All Wet

This boy has hated water on his face since he was about a year old. So much so that washing his hair caused him to vomit. I have put him in swim lessons here and there over the past few years as much for the cheap OT as for learning the strokes. I could teach him that much, I took Water Safety Instructor in college.

He has been working toward getting his face wet, and all of his hair. His instructor is GOLD in my book. She knows him and will push him some, but not over his limit. They also let them wear goggles. :) He also has a little brother who is in Level 1, the big guy is in Level 2. He doesn't want little brother to catch up with him, and I told him the only way to make it to Level 3 is to start putting his face in. And in true Patrick fashion, he did it on his own time. At first he was dunking his head while wearing his "float" (one they use for class). Then after the float was off, he went all the way under with just a hand on the side of the pool. I could have fallen out of my chair!! And this wasn't once, this was repeated at least a dozen times!

Sorry the picture isn't great. My phone doesn't zoom too well, and he wasn't under for super long periods of time either ;) Mine would be the one "belly-down" in the front :D

The light is shining brightly

Today is a day I wasn't sure would come. Today I got to look at The Boy's annual re-evaluation scores. This year he moved up to a harder test due to his age. Last year he still used the Early Childhood test, and still scored 2-3 1/2 years behind his chronological age in motor skills (both fine and gross). This year he did 4 tests. Two for gross motor; two for fine motor. On one of the gross motor tests he scored AT HIS AGE!!! And the other one only 6 month behind. On the fine motor tests he scored 6 months behind on one and 1 year behind on the other. His OT and I were not too concerned about that as when you look at the scores from each-he is in the "average range".  Did you read that? HE IS AVERAGE! :)

INSERT HAPPY DANCE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fists pumping, happy tears, twirling...and all of that!

Okay I am back. And his OT said that we are about to be done with OT. Not tomorrow, but soon. I am thinking less than a year soon....I am hoping like in 6 months soon. Not because I hate OT-much to the contrary, I will bawl like a little kid who has lost her ice cream to a dirty sidewalk on that day. No, I am happy because it will make a world of difference to not write a $200 check twice a month, but also because, IT WORKED! My guy is a fully functioning member of his classroom. His writing is as good as most of the boys in his class, better even.  Not bragging my kid is better-just that for something he has struggled with for so long he is there. He has made it!

I see it in his work this year. I see it in his confidence this year. This is an awesome feeling!

Now, he still has SPD. He WILL ALWAYS have SPD.  It's likely that around adolescence we will need to visit an OT again.  This is a neurological disorder and when the brain goes through major shifts it throws things back off "balance". He's gonna be my picky eater, and he may never color perfectly in the lines or be a star baseball player, (though neither would his mommy or daddy). He's gonna fit right in the middle with the rest of the kids :) And THAT makes me happiest of all :D

Being Involved, but not "Helicoptoring"

So back to school is BUSY! I don't do "fall sports" with my boys because just getting back into school is enough! However, I did sign them both up for swim lessons, weird I know-but I sign up for NOTHING in the summers too! I prefer playtime to structured time, call me old fashioned. And according to a bunch of new studies, old fashioned is on the cutting edge again...but I digress...

So the big boy wanted to join Cub Scouts, mostly at my prompting. He LOVES it! He loves his uniform, he loves the Den meetings, he loves the Pack meetings, he loved the Rain Gutter Regatta we had last weekend. More over, I think he likes being a part of something. He's fully included. Partly because Momma is the Den leader. Now, I came to this position because there wasn't anyone else stepping up. There are only 4 boys in my Den currently, and since they are Tiger Cubs, their parents have to come with. With my teacher background, planning the meetings are fairly simple (at least to me). But I don't have to worry about how someone else is treating him, I am there with him. I don't give him "special treatment". But I am there, and he likes it that I am there.

I am also one of the room mothers for his classroom again this year. I got my first chance to help in his room a week ago and LOVED it! I got to read the class a story and help with an activity while we celebrated one of the teacher's and Clifford, The Big Red Dog's, birthdays. I get to help in his room, but only when invited (yes I can show up whenever, but don't abuse the privilege). And he still likes it when I show up :) I love being there, but I know that I can't be there ALL the time.

It works well for me to sit down with his teacher before school starts and then once school is going I back off and see how things go. I can contact his teacher at any time. My only concern this year has been his lack of eating much for lunch. Tricky thing to learn to eat in 25 minutes while having fun with your friends. However, he has to learn to do it. My only concern was if it was affecting his afternoon learning and behavior, the teacher assured me it wasn't and so we let it go and I pack less in his lunchbox.

You know what I learn? He can do it. If I constantly stand over him, I undermine his confidence. By me being there 24/7, I send the signal that he can't do it on his own. If the end goal is an independent human being, then I fail him if I am there ALL the time. I think the balance is hard for any parent to learn, let alone those parents of special needs children. And I know it will change over time, and I will constantly be finding a new balance as he grows up. But that is my job as mom ;) And it's a pretty awesome job to have!

Mid August Musings

There are days when I think, I didn't sign up for this! Visits to a pediatric GI specialist who had the worst bedside manner with my son. Hello, you are in peds, at least EXPLAIN what a "rectal exam" means to my son before you start and don't leave me to do it for you! :( And meds to induce bowel movements and the laundry from said things....*sigh*.....it wears on a momma. Trying to get his body and brain to work together is no small feat.....


Happy notes include there being two 1st grade classrooms this year! :) And a new principal who worked with kids who had SPD in her previous school. Insert happy sigh here! :) One little boy who is super excited to be in 1st grade now, and one mommy who really sees the value in having given him that extra year of Kindergarten.

When I bring home new rain boots for the boy and I am now the best "mutter" ever! :) And when I dress up to go out with Daddy, and they tell me I am pretty. Yes, I did sign up for this. The good with the bad. That is life...and we go on.

When you give birth to opposites

This week continues to be a challenge...especially when you give birth to children with opposite sensory needs. Since the big boy's accident we have been laying low around the house. One, because he can't get his dressings wet or dirty; and two because I am exhausted. I am mentally and physically exhausted. I have still not been sleeping well, and last night the big boy had a rough start, and therefore I didn't sleep as well hearing each and every noise.

However, my younger one is bouncing off the walls...L I T E R A L Y!!!!!!!!!!! I took him with to the doctor's office for the check of the big one to at least get him out of the house...we made a trip to the library to get our weekly prizes, but neither of these are what he really needs...time to run and jump and play-outside!

And now it's getting hot again....how I wish we could take him to the pool and wear him out. I can hope that the big one is cleared for some water things after his visit tomorrow with the specialists. For now, my awesome hubby is giving the small one some jobs outside for a bit to help burn off some energy....

Some days are just hard....

Though,honestly, the day hasn't been bad...there have just been moments that are hard. I am still in mental recovery from the ER visit this weekend. I know most people can deal with things in a day or two, but I take a little longer...and come to find out we are throwing PMS into this mix and I am kinda surprised I haven't been committed to a padded room yet, or gained 15 pounds....and the boy's family (birthday) party is this weekend, my house is a TRAIN WRECK!

Here's when my mental "train" derailed....about the time that the boy, who has been on clindamycin for 72 hours spiked a 101 fever.....only 5 hours since he last had motrin. I dosed him again and an hour later he was 102.6 :( Poor baby was just shaking and shivering. I got him to take his antibiotic on the first try which he promptly threw up 5 minutes later :(

I have already called his pediatrician and we get to call after 8 am to make an appointment to see him tomorrow. This could be related to the finger injury, however, it's possible we have a stomach virus in addition to the finger injury as his smaller brother did the same thing Sunday night. When the little one did it, we chalked it up to the vaccines he had gotten about 48 hours before and the chaos and sunburn of Saturday....maybe not....

Oh and we leave for vacation in 10 days in Tampa....where the tropical storm is located currently. And I know the storm will be long gone, but this is the 4th named storm and the "season" just started 25 days ago.....now I am really glad I shelled for the trip insurance!

*SIGH*

The injury

So 2 days after the boy turned 7 he and his brother found some chunks of concrete and decided to play with them. Thus landing us in the ER for the first time (with one of my kids). *Sigh* Where to start....I don't know that this post has much direction...I just need to get it out somehow....

First off, my super awesome husband is (today) on his way home from a week long mission trip to Alaska to help teach Vacation Bible School. He missed all of the fun ;) I am super thankful for my friend who is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and lives 5 minutes away (she also has 5 years ER experience and experience working with children who have Autism). God couldn't have crafted me a better friend for this situation.

I was working in the yard weeding and watering when the boys came out to play. I didn't plant our garden behind the garage this year because we are going to have work done back there. This spring when our electrician trenched a new line to the garage he put the extra concrete back there so it can be hauled away with the rest later. The boys went to play behind the garage and I figured they were digging in the old garden and at 7 and 4, I don't watch them like a hawk like I used to. So it wasn't until I heard the screaming that I rushed back there....

Blood all over his hand, and dripping on the ground. I grabbed him and dragged him to the house with me nearly falling on the way in. This was bad and for once my brain stopped working. I can typically think in an emergency, this time, the thoughts flew so fast I couldn't corral them. I got him to the bathroom sink where I turned on the water to flush the wound and saw it was deep. It was gonna need stitches. I have purposely avoided the ER with my super sensory kiddo, and there was no avoiding it this time. UGH! I ran around the house trying to find my phone and then sent a facebook message to my handy PNP-who thankfully was on facebook and tried to call me and eventually just headed over. She concurred with my thoughts on the hospital. She got a hold of her husband who took my youngest, her 3 year old and her 7 year old, while we took my 7 year old and her 11 month old to the ER. She stayed with us and helped keep us both calm. And I am SUPER thankful for her husband's willingness to take on my extra kiddo and spare his wife as he had them at the baseball field for his 7 year old baseball game, and then played a concert last night 45 minutes from where we live. At the college we all graduated from.  I am also thankful for all of their friends who stepped up to watch the 3 while my PNP's hubby was setting up and playing for the concert. Like my friend said, it takes a village, and sometimes that village is spread out far and wide!

Thankful for living near a big city with a brand new Children's hospital. It was 40 minutes away, but well worth the drive to get to a place where they only treat kids and don't look at you like you have 4 heads when you say he has SPD and is over-responsive. They look for ways to help! The doctor put his sunglasses on him when she turned on the bright light to look at his finger. And it was agreed that he needed to be sedated in order for the work to be done by an orthopedic doctor. Amazingly he cried at certain things but never got so upset he threw up :) He had to have an IV line put in and monitors on him and he weathered it all so well. I was so proud of him. I stayed with him until he was settled, but didn't stay for the procedure. I needed to go have my post-adrenaline cry. I had shed a few tears here and there, but hadn't had time to really let it go. And I still will need a few times to get it all out :( In all they removed the fingernail, put in 6 stitches (that dissolve HOORAY!) and placed a splint in the nailbed until his new nail grows out. Thankfully no broken bones and it's on the pinky finger of his non-dominant hand. Here he is sleeping off the sedation, you can see his bandaged hand.

The next hurdle is the antibiotics....he is on one of the nastiest tasting ones.  Did I mention he is SUPER taste sensitive? It's bitter, really bitter, so we have pills and have tried to open them and put them on food. HORRIBLE!!!! I even tried it-YUCK!!!!!! Again thankful for my handy PNP who can get the boy to swallow the pills, I cannot despite trying everything she does.

So I can say that our first ER experience wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I really don't want to ever go there again ;) If you live anywhere near Chicago, the new Lurie Children's Hospital is worth the drive for sure!