So I decided today to tackle some phone business that I've been dreading. Not because I don't want answers, but because I hate hanging on the phone all day. Luckily, I think it is going to pay off.
1. Sean and Aidan went to the Parents Nite Out fundraiser at Sean's school Saturday night. Doug, Ella and I went to dinner then picked them up. They only stayed 1/2 of the time of the fundraiser. When we picked them up, Sean's glasses were missing. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until we got home and didn't find them in his bag. I waited till Monday to see if they were in the office and no one has any idea what happened to them. After searching high and low, I am giving up.
First, I called a local optical shop to see about getting new glasses filled there instead of at his pediatric opthomologist's office (it's an hour away.) Then I had to call the Ped Op to get the Rx transferred. Then I started emailing with Specs4Us about getting a pair of their frames to try. More calls with the optical shop regarding fitting Sean. Calls to Medicaid about coverage for replacing lost glasses.
Good news is he gets 3 pairs a year covered. Good news is the local shop is willing to try the Specs4Us frames. Bad news is it will take a couple weeks to get them in and lenses made.
2. Per Beverly's advice, I called the medical equipment place we used for a nebulizer and asked about Medicaid diapers. Good news is she is mailing me all the forms and info I need to send to her to get that rolling.
3. I'm taking the leap into a difficult decision. I am taking my 16 year old cat to the vet tomorrow to discuss putting her to sleep. We have been trying to get her potty issues under control for over a year and I just can't do it anymore. I can't have Eleanor crawling on pee-stinking floors. Doug is tired of shampooing the carpet every morning. I am tired of the lingering smell. She hasn't been in good health in a long time and I just need to let her go for her sake and ours.
My parents don't think I can do it, they've heard me complain about her for too long. Fact is, I love my children more than my pet and I have to put their needs first. It is going to be hard on the boys, especially Sean as he loves his kitties so. Luckily, our other cat hasn't followed Audrey's path of destruction. So we will still have one fluffy kitty to love on.
Please give me strength to do what I need to do tomorrow. Audrey and I have been together since the day she was born, in fact I watched her birth. It's going to be hard to lose my old friend.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
I'm Iriked at our Pediatrician
I took E in for her 6 mo WBV this morning and the first thing the Ped did when she walked in the room was hand me a print out(written and funded by the maker of RotaTeq) that tries to dispute information from The Vaccine Book by Dr Sears. This is 4 months after she told me "We will just have to agree to disagree on this, but I will let you follow that schedule."
Plus, I asked her 3 different times (in the past 3 months) about Medicaid funded diapers for Sean and she always says "I'll look it up and call you" but hasn't. She said she knows she just needs to write a script and has done it for another family but then she doesn't follow up with me!
Yet she has time to look up anti-Sears info...
In other news, she said Eleanor was doing great and looked good. She weighs 17 lbs 7 oz (70th %) and is 27" (90th %) tall.
Of course, the Ped wanted to make sure I was starting solids (which she defined as iron-fortified rice cereal) and suggested I give her baby multivitamins since she isn't getting copious amounts of artificial vitamins from infant formula. *rolls eyes and plugs ears, asks, mentally, "And when did you become a nutritionist?"*
This little one is the picture of good health, flourishing on 100% mother's milk, the way nature intended infants to grow.
Combine the above remarks and attitudes with her poorly worded compliments:
"She has a beautiful round head, no flat spots at all! I just don't see...well actually I do see it...how parents just leave their babies laying around and get those flat spots." (Nice way to lay blame on parents!)
"I bet you've forgotten what it's like to have a baby that eats! Well, of course Sean has his texture issues to overcome, but there comes a time when you need to put on your Mean Mom Face and just say that's it!" (Yes, I'm a pushover and that's why Sean has feeding issues.)
(After I said that I started giving Ella a bit of food to try last week, but not much has been ingested yet.) "You know my daughter is still pushing it out with her tongue too. (Her daughter is a week younger than Ella.) I told her, 'Listen hear, sweetie, you've got to get the hang of this! I can't keep nursing you all the time much longer!'" (Tongue thrust reflex is an indicator that a baby is not ready for solids yet.)
Sigh. You know I don't expect that I will find a dr the has all my parenting ideals or the sensitivity learned by being a SN parent, but it gets tough to grin in bare it every visit. I have to keep in mind that I go to the dr for medical advice, not parenting advice.
Plus, I asked her 3 different times (in the past 3 months) about Medicaid funded diapers for Sean and she always says "I'll look it up and call you" but hasn't. She said she knows she just needs to write a script and has done it for another family but then she doesn't follow up with me!
Yet she has time to look up anti-Sears info...
In other news, she said Eleanor was doing great and looked good. She weighs 17 lbs 7 oz (70th %) and is 27" (90th %) tall.
Of course, the Ped wanted to make sure I was starting solids (which she defined as iron-fortified rice cereal) and suggested I give her baby multivitamins since she isn't getting copious amounts of artificial vitamins from infant formula. *rolls eyes and plugs ears, asks, mentally, "And when did you become a nutritionist?"*
This little one is the picture of good health, flourishing on 100% mother's milk, the way nature intended infants to grow.
Combine the above remarks and attitudes with her poorly worded compliments:
"She has a beautiful round head, no flat spots at all! I just don't see...well actually I do see it...how parents just leave their babies laying around and get those flat spots." (Nice way to lay blame on parents!)
"I bet you've forgotten what it's like to have a baby that eats! Well, of course Sean has his texture issues to overcome, but there comes a time when you need to put on your Mean Mom Face and just say that's it!" (Yes, I'm a pushover and that's why Sean has feeding issues.)
(After I said that I started giving Ella a bit of food to try last week, but not much has been ingested yet.) "You know my daughter is still pushing it out with her tongue too. (Her daughter is a week younger than Ella.) I told her, 'Listen hear, sweetie, you've got to get the hang of this! I can't keep nursing you all the time much longer!'" (Tongue thrust reflex is an indicator that a baby is not ready for solids yet.)
Sigh. You know I don't expect that I will find a dr the has all my parenting ideals or the sensitivity learned by being a SN parent, but it gets tough to grin in bare it every visit. I have to keep in mind that I go to the dr for medical advice, not parenting advice.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Uh Oh! He Kissed a Girl!
Thursday evening, Aidan and I sat down together to make a birthday card for his best girl friend, Mali. She turned six that day and he wanted to make a card to give to her the next day since we forgot to the night before. So Aidan got out his crayons and paper, I folded the sheet in half and told him to color on the outside and we'd right a message on the inside.
He drew pictures of himself and Mali playing outside in the sun, under rainbows. He had me help him draw a dress on Mali and colored it with purple polka dots. He put a lot of time and details in his drawing and then asked me to help write inside. He said, "I want it to say 'This is why I love Mali...'" I said, "How about if we write, 'Things I like about Mali' instead?" He agreed and had me write the following list of attributes:
1. You are nice.
2. I like to play with you.
3. You are cute.
4. We are in the same class.
5. You are fun.
Then I wrote, 'Happy Birthday, Mali. Your friend,' and he signed his name. I gave him one of my fancy velum envelopes to seal it up in and we tucked it in his backpack for Friday.
When Doug arrived to pick up Aidan from school, Mali's mom was also there and Aidan's teacher stepped aside with them to tell them that something happened between Aidan and Mali. Aidan kissed Mali at school. Mali told the teacher that Aidan did this and the teacher talked to Aidan about how we need to respect each other's personal space and do not hug and kiss at school. Mali's mom was not upset, said something along the lines of "A budding romance!" Doug apologized and said he was sure that Aidan wouldn't do it again. Aidan gave Mali his card to open at home and they all left.
Aidan was very upset about the whole thing. He cried, "She doesn't love me! She isn't my friend because she told on me! She thinks I'm a doofus!" He said that he just kissed her on her cheek because he wants her to be his valentine. He was just sure that he'd lost his best friend. We assured him that it was probably all okay and that Mali wasn't mad at him. We told him that schools just have rules that you can't give hugs and kisses to your friends.
Our little Casanova! If this is six what will sixteen be like?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Vintage Cartoons
Doug took over bedtime routines and tuck ins for the boys when Eleanor was born. I admit, it's been hard at times for me to sit on my hands and zip it so that he can do things his way with them. Luckily, the boys enjoy this special time with Daddy and they all seemed to adjust fairly well.
One thing that Doug does that is different from my method, is he incorporated time for a short cartoon before bed. The three pile in together and watch one on the bedroom tv. Doug selected vintage cartoons for this time because they are short and the boys enjoy them. He made dvd copies of the entire Pink Panther cartoon collection and is now collecting vintage Looney Toons. It's so amazing to see how these old cartoons, most without dialog, keep the boys quiet, relaxed and riveted. Doug loves reliving his childhood memories of watching these and recites lines he remembers. Last night it was "My mama done told me... bring home somethin' for dinner!"
The boys love sharing this time together and it really helps them zip up to bed and get in jammies. They bargain with him for "just one more" but have been surprisingly peaceful about Doug's limits. Sometimes I am jealous that I don't get to snuggle in with them!
One thing that Doug does that is different from my method, is he incorporated time for a short cartoon before bed. The three pile in together and watch one on the bedroom tv. Doug selected vintage cartoons for this time because they are short and the boys enjoy them. He made dvd copies of the entire Pink Panther cartoon collection and is now collecting vintage Looney Toons. It's so amazing to see how these old cartoons, most without dialog, keep the boys quiet, relaxed and riveted. Doug loves reliving his childhood memories of watching these and recites lines he remembers. Last night it was "My mama done told me... bring home somethin' for dinner!"
The boys love sharing this time together and it really helps them zip up to bed and get in jammies. They bargain with him for "just one more" but have been surprisingly peaceful about Doug's limits. Sometimes I am jealous that I don't get to snuggle in with them!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Baby Led Weaning has Begun!
Ella will be 6 months old tomorrow (!! where did the time go?!) and I plan on BLWing with her.
Aidan did BLW before I knew anything about BLW. LOL He just didn't want runny baby food, absolutely refused to have anything to do with it or momma mashed foods. When he was 9-ish months old he started sampling table foods and gradually transitioned himself. His table food eating never impaired his breastfeeding, but rather supplemented it at first and provided an opportunity for him to explore foods. He has a very healthy appetite and love of fruits and veggies. I am very happy with how his transition worked out.
Sean was receiving home-based therapy when he reached the age of starting solids. His speech/occupational therapist insisted that we start with rice cereal and other commercially prepared baby foods as she said it was "important" to make sure he had a regulated texture to learn from. It was against my every belief, but I felt at the time that I didn't know enough about Ds to know if she was right or not. I trusted her advice and followed the AAP feeding schedule. I like to call it the Gerber Schedule :P When I look back at it now, I see that Sean did not show the signs of being developmentally ready for solids: he was not sitting independently, could not pick up and put objects in his own mouth purposely, and was not showing a particular interest in our food. This path completely backfired on us. He became texture adverse and psychologically dependant on those evil little jars. We have spent the past 3 years trying to unlearn this behavior and make the transition to table foods. We feel very lucky that he has had the whole nutrients from breastmilk to fill in the gaps in his diet since he doesn't eat a balanced variety. It has been an emotional and difficult road for him and our family to feed him.
I began reading about the Rapley book before Ella was born and realized that it was a philosophy that I agreed with. I am so glad to have the research available to support me!
As part of Sean's feeding therapy, I am going to include him in my BLW time with Ella. I am hoping that the two of them can BLW together and that we can all enjoy the experience.
Ella is sitting independently, has 2 teeth, picks up objects and brings them to her mouth and shows a lot of interest in our food. Yesterday I decided to kick off our adventure and offered both kids a banana. I gave Ella 3 baby palm size pieces to play with and gave Sean the remaining banana in the skin, peeled open. He wanted to hold it and eat it like Aidan.
Sean took several tiny bites of his banana, chewed and swallowed them. Ella played with her pieces and brought them to her mouth a couple of times, licking and sucking on them before dropping them. They both enjoyed playing with their snack!
At this time, I plan on giving them a food to try once a day, every other day for a week before trying a new food. Sean does feeding therapy at school every day but at home we have not pushed the issue, but let him try things if he initiates the desire to do so. We feel like he is starting to make some wonderful progress and want to keep gently encouraging him at home on a regular basis.
Aidan did BLW before I knew anything about BLW. LOL He just didn't want runny baby food, absolutely refused to have anything to do with it or momma mashed foods. When he was 9-ish months old he started sampling table foods and gradually transitioned himself. His table food eating never impaired his breastfeeding, but rather supplemented it at first and provided an opportunity for him to explore foods. He has a very healthy appetite and love of fruits and veggies. I am very happy with how his transition worked out.
Sean was receiving home-based therapy when he reached the age of starting solids. His speech/occupational therapist insisted that we start with rice cereal and other commercially prepared baby foods as she said it was "important" to make sure he had a regulated texture to learn from. It was against my every belief, but I felt at the time that I didn't know enough about Ds to know if she was right or not. I trusted her advice and followed the AAP feeding schedule. I like to call it the Gerber Schedule :P When I look back at it now, I see that Sean did not show the signs of being developmentally ready for solids: he was not sitting independently, could not pick up and put objects in his own mouth purposely, and was not showing a particular interest in our food. This path completely backfired on us. He became texture adverse and psychologically dependant on those evil little jars. We have spent the past 3 years trying to unlearn this behavior and make the transition to table foods. We feel very lucky that he has had the whole nutrients from breastmilk to fill in the gaps in his diet since he doesn't eat a balanced variety. It has been an emotional and difficult road for him and our family to feed him.
I began reading about the Rapley book before Ella was born and realized that it was a philosophy that I agreed with. I am so glad to have the research available to support me!
As part of Sean's feeding therapy, I am going to include him in my BLW time with Ella. I am hoping that the two of them can BLW together and that we can all enjoy the experience.
Ella is sitting independently, has 2 teeth, picks up objects and brings them to her mouth and shows a lot of interest in our food. Yesterday I decided to kick off our adventure and offered both kids a banana. I gave Ella 3 baby palm size pieces to play with and gave Sean the remaining banana in the skin, peeled open. He wanted to hold it and eat it like Aidan.
Sean took several tiny bites of his banana, chewed and swallowed them. Ella played with her pieces and brought them to her mouth a couple of times, licking and sucking on them before dropping them. They both enjoyed playing with their snack!
At this time, I plan on giving them a food to try once a day, every other day for a week before trying a new food. Sean does feeding therapy at school every day but at home we have not pushed the issue, but let him try things if he initiates the desire to do so. We feel like he is starting to make some wonderful progress and want to keep gently encouraging him at home on a regular basis.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Just Shy of Six Months Old...
and Miss Eleanor Ruby is sitting independantly!
That is, of course, until a strong wind blows her down! hee hee hee
After four years of watching Sean slowly inch towards his milestones, it just doesn't cease to amaze me how easily and quickly typically-developing children grow. I am just trying to soak up every bit of her baby time because I see it slipping by so fast.
Congratulations, baby girl!
oh, a P.S. I have noticed that we always seem to take photos or videos while in the same room, our little family room. It's not that we do not use the other rooms, it's just that the camera is back there so I tend to grab it and shoot where we are at! I look foward to warmer days where we can get out and take nice photos playing in the sun! Rumor has it that it is supposed to be near 70 this weekend! *thud*
That is, of course, until a strong wind blows her down! hee hee hee
After four years of watching Sean slowly inch towards his milestones, it just doesn't cease to amaze me how easily and quickly typically-developing children grow. I am just trying to soak up every bit of her baby time because I see it slipping by so fast.
Congratulations, baby girl!
oh, a P.S. I have noticed that we always seem to take photos or videos while in the same room, our little family room. It's not that we do not use the other rooms, it's just that the camera is back there so I tend to grab it and shoot where we are at! I look foward to warmer days where we can get out and take nice photos playing in the sun! Rumor has it that it is supposed to be near 70 this weekend! *thud*
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Banana Before Bed
Okay, maybe he is starting to get this food thing!
Aidan was yelling at his video game in the background on that. Let's try this again without Aidan's antics.
Of course, Sean insisted on a whole banana to himself, like Aidan had, then only had a few nibbles. Mommy got to eat the rest.
We met a family yesterday for a playdate that has a new baby with Down syndrome, then we all went to lunch together at McDonalds. Sean ate lots of ketchup off of a fry, then he took Aidan's cheeseburger scrap and dipped it in ketchup for a while. He took a tiny bite of the cheeseburger bun as well! I showed him how to dip the apples in caramel and tried to get him to taste that, but he told me no. When I went to sit down at the other table, we all saw him take an apple, dip it in caramel and try it. Apparently he wasn't too excited about it, as he stuck the rest of the apple back in the bag. LOL I will probably start letting Ella experiemnt with solids within the next couple of weeks and I think I will just sit them both in their booster chairs at the same time and have "Food Play Time." Peer pressure has to have some benefits!
Speaking of eating, what's on your Super Bowl menu? We are just hanging out at home and having Doug's brother over for the game. Here's our game munchies:
Boneless Hot Wings
Pizza Rolls
Baked Potatoes with the Works
Little Smokies in Pinapple Sauce
Spinach & Artichoke Dip with blue corn chips
and of course, beer! I requested some PA beer, so we got some Rolling Rock.
Game on, folks!
Aidan was yelling at his video game in the background on that. Let's try this again without Aidan's antics.
Of course, Sean insisted on a whole banana to himself, like Aidan had, then only had a few nibbles. Mommy got to eat the rest.
We met a family yesterday for a playdate that has a new baby with Down syndrome, then we all went to lunch together at McDonalds. Sean ate lots of ketchup off of a fry, then he took Aidan's cheeseburger scrap and dipped it in ketchup for a while. He took a tiny bite of the cheeseburger bun as well! I showed him how to dip the apples in caramel and tried to get him to taste that, but he told me no. When I went to sit down at the other table, we all saw him take an apple, dip it in caramel and try it. Apparently he wasn't too excited about it, as he stuck the rest of the apple back in the bag. LOL I will probably start letting Ella experiemnt with solids within the next couple of weeks and I think I will just sit them both in their booster chairs at the same time and have "Food Play Time." Peer pressure has to have some benefits!
Speaking of eating, what's on your Super Bowl menu? We are just hanging out at home and having Doug's brother over for the game. Here's our game munchies:
Boneless Hot Wings
Pizza Rolls
Baked Potatoes with the Works
Little Smokies in Pinapple Sauce
Spinach & Artichoke Dip with blue corn chips
and of course, beer! I requested some PA beer, so we got some Rolling Rock.
Game on, folks!
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