy seller (TNTees) who makes Recycled T-shirt Teething Bracelets. This again is for moms with little ones, but I asked her if she would consider making one for Ethan to wear. She agreed & I sent her his measurements. I'm hoping that Ethan will not only chew on this but will wear it too. These are so much cheaper than the therapy toys, and I know that he likes to chew on t-shirts.......fingers crossed!!!!

Also....this has nothing to do with my recent craft project, but I got a phone call from Ethan's Occupational Therapist this morning.........Ethan has met 4 out of his 5 school year goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!! He is copying a vertical line & a horizontal line, he is imitating drawing a circle & he is snipping (cutting) paper! That's sooooo amazing!!!!!!!!!!! So, she is drawing up the paperwork to add on to his existing goals!!!!!!!!! HOW AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO ETHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND GO TEAM ETHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!