April
updated April 3rd, 2008 at 12:22pm
So far April has been a very busy month.
ETA - so much for staying healthy! The kids woke up sneezing and stuffy again... this makes virus #379 for those who were counting! UGHHH!
Pictures of the kids
This month the pictures really tell a story:
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| March Share |
if you want to save any of them for yourself.
Kiddo news:
Nick continues to grow and grow. At his 12 month appt he had grown an inch taller,making him 30" even. He did go down in weight again, however, with no explanation. His doctor, Michele, is not worried about him this time, so I just keep offering food and hoping he'll take it. Nick's usually too busy to eat, I suspect that has a lot to do with his current weight of 20lbs.
He is fitting into his 12 month outfits and the 18 month outfits from his birthday will be perfect for the warmer months ahead.
We have successfully added some new foods to Nick's diet, including bananas, pears, peppers, chicken, tomatoes (Gramma's spaghetti sauce!). It appears he may be growing out of his reflux - I'm excited and nervous to even consider it. I still haven't been brave enough to try applesauce or apples since they provoked the worst reactions. I have been adding small amounts of dairy into my diet (butter, baked goods, tiny, tiny amounts of Parmesan cheese) and Nick showed no gastro-distress - however his eczema flared up badly on his face and continues to be a problem. Yes, we're still nursing. No, I don't know when we'll stop. He's just a baby still!
Nick had an evaluation done by Birth-Three. Developmentally he is at an 18 month level, which is averaged by physical, social and verbal skills. He's just amazing and funny. His assessment showed he'd benefit from speech therapy and occupational therapy to help him get over things like his food aversions and separation anxiety and help him deal with sensory integration like pain/touch/etc. You can ask me more about this but it's honestly NOT a big deal - Nick is very normal and obviously very ahead of schedule. It never hurts to have a little extra help!
Every day I get closer and closer to sleep training Nick. If I felt like he was actually receptive to the crying-to-sleep method, I'd do it. He cries and cries and cries, sometimes for 2+ hours without giving in. He usually goes down for bed and naps without a peep, falls asleep easily on his own. But wakes every 2-3 hours through the night still. We've gotten into the horrible habit of giving him a bottle to get him to go back to sleep (because it worked!) but he no longer needs to eat at night and he's leaving some bottles completely full. He's just using it to fall back asleep. We tried subbing a bottle of water in for the formula and it works 25% of the time. I hope someday this just "clicks" with him. I pray each night that tonight is the night he sleeps 5 or 6 hours.
One of Nick's funny things to do right now is "talk" on the "phone". He picks up any toy and puts it up to his ear and says "Hi, bshibishishihshizz". I remember when Marlee used to do the same thing. It's SO darn cute. He also loves to "vacuum" the house with his toy vacuum and his ball popper. He is pretty thorough. I'm ready to hand over the real vacuum! He also likes to tunnel in blankets and play Monster.
Nick is currently in 12 month outfits. He's 30" long / 20lbs.
Marlee learned to whistle... that's a big deal to her. She's been trying to learn to whistle for a few months now. She continues to excel at spelling, writing letters and reading. I am amazed by her, I remember thinking she would NEVER learn to recognize her letters and here she can read at 4.5. She's a pro at 3-letter words and getting much better with 4 and 5 letter words. Her new favorite hairstyle is two braids. She's growing out her hair and it's getting so long! Her favorite toys are still her Leapster and Barbies. She has a bad case of Spring Fever!
I went to an informational meeting regarding the 4K program that Marlee will be attending in September in the Sauk Prairie school district. One of the major concerns of all the parents was transportation. The school district is expecting the preschool children to get on the regular bus routes -meaning Marlee will be picked up at 7:05am, ride the bus with K-5th kids for an hour, and then be dropped at school at 8:00am for her 2.5 hour program. Otherwise the program is play-based, very age appropriate and the best option for Marlee.
Marlee is a size 5. She's 39" tall and 41 lbs.
US news:
Things in our house are finally settling down with the end of the remodeling project and settling into our new family room/office. We moved my desk down next to Tim's so I actually have a workable work space.
Tim's 30th birthday was a bust. The snow put a damper on our plans, unfortunately. We did nothing but eat cake. A yummy, beautiful cake! I made it myself with a little help from Marlee:
A flu/cold bug also stifled our Easter plans, again we stayed home and did nothing. The kids had a little Easter egg hunt inside instead and then we all took looooong naps.
Tim interviewed with another engineering firm and is considering taking the job with them: Henneman Engineering. There's a good number of pros and cons to the switch. Thinking about change sort of makes my eye twitch, but perhaps it's time to take life by the horns! This change is expecially exciting for Tim who was dubbed a "lifer" where he currently works as he's been there 10 years next month. The new place claims they will work with Tim's current part time schedule so we can still carpool. We're just waiting on the formal offer letter before making a decision. ETA - the offer letter came in this morning. It was an insult. Looks like Tim will be staying at AEI a little longer.
As for me, I did agreed to take on a freelance designing job for Bunbury and Associates (Realtors). I go back and forth on my validity - I am hoping that what I lack in technical knowledge I can more than make up for in creativity and ingenuity. I will be helping design direct mailing pieces like postcards as well as handouts for trade shows and open houses. No clue what the work load will be like yet.
Our dealership called yet again and would like us to take a look at SUV's... we are hesitant for so many reasons but it's very possible in the next few weeks you'll see us driving up in a bigger vehicle! Our biggest concerns are safety features, gas prices, more space, towing capabilities, and making a worthwhile investment. Nothing we can take lightly.
Tim and I would like to take a vacation to Chula Vista in the next few weeks (maybe early May). We're thinking of taking the kids with us to stay on a Friday night, then dropping them off in Mauston and spending Saturday night there by ourselves. If anyone is willing to keep the kids for the night please let me know. Hopefully Nick's sleeping situation will have improved by then. Upcoming we have the Automotion car show in the Dells May 19th, and the Power Tour in early June.
Hope this finds everyone well and happy!
Love you!
Sam, Tim Marlee and NicholasHere's what's going on with our family in the upcoming weeks:
April 19-20th:
Easter in Mauston
2nd birthday party
SPD Info
We are working toward a formal diagnosis for Nicholas. We don't know if it's the actual disorder, or if he just has specific sensory issues. At at his most recent assessment, his case worker admitted to me that she saw signs of Sensory Processing disorder in Nicholas and considered him to be what they call “A-Typical behavior.”
What that means is Nick is “mostly” normal, even developmentally ahead, but still suffers from sensory overload. SPD often accompanies or overlaps other disorders such as autism, ADHD, Learning Disabilities. Nick’s case worker observed that he obviously has no characteristics of any of those.
I am reading a book titled “The Out-of-Sync Child” by Carol Kranowitz. I suggest, if you’d like to learn more about SPD, or even more about Nicholas, pick up this book. I’ve gone through the book twice already – once with a highlighter so I could highlight all that pertains to Nick. If you’d like to I could send you my copy.Some of the most fascinating details I’ve picked out so far:
* SPD is a physical problem, not a neurological problem. The problem stems from a poorly functioning central nervous system.
* SPD children have “disorganized brains” and may have good days and bad days.
* Medication will not help a child with SPD, only therapy (occupational, speech, physical etc) but the problem IS treatable.
* Early intervention provides the best results.
*SPD causes problems with:
-Self regulation (fussiness, self comforting, over reacting, transitioning – may be “with it” one day and “out of it” the next
-Sleeping (falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up)
-Eating, digestion and elimination, as well as recognizing signals of thirst, hunger, and fullness.
-Social and Emotional function (resists new people, minor changes to routine upset child, significantly attached to one or two people and is fearful when apart from them)
-Allergies (SPD co-exists with allergies, specifically casein in dairy and wheat)
Causes of SPD may be:
-Genetics
-Prenatal circumstances
-Prematurity or low birth weight
-Birth trauma
-Postnatal circumstances
-Unknown reasons
It is not a new disorder. It is fairly common (10-15%) and often misdiagnosed. OT’s report that 80% of those diagnosed are boys. From time to time we all experience problems processing sensations. Identifying that the child has SPD is a positive step.
The outcome of understanding, support, and early intervention will be developing into a self-regulating functioning adult. Without treatment, the child will not outgrow SPD, they will grow into it.
