Therapy Update

Therapy has been going well.  He likes going and today he was very happy in the waiting room.  He kept saying "ball" because there are very big balls that he gets to play with!  We are still doing the brushing thing at home.  I don't really see a whole lot of changes, but it is early.  I have to admit, I have been getting very impatient with everything.  I just wish that he would talk instead of the whining and grunting.  He says words, but most are only the first part of the word.  I can see that he wants to say things, but just can't get them out.  Maybe I am just more frustrated because I see him trying and wanting to do things and it is killing me.  I am also getting really frustrated with the whole eating thing.  I want him to eat like he used to.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it last time, but Oliver is now 22 months old and has only gained 4 pounds since his 9 month check-up!  Who knows, maybe I just need to restart things.  It has been a crazy week.  My dad and youngest brother are on their way here, that should be a nice little break!  The boys love grandpa and uncle.  I have been struggling with a lot of things lately, but this will not turn into a pitty post :)  I need to think of the positives, right?!  Oliver may have this silly sensory issue, but it is healthy!  Jamie may have his little quirks, but he is healthy!  We have a couple of trips coming up and that will be a nice break.  Ok, well I'm going to end this post.  I'm going to think of something happy or fun to post about next.  I have so many ideas, I just need to get at them!

Time Out?!

Can I just have a time out?!  Our days are full of therapy appointments, doing therapy at home, changing diets, finding foods, and getting Jamie ready for pre-school.  I am going to a chiropractor, as well as Jamie, for my tail bone pain.  It isn't the traditional kind though, it is called Nucca and I love it.  There is no twisting, cracking and popping.  Turns out I have a lot of issues...haha!  My appointments got cancelled this week because my doc is out.  Since I need everything to get back in line and even again, it causes pain.  Well, my neck is really hurting and yesterday and today I woke up with a headache and had it all day....all because of my neck pain.  I called today and got 2 appointments in this week because I really don't think I can wait til next week.  I'm really hoping I feel better soon.  Then there is Oliver's therapy.  I know that what he has really isn't that bad compared to what other parents have to go through.  So, when I talk about having rough days, please don't think that I am comparing it to something like cancer.  I was going to write more, but my head is killing me and I need to work nice and early tomorrow.  Goodnight :)

Finally

We finally got a diagnosis for Oliver last week....Sensory Integration/Processing Disorder.  I have suspected this but needed that confirmation.  We have a lot to work on with him.  He also lacks protection skills.  So, when he falls or trips or whatever, he doesn't try to protect himself or stop himself.  We were supposed to have his first therapy appointment on Monday, but his therapist had to cancel last minute.  We now have to wait til Friday.  I have to admit, I was not happy.  I know things come up, so I understand that.  I was just looking forward to getting started on this therapy thing.  He has therapy once a week for 45 minutes.  I have a feeling this will be very hard work, but I can't wait to see the results. 

*Update*
So, I started this post the other day and forgot about it.  We had Oliver's appointment and it went well.  He is over-sensitive in some areas and under-sensitive in others.  One type of therapy we need to do with him is called "brushing."  We have this special brush that we need to use on his arms, back, legs, and feet.  After that we have to do "joint compression" and I guess this releases chemicals or something.  It is suppose to help relax the child, make him more alert to his senses.  We have to do it every 2 hours while he is awake for 3 weeks.  Over time, his body will get used to this and stay more alert and he will be able to go longer between brushes.  It sounds a little strange and I'm not sure how exactly it works, I just know it does.  He also needs speech therapy, not only for his speech but because he has a weakness in his mouth.  This explains why he mainly eats soft and mushy foods because he doesn't have to work for it.  He has a lot of things that need to be worked on but his therapist said we should be able to do a lot for him.  It is good that we are doing it now because his body and brain can be re-trained as opposed to waiting to he was older.  I told her that I got to thinking about the future and that I don't want him to be in school but can't wash his hands, or play with paint, or do other fun things because he is scared.  She did say that there is no known cause of this either...I've been thinking a lot lately that I did something to cause this, even though I read that there is no clear cause.  I also told her how people have been asking if he is autistic and how much that irritates me.  She said he is not autistic and that people assume when kids have sensory issues that they automatically have autism (because some kids with autism have sensory issues).  Most people just don't understand what we are dealing with.  I have been trying real hard to ignore these people.  It sucks though when you have family members saying things.  Telling you that it your fault your child has issues, or that you are a bad parent and just need to discipline your child.  Some of these people don't have kids and think they know all, or they have kids and think what they do is what everyone should do.  I am also doing research on smoothies to boost Oliver's weight a little.  I weighed him the other day and he is 26 pounds which means he has only gained a half a pound since his 15 month check-up (he is almost 22 months).  I know weight gain slows down, but to me, a half a pound in 7 months is not enough.  He was always in the higher percentile for weight also, until he got all picky with his food, then he dropped down.  I'm hoping that after some speech therapy he will get better with food.  Just as I am typing this, Oliver said "baby" which probably doesn't sound like that big of a deal to most, but he is almost 2 and just said it now.  He doesn't even say "hi" so I'm going to take any words that I can :)

At a Loss

I am at a loss, a loss for feelings, for words...ok, maybe not words.  There is a whole lot of drama going on in my family.  Drama that I won't go into detail about because I will not blast all that on the internet.  We all have drama but this sucks!  I hate it when people change into someone completely different.  I guess what is worse, is that you can't say anything because if you do, you are the bad person.  But talking doesn't always help.  Sometimes it makes people angry or causes them to make silly threats, or act very immature.  People can talk about me, but when people start dragging my kids into things and saying mean things about them....watch out for this momma bear!  My kids are my life and I'm not going to let things like that happen them, especially at their tender ages.  Some of this I can't fix, I can't talk anymore, they need to figure things out on their own and hopefully that happens soon.  The way I see it, the Big Man upstairs sees all, knows all, and these people have to face that some day.  I need to put it in his hands.  My prayer list is getting larger.  All I can do right now is pray and hope that things will get better.  But like I said, we all have problems, so my prayers will be for anyone having those issues.  Anyway, enough of that!  Now, it is time to sleep....and think of a much more happier post for tomorrow :)

Feeling a little down

Have you ever had those days before?  You know, the kids are being a handful, the house isn't very clean, you haven't started supper, you didn't take a shower?!  The joys of being a mom I guess :)  I have been having some issues with the way I look lately.  I don't want to sound full of myself or vain, I know that have had 2 kids.  But, I'm not liking my belly area, especially by the end of the day and I look pregnant....if I don't suck it all in.  I gained 50 pounds with both boys and lost it all.  I had a job last year (that I absolutely hated) and it involved a lot of walking, lifting, moving, and I was loosing weight and liking it.  Now, I think I have gained a few pounds...my clothes still fit the same, but it is just that stupid belly area.  Then, I always say that I'm going to work-out, do something about it.  I got Zumba for the Wii and was doing that for a little bit, but then, of course fell off of that.  I feel so self conscience about how I look.  I know that is stupid and I shouldn't feel like that.  The hubby tells me that I look good, or hot, and I tell him he has to say that :)  You know what sucks though?  I am thinking about food right now and how I want to eat something!  I'm going to do Zumba tonight and keep doing it.  So I can eat something, right?!  Now that it is getting to be summer here in Michigan (we've had some crazy weather the past few months), I will be taking walks with the boys a lot!  I always put Oliver in the Ergo carrier also, weight resistance, right!  This post isn't suppose to make you feel sorry for me.  I just want to get my feelings out.  And I know that there are probably other moms who think the same thing. 

Gluten Free, Anyone?

We have decided to put Jamie on a gluten free diet and see how things go.  We saw the doctor last week and he said there are definite signs that we can't ignore.  Once he starts school, we will see more....ADD, ADHD and test for things.  I told the doctor that I just wanted somewhere to go from here.  I didn't like the advice we got from the play therapist....good luck, it will be hard.  He recommended fish oil and vitamin D.  I asked about him going completely gluten free and what he thought about it.  I have read a lot about gluten and ADD/ADHD.  So, we are changing Jamie's diet and trying the vitamins.  I can definitely see a change in him.  Daddy has messed up a couple times, but we're working on that :)  We have a calender in the kitchen, so I'm going to write on there what J can have when I am at work.  Now, obviously, we know that Jamie's tantrums will not disappear all together, he's 3!  But, when we don't mess up on the diet, he does not throw his fits where he cries and screams for a minimum of an hour.  When he does get upset, it is easier to calm him down.  He is growing out of his naps and usually throws a major fit when I tell him it is a nap day.  Now, he tells me he doesn't want to take a nap, but will go lay down with me and take a nap, no tears.  How about bed time?  Oh my, so much easier.  I'm excited to see how things go in the next couple of weeks. 


We are still waiting to hear about an appointment for Oliver.  Daddy called the children's hospital just to make sure they actually got the referral.  They did, but said it would be a couple of weeks before anyone called and who knows how long after that he will get in.  It has been 5 months already since his initial referral and we still haven't seen anyone.  I'm getting pretty frustrated and just hope that we can get in soon.


On a completely different note.  I was outside today and was going to plant some flowers in front of the house (the ones I planted the other week died for some reason).  I was digging holes and all of a sudden a stupid frog came at me!  It was in the spot I was digging!  I jumped back and went straight in the house.  Oh my word, I hate frogs!

So Much to Say

Ok, so Blogger changed things around, I'm having some issues with this :)  It is telling me that I'm not following any blogs, but I am.  Oh my, I will have to figure it out later. 

Another thought, why do people have blogs, but never write....haha!  I have so many things going on, things that I want to blog about, but just never do.  Some things, I just won't blog about though. 

I am missing my grandpa like crazy.  Easter was especially hard.  We stayed in Michigan so that was probably better.  We spent every holiday with grandpa....Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, he would always come over and eat with us.  I almost asked my mom if he was coming over for Easter.  Why would I do that?  I finally uploaded the pictures from the last time we saw him.  It took me a while to do that.  I couldn't even look at them on my camera.  I'm so glad that Jamie got to spend some time with him and I know that he will always remember that.  Jamie has a super memory!  I love the fact that Jamie knows great grandpa is in heaven with Jesus and is with great grandma Sadie again :)  He also knows that if he ever gets a sister, her name will be Sadie.

We have been dealing with some sensory issues with Oliver.  We are waiting to hear about getting him in to see an occupational therapist.  We brought up the issues at his 15 month check-up (he is now 20 months).  We had mentioned things in past, but we were told that it was just a stage and that he would get over it.  When there was no change at the next appointment, especially with his fear of water, the doctor said he needed some therapy, mainly for the fear of water.  We got sent to a psychologist, but had to wait almost 3 months before we got in there.  She met with us for an hour and said that he needed an occupational therapist (which is what we were getting) and that we had to go somewhere else.  She diagnosed him with severe separation anxiety, but said that the anxiety is most likely caused by the sensory issues.  I'm a little confused as to why she didn't diagnose him with a sensory disorder.  So, we have been trying to find a place that will see him and takes our insurance.  We have pretty good insurance, but this therapy stuff is strange.  I called one place and they said they could help, but needed a referral.  I did that and then didn't hear anything back.  I called and it sounded like they (the therapy place) never got the paper work.  Now, I was told the first time I talked to them, that they would be able to help him.  I talked to them 2 weeks later and now they weren't sure if they could help.  The lady called back and said that her therapist felt that Oliver was "too specialized" and wouldn't be able to help.  Who says that!?  I found another place that accepted our insurance, but the occupational therapy was not covered.  I was so frustrated at this point!  I was sick of calling people and not getting anywhere.  I want to get him the best help that we can, but therapy is very expensive!  The hubby then called the children's hospital.  We are waiting to hear back from them this week about an appointment.  The first psychologist we saw was really nice really understood what we were going through. She told us about some books to read.  I asked if they would help with Jamie and she said most definitely.  It was like she could see things in Jamie.  The doctor also said that she couldn't officially diagnose it, but said she wouldn't be surprised if Oliver had ADD.  That really got me thinking about Jamie and how the play therapist that he saw just said it was an intelligence thing, that he is just so smart and that was pretty much it.  She said good luck and that things will be hard.  Ok, If Oliver will have ADD, then his brother for sure has it!  I don't care if they do, I would just like to know so we can learn techniques to help them now.  We have been having some issues with Jamie, so he has an appointment tomorrow with his doctor.  I have been feeling like such a horrible parent lately.  The hubby is at work at night, and nights are the hardest.  I yell at the boys and then feel so bad for doing that.  I have been working really hard on that.  Yelling has no effect on Jamie.  He responds much better if you talk calmly to him and explain things.  But oh my, that is so hard to do sometimes. 

Ok, I think this is long enough :)  I say it all the time, but I really want to blog more and I'm really going to try.