I have some catching up to do (always, it seems) about B's Christmas program, church program, stuff like that, but I wanted to blog real fast tonight about the huge box I found on our doorstep this afternoon.
It was FULL of presents for both boys. From b's birth mom and his birth mom's grandparents!
I got tears. Especially at the idea that they included B-man.
*sniff sniff*!
b's birth mom gave B-man a monkey about as big as he is, and her grandparents gave him 20 matchbox cars with a launcher. The kid couldn't quit smiling. :)
b's birth mom gave b a CUTE monkey bathrobe and slippers, and a laugh and learn puppy that he loves to giggle at! Her grandparents gave him a soooo soft Carter's outfit.
I'm seriously so touched by their generosity. <3 p="p">
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Saturday, December 08, 2012
five months
We have a five month old! Holy moly!
Length / Weight: Gained a whopping 2 pounds this month (minus one ounce)! I took him to get weighed and figured he was in the 15 pound range. I was off. By a lot. 16 lbs, 6 oz! He's 26.5 inches long.
Eating: We are out of breastmilk now, so he's on Similac Sensitive. More and more bottles are 6 oz now. He eats quite frequently, too. He has oatmeal sometimes, but not regularly. When he does have it, he scrapes the bowl clean!
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Still loves his sleep sacks. He woke up 3 nights this past week which was weird, and every time when I went in his room he was on his belly. We haven't yet figured out if he rolls over and wakes up mad, but figures while we're up he might as well have a snack, or if he wakes up from hunger and gets mad waiting for us so he flips over.
Wearing: Still in size 2 diapers, but most of his clothes are 6-9 month size. In fact, the outfit he wore the other night to meet Santa was the same outfit Brecken wore for his 1 year old photo shoot. The boy is going to be big. :)
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, etc. (I left that part in from last month because it's all still true.) We got out the Jumparoo this month and he LOVES it. He thinks it's fantastic that he can jump and jump and jump, as well as play with the toys on it. He is an expert roller now and I was just now watching him go from his floor mat to a spot 3 feet away from it, from rolling. We need a baby gate on the stairs now! Luckily he's quite slow still, meaning we have time to catch him before he gets too close to the stairs, so I have time to order the one I want. He got to meet Santa this past week, at my elementary school Christmas concert! He kept staring at him and playing with his beard. Also this month he had his first Thanksgiving and attended his first Cowboy basketball game! He also attended his first Christmas parade (which he loved - lots of lights!) and hiked to get a Christmas tree for the first time! Lots of fun this month!
Length / Weight: Gained a whopping 2 pounds this month (minus one ounce)! I took him to get weighed and figured he was in the 15 pound range. I was off. By a lot. 16 lbs, 6 oz! He's 26.5 inches long.
Eating: We are out of breastmilk now, so he's on Similac Sensitive. More and more bottles are 6 oz now. He eats quite frequently, too. He has oatmeal sometimes, but not regularly. When he does have it, he scrapes the bowl clean!
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Still loves his sleep sacks. He woke up 3 nights this past week which was weird, and every time when I went in his room he was on his belly. We haven't yet figured out if he rolls over and wakes up mad, but figures while we're up he might as well have a snack, or if he wakes up from hunger and gets mad waiting for us so he flips over.
Wearing: Still in size 2 diapers, but most of his clothes are 6-9 month size. In fact, the outfit he wore the other night to meet Santa was the same outfit Brecken wore for his 1 year old photo shoot. The boy is going to be big. :)
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, etc. (I left that part in from last month because it's all still true.) We got out the Jumparoo this month and he LOVES it. He thinks it's fantastic that he can jump and jump and jump, as well as play with the toys on it. He is an expert roller now and I was just now watching him go from his floor mat to a spot 3 feet away from it, from rolling. We need a baby gate on the stairs now! Luckily he's quite slow still, meaning we have time to catch him before he gets too close to the stairs, so I have time to order the one I want. He got to meet Santa this past week, at my elementary school Christmas concert! He kept staring at him and playing with his beard. Also this month he had his first Thanksgiving and attended his first Cowboy basketball game! He also attended his first Christmas parade (which he loved - lots of lights!) and hiked to get a Christmas tree for the first time! Lots of fun this month!
Sunday, December 02, 2012
roommates
B has been soooo good at sleeping lately. We go in his room, tuck him in, read a story, and leave and he goes right to sleep.
Until Thanksgiving.
He turned into this boy who wouldn't go in his room alone for anything. Kind of like 4 years ago when his sensory stuff started showing up, only we didn't know it was sensory stuff. The week of Thanksgiving, he would scream and cry and was utterly terrified at the thought of sleeping in there. He ended up sleeping on his floor, as close as he could to the door, which is as close as he could get to us.
I finally got out of him one morning that he was so afraid someone was going to break in the house and steal him. The thought of him thinking that breaks my heart. We talked about how it wouldn't be easy to break in. Our doors lock, our windows are all locked, our dogs sleep in the hallway where the bedrooms are and there's no way they'd let anyone through, etc. And for every one of those reasons why a break in wouldn't happen, he had a reason why that might not be true. "They could be so quiete the dogs don't hear." "They could use a hammer to break the window." "We might not hear someone use a hammer if they tapped on it light, but for a long time."
I asked him if they had talked about strangers at school before Thanksgiving, and he replied no, but that he heard about a girl on the computer. He could explain enough to me that I knew he was talking about when that girl from Colorado and the girl from 4 hours from us in the other direction were both kidnapped. We had talked to him at that time about strangers and what to do if someone asked him to help find their puppy in their car, or took him, or whatever. He seemed fine at the time, but I guess he was internalizing it and just couldn't keep it in anymore, and it came out full force.
That's when he asked if he could sleep on the floor in b's room. Not to protect his baby brother, but we really think he needs that companionship. He's a boy that was made for companionship. So they became roommates.
I feel awful. It got bad enough for him that the Monday we all went back to school, J contacted the school counselor to get advice, mentioning the fact that B's fears are 10-fold to other kids because of his SPD. The counselor helped us by letting us know what we were doing was spot on - letting him sleep in b's room if that is what makes him feel better, not making him feel his fears are silly (because they aren't - they're very, very real, and by no means a stall tactic), and if he needs US, that's OK. Because he'll feel safer that way, and that will help him get over his fears. If we don't make him feel safe, he'll never get over this. He also pulled B out of kindergarten that afternoon to talk to him and help him feel better about things.
Bedtime has been better since then - he's on the floor in b's room, with all his blankets, (and if you've seen the nursery, you're probably wondering where we are fitting everything... we are still wondering the same thing, ha!) with some soft music playing to keep his mind off the dark, the lamp on, me staying for a few minutes so he knows I'm still here... and we've gone from screaming and crying for over an hour to asleep in 10 minutes again. We'll see how long the roommate thing lasts - perhaps until little b is ready to convert to bunkbeds. :) But that's OK. He's safe. He FEELS safer. And he needs that companionship. He and little b are soulmates, I'm sure of it.
But I still wish I could take away his awful fears. :(
Until Thanksgiving.
He turned into this boy who wouldn't go in his room alone for anything. Kind of like 4 years ago when his sensory stuff started showing up, only we didn't know it was sensory stuff. The week of Thanksgiving, he would scream and cry and was utterly terrified at the thought of sleeping in there. He ended up sleeping on his floor, as close as he could to the door, which is as close as he could get to us.
I finally got out of him one morning that he was so afraid someone was going to break in the house and steal him. The thought of him thinking that breaks my heart. We talked about how it wouldn't be easy to break in. Our doors lock, our windows are all locked, our dogs sleep in the hallway where the bedrooms are and there's no way they'd let anyone through, etc. And for every one of those reasons why a break in wouldn't happen, he had a reason why that might not be true. "They could be so quiete the dogs don't hear." "They could use a hammer to break the window." "We might not hear someone use a hammer if they tapped on it light, but for a long time."
I asked him if they had talked about strangers at school before Thanksgiving, and he replied no, but that he heard about a girl on the computer. He could explain enough to me that I knew he was talking about when that girl from Colorado and the girl from 4 hours from us in the other direction were both kidnapped. We had talked to him at that time about strangers and what to do if someone asked him to help find their puppy in their car, or took him, or whatever. He seemed fine at the time, but I guess he was internalizing it and just couldn't keep it in anymore, and it came out full force.
That's when he asked if he could sleep on the floor in b's room. Not to protect his baby brother, but we really think he needs that companionship. He's a boy that was made for companionship. So they became roommates.
I feel awful. It got bad enough for him that the Monday we all went back to school, J contacted the school counselor to get advice, mentioning the fact that B's fears are 10-fold to other kids because of his SPD. The counselor helped us by letting us know what we were doing was spot on - letting him sleep in b's room if that is what makes him feel better, not making him feel his fears are silly (because they aren't - they're very, very real, and by no means a stall tactic), and if he needs US, that's OK. Because he'll feel safer that way, and that will help him get over his fears. If we don't make him feel safe, he'll never get over this. He also pulled B out of kindergarten that afternoon to talk to him and help him feel better about things.
Bedtime has been better since then - he's on the floor in b's room, with all his blankets, (and if you've seen the nursery, you're probably wondering where we are fitting everything... we are still wondering the same thing, ha!) with some soft music playing to keep his mind off the dark, the lamp on, me staying for a few minutes so he knows I'm still here... and we've gone from screaming and crying for over an hour to asleep in 10 minutes again. We'll see how long the roommate thing lasts - perhaps until little b is ready to convert to bunkbeds. :) But that's OK. He's safe. He FEELS safer. And he needs that companionship. He and little b are soulmates, I'm sure of it.
But I still wish I could take away his awful fears. :(
Friday, November 23, 2012
a hunting we will go
It was time for our annual Tree Hunt today. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and J's parents were here and wanted to experience the hunt with us, so today was the day. It was pretty sad up there. The highway is still open because there's not enough snow to close it. And a spot that had plenty of trees a few years ago, had nothing but beetle kill.
However, we pulled over at an open spot, B got his snow clothes on (J, his dad, and I were fine in just boots - there wasn't enough snow for snow pants, unlike last year!), I put little b in warm clothes and strapped him into the snugli, and off we went. Holy moly, I'm out of shape. Especially with 15 lbs of baby on my front. Time to start working out, darn it.
B-man had a great time hiking up the side of the mountain. He may have fallen down on purpose about 100 times. He had already declared this day his favorite day ever.
We found a tree - we got one that was flat on the backside on purpose, since we don't have a lot of space in our house! This way, it can slide right up against the wall. :)
Our annual tree hunting picture - our first as a family of FOUR. :)
However, we pulled over at an open spot, B got his snow clothes on (J, his dad, and I were fine in just boots - there wasn't enough snow for snow pants, unlike last year!), I put little b in warm clothes and strapped him into the snugli, and off we went. Holy moly, I'm out of shape. Especially with 15 lbs of baby on my front. Time to start working out, darn it.
B-man had a great time hiking up the side of the mountain. He may have fallen down on purpose about 100 times. He had already declared this day his favorite day ever.
We found a tree - we got one that was flat on the backside on purpose, since we don't have a lot of space in our house! This way, it can slide right up against the wall. :)
Our annual tree hunting picture - our first as a family of FOUR. :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
it's because his dad was valedictorian - again
I already used this title a couple years ago but I thought it was totally appropriate for this post.
We had our first public school parent/teacher conferences on November 8. This was the day I was struck with the stomach bug but I felt better by the time it was time for his conference so I dragged myself out of the house. I'm so glad I did!
My B-man is a genius. OK, maybe not a genius, but one dang smart kindergartener! His teacher said he's quite the mathematician. And showed us his writing and I was blown away - he's writing paragraphs. They had to write about Halloween in the example she showed us - I can't remember how it was all spelled (we had to leave his writing there) but she said it was so good, she could read all of it without asking him what it said. He wrote "I am going to be a skeleton for Halloween. My brother will be a skeleton for Halloween. We go trick-or-treat. At my house, we give out candy." And his illustrations are incredibly cute. :) She said he loves calendar time and science, and I know he loves library time and music! She said he has his closer friends, but that he's so kind and caring and encouraging to EVERYONE he comes across and that makes me incredibly proud.
His PE teacher said while the rest of the kids are dribbling basketballs off their feet and missing them completely with their hands, he's dribbling like a pro. Um, duh. :)
We have one smart kid on our hands! Perhaps he'll be valedictorian like his daddy. :)
We had our first public school parent/teacher conferences on November 8. This was the day I was struck with the stomach bug but I felt better by the time it was time for his conference so I dragged myself out of the house. I'm so glad I did!
My B-man is a genius. OK, maybe not a genius, but one dang smart kindergartener! His teacher said he's quite the mathematician. And showed us his writing and I was blown away - he's writing paragraphs. They had to write about Halloween in the example she showed us - I can't remember how it was all spelled (we had to leave his writing there) but she said it was so good, she could read all of it without asking him what it said. He wrote "I am going to be a skeleton for Halloween. My brother will be a skeleton for Halloween. We go trick-or-treat. At my house, we give out candy." And his illustrations are incredibly cute. :) She said he loves calendar time and science, and I know he loves library time and music! She said he has his closer friends, but that he's so kind and caring and encouraging to EVERYONE he comes across and that makes me incredibly proud.
His PE teacher said while the rest of the kids are dribbling basketballs off their feet and missing them completely with their hands, he's dribbling like a pro. Um, duh. :)
We have one smart kid on our hands! Perhaps he'll be valedictorian like his daddy. :)
one more spd hurdle - down!!!
My B-man went to the dentist for the first time ever on November 2. A year ago, this would have never even been a possibility. Way too much new and unknown for him to be able to handle it. This year, he was asking about it so we thought we'd seize the opportunity and give it a go. At the recommendation of our sister-in-law, we took him to her kids' pediatric dentist that just happens to travel to Laramie during the week. I had to work, but it was a Friday, so Josh took him. I was so worried all day long about the possible meltdown that might happen.
I didn't need to be worried.
He was a total rock star! He gagged at some of the x-rays so they didn't make him do it, but everything else was awesome! He got his teeth cleaned, giggled at the saliva sucker, especially when it sucked up his lip, and his favorite part, he got a new toothbrush. :) They did find one tiny cavity on a molar that he'll have fixed here in a couple weeks. But they asked if he brushed on his own and were totally impressed when he said yes - they said he does an amazing job brushing and the cavity is not because of that. He has super deep pits in his teeth so it's hard for the brush to get all the way down there. So when they fix his cavity they will also seal his teeth.
And while he was telling me about his day, he used the L word. "I LOVED the dentist, mom!"
I'm so proud of that kid!
I didn't need to be worried.
He was a total rock star! He gagged at some of the x-rays so they didn't make him do it, but everything else was awesome! He got his teeth cleaned, giggled at the saliva sucker, especially when it sucked up his lip, and his favorite part, he got a new toothbrush. :) They did find one tiny cavity on a molar that he'll have fixed here in a couple weeks. But they asked if he brushed on his own and were totally impressed when he said yes - they said he does an amazing job brushing and the cavity is not because of that. He has super deep pits in his teeth so it's hard for the brush to get all the way down there. So when they fix his cavity they will also seal his teeth.
And while he was telling me about his day, he used the L word. "I LOVED the dentist, mom!"
I'm so proud of that kid!
4 months
I'm behind. So, so behind. I'm sorry!! The week everything happened was the week the stomach bug went through our house and the last thing I was thinking about was blogging. So here is my attempt at catching up.
Little b turned 4 months old. I love this age. He's so active and engaged and just so FUN! Don't get me wrong, I love the newborn stage, but this age is pretty wonderful too.
Length / Weight: Up to 14 lbs, 7 oz. 50th percentile. Length is 26 inches, which jumped to the 75th percentile. Head was 50th percentile too but I don't remember what it was.
Eating: He still is on breast milk. Most daytime bottles are 4 oz, but sometimes he cluster eats and can do 8-10 oz in a couple hours time. If he wakes up at night he wants between 6-8 oz.
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Swaddling is a thing of the past and now sleeps in sleep sacks, which he seems to like a lot.
Wearing:Still in 3-6 month clothes. He's also wearing size 2 diapers now.
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, and the other day B had to keep pushing his hands away from the iPad. True big brother moment, right there. ;) He rolled over from belly to back!
Little b turned 4 months old. I love this age. He's so active and engaged and just so FUN! Don't get me wrong, I love the newborn stage, but this age is pretty wonderful too.
Length / Weight: Up to 14 lbs, 7 oz. 50th percentile. Length is 26 inches, which jumped to the 75th percentile. Head was 50th percentile too but I don't remember what it was.
Eating: He still is on breast milk. Most daytime bottles are 4 oz, but sometimes he cluster eats and can do 8-10 oz in a couple hours time. If he wakes up at night he wants between 6-8 oz.
Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night! LOVE that! Swaddling is a thing of the past and now sleeps in sleep sacks, which he seems to like a lot.
Wearing:Still in 3-6 month clothes. He's also wearing size 2 diapers now.
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for! He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth. Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, and the other day B had to keep pushing his hands away from the iPad. True big brother moment, right there. ;) He rolled over from belly to back!
Saturday, November 10, 2012
this little piggy went to market...
... And loved the oatmeal that was bought there. Our baby is old enough to try eating cereal. I was going to wait - he isn't starving, he's most likely my last baby, and I'm in no hurry for him to grow up. But J was pretty excited when we got the ok to try it at our well-visit on the 7th, so while we were out tonight, the purchase was made.
*sigh*
And wouldn't you know, my eater loved it. No icky faces at all. Opening his mouth for more like a little bird.
I guess he was ready.
*sigh*
And wouldn't you know, my eater loved it. No icky faces at all. Opening his mouth for more like a little bird.
I guess he was ready.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
add to the list
A couple more milestones this week... slow down, time, I can't keep up! You're taking my baby too fast!
He has discovered he has toes. Only a few times have they interested him, but those few times, he thinks they are super interesting!
He has also discovered he has hair. He's been slowly discovering that for a little while now, but today I noticed a few different times where he'd reach up there and play with it.
Grabbing the bottle and shoving it OUT of your mouth is apparently pretty entertaining. Too bad it now takes forever to feed him.
I told him tonight I think he's going to be my trouble maker. It's a good thing everything we have for him that isn't on the floor has a strap to hold him in, because he'll try to buck himself out of it. He also spent quite a while growling at me tonight and then laughing about it. Ornery little fellow.
***
We stayed home with the B-man today. He woke up last night throwing up. Luckily he keeps a garbage can on his bed already, and he was quick enough to get there before throwing up all over the bed. He only threw up that one time but he moaned all through the night and even asked to stay home today, which 1) that's weird... he LOVES school! and 2) we were going to keep him home anyway. J had to go to his sports scheduling meeting out of town today, so I burned another sick day to stay home. B was pretty puny this morning but perked up this afternoon, which was a good thing so I could take the boys out with me to the polls to vote!
He has discovered he has toes. Only a few times have they interested him, but those few times, he thinks they are super interesting!
He has also discovered he has hair. He's been slowly discovering that for a little while now, but today I noticed a few different times where he'd reach up there and play with it.
Grabbing the bottle and shoving it OUT of your mouth is apparently pretty entertaining. Too bad it now takes forever to feed him.
I told him tonight I think he's going to be my trouble maker. It's a good thing everything we have for him that isn't on the floor has a strap to hold him in, because he'll try to buck himself out of it. He also spent quite a while growling at me tonight and then laughing about it. Ornery little fellow.
***
We stayed home with the B-man today. He woke up last night throwing up. Luckily he keeps a garbage can on his bed already, and he was quick enough to get there before throwing up all over the bed. He only threw up that one time but he moaned all through the night and even asked to stay home today, which 1) that's weird... he LOVES school! and 2) we were going to keep him home anyway. J had to go to his sports scheduling meeting out of town today, so I burned another sick day to stay home. B was pretty puny this morning but perked up this afternoon, which was a good thing so I could take the boys out with me to the polls to vote!
Sunday, November 04, 2012
rolling rolling rolling
Little b has hit so many milestones in what seems to be the past week! Let's see... he is so good at grabbing things and immediately shoving them in his mouth, he's really interested in trying to get my phone while I have it and actually tried playing some words on Words with Friends the other night, trying to knock the bottle out of my hands while I'm trying to fill it up....
He had his first cold last week and did not sleep more than a TOTAL of 6 hours in two nights... I was so afraid my awesome little sleeper was never going to sleep again but as soon as he felt a bit better on Thursday night, he slept through the night! With this illness he earned his first sick trip to the doctor where they found red ears, but not red enough to be called an infection. At the doctor, he weighed 14 lbs, 3.5 oz.
And another milestone, rolling from belly to back! I didn't even know he was wanting to do it, until the babysitter told me Friday that he did it at her house, and then we got to witness it that night for ourselves and again yesterday a couple times. He's *thisclose* to rolling from back to belly - if that shoulder would get out of the way, he'd be successful - I'm expecting it in the next couple days.
He had his first cold last week and did not sleep more than a TOTAL of 6 hours in two nights... I was so afraid my awesome little sleeper was never going to sleep again but as soon as he felt a bit better on Thursday night, he slept through the night! With this illness he earned his first sick trip to the doctor where they found red ears, but not red enough to be called an infection. At the doctor, he weighed 14 lbs, 3.5 oz.
And another milestone, rolling from belly to back! I didn't even know he was wanting to do it, until the babysitter told me Friday that he did it at her house, and then we got to witness it that night for ourselves and again yesterday a couple times. He's *thisclose* to rolling from back to belly - if that shoulder would get out of the way, he'd be successful - I'm expecting it in the next couple days.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
first snow
Little b got to experience his first snow a few days ago. And it wasn't just a little skif... it DUMPED! From the time school started, to the time I walked out to go home, 7 1/2 inches had fallen and it was still snowing. But boy, what a beautiful snow. It fell DOWN, and not sideways, which is the norm for around here. At lunch, we all kept looking out the window and commenting on how pretty it was when it fell down so nicely. :)
Little b continues to be awesome... and B-man continues to as well. He's the best big brother and I hope little b always looks at him with huge awe-filled eyes like he did this morning while B was talking to me about what was going on at school! And I hope B always loves his little brother enough to call him "my sweet darling" like he has been in a version of "Rock a-bye Baby" he made up.
Little b continues to be awesome... and B-man continues to as well. He's the best big brother and I hope little b always looks at him with huge awe-filled eyes like he did this morning while B was talking to me about what was going on at school! And I hope B always loves his little brother enough to call him "my sweet darling" like he has been in a version of "Rock a-bye Baby" he made up.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
sleep
My little b is a sleeper. I can't tell you how overjoyed by that I am. B-man never slept. Ever. I'm not exaggerating. His naps were AT MOST 45 minutes at a time as a newborn and that continued. He gave up naps completely just after he turned two. He didn't sleep through the night until this past summer, before he turned 6. Granted, sleep issues are huge things for SPD children, but I haven't slept through the night in 7 years (because let's face it - who sleeps through the night when pregnant?!)
My little man is such a different child. 95% of the time, he's only up once at night. And this past Friday/Saturday night, he slept through the night! He did it again the next night. He hasn't done it in the past couple nights, but we're still only up once.
And, he naps in the day.
What did we do to deserve this child?!
This past weekend we went to Casper to meet my parents for the day. We went to the pumpkin patch and did the corn maze too. It was a good day! My dad hadn't met little b yet, so it was a long overdue trip!
My little man is such a different child. 95% of the time, he's only up once at night. And this past Friday/Saturday night, he slept through the night! He did it again the next night. He hasn't done it in the past couple nights, but we're still only up once.
And, he naps in the day.
What did we do to deserve this child?!
This past weekend we went to Casper to meet my parents for the day. We went to the pumpkin patch and did the corn maze too. It was a good day! My dad hadn't met little b yet, so it was a long overdue trip!
Monday, October 08, 2012
three months
Little b is 3 months old! How did that happen?
Length / Weight: I did not get him measured for length today when I dropped by the clinic, but he was weighed. He's up to 13 lbs, 6.5 oz! A pound in a half in a month! Aunt Beth has some good milk! :)
Eating: We are doing breast milk 100% of the time now. He has tolerated it very well. He's eating 4 oz at a time for the most part, but every once in a while wants 6 oz. He eats on average every 3 hours during the day (give or take) and nights still aren't totally consistent. Sometimes he'll go 4 hours, sometimes he'll go 6 or more.
Sleeping: He's getting more on a schedule as of late. He'll take a good morning nap, a good afternoon nap, a cat nap for a short time right around dinner time, then about 7:00 will fall asleep until about 9:00, where he'll be up for a bottle and a bit of smiles, and then go to bed around 10:00. As I said above, nights aren't totally consistent, but he is not a terrible sleeper by any means! Just in the past couple days, he's been fighting the swaddle - gets really mad and breaks out of it immediately, if we can even get his arms down to get swaddled in the first place. Last night we gave up and didn't swaddle him and it went OK... perhaps he weaned himself off it? Time will tell, I suppose.
Wearing: Full time in 3-6 month clothes now. Still in size 1 diapers, but not for long. He wore a little pair of shoes yesterday (the shoes in the picture) that Brecken didn't wear until Easter when he was a baby, putting him at about 6 months old.
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! We call him Smiley because he does it all the time! His laugh is the cutest little sound. He's started grabbing things with his hands, though it's not consistent. When he gets hold of a toy, he brings it immediately to his mouth to suck on it! He's not one to cry a lot, either. Very easy baby! (*knock on wood*!)
Length / Weight: I did not get him measured for length today when I dropped by the clinic, but he was weighed. He's up to 13 lbs, 6.5 oz! A pound in a half in a month! Aunt Beth has some good milk! :)
Eating: We are doing breast milk 100% of the time now. He has tolerated it very well. He's eating 4 oz at a time for the most part, but every once in a while wants 6 oz. He eats on average every 3 hours during the day (give or take) and nights still aren't totally consistent. Sometimes he'll go 4 hours, sometimes he'll go 6 or more.
Sleeping: He's getting more on a schedule as of late. He'll take a good morning nap, a good afternoon nap, a cat nap for a short time right around dinner time, then about 7:00 will fall asleep until about 9:00, where he'll be up for a bottle and a bit of smiles, and then go to bed around 10:00. As I said above, nights aren't totally consistent, but he is not a terrible sleeper by any means! Just in the past couple days, he's been fighting the swaddle - gets really mad and breaks out of it immediately, if we can even get his arms down to get swaddled in the first place. Last night we gave up and didn't swaddle him and it went OK... perhaps he weaned himself off it? Time will tell, I suppose.
Wearing: Full time in 3-6 month clothes now. Still in size 1 diapers, but not for long. He wore a little pair of shoes yesterday (the shoes in the picture) that Brecken didn't wear until Easter when he was a baby, putting him at about 6 months old.
Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! We call him Smiley because he does it all the time! His laugh is the cutest little sound. He's started grabbing things with his hands, though it's not consistent. When he gets hold of a toy, he brings it immediately to his mouth to suck on it! He's not one to cry a lot, either. Very easy baby! (*knock on wood*!)
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
home made
We got yams in our bountiful basket last time. Neither of us are big fans, but I didn't want them to go to waste. So I made them into baby food tonight, along with a few apples that needed to be used. Little b has his stash going in the freezer! 
haircut
B has come so far with his SPD and haircuts. He has grown from me having to hold him down while he screams and punches me while Josh uses the clippers, to tolerating them while I hold him, to him just needing me to stand by, to asking Josh for a haircut, to what happened yesterday. He ASKED if he could go to the salon where our friend works, for his first real cut. We were shocked.
He was so excited, until it was time to go. Then he got super nervous. When it was his turn, he freaked. Cried, hid his head, went back and forth between the chair and the wait area, sat on my lap, got off my lap... After 10 minutes of this he decided he could do it, as long as he was on my lap. He refused the cape but changed his mind after the hair was making his neck itch. He was scared out of his mind, but he did it. And by the end, he had a smile on his face and didn't need my lap.
We conquered a hurdle. I'm so proud of him. :)
He was so excited, until it was time to go. Then he got super nervous. When it was his turn, he freaked. Cried, hid his head, went back and forth between the chair and the wait area, sat on my lap, got off my lap... After 10 minutes of this he decided he could do it, as long as he was on my lap. He refused the cape but changed his mind after the hair was making his neck itch. He was scared out of his mind, but he did it. And by the end, he had a smile on his face and didn't need my lap.
We conquered a hurdle. I'm so proud of him. :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
perfect
B-man was staring at his little brother tonight and told me, in an awe-filled voice, "he is the perfect one for us, isn't he, mom?"
Yes, my sweet boy. You BOTH are the perfect ones.
Yes, my sweet boy. You BOTH are the perfect ones.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
two months
Little b turned two months old last week. I think I've said this before: Boy, how time flies.
Length / Weight: 23 inches, and 12 lbs, 1 oz. The scale had actually settled on 12 lbs, 1.5 oz, until he peed all over the dr's floor. Then it re-settled at 12 lbs, 1 oz. :) 23 inches is true, also. He laid so still for that! His head is 40 cm, and all of those stats are exactly in the 50th percentile. A perfectly symmetrical boy! While we're talking about the doctor, he had his shots while there. He did NOT like them. I felt so bad. We came home and he took a nap, but then cried for a good portion of the evening. Tears and tears falling down his cheeks - I cried right along with him. :(
Eating: We had a period there where he would projectile vomit all over... the reflux meds have dramatically decreased the crying while eating, but the spit-up/vomiting didn't go away. So we put him on Similac Sensitive and that helped a ton. After his 2 month appointment, we started adding in breast milk to the formula. We're up to 2 oz of breast milk, 2 oz of formula. We'll see how it goes. He's still eating on average every 3 hours, except for one longer stretch at night.
Sleeping: Little b is a pretty good sleeper! While I was home on leave, he'd sleep for a good chunk of the morning, then take a shorter nap in the afternoon. He usually eats for the last time around 9 pm and we've gotten some 5 hour stretches of sleep in there! This morning, he was up at 3:00 and that was it until 6:30. We can deal with that!
Wearing: Quickly moving out of 0-3 month clothes and into 3-6. We thought the size 1 diapers were getting small too, but I've noticed lately that if he doesn't WIGGLE while getting his diaper changed, they fit much better! :) They're not going to last long, though.
Miscellaneous: Smiles a lot now! Josh said he laughed on Sept. 12 (yesterday), also. I haven't heard him - I can't get him to do it! Josh said it happened while he was blowing zerberts on b's belly. He still LOVES to be swaddled to sleep and when he can't settle down, we put the swaddle me blanket on and he is instantly calm. His pacifier - won't take it any more. Sucks a few times and then will spit it out. He has found his fists though. He had a couple days where I thought he was going to suck them completely off... that has settled down a bit but he still does suck them sometimes! He still loves taking baths. He doesn't cry and actually gets some coos out during them! He also loves to be in his swing! He'll talk and talk and talk and talk and talk to his fish on the swing. He also loves to talk to his blue monkey on the floor gym!
Today was his first day at daycare. He did great, despite having to change clothes not once, but twice because of blowouts! Oops.
Length / Weight: 23 inches, and 12 lbs, 1 oz. The scale had actually settled on 12 lbs, 1.5 oz, until he peed all over the dr's floor. Then it re-settled at 12 lbs, 1 oz. :) 23 inches is true, also. He laid so still for that! His head is 40 cm, and all of those stats are exactly in the 50th percentile. A perfectly symmetrical boy! While we're talking about the doctor, he had his shots while there. He did NOT like them. I felt so bad. We came home and he took a nap, but then cried for a good portion of the evening. Tears and tears falling down his cheeks - I cried right along with him. :(
Eating: We had a period there where he would projectile vomit all over... the reflux meds have dramatically decreased the crying while eating, but the spit-up/vomiting didn't go away. So we put him on Similac Sensitive and that helped a ton. After his 2 month appointment, we started adding in breast milk to the formula. We're up to 2 oz of breast milk, 2 oz of formula. We'll see how it goes. He's still eating on average every 3 hours, except for one longer stretch at night.
Sleeping: Little b is a pretty good sleeper! While I was home on leave, he'd sleep for a good chunk of the morning, then take a shorter nap in the afternoon. He usually eats for the last time around 9 pm and we've gotten some 5 hour stretches of sleep in there! This morning, he was up at 3:00 and that was it until 6:30. We can deal with that!
Wearing: Quickly moving out of 0-3 month clothes and into 3-6. We thought the size 1 diapers were getting small too, but I've noticed lately that if he doesn't WIGGLE while getting his diaper changed, they fit much better! :) They're not going to last long, though.
Miscellaneous: Smiles a lot now! Josh said he laughed on Sept. 12 (yesterday), also. I haven't heard him - I can't get him to do it! Josh said it happened while he was blowing zerberts on b's belly. He still LOVES to be swaddled to sleep and when he can't settle down, we put the swaddle me blanket on and he is instantly calm. His pacifier - won't take it any more. Sucks a few times and then will spit it out. He has found his fists though. He had a couple days where I thought he was going to suck them completely off... that has settled down a bit but he still does suck them sometimes! He still loves taking baths. He doesn't cry and actually gets some coos out during them! He also loves to be in his swing! He'll talk and talk and talk and talk and talk to his fish on the swing. He also loves to talk to his blue monkey on the floor gym!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
six
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
kindergarten
My B-man is starting his second week of kindergarten today. What an amazing first week he had. He LOVED it! His favorite things from the week:
Recess
Riding the bus to the high school after school, to meet daddy there
Science experiments
Gym
Music
Recess
Riding the bus to the high school after school, to meet daddy there
Science experiments
Gym
Music
Sunday, August 26, 2012
post placement visit 1
We had to go get Josh's windshield replaced on Friday. Before we dropped it off, we had some time so we stopped at WCS to see if Carol was there so she could see little b. She was gone though - she was with her son who just had his wisdom teeth out. The lady working was named Kristy so she talked with us and said she'd let Carol know she missed seeing us! I asked if she would also ask her about our first post-placement visit because I thought they were at 2, 4, and 6 months and I wanted to know when it would be. Kristy said it's actually usually 1, 3 and 5 month visits so everything is ready for Court at 6 months and didn't know we hadn't had a visit. So she would call Carol.
We dropped off the suburban and while we were doing that Kristy called back and said Carol told her that if we could do it then, Kristy could do our visit at the office. So back we went! That was nice of them to do it yesterday for us. We just had to tell her how much he weighs now, about his dr appts, his favorite toys (his swing, and the blue monkey on his play gym are his all time favorites right now!), how the adjustment has been, etc. She told us that any time Carol forwards our birthmom an emailed picture that I sent for Carol to forward, or our set of pictures we sent last month, she will call Carol and let her know she got the picture and will discuss each one one by one. :) She said our birthmom gets very excited every time she gets pictures and it
makes her very happy that little b is where he is. So that's good. :) Our next post placement visit will be here at home.
We dropped off the suburban and while we were doing that Kristy called back and said Carol told her that if we could do it then, Kristy could do our visit at the office. So back we went! That was nice of them to do it yesterday for us. We just had to tell her how much he weighs now, about his dr appts, his favorite toys (his swing, and the blue monkey on his play gym are his all time favorites right now!), how the adjustment has been, etc. She told us that any time Carol forwards our birthmom an emailed picture that I sent for Carol to forward, or our set of pictures we sent last month, she will call Carol and let her know she got the picture and will discuss each one one by one. :) She said our birthmom gets very excited every time she gets pictures and it
makes her very happy that little b is where he is. So that's good. :) Our next post placement visit will be here at home.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
funny monkey
Little b loves this monkey on his play gym. This monkey gets a ton of conversation and smiles out of the little guy. Wonder why the monkey is so special in the mind of an infant! We love watching the interaction. 
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
be still, my heart
I had a "I just had a heart attack but I'm proud of you for helping!" moment today. Josh was at practice and little b was sleeping in the swing, so I got in the shower (one less thing to do in the morning, that way...). B was watching cartoons. He has always come and got me if little b starts crying while I'm in the shower.
I got out of the shower and things were quiet so I thought little b was still sleeping. I got my robe on and came out to the living room, and to my surprise, the baby was no longer in the swing. B had him in the boppy on B's lap, feeding little b a bottle, with a burp cloth slung over B's shoulder! He was so proud of himself! Apparently the baby woke up crying so B got a bottle that I had put in the fridge a short time before that, got the baby out of the swing (that's where the heart attack comes in), situated them on the couch with the boppy on B's lap, and fed him. And not only that, burped him. Twice.
The kid was MEANT to be a big brother!!!! (But I told him that next time, a grownup needs to pick the baby up, just in case he wiggles all of a sudden and B accidentally drops him. B agreed. Phew!)
I got out of the shower and things were quiet so I thought little b was still sleeping. I got my robe on and came out to the living room, and to my surprise, the baby was no longer in the swing. B had him in the boppy on B's lap, feeding little b a bottle, with a burp cloth slung over B's shoulder! He was so proud of himself! Apparently the baby woke up crying so B got a bottle that I had put in the fridge a short time before that, got the baby out of the swing (that's where the heart attack comes in), situated them on the couch with the boppy on B's lap, and fed him. And not only that, burped him. Twice.
The kid was MEANT to be a big brother!!!! (But I told him that next time, a grownup needs to pick the baby up, just in case he wiggles all of a sudden and B accidentally drops him. B agreed. Phew!)
Friday, August 17, 2012
reflux
Little b earned a trip to the doctor this week. He was getting harder and harder to feed - he would squirm, kick his legs, growl at the bottle.... at first it was just when he needed to burp, but as the days went by it got worse and worse. To the point where he was crying while he ate, and projectile vomiting all over. We'd go through multiple outfits a day, and a burp cloth could only be used once because it was so soaked. I'm actually quite surprised at his weight because while I know he's not throwing up his whole bottle, it sure as heck seemed like it!
Stat check since we're talking about weight: He was 10 lbs, 10 oz when he was at the dr. He gained 7 oz in 6 days. Holy moly.
I started suspecting acid reflux, and after a quick conference with some friends who have children that had it as babies, I called the doctor. I wrote down everything I was concerned about, and he agreed with me. So we started him on Zantac. That stuff is NASTY. Oh my goodness, I don't blame him when he was spitting it back out! I brought it back to the pharmacy and they added flavor, but it didn't help. So we've been adding it to his bottles.
I *think*, after 48 hours of being on the meds (twice daily), he is feeling better! We've had almost two days now without any crying while he eats! And his burps are back to normal. And he's managed to keep on the same outfit, for two days in a row now! (Not the same outfit both days - two different ones - but they've lasted a whole day. :) )
I'm so glad the little guy feels better! It was so so so sad to see his little lip stick out and his eyes meet mine with tears in them! :(
Stat check since we're talking about weight: He was 10 lbs, 10 oz when he was at the dr. He gained 7 oz in 6 days. Holy moly.
I started suspecting acid reflux, and after a quick conference with some friends who have children that had it as babies, I called the doctor. I wrote down everything I was concerned about, and he agreed with me. So we started him on Zantac. That stuff is NASTY. Oh my goodness, I don't blame him when he was spitting it back out! I brought it back to the pharmacy and they added flavor, but it didn't help. So we've been adding it to his bottles.
I *think*, after 48 hours of being on the meds (twice daily), he is feeling better! We've had almost two days now without any crying while he eats! And his burps are back to normal. And he's managed to keep on the same outfit, for two days in a row now! (Not the same outfit both days - two different ones - but they've lasted a whole day. :) )
I'm so glad the little guy feels better! It was so so so sad to see his little lip stick out and his eyes meet mine with tears in them! :(
Thursday, August 16, 2012
shower
This is me and my two boys right before we left for the baby shower our friends threw for us. I'm the luckiest mommy in the world. Look at those two. How in the world did I get lucky enough to be the mommy of TWO perfect, beautiful children?
lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!
We've seen our fair share of animals in the past couple weeks! As I mentioned in the last post, we took the boys camping with my aunt and uncle. Since we had to cancel our trip to Yellowstone becasue of the birth of little b, they called and asked us if we'd like to go with them in August and stay in their camper. B was soooooo excited he could hardly stand it. We had a great time! B loved every single thing about the trip. Camping in the pop-up camper, seeing the huge waterfalls, looking at the gyesers, and seeing the animals we saw. The first one we saw was a bear, believe it or not! It was right across the river from us. We also saw hundreds of bufffalo, an animal that was either a very large coyote or a small-ish wolf, a cow elk that walked right past our picnic table at the campsite and down to the lake... B cried when we left to come home. :)
We also got to see more animals this past weekend, on our annual trek to Denver to do school shopping. We spent the morning at the Denver Zoo. J's brother and his wife happened to be coming the same day, so we got to eat lunch with them and their kids! What a fun surprise! B absolutely loved the zoo. Little b slept through it. :) (These pictures were taken off B's camera - he took them himself!)
We got home just in time for Josh to begin football practice bright and early Monday morning. We start in-service stuff next week and then the week after begins actual school! And I will be the mother of a kindergartener!
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
one month
My baby turned one month old yesterday. How in the world did that happen?! And what a big month he had. He spent a week with us at grandma and grandpa's house with his aunts, uncles, and cousins... my sister and her youngest came to our house to visit, my mom came to visit, we went to Casper to stay overnight and introduce him to the game of basketball (one of J's players was playing in the state All Star game for the South team), we had a steady stream of visitors at home, and we went CAMPING in Yellowstone for a weekend! (another blog post on that topic.)
Stats:
Length / Weight: Unsure of length, but he was 10 pounds, 3 oz when I took him to the clinic to be weighed yesterday. Holy moly, since he was 10 days old, we totally missed the 8 and 9 pound ranges!
Eating: Fantastic eater. We were having to stop him at 3 oz because of bad spit up, but in the past few days he has just not been satisfied with that, so we are giving him 4 oz. He sucks that down within 20-30 minutes and it only takes that long because we have to constantly stop and burp him. He gets sooo sad when we take the botte away from him to burp!
Sleeping: Little b is a pretty good sleeper! He's usually awake for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the evening, and sleeps for the better part of the day. At night, he'll eat about 10:30 and then only wake up once during the night, waking for the day any time between 5-6:00.
Wearing: 0-3 month, as newborn is getting quite small. Had to move him to size 1 diapers last weekend.
Miscellaneous: Still isn't totally consistent in smiling but when he does, it melts my heart! We have a big canvas print of J, B, and I from when B was 3 years old above our couch. Little b loves to stare at it and has smiled at it, too. He also LOVES to be swaddled to sleep and when he can't settle down, we put the swaddle me blanket on and he is instantly calm. His pacifier - he could take it or leave it. That's kind of nice! He loves taking baths. He doesn't cry and actually gets some coos out during them! He also loves to be in his swing!
Stats:
Length / Weight: Unsure of length, but he was 10 pounds, 3 oz when I took him to the clinic to be weighed yesterday. Holy moly, since he was 10 days old, we totally missed the 8 and 9 pound ranges!
Eating: Fantastic eater. We were having to stop him at 3 oz because of bad spit up, but in the past few days he has just not been satisfied with that, so we are giving him 4 oz. He sucks that down within 20-30 minutes and it only takes that long because we have to constantly stop and burp him. He gets sooo sad when we take the botte away from him to burp!
Sleeping: Little b is a pretty good sleeper! He's usually awake for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the evening, and sleeps for the better part of the day. At night, he'll eat about 10:30 and then only wake up once during the night, waking for the day any time between 5-6:00.
Wearing: 0-3 month, as newborn is getting quite small. Had to move him to size 1 diapers last weekend.
Miscellaneous: Still isn't totally consistent in smiling but when he does, it melts my heart! We have a big canvas print of J, B, and I from when B was 3 years old above our couch. Little b loves to stare at it and has smiled at it, too. He also LOVES to be swaddled to sleep and when he can't settle down, we put the swaddle me blanket on and he is instantly calm. His pacifier - he could take it or leave it. That's kind of nice! He loves taking baths. He doesn't cry and actually gets some coos out during them! He also loves to be in his swing!
Monday, July 30, 2012
woo-hoo!!!
WOO-HOO!!!!!! has become B's "everything's OK now" call lately. If he's doing something he's afraid of but feels OK doing it, you'll hear his holler and we know things will be fine.
His latest call sign has been ringing around the neighborhood the past couple days. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels!! Once he got it, he totally took off and is doing awesome! He is so excited. And you can tell by his "WOO-HOO!" ringing out down the street. :)
His latest call sign has been ringing around the neighborhood the past couple days. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels!! Once he got it, he totally took off and is doing awesome! He is so excited. And you can tell by his "WOO-HOO!" ringing out down the street. :)
answered prayer
We've had lots of visitors over since we came home. I love that we're able to finally show off our new guy! One of those visitors was a friend of ours, who also leads Children's Church at our church sometimes. She told me that the last time she led Children's Church, she asked if any of the kids had anything they wanted to pray for, so she could start an order and they'd all pray together. If you know my son at all, you know that he is NOT one to volunteer to say anything out loud with a crowd. Never.
However, that day, he was the FIRST to raise his hand. Our friend was shocked but told him he could start the prayers off.
His prayer?
"Dear God, please bring my family a baby."
I'm so glad that prayer was answered. :)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
never too early to smile at mommy
I know it's early for smiles. I KNOW. But honest to goodness, I got a deliberate smile today. While in the bath tub, no less! Don't most babies wait until they are older to smile, and don't most babies hate being in the water? Not this guy! He loves the bath, and he proved it by smiling big at me today. His first smile, at just 2 weeks, 1 day old! (I looked up when B-man first smiled, and he was 5 weeks, 6 days old!)
I just happened to be videoing it, too. How lucky was that?! And it's a good thing, because J and B were golfing, so nobody would have ever believed me since I had no witnesses!
I just happened to be videoing it, too. How lucky was that?! And it's a good thing, because J and B were golfing, so nobody would have ever believed me since I had no witnesses!
ten day stats
Little b went to the doctor last week for a weight check, and to get him checked over by OUR doctor. They look to have babies back at birth weight by 2 weeks old. Little b lost 6 oz in the hospital, but he eats like a horse so I was interested to see if he weighed more than his birth weight! Sure enough, he passed it!
7 lbs, 13 oz
20 1/4 inches long (up from 19 inches at 10 days? I don't put much faith into newborn lengths - they move too much!)
He was healthy as could be and let everyone know how mad he was that he had to get naked and be bothered!
I have to take him back tomorrow for his 2nd heel prick. They couldn't do it last week because he has to be 14 days old.
7 lbs, 13 oz
20 1/4 inches long (up from 19 inches at 10 days? I don't put much faith into newborn lengths - they move too much!)
He was healthy as could be and let everyone know how mad he was that he had to get naked and be bothered!
I have to take him back tomorrow for his 2nd heel prick. They couldn't do it last week because he has to be 14 days old.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
all because of one beautiful, strong, BRAVE woman
May 24, 2012: Phone call at work from Bethany, we were matched. TOTAL and complete shock, as we hadn't even began our home study process with them yet! Baby in another state, baby is Native American so we need to not only learn the adoption laws in that state, but the laws regarding adoption of NA babies, which adds a bunch of things to the laws of the state - including the tribe being able to come in and stop the adoption.
June 2, 2012: Baby boy born. Birth mother wants us to name him and has her social worker send us pictures via text. We're excited, but reserved! Plan is to have the baby go into an interim home, which is similar to foster care but it's a family that works for Bethany, not the state. The baby would go there until the court process was over (at least 15 days after birth since this is a NA baby).
June 3, 2012: Baby's birth mom is released from the hospital. Instead of placing the baby in interim care, she decides to take him home so he's not with "strangers". My heart sinks.
June 7, 2012: Paper signing day, to get the court process going. What a totally crazy day this was. I was honestly in my bathrobe with shampoo in my hair for two straight hours while I was on the phone. Here's why:
While in the shower, my phone rings. B-man comes running back to the bathroom with it but I missed the call. I waited to listen to the voice mail. It's Carol, the director of WCS, asking me to call her back. I called Josh at school to see if Carol had called him in the meantime. She had. We were matched with a birth mom.
Two babies. OMG.
We decided to go ahead and pursue both babies and if we end up with two, so be it. Worry about cost later.
I called Carol to let her know I heard the news and let her know what we decided about both babies. I also told her that the papers hadn't been signed on baby #1 yet and we didn't know what was going to happen.
While on the phone with her, the social worker from Bethany left a message. Birth mom, when called to see if she was ready to sign papers, couldn't do it. She needed more time. She was going to have a NA ceremony of clarity over the weekend. I tell her about baby #2 and she's so excited for us.
I called WCS back to let them know that the birth mom for baby #1 isn't ready to sign yet.
Then I get back in the shower, two hours later, to re-wash my hair. :)
June 9, 2012: We meet birth mom and birth dad for baby #2, along with Carol, for lunch. I was so nervous I thought I would puke. We brought birth mom a cute little bag full of pampering lotions and soaks and stuff. Birth mom is soooo quiet. Very hard to get conversation out of. She only had one question for us: What church did we go to? She was very pretty, very likable, just very quiet! Birth dad was more outgoing. Both of them have very awesome personal goals in life (which I won't post here - it's a little too personal to be posting about people that don't even know I blog) and chose us because we are teachers and would have a big brother for this little boy. Another boy!! Baby boy is due in just one month - July 9. I was so worried about B having a restaurant-noise meltdown, so I came prepared! Lots of new little surprises to keep him busy at the table. Come to find out later - that really impressed the birth mom. :)
June 18, 2012: After birth mom #1 wouldn't return phone calls to her social worker, she finally called her to say she officially decided to parent. We knew that in our guts, and really, while we were incredibly disappointed, the blow wasn't as bad because we have baby #2 to look forward to.
June 30, 2012: Meet Carol, birth mom, birth dad, and birth mom's dad for breakfast! Birth mom's dad is super nice. Immediately likable. Breakfast conversation was much more at ease than our first lunch, which was a relief! And the cherry on top: they gave us not one, but EIGHTEEN of this little guy's ultrasound pictures! Yes, I cried.
July 1, 2012: We are on vacation at my mom and dad's house. My sister and her family are there, as are my aunt and uncle. Perfect timing for a baby to arrive to meet everyone, right? Baby didn't get that memo.
July 6, 2012: Head to my grandma's house. We are staying there overnight before we head into Yellowstone for a few days. Freaking out, because Yellowstone doesn't have cell service. We subscribed to On Star so we had a phone of some sort in case baby came, but it wasn't working properly. So we were wondering what to do. We went to visit my BFF from college that night; she happened to be in town. We haven't seen her in 8 years, since our wedding! We were on our way out to her house when I get this text from Carol: "Yikes! She is in the hospital. Doctor is checking her. I will be in touch soon!!!" Of course, friend's house is in the country and doesn't have great service. On the way back into town, frantic phone calls between us, my mom and sister, and Carol. This is it! Baby is on his way!
July 7, 2012: SOOO tired this morning - no sleep was had. Got a text from our director at 5:12 am: "7 lbs 10 oz and healthy. Born at 3:56! Talk to you soon!" So worried now that it's "real" - what if they change their minds, too? Could I handle losing two babies? Director calls about 8:00 and says to come on down! We tell B that the baby has been born but we still have to wait a bit to see if we get to bring him home. But that we need to go to the hospital, and that means we can't go to Yellowstone. The poor kid cried. And that made me cry (because crying every day for the past month hadn't been enough...). He's been looking forward to this trip for a year! I promised we'd go another time. We get on the road - it's the longest 5 hour drive of my life, especially since we have to stop at every rest area because both Josh's and my nerves are making our bodies to into overdrive... We drop B off with Josh's parents, who met us, and we head to the hospital. Birth mom's dad met us at the door and brought us to the room. I got to hold him first. OMGoodness, what a beauty. I'm not joking when I say he was born absolutely PERFECT. Everything was perfect. And his hair - oh, the hair! It's long and lots of it. He's not going to make it 13 months before his first hair cut like B did! We spend a few hours at the hospital, but it's awkward because we are in birth mom's room the whole time. When we saw B that evening, his first words to me were, "Hey mom! Know anything yet? Do we get the baby?" Melted my heart. I told him we still have to wait a bit.
July 8, 2012: We spent only about an hour and a half at the hospital today. Can't get over how beautiful this little boy is! We wanted to give the birth mom and birth dad some space, (birth dad was at the hospital the whole entire time! He took great care of this baby.) but at the same time, I wanted to hold this baby to my chest and never let go - still terrified they will change their minds. Director said birth mom and baby will be released in the morning, and papers to terminate parental rights would happen then, so we should not come to the hospital until she calls us to let us know everything is done and we can come pick up this baby!
July 9, 2012: Another sleepless night. And my stomach has so many knots, I can't stand up straight. B is doing so great - totally on his best behavior, and wanting us to play so we could pass the time. Director thought it might be around 10:00 when she called us. I remember at one point, I looked at the clock and it said 8:24. I looked again later, thinking it must be about 9:00, and it said 8:28. Oy. 10:00 came and went. More knots, but I was so hoping that the fact that we hadn't been called early was a good sign, because that would most likely mean it was a "they won't sign" call. FINALLY, at 10:23, got this text: "Papers signed and she has left. Please come." I instantly burst into tears. Again. I hooped and hollered. I told B to go get on his new shirt that says BIG BROTHER, because we got the baby. His eyes got huge and he cheered. He went running, shouting "DADDY! WE GOT THE BABY!" I shouted for Josh to get the car seat - let's GO! And we headed in to get our new son. I texted my sister and told her to call my parents. I texted our other siblings. Josh called his mom. (side note: best story I've heard so far is from my sister-in-law, who was in the waiting room at the chiropractor when she got the text that papers were signed - Josh's brother was in the room getting worked on and Beth shouted from the lobby that papers were signed!!!! Everyone looked at her weird. LOL!) We pull into the hospital lot, had to literally drag B out of the truck because he was soooo overwhelmed and carry him in, walk into the hospital, walk to the room, and find our SON waiting for us with Carol. I was finally able to become incredibly excited. I held that perfect being and smelled his baby smell. I put on his new "little brother" onesie to match his big brother's shirt (that phrase still gets me, every time!!), we sign custody agreement papers, we get a family picture taken (with B standing behind me because he's still very overwhelmed), and walk out of the hospital. We walked in as a family of 3 and left as a family of 4. So surreal.
It's been one amazing thing to watch my B-man transform from an only child to a big brother. He is AMAZING, just like we thought. *So far* there hasn't been that hard of a transition. He is more than willing to hold little b, feed little b, pick out his clothing, put in his pacifier, all of those things. To see him get right up next to little b and say, "Hey there, little buddy, whatcha doin'?" melts my heart. It's been a long time coming. :)
We asked Carol how we got so lucky to get such a perfect baby and healthy birth parents... she said it was completely because we waited so long. Prayers are answered, and good things come with time. We knew that with the birth of B - it took forever to get pregnant but we waited so long and got the perfect child. How crazy it is that we were chosen to be the parents to TWO perfect children. The roller coaster this adoption process is, is not fun. At all. So many ups and downs and heartbreak and wondering... adoption is not for the faint of heart, for sure.
All of this happened to US because of one beautiful, strong, BRAVE woman. One who chose adoption over any other option. One who chose us because we are teachers and had a sibling for this little man. One, who even through her friends making fun of her for her decision, stayed strong so that our dream could be achieved. And it wasn't just her - it was one beautiful, strong, BRAVE man, too. They made this decision together. And for that, we will be eternally grateful.
As our family of 4.
June 2, 2012: Baby boy born. Birth mother wants us to name him and has her social worker send us pictures via text. We're excited, but reserved! Plan is to have the baby go into an interim home, which is similar to foster care but it's a family that works for Bethany, not the state. The baby would go there until the court process was over (at least 15 days after birth since this is a NA baby).
June 3, 2012: Baby's birth mom is released from the hospital. Instead of placing the baby in interim care, she decides to take him home so he's not with "strangers". My heart sinks.
June 7, 2012: Paper signing day, to get the court process going. What a totally crazy day this was. I was honestly in my bathrobe with shampoo in my hair for two straight hours while I was on the phone. Here's why:
While in the shower, my phone rings. B-man comes running back to the bathroom with it but I missed the call. I waited to listen to the voice mail. It's Carol, the director of WCS, asking me to call her back. I called Josh at school to see if Carol had called him in the meantime. She had. We were matched with a birth mom.
Two babies. OMG.
We decided to go ahead and pursue both babies and if we end up with two, so be it. Worry about cost later.
I called Carol to let her know I heard the news and let her know what we decided about both babies. I also told her that the papers hadn't been signed on baby #1 yet and we didn't know what was going to happen.
While on the phone with her, the social worker from Bethany left a message. Birth mom, when called to see if she was ready to sign papers, couldn't do it. She needed more time. She was going to have a NA ceremony of clarity over the weekend. I tell her about baby #2 and she's so excited for us.
I called WCS back to let them know that the birth mom for baby #1 isn't ready to sign yet.
Then I get back in the shower, two hours later, to re-wash my hair. :)
June 9, 2012: We meet birth mom and birth dad for baby #2, along with Carol, for lunch. I was so nervous I thought I would puke. We brought birth mom a cute little bag full of pampering lotions and soaks and stuff. Birth mom is soooo quiet. Very hard to get conversation out of. She only had one question for us: What church did we go to? She was very pretty, very likable, just very quiet! Birth dad was more outgoing. Both of them have very awesome personal goals in life (which I won't post here - it's a little too personal to be posting about people that don't even know I blog) and chose us because we are teachers and would have a big brother for this little boy. Another boy!! Baby boy is due in just one month - July 9. I was so worried about B having a restaurant-noise meltdown, so I came prepared! Lots of new little surprises to keep him busy at the table. Come to find out later - that really impressed the birth mom. :)
June 18, 2012: After birth mom #1 wouldn't return phone calls to her social worker, she finally called her to say she officially decided to parent. We knew that in our guts, and really, while we were incredibly disappointed, the blow wasn't as bad because we have baby #2 to look forward to.
June 30, 2012: Meet Carol, birth mom, birth dad, and birth mom's dad for breakfast! Birth mom's dad is super nice. Immediately likable. Breakfast conversation was much more at ease than our first lunch, which was a relief! And the cherry on top: they gave us not one, but EIGHTEEN of this little guy's ultrasound pictures! Yes, I cried.
July 1, 2012: We are on vacation at my mom and dad's house. My sister and her family are there, as are my aunt and uncle. Perfect timing for a baby to arrive to meet everyone, right? Baby didn't get that memo.
July 6, 2012: Head to my grandma's house. We are staying there overnight before we head into Yellowstone for a few days. Freaking out, because Yellowstone doesn't have cell service. We subscribed to On Star so we had a phone of some sort in case baby came, but it wasn't working properly. So we were wondering what to do. We went to visit my BFF from college that night; she happened to be in town. We haven't seen her in 8 years, since our wedding! We were on our way out to her house when I get this text from Carol: "Yikes! She is in the hospital. Doctor is checking her. I will be in touch soon!!!" Of course, friend's house is in the country and doesn't have great service. On the way back into town, frantic phone calls between us, my mom and sister, and Carol. This is it! Baby is on his way!
July 7, 2012: SOOO tired this morning - no sleep was had. Got a text from our director at 5:12 am: "7 lbs 10 oz and healthy. Born at 3:56! Talk to you soon!" So worried now that it's "real" - what if they change their minds, too? Could I handle losing two babies? Director calls about 8:00 and says to come on down! We tell B that the baby has been born but we still have to wait a bit to see if we get to bring him home. But that we need to go to the hospital, and that means we can't go to Yellowstone. The poor kid cried. And that made me cry (because crying every day for the past month hadn't been enough...). He's been looking forward to this trip for a year! I promised we'd go another time. We get on the road - it's the longest 5 hour drive of my life, especially since we have to stop at every rest area because both Josh's and my nerves are making our bodies to into overdrive... We drop B off with Josh's parents, who met us, and we head to the hospital. Birth mom's dad met us at the door and brought us to the room. I got to hold him first. OMGoodness, what a beauty. I'm not joking when I say he was born absolutely PERFECT. Everything was perfect. And his hair - oh, the hair! It's long and lots of it. He's not going to make it 13 months before his first hair cut like B did! We spend a few hours at the hospital, but it's awkward because we are in birth mom's room the whole time. When we saw B that evening, his first words to me were, "Hey mom! Know anything yet? Do we get the baby?" Melted my heart. I told him we still have to wait a bit.
July 8, 2012: We spent only about an hour and a half at the hospital today. Can't get over how beautiful this little boy is! We wanted to give the birth mom and birth dad some space, (birth dad was at the hospital the whole entire time! He took great care of this baby.) but at the same time, I wanted to hold this baby to my chest and never let go - still terrified they will change their minds. Director said birth mom and baby will be released in the morning, and papers to terminate parental rights would happen then, so we should not come to the hospital until she calls us to let us know everything is done and we can come pick up this baby!
July 9, 2012: Another sleepless night. And my stomach has so many knots, I can't stand up straight. B is doing so great - totally on his best behavior, and wanting us to play so we could pass the time. Director thought it might be around 10:00 when she called us. I remember at one point, I looked at the clock and it said 8:24. I looked again later, thinking it must be about 9:00, and it said 8:28. Oy. 10:00 came and went. More knots, but I was so hoping that the fact that we hadn't been called early was a good sign, because that would most likely mean it was a "they won't sign" call. FINALLY, at 10:23, got this text: "Papers signed and she has left. Please come." I instantly burst into tears. Again. I hooped and hollered. I told B to go get on his new shirt that says BIG BROTHER, because we got the baby. His eyes got huge and he cheered. He went running, shouting "DADDY! WE GOT THE BABY!" I shouted for Josh to get the car seat - let's GO! And we headed in to get our new son. I texted my sister and told her to call my parents. I texted our other siblings. Josh called his mom. (side note: best story I've heard so far is from my sister-in-law, who was in the waiting room at the chiropractor when she got the text that papers were signed - Josh's brother was in the room getting worked on and Beth shouted from the lobby that papers were signed!!!! Everyone looked at her weird. LOL!) We pull into the hospital lot, had to literally drag B out of the truck because he was soooo overwhelmed and carry him in, walk into the hospital, walk to the room, and find our SON waiting for us with Carol. I was finally able to become incredibly excited. I held that perfect being and smelled his baby smell. I put on his new "little brother" onesie to match his big brother's shirt (that phrase still gets me, every time!!), we sign custody agreement papers, we get a family picture taken (with B standing behind me because he's still very overwhelmed), and walk out of the hospital. We walked in as a family of 3 and left as a family of 4. So surreal.
It's been one amazing thing to watch my B-man transform from an only child to a big brother. He is AMAZING, just like we thought. *So far* there hasn't been that hard of a transition. He is more than willing to hold little b, feed little b, pick out his clothing, put in his pacifier, all of those things. To see him get right up next to little b and say, "Hey there, little buddy, whatcha doin'?" melts my heart. It's been a long time coming. :)
We asked Carol how we got so lucky to get such a perfect baby and healthy birth parents... she said it was completely because we waited so long. Prayers are answered, and good things come with time. We knew that with the birth of B - it took forever to get pregnant but we waited so long and got the perfect child. How crazy it is that we were chosen to be the parents to TWO perfect children. The roller coaster this adoption process is, is not fun. At all. So many ups and downs and heartbreak and wondering... adoption is not for the faint of heart, for sure.
All of this happened to US because of one beautiful, strong, BRAVE woman. One who chose adoption over any other option. One who chose us because we are teachers and had a sibling for this little man. One, who even through her friends making fun of her for her decision, stayed strong so that our dream could be achieved. And it wasn't just her - it was one beautiful, strong, BRAVE man, too. They made this decision together. And for that, we will be eternally grateful.
As our family of 4.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
a champ
Jr. Golf.
Tournament.
Two days long, 3 holes each day. Intense, I know.
I wondered at first why only 3 holes a day. And then I was assigned to keep score for children that are not mine. Children that do not have a daddy to take them golfing every day.
3 holes was plenty.
PLENTY.
The little girl in my group quit yesterday after one hole. I don't blame her. I'd be tired too if I took about 134 strokes in that one hole. It was a good thing for her that we didn't count whiffs.
Scores in my group (just my group, since I didn't keep score for anyone else) after day 1:
Brecken: 20
Kid 1: 51
Kid 2: Quit after one hole.
Day two was better - the little girl made it two holes before quitting.
Brecken: 27
Kid 1: 35
Kid 2: 47 before she quit after the second hole.
Today finished with a picnic at the park and an awards ceremony. There were trophies for the winners in each age group. There weren't a TON of kids in the 5 year old boy category, but my little man came away with the biggest grin. So proud of that kid.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Summer has started off in full swing! Josh just got to start this week, but the B-man and I have 2 weeks under our belts already. We've stayed plenty busy... B and I babysat for some friends who still had school and needed a babysitter. B was such a good helper. The two kids were almost 3, and 4 months. He played with the older one ALL.DAY. Man, they played hard! He got her snacks, got her drinks, kept her occupied... which was great since the baby was a bit fussy and needed lots of attention. B is such a great kid.
We've been swimming several times (including a swim play date with his friend and her mom), golfing, (we played in the school district fun scramble and actually took 4 putts of B's!), had my parents here for Memorial Day weekend, cleared out and organized the nursery (for our homestudy for Bethany that was done), organized B's closet, been to Cheyenne, all sorts of fun stuff.
B started junior golf this week, too. He could hardly contain his excitement yesterday morning while waiting to leave for his first lesson.
I always think in the summertime that I'll update this blog more, since I'm home. But then we get super busy doing projects and fun stuff, and I seem to never have the time. Ha!
We've been swimming several times (including a swim play date with his friend and her mom), golfing, (we played in the school district fun scramble and actually took 4 putts of B's!), had my parents here for Memorial Day weekend, cleared out and organized the nursery (for our homestudy for Bethany that was done), organized B's closet, been to Cheyenne, all sorts of fun stuff.
B started junior golf this week, too. He could hardly contain his excitement yesterday morning while waiting to leave for his first lesson.
I always think in the summertime that I'll update this blog more, since I'm home. But then we get super busy doing projects and fun stuff, and I seem to never have the time. Ha!
Monday, May 28, 2012
the weekend
We had a good Memorial Day weekend! My parents came down and Josh and my dad played in Josh's football golf tournament. My mom, the B-man and I were really busy. My mom helped me in our yard, then helped me organize our baby's room, which has been a catch-all for everything B has outgrown. You could hardly walk in there, but now it's a beautiful nursery. We needed to get it done - we have our home inspection coming up this weekend. I was very glad for the help my mom offered. We threw away a bunch of stuff, got things set up, clothes into new tubs by size, and things washed. Thanks for the help, Mom! Now we just need a dresser for in there and it will be ready for a little one to come home some day!
B-man helped every step of the way. I love love love that he's such a helper.
Yesterday we just took it easy - it was cold, dark, and windy out so it was a day to snuggle in and read.
My parents left this morning and we've done the same thing - snuggle in. It's so windy and cold out - not nice outside weather for sure!
Busy week coming up. B and I are done with school - officially on summer vacation!! Josh has 2 weeks left still. I'm babysitting a couple cuties while their mom and dad have school still - their babysitter bailed and left them without childcare for the last month or more of school. I'm done with school now, so I'm taking the kids this week until their grandma can come to the rescue next week. B and I are excited! Tomorrow is our anniversary, and we'll be spending it very romantically - eating dinner at the school while a football coach gets me certified in infant CPR. haha! I need to get certified for our new adoption agency. Josh is of course certified already, being an EMT and all, but I need to get mine done. Then we have our home inspection on Saturday.
And I thought summer was supposed to slow down. :)
B-man helped every step of the way. I love love love that he's such a helper.
Yesterday we just took it easy - it was cold, dark, and windy out so it was a day to snuggle in and read.
My parents left this morning and we've done the same thing - snuggle in. It's so windy and cold out - not nice outside weather for sure!
Busy week coming up. B and I are done with school - officially on summer vacation!! Josh has 2 weeks left still. I'm babysitting a couple cuties while their mom and dad have school still - their babysitter bailed and left them without childcare for the last month or more of school. I'm done with school now, so I'm taking the kids this week until their grandma can come to the rescue next week. B and I are excited! Tomorrow is our anniversary, and we'll be spending it very romantically - eating dinner at the school while a football coach gets me certified in infant CPR. haha! I need to get certified for our new adoption agency. Josh is of course certified already, being an EMT and all, but I need to get mine done. Then we have our home inspection on Saturday.
And I thought summer was supposed to slow down. :)
Friday, May 11, 2012
released
We had B's IEP meeting this afternoon. He is officially released from it and his services. SPD is not IEP-able, so he was on his IEP for speech so he could receive services for sensory. He passed the speech eval with flying colors, so he has been released. We'll work on getting his 504 plan written with the elementary school principal. (for those not familiar with the education jargon, a 504 plan is used for students that may need accommodations and interventions, but don't have a learning disability. So a student without a learning disability but is in a wheelchair, for example, could have a 504 plan because they would still need some accommodations. Same with SPD. It's not a learning disability, but he could still need certain accommodations for noise and sensory overload and whatnot.)
I'll come back later and add his scores in, but he tested above average in everything, and 99th percentile for most, including fine motor, gross motor, language, and emotional stuff. In fact, in expressive communication, he is at the level of a 7 year, 11 month old!
Way to go, my superstar!!
I'll come back later and add his scores in, but he tested above average in everything, and 99th percentile for most, including fine motor, gross motor, language, and emotional stuff. In fact, in expressive communication, he is at the level of a 7 year, 11 month old!
Way to go, my superstar!!
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
kindergarten round-up
Hard to believe my boy is going to kindergarten. Makes this mama sad, but I suppose he has to go...
Round-up was today. B told us we were not allowed to talk about it, because he didn't want to go today. So I had a good idea of how the day was going to go...
Here's a cast of characters in this post, for those of you not familiar with who I'm talking about!
Round-up was today. B told us we were not allowed to talk about it, because he didn't want to go today. So I had a good idea of how the day was going to go...
Here's a cast of characters in this post, for those of you not familiar with who I'm talking about!
Mrs. Uhling - the K teacher. She's amazing. She won a national math teaching award last year and got to meet President Obama to receive it. Her husband is Josh's principal. Her daughter just graduated with an elementary ed degree and was voted the outstanding female graduate from the whole university. Pretty impressive. We go out to dinner with them a few times a month, so Mrs. Uhling and Brecken know each other very well.
Mrs. McAtee - the math facilitator for our district. Knows us well - and has a desk at Central Office right across from Josh. She was impressed one day while B was at work with Josh that B was writing down jersey numbers - 44, 24, 13, etc. Not just any old numbers - jersey numbers of Josh's basketball players. LOL!
The OT is Chuck. He of course is known as Mr. Mollica to the kids, but in this email I call him Chuck.
Donna is B's current OT.
And you may not remember, but he rubs his hand in my hair and twists it every time he gets tired or overwhelmed. It's a soothing thing for him.
The OT is Chuck. He of course is known as Mr. Mollica to the kids, but in this email I call him Chuck.
Donna is B's current OT.
And you may not remember, but he rubs his hand in my hair and twists it every time he gets tired or overwhelmed. It's a soothing thing for him.
Alright, here we go:
Started off disastrous.
I was a few minutes late because I had to finish a class and drive the 20 miles from work. I walked in and Josh and B were with the nurse already. Brecken was buried so far into Josh's shoulder that I couldn't hardly see his face. He immediately reached for me and would not say a word. He wouldn't even wear the name tag they had for him. His face was so red and hot I thought he had a fever. The nurse knows us (she works at all the schools in the district) and knows Brecken so she was expecting this. She was very good - very calm, very nice, and didn't push - just showed us where to go next.
Next was the kindergarten readiness test with Mrs. Uhling, who he knows very well. The math faciliator was also there to do math things. B also knows Mrs. McAtee, he talks to her at Central Office a lot. CRAWLED up me to get away from both of them. Literally. Wouldn't answer a single thing. Wouldn't point to his favorite color, wouldn't find a circle, wouldn't even LOOK at Mrs. Uhling or Mrs. McAtee. Even though his friend from preschool was in there doing it. I'm so grateful those two ladies know B and know he's not being a brat, but that he just could NOT do it.
So we move on to OT. The OT was busy with the girl that was in the room with us for math and Mrs. Uhling, so Mrs. McAtee decided to try again with B since nobody else was in her room. They were in there a LONG time. I stood and waited for OT. The OT knows me, he works in our school too. So we talked about the SPD and what we see in B, what he does, what's going to be a struggle (like lunch - oh, how I dread lunch next year), asked about motor skills and I said he's probably the most athletic 5 year old I've met, and that gross motor was great, but that he works with Donna on fine motor, along with the other sensory stuff. He said he has a weighted vest we can try if the transition to K is hard since he sleeps with a weighted blanket.
He told me about a FANTASTIC sounding program that he does for sensory kids before school every morning. He calls it sensory school, and those sensory kids can come in at 7:45 and do what they feel they need to do - swing, spin chairs, balance balls, sensory tables for tactile things, he can brush them, etc. They do that for 15 minutes and then they have 10 minutes of yoga. I might have gotten tears in my eyes when he said that - that sounds like EXACTLY what B-man needs every morning. I'm so grateful that that's an option.
After we talked about that, Mrs. McAtee came in with a thumbs up, followed by B and Josh. He managed to get all his math and readiness stuff done! HOORAY!!!!! Didn't miss a single question. AND, he saw stuff in the OT room that Donna has and felt better - he balanced on a ball with Chuck (the OT), showed off his running, stopping, jumping, catching, drawing, etc. After every "test", he'd run back to me and rub his hands in my hair, and then he'd go do the next thing. He wouldn't TALK to Chuck at all, but he did what he asked! YAY!
By that time, we had been there an hour, when most roundups take 30 minutes, and he still hadn't gotten to the hearing and sight test lady. I had to get back to work (I was only able to go because it was during my plan/lunch) so I had to leave Josh there with B. Josh told me tonight what a super-star B was when he finally opened up... got all the math questions right, drew himself correctly, drew a tree (with an apple in it!), drew a sun by drawing the yellow circle and THEN filling it in, which is apparently a pretty high skill for a preschooler, and drew stars, which apparently is a skill taught late in kindergarten. Who knew?! Our kid is brilliant. :)
Super excited about sensory school!!
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
band-aids. again.
The B-man has not only decided that band-aids are OK, but that now his finger hurts if he DOESN'T have one on. We bought the box of 30 on Saturday morning. Today is Tuesday. We have gone through 11 band-aids.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
band-aids
Brecken got a cut today that was bleeding. Yes, it was the most painful thing ever to him. But today, he ASKED for a band-aid. Yes, you read that right. I almost fell over. He said he figured out while at the doctor this past week that band-aids weren't that bad after all.
Another HUGE sensory obstacle, overcome!
The bad news was, since he wouldn't wear band-aids before, we had none in the house. So we made a trip down to the dollar store and he picked some out. And he wore not one, but two today.
I kind of feel like a "normal" (I hate that word, but you know what I mean) mother, with a kid who is instantly healed of all ailments with a band-aid.
OK, maybe not ALL ailments, but heck - a cut on a finger, a band-aid to make it better, our world is now different!
Another HUGE sensory obstacle, overcome!
The bad news was, since he wouldn't wear band-aids before, we had none in the house. So we made a trip down to the dollar store and he picked some out. And he wore not one, but two today.
I kind of feel like a "normal" (I hate that word, but you know what I mean) mother, with a kid who is instantly healed of all ailments with a band-aid.
OK, maybe not ALL ailments, but heck - a cut on a finger, a band-aid to make it better, our world is now different!
Monday, April 23, 2012
shots = horrible
Kindergarten shots. OMG. Thank goodness it's over and we don't have to do it again until 6th grade.
Dr appointments in general with a sensory kid are miserable. B had his headphones on from the minute we walked in the door. He wouldn't let anyone weigh him (he's afraid of the scale). He wouldn't let anyone see how tall he is. Luckily my mom and dad have a medicine scale at their house so I weighed him when we were there for Easter. 36.5 pounds - 10th percentile, baby! The highest he's been since he was born!!! And you can FORGET about listening to his heart - at one point he was so strong that he was able to push Josh's arm away while Josh was helping hold him down in my lap. But all that made him sob so hard that he didn't notice the dr. listening on B's back to his heart. :) No way Jose to the pulse ox machine, and no way was he going to take off his headphones to look in the ears.
There's a reason our appointments always take a full hour.
And then came the shots. OH MY GOODNESS. I had him chest to chest on my lap and Josh was holding down the poor kid too - and the scream that came out of that child's mouth when whatever went into his left arm hit - I flinched, it was so loud. I felt soooo bad for the doctor because his head was right there too. The nurse did a shot in one arm and then she and the dr. team tagged the next two so they happened at the same time. Hysterical child. HYSTERICAL. And then they put on bandaids, which hurt my B-man, and I didn't think to tell them that until he had already ripped them off and thrown them on the floor. That's how mad he was.
One slurpee and a lay down on a pillow on the couch later, he was much better. So much better, in fact, that we went to the park after dinner. He caught a ball and landed on his right arm, and that's when he asked, "Mom, did I get two shots?" Apparently that left arm one hurt so bad it made him forget about the other two, as he was quite shocked when I told him he had three!
But for real. I'm glad that's done.
Dr appointments in general with a sensory kid are miserable. B had his headphones on from the minute we walked in the door. He wouldn't let anyone weigh him (he's afraid of the scale). He wouldn't let anyone see how tall he is. Luckily my mom and dad have a medicine scale at their house so I weighed him when we were there for Easter. 36.5 pounds - 10th percentile, baby! The highest he's been since he was born!!! And you can FORGET about listening to his heart - at one point he was so strong that he was able to push Josh's arm away while Josh was helping hold him down in my lap. But all that made him sob so hard that he didn't notice the dr. listening on B's back to his heart. :) No way Jose to the pulse ox machine, and no way was he going to take off his headphones to look in the ears.
There's a reason our appointments always take a full hour.
And then came the shots. OH MY GOODNESS. I had him chest to chest on my lap and Josh was holding down the poor kid too - and the scream that came out of that child's mouth when whatever went into his left arm hit - I flinched, it was so loud. I felt soooo bad for the doctor because his head was right there too. The nurse did a shot in one arm and then she and the dr. team tagged the next two so they happened at the same time. Hysterical child. HYSTERICAL. And then they put on bandaids, which hurt my B-man, and I didn't think to tell them that until he had already ripped them off and thrown them on the floor. That's how mad he was.
One slurpee and a lay down on a pillow on the couch later, he was much better. So much better, in fact, that we went to the park after dinner. He caught a ball and landed on his right arm, and that's when he asked, "Mom, did I get two shots?" Apparently that left arm one hurt so bad it made him forget about the other two, as he was quite shocked when I told him he had three!
But for real. I'm glad that's done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
