Moving along

Due to some personal issues, I am going to be changing the web address for this blog. If you would like the web address email me at awntkmess@gmail.com and I will be glad to give it to you. I will keep this up here for a week or so before I actually change it. Thanks

Rece starts speech theray on September 12 and occupational therapy on Octber 3! Each is 1/2 an hour long and he will going once a week. I will keep updating! We are very excited about getting this started. And I still need to call our school district about preschool and to get him evaluated for that.

Update on Rece

Well, we had our follow up meeting with our service coordinator for Rece's evaluations. First of all, the numbers that were missing last time I got through the evaluation summary. In speech he is only delayed about 1 month. So no speech therapy was recommended. In fine motor and cognitive he was at a 24 month level, so about 7 months behind. So, next week some time I will be getting a phone call to set up occupational therapy and probably physical therapy. And with the preschool for the next couple of months I will have to take a wait and see approach. I am not really clear on what will go on with the preschool. If he qualifies for the special education preschool then he will start in January, but if he doesn't qualify then I probably won't even attempt it until the fall, cause I am just assuming that he won't be potty trained, which he has to be to start at almost any preschool.
Obviously I would prefer if he was completely "normal" and on track but at this point I hope he qualifies for the preschool just because I think it would be so beneficial for him and for me. But if the therapy helps then it shouldn't be such a struggle everyday and then maybe preschool wouldn't be such of relief. We will see.

Evaluation

Well, some of you know what a hard time Rece has given us at times. It has gotten to a point where we thought we should have him evaluated by our county's 0-3 program. So we started that process a few weeks ago and yesterday was the evaluation. It took place in our home so he was being pretty typical which was good. There were two women here, one did the gross motor, social/emotional and self help areas. She pretty much asked me questions about what he can/will do or not. The other woman was evaluating his speech, fine motor and cognitive areas. She was just playing and interacting with Rece for her part. The results of their evaluations were even a little worse than I expected. He has a delay in every area except social/emotional, in that he was at a 33 month level. He is 31 months right now. In the fine motor, speech and cognitive she said there were slight delays, but I didn't get numbers. In gross motor he was at a 21 month level and for self help he is at an 18 month level. They said that these evaluations were pretty broad and that they didn't cover everything but they give an estimate. On top of this I gave them a list of issues that I see with him on a pretty regular basis. This is the list I gave them:
no reaction to almost all loud noises and the reactions he does have a pretty severe, he is very loud, squeals to where it hurst others' ears, babbles still, hits other kids non-aggressively, never stops moving, runs into things, loves spinning and being tossed, kicks to wall in bed, prefers music/Tv very loud, eats paper, crayon, chalk, etc., tears things, stuffs his mouth too full, throws food, bangs cup on table, spits milk, bothered by 1 hair on hand, hates having most food on hand-yet won't use silverware, won't sit/stand in sandbox, afraid of climbing, late milestones (walking at 18 months, first word at 12 months), touches everything in a room, loves opening/closing doors, pinches nipple for comfort, hard time transitioning from wake to sleep and vice versa, chews on crib, wants us to repeat him, eats a lot for his age, always hungry, enjoys his face/tongue being washed.
I know that is long but that is Rece. So they will take all of that into consideration and I should be getting a phone call next week sometime to set up another appointment with our service coordinator to decide where we should go from here. It could be a preschool readiness program, a playgroup, Occupational therapy, etc. or all of the above. We have been thinking for a little while that it is a Sensory Issue like Sensory Integration Disorder and both the evaluators aggreed that a lot of the problems seem to stem from sensory problems. And if we were questioning that before I am pretty set on that after our lunch today. We went to a buffet for lunch today and I got him some jello. He has never eaten jello before because it feels funny, but today he started squishing it in his hands. I could tell he didn't like the feeling based on his face but he kept doing it but then he started gagging just from the feel of it. He almost threw up. I felt so bad. I took it all away, he almost started crying because he just hated that feel on his hand. So no jello for him until he understands all of this and is ready to try again.
So I will be happy to get him started in whatever he needs to help him get through all of this. And then in January, when he turns 3, he will most likely start preschool. That will be very bittersweet. I know that this is what will be best for him, but I am going to be so sad sending my baby to preschool. It will also be nice for Carmine because that will give me some one on one time with him, but still very bittersweet.
This has not been hard for me to deal with until we actually got the results of the evaluation. And it still isn't really hard, just a different feeling then I have had before. It actually gives me some relief. It makes me think I do know my son and it makes me feel better that I am not crazy and just unable to handle him. But as a mommy, I can't help but wonder what I could have done differently. Don't worry I know it isn't my fault but I think every parent wonders this when anything happens, no matter how big or small. And I find myself doing things a little differently with Carmine in some aspects, especially food. I will be happy once this all starts rolling, well it has already, but I will be happy when progress starts showing. Now that I have gotten this out there, I will make sure to keep everyone updated about what we are doing with him.
Sorry for the rambling, but I have been having these thought for a while and just not quite ready to share.

CAR-MINE WITH A LONG I PEOPLE!!

That is what I feel like saying to people. You wouldn't believe how many people say Carmen. Even after seeing it or after hearing it!!! Why, this is not a difficult name? Yes it is not common, but it is not made up!! It sounds just like it is spelled. MINE!! Not MEN! It is in the top 1000 baby names for 2006 so I know there are other little boys with the same name. Learn basic English and then try again! Sorry to be so harsh, but I am sick of people not pronouncing his name right! I can't even imagine what my mom went through with Tonia! Long O. Maybe I will start puting the little dash over the I!

Sleep

I really can't complain about Carmine's sleeping. He is a wonderful sleeper. I can safely say now that he is sleeping through the night. And on a normal basis he takes 2 naps. One is usually about 2 hours and the other is 3 1/2 to 4 hours! The only small issue we are having is that he just doesn't seem to want to go to sleep between the 8 and 11 hours in the evening. It is not so much a problem now, but if I don't get him on that schedule it will be a problem later on. He is a people watcher just like his brother! He doesn't want to miss anything. Last night at Rece's gymnastics class, Grammy was holding Carmine while Tony and I were in the class and Tony got in Carmine's face to talk to him and he got upset cause he wanted to watch the class!!! So when the 8:00 hour rolls around he do his whole bedtime routine and we put him in bed. If he starts crying we let him cry for 10 minutes or so. Then we try the pacifier, but he has pretty much decided that he doesn't have a need for it. And when he cries for another 10 minutes or so we pick him up and try to get him to sleep that way. He is WIDE awake when we do this. After I feed him at 10:30 or 11 he is out for the night. Eventually I know the solution will be to let him cry it out and I truly don't think he will even cry for very long, but I am just not ready to do that yet. He isn't even 3 months yet. And just like with Rece, I probably won't be ready to really let him cry it out until around 4 months. Really though, I am not complaining just noting this so I will remember this with the next baby. Actually nowadays I have 2 great sleepers!

Yesterday I don't know what was going on, but Rece slept in until 1:30 pm from the night before when he went to bed at around 9!!! He obviously didn't nap yesterday but he went to bed again at about 9 and is still sleeping at 8:20. Do they still sleep more during growth spurts at this age?? And Carmine yesterday only took one long nap from 10:15 to 4:30. What is going on in my house?? I am sure not sleeping that much!!

This is how Carmine is usually sleeping during the night, with one arm hanging out. I think we will be moving him to his crib as soon as we get the new windows in our house. Right now his room is just a little too chilly for him to be sleeping in there at night. But now that he is sleeping through the night with no help there is no reason for him to be in our room.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON

OH NO!!

This is how I found him this morning!!!! But it must have just happened because there was no pee or poop anywhere.

So many things

We took Rece to his first movie yesterday. We saw Happy Feet! It was cute. There were a couple parts that scared him(for good reason). But overall he did really well. He would never sit and watch a movie at home but I think just with the size of it all he was in awe. He fell asleep toward the end but it was a really good experience.
And tonight Rece fingerpainted for the first time. I hadn't done it with him yet because he still puts everything in his mouth. But he really needs some craft and activity time. He is starting to get very bored during the day, so I said oh well if he eats it and just did it. It went great. He put his finger in his mouth at the very end while I was cleaning up and that was it. The only thing we had a problem with was that he started shaking his hands to paint went flying, but only a little. And he kept wanting more paint, but other than that he had fun and we have 4 masterpieces to show for it!


Ok, now I am going to b!tch and moan a little bit. But I think for good reason. Carmine's face is all scratched up. Rece has been hitting him a LOT!! I feel so bad for Carmine. He sees so much of the pack n play it isn't even funny. But the hitting happens generally when I am holding Carmine. But half of the time Rece just randomly walks up and smacks him and the other half he comes and gives him hugs and kisses and then hits him. Either way I am caught off guard and I am at the end of my rope with Rece. I just don't know what to do. I can give him 50 time outs a day and it doesn't seem to phase him. I don't want to spank, but even if I would consider it, I just couldn't hit him to teach him not to hit! It doesn't make sense to me so I am pretty sure it wouldn't make sense to him. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I know eventually he will get used to Carmine and will grow out of it but poor Carmine suffers in the mean time. And it isn't just a jealousy thing because he does it to other kids. We are lucky to get invited back to playgroups. I don't even feel like I can be a good mom to either of them at this point. Rece, cause I have lost my patience with him with the hitting and don't know how to handle it. No one can give me advice, it seems like I am alone with the hitting. I know other 2 year olds hit, but where are they??? And even so do they do it for absolutely no reason and so often?? And Carmine, because he spends so much time in the pack n play. I can't put him on his play mat, swing, bouncy seat or anywhere else without very close supervision and even that doesn't even really protect him. I dont even see it coming when Rece hits him. I am at a total loss and all I could do today was cry to my sister. In the coming weeks I am going to try to get Rece involved in a couple of things, like gymnastics and I am going to start trying to do some type of craft or activity almost daily. But if anyone can offer any advice on how to make this easier on everyone please do.

POOR CARMINE!!!!

TGIF

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Today is one of those days that I would like to just put Rece in his room and shut the door and come back in about 6 hours. Unfortunately that is not really an option but he is at least napping right now. Hopefully for 3 hours. He woke up in such a good mood, so I had high hopes. But then came the hitting and standing on the couch and smacking the keyboard and trying to unplug the moniter and throwing his food and spitting his milk and whining and hitting again and not listening to anything I say!!! AAAHHHHHH!!! Would anyone like to take him.

You know, I just read all that and realized that he does all of that everyday! So maybe my patience is lower today or maybe he is doing it just a little more dramatically today. Who knows but I am ready for 5:30 to be here and thank goodness for weekends off for daddy!



He is working on using a spoon!



Getting his hair cut. This was the first time he sat on the chair by himself. About half way through he sat on Grammy's lap.




My men at the salon!



Just a really good smile!

How old is he?

Oh, that is right, he is 2!!!! And he has hit those wonderful terrible twos! This morning I took him out of his chair from breakfast and carried him over to the living room and set him down because Carmine was crying. As soon as I took even one step away from him he just started screaming. And when I picked Carmine up he ran over to me and grabbed my clothes and started stomping his feet and screaming. And eventually once I put Carmine back down he said up please. I told him that was all he had to say and that screaming wasn't going to work. Then when my mom left for work he ran over to the door and was screaming and hitting the door for 5 minutes after she left. Oh, the fun really begins! This tantrum throwing actually doesn't really bother me, even in public. I have no problem ignoring this type of behavior. And we are finding very quickly that ignoring is most of the time the best discipline for him. He thrives on attention. And I know all kids do, but he thrives on negative attention just as much as positive. He isn't affected by the negative.

And then in the same day, he played downstairs by himself for 45 minutes. Very quietly building with his legos and playing with his kitchen. It was so cute, I just stood there watching him very carefully putting a cup in the microwave. He was very careful to put it right side up. I couldn't help but wonder if he did this because that is what I do when I make him oatmeal, his favorite breakfast food. It is so interesting how their little minds work.

How can he switch it on and off so easily???

Last night he wanted to try out my mom's boots. He really couldn't walk in them.

Introducing Trouble, his build a bear. I would say Trouble x2!

First of all you were right. Rece was the first picture! But, boy do they look alike!

Rece has gotten much better about geing gentle with Carmine. He LOVES kissing and hugging him and even holding him. It is so cute, but he has tried to pick him up so we still have to watch very closely. Poor Carmine spends a LOT of time in the pack n play. That is the only place we don't have to worry constantly about Rece stepping on him or poking his eye accidentally.

And this morning we were playing in the playroom and his favorite thing down there is by far the slide. So I was cuddling in the papasan chair with Carmine and Rece was playing. He was going down the slide over and over. Well occasionally he stands up at the top and we tell him to sit down please. Usually it all works out ok...not this morning TWICE!!! The first time he stood up and looked up to point to one of the lights. He fell off backwards. I jumped up to go check on him and he was already on his way to standing up. So I knew he wasn't hurt, at least not badly, but he was pretty scared. So I cuddled him a couple minutes and I made him go back up the slide. I don't want him to be afraid, but I held his hand while he went down. I went back to Carmine and realized he was on his belly in the chair. I guess I rolled him when I got up :) Then I was putting together one of his puzzles in an effort to clean up the playroom a little and I look up and he is once again standing on the slide. I said Rece, sit DOWN. As I said that he fell forward! He fell like he was rolling down a hill on his side and he did a couple of rolls. His arm looked like it might have been a little twisted. But he got right up and I made him give me high fives with each arm and he seemed fine. Again scared to death, but that made two of us! After that we went upstairs! And this is why I lay the slide on its side when he is down there by himself!!!!!

Sick

Can't we all just be healthy in this house!? First Rece then me then my mom and now Carmine and Rece are both sick! I hate that Carmine is sick so soon but it is just congestion and a cough. No fever yet. Fever is basically the only way the doctor would want to see Carmine this young cause they won't give him medicine yet. But does pneumonia always come with a fever? The cough is worrying me a little. It keeps us both miserable at night. Last night he technically slept through the night for the first time, but everytime he would cough he would cry. So I would be up with him even though he never woke up. He nursed at 11 pm then not again until 5 am. And at 5 am I woke him up and he only half nursed on one side. Then he didn't nurse again until 8:30. I had to go pump at 5:30 because I was so uncomfortable. He has had this cold since Friday and partially because of that Carmine has slept in bed with us more in 3 weeks then Rece has in 2 years! Rece was always calmed by walking and a pacifier when he was this young. Carmine doesn't really like the pacifier (which is fine by me) and all he wants when he cries is to be held. I don't like getting into that habit of him sleeping with us but I can't let him cry this young especially when he is sick! Him sleeping with us makes me nervous when he is this little too. Last night we tried the swing, because we thought maybe him being flat on his back in the cradle was making the drainage worse but it didn't really help either. I guess me being a sleep prop for Carmine is no different then Rece's pacifier and Rece's pacifier was gone by 5 months. Hopefully once he feels better he won't cry in his sleep as much. Don't get me wrong he is doing great at night for a 3 week old! And I think it is safe to say that Rece is not disturbed at night by the crying!! We were a little worried about that. Of course we will have to see once Carmine is in his own room sharing a wall with Rece's room!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY GAGE!

WE FOUND IT!!!!!!!!

A time out chair that works, that is! Yes we have struggled with time out. Rece thinks it is a big joke and thinks it is a game of chase if I do it on a stool his size or on the floor. But because this chair rolls he is afraid to climb down so he stays put. I know eventually he will climb down but I am hoping by then he will be better about time outs. We figured this out because he loves to sit on this chair and watch the screen saver pictures on the computer and everytime he wants down he asks. So Tony thought we maybe should try this. It works!!