First, I just want to say, "thank you" for all the wonderful advice I received after my last post. It is so comforting to be able to post how I am feeling and not be accused of being a crappy mother.
Second, I wanna wish a VERY belated Happy Mother's Day to all the cool mamas out there! Hope that you all had wonderful Mother's Days with your munchkin.
Third, I want to apologize for my lack of postin as of late. I have been somewhat keeping up with everyone else's blogs, just haven't been able to find the energy to comment or post on my own. I'm not sure what is up. I've just been in a kind of funk lately. Things have been a bit on the rough side around here lately. Noah just hasn't been himself the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure what is going on, but he has some testing coming up on Tuesday. I am hoping that he is just having a really hard time readjusting to his normal routine and not something more serious.
I promise to post again soon, but right now I am just really lacking the spunk to do so. I will keep up with everyone else, though. Thanks for all the support and understanding!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
One Week
I love this picture, although it makes him look so grown up! Where is my little munchkin?It's been exactly one week since Noah's surgery. Thankfully, he has recovered quite nicely. The first day was a little rough and we spent the whole first day watching Pixar movies. I think he watched Wall-E at least four times! The first night we lovingly refer to as, "The Night from Hades". Medicine was refused, medicine was forced, medicine came right back up. Yuck! After that first day and night, he seemed to improve quickly. He was eating mashed potatoes and playing video games by the second day. This weekend he played some with the girls next door and we had a playdate yesterday with one of his friends from Early Intervention. He hasn't really complained too much. He did say he was sick today and when I asked him if his throat hurt, he said yes. I gave him some pain medicine and he has done fine since.
Mama, on the other hand, is going a little crazy. :)
I am really looking forward to his returning to school next Monday. I love Noah to pieces, but I am really close to reaching my breaking point. I think I am due for a few hours away from my munchkin. I know that I am truly blessed that Noah is as verbal and high functioning as he is, but sometimes the incessant chatter and repetitiveness is overwhelming. He's also developed some vocal stims, mainly when he is playing video games. And I am so sick of Transformers I could just scream. I swear if Noah askes me to "make Bumblebee a robot" or "make Optimus Prime a truck" one more time, I'm leaving home! LOL
Of course, I kid (sort of). Actually, he's been really good considering all that he has gone through. He's been a little whinier than normal and more picky when it comes to eating, but he's really done well. I think that I am just out of practice. I am not used to having him 24/7 since he started school. I guess this is good practice for this summer, as I have major doubts that the district will offer summer services.
Speaking of this summer, Noah's dad and I are trying to find some activities for Noah to be involved in. His OT thinks that Noah would benefit from some social activities. I am all for social activities. The only problem is finding some that are geared toward three-year-olds. All the YMCA activities are for four years and up. I'm sure we will do story time at the local library and probably Families in the Park if it is offered. Our support group is planning some trips to the zoo and things like that. So we have a few ideas, but nothing really scheduled. Anybody have any other ideas?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tonsils, Adenoids, and Ear Tubes. Oh My!
We arrived at registration at 7:00 am. Noah was wide awake and studying everything. He was really cute. We made our way to his room, where the nurse had us change him into a hospital gown. Noah was being really cooperative and allowed the nurse to check his vitals without any complaints. He did, however, repeat "What's that make?" about 50 times while pointing to various objects around the room. The nurse was very patient with him and tried to answer all his "questions". We settled in to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse after the nurse gave him his "loopy" medicine (versed, demerol and atropine for those medical types). He never fell asleep, but did become somewhat groggy.
When it was time for his surgery I carried Noah to the holding area while Daddy followed. Within a few minutes, after answering a bazillion questions, they loaded Noah onto a gurney and took him to the operating room. He never fussed as I gave him a bunch of kisses and he was led away. Daddy and I headed to the cafeteria to get a drink and something to eat. Within 45 minutes the ENT called and said that Noah had done great and was in recovery.
We headed back to Noah's room. About 40 minutes later, the nurse from recovery brought Noah back to his room. He was sitting up in the crib they used to transport him and asking, "Where's Mama?" It was music to my ears! I rocked him and fed him juice with a syringe for a couple of hours. When he finally woke up completely, he decided to watch some cartoons and play with his cars. He was drinking really well and everything was honky dorey. We encountered a small problem when Noah had some potty (or lack of) issues, but that was resolved. At 1:30pm Noah got to take his first ride in a wheelchair to the car. He was ecstatic about the wheelchair ride!
All in all, the day went really well. I'll leave you with a couple of pics from the day of surgery.
When it was time for his surgery I carried Noah to the holding area while Daddy followed. Within a few minutes, after answering a bazillion questions, they loaded Noah onto a gurney and took him to the operating room. He never fussed as I gave him a bunch of kisses and he was led away. Daddy and I headed to the cafeteria to get a drink and something to eat. Within 45 minutes the ENT called and said that Noah had done great and was in recovery.
We headed back to Noah's room. About 40 minutes later, the nurse from recovery brought Noah back to his room. He was sitting up in the crib they used to transport him and asking, "Where's Mama?" It was music to my ears! I rocked him and fed him juice with a syringe for a couple of hours. When he finally woke up completely, he decided to watch some cartoons and play with his cars. He was drinking really well and everything was honky dorey. We encountered a small problem when Noah had some potty (or lack of) issues, but that was resolved. At 1:30pm Noah got to take his first ride in a wheelchair to the car. He was ecstatic about the wheelchair ride!
All in all, the day went really well. I'll leave you with a couple of pics from the day of surgery.
Right after his surgery. He was still able to give me a little smile. He is a little swollen, though. (Notice the Transformer's pillow. It's his fave right now.)
A couple hours after surgery. He and Woof Woof are relaxing in the rocker. (Did I mention he's really into Transformers right now?)
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tonsils and Tubies
It really has been a hectic, stressful month. Here are a few of the highlights (which I will probably elaborate more on later):
1. We had our first parent/teacher conference for Noah.
2. Noah had his first set of school pictures taken.
3. We started OT/PT again.
4. We adopted a new dog.
5. We got lost on our way to a movie in Columbus. (No laughing allowed! It was traumatizing!)
6. We found out that Noah needs to see a specialist for his eyes and may require surgery.
7. We found out that Noah WILL have surgery.....tomorrow! (But NOT for his eyes.)
This mommy is stressing something terrible today. After four months of nearly endless ear infections, increased snoring, lots of restless sleep and a nasty bout of tonsillits, Noah's ENT decided that some action needed to be taken to help Noah feel better. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I had to agree with him. So, tomorrow morning Noah will be going in for surgery to have his tonsils removed and ear tubes placed. We have tried to prepare Noah as best we can. (Maybe somebody should have prepared mommy a little better!) To help him understand what is going to happen, his speech therapist at school and I made him a social story . We have been reading it to him a few times daily. At first Noah really seemed to like the story, but now when I bring it out to read to him he says, "No story. Don't wanna read that story." Maybe we have read it to him too much? LOL
Anyway, positive thoughts and prayers tomorrow for my munchkin would be greatly appreciated. (His mama could probably use a few, too!)
1. We had our first parent/teacher conference for Noah.
2. Noah had his first set of school pictures taken.
3. We started OT/PT again.
4. We adopted a new dog.
5. We got lost on our way to a movie in Columbus. (No laughing allowed! It was traumatizing!)
6. We found out that Noah needs to see a specialist for his eyes and may require surgery.
7. We found out that Noah WILL have surgery.....tomorrow! (But NOT for his eyes.)
This mommy is stressing something terrible today. After four months of nearly endless ear infections, increased snoring, lots of restless sleep and a nasty bout of tonsillits, Noah's ENT decided that some action needed to be taken to help Noah feel better. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I had to agree with him. So, tomorrow morning Noah will be going in for surgery to have his tonsils removed and ear tubes placed. We have tried to prepare Noah as best we can. (Maybe somebody should have prepared mommy a little better!) To help him understand what is going to happen, his speech therapist at school and I made him a social story . We have been reading it to him a few times daily. At first Noah really seemed to like the story, but now when I bring it out to read to him he says, "No story. Don't wanna read that story." Maybe we have read it to him too much? LOL
Anyway, positive thoughts and prayers tomorrow for my munchkin would be greatly appreciated. (His mama could probably use a few, too!)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter!
Sorry for being absent for so long, but life has been more than hectic around here lately. I am so far behind in my blogging that it would take me forever to catch up, but I had to at least send out a Happy Easter to all my friends! I hope that everyone had a happy Easter! I will try to post again later this week with all the latest happenings in Noah's world.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Pick-Up
My watch reads 2:23 as I pull into the half-empty parking lot of the local County Board of Developmental Disabilities. I’m early. I brace myself and, holding my breath, head into the building. Pick-ups are always nerve wracking. As I pass the office, the secretary calls out, “Hi Michelle!” I smile and return her greeting. She must sense my anxiety because she looks at me and says, “I didn’t hear anything today.” I heave a huge sigh of relief. “That’s great,” I say (and looking up silently whisper “Thank you”).
I make my way into the area that houses the classrooms and play areas. As I enter the play center, I am greeted by the sight of 14 little ones lined up in a neat little row dressed in their cute little hats and coats. They have just come in from playing outside and are waiting their turn at the drinking fountain. A quick glimpse tells me that, yes, this is Noah’s class. I scan the heads of the little ones, looking for that unmistakable red Lightning McQueen hat that Noah wears to school EVERY day, but I can’t seem to find it…..at first.
My eyes come to rest on Noah’s aide. She turns to her right, and there off to the side of the group, is my sweet little boy. I feel tears start to well up. He is standing alone, halfway into the speech therapist’s office,. He is staring fixatedly at the fluorescent light in the ceiling. He doesn’t even seem to notice that I have entered the room, but his little “friends” have. Almost in unison, cries of “Noah! Your mommy’s here! Noah!” rise up from the line of 3-year-olds. Still Noah doesn’t seem to notice. Finally, his aide kneels down and touches Noah on the shoulder. She speaks to him and after a few seconds he looks up. “Mama! You’re here!” he cries and comes running to me. I pick him up and squeeze him for all that I am worth. He pulls away, looks at me with those beautiful eyes and says, “I need to go home.” As new tears spring to my eyes, I reply “Okay, Noni. We’re going home.”
I make my way into the area that houses the classrooms and play areas. As I enter the play center, I am greeted by the sight of 14 little ones lined up in a neat little row dressed in their cute little hats and coats. They have just come in from playing outside and are waiting their turn at the drinking fountain. A quick glimpse tells me that, yes, this is Noah’s class. I scan the heads of the little ones, looking for that unmistakable red Lightning McQueen hat that Noah wears to school EVERY day, but I can’t seem to find it…..at first.
My eyes come to rest on Noah’s aide. She turns to her right, and there off to the side of the group, is my sweet little boy. I feel tears start to well up. He is standing alone, halfway into the speech therapist’s office,. He is staring fixatedly at the fluorescent light in the ceiling. He doesn’t even seem to notice that I have entered the room, but his little “friends” have. Almost in unison, cries of “Noah! Your mommy’s here! Noah!” rise up from the line of 3-year-olds. Still Noah doesn’t seem to notice. Finally, his aide kneels down and touches Noah on the shoulder. She speaks to him and after a few seconds he looks up. “Mama! You’re here!” he cries and comes running to me. I pick him up and squeeze him for all that I am worth. He pulls away, looks at me with those beautiful eyes and says, “I need to go home.” As new tears spring to my eyes, I reply “Okay, Noni. We’re going home.”
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Whining
Noah's sleeping. The house is quiet. I should be napping with him. The last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride. Up, down, around. In, out, and back again. Do I sound bitter, or what? And it really hasn't been that bad. It's just.....been.
Noah had two REALLY good weeks at school. We had two reports. Minor things really. Last week, he got the "quiet as a mouse" award. Huh? My kid? Big surprise there. On Thursday, less than 20 minutes after dropping him off at school, we got a call from the school nurse. "Noah has a fever of 100.2 and he's really whiny. He just wants to be held and rocked. Could you come get him?" She also went on to tell us how good he is about taking his medicine for her at lunch (he takes 3 meds at lunch). She said that if she is late getting there, he is waiting on her. Pretty cute, but pretty sad too. When I picked him up, he was grabbing his throat and saying his mouth hurt. He ran a fever of about 102 Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, his fever hit 104. Needless to say, we ended up in the ER. He has tonsillitis. Wonderful. He is doing better now. No fever yesterday or today. I'm just worried about all the antibiotics he has been on lately. Poor kid.
He has been on hiatus from PT and OT the last two weeks. Apparently he hit his limit of OT/PT visits for the year. His new year doesn't start until April 29th. I think we have everything worked out and he should be able to start back on Tuesday. It has been so sad to go to his speech appointments because we have to drive past his OT and PT building and Noah always cries and says, "I wanna go see Noelle. I want Noelle." He really loves his OT. He's even been asking about Miss Laurie, his PT. Can't wait to see his reaction when he sees Noelle again.
I know being sick and the change in routine and not feeling well is really getting to him. He is so cranky and irritable. He's been crying way more than usual and has been more aggressive toward himself and others. He's back to hitting himself or the dog or me when he is upset. He's also back to head-butting and head banging. I was so sure we had seen the last of those. I just want things to get back to our normal. I just want my little guy to be the happy kid I am used to having around.
We had a support group meeting on Monday. It was nice. I love those people. They are like a second family to me. This journey would be so much harder without the wonderful people that I have met online and through the support group, Thanks for being here.
Noah had two REALLY good weeks at school. We had two reports. Minor things really. Last week, he got the "quiet as a mouse" award. Huh? My kid? Big surprise there. On Thursday, less than 20 minutes after dropping him off at school, we got a call from the school nurse. "Noah has a fever of 100.2 and he's really whiny. He just wants to be held and rocked. Could you come get him?" She also went on to tell us how good he is about taking his medicine for her at lunch (he takes 3 meds at lunch). She said that if she is late getting there, he is waiting on her. Pretty cute, but pretty sad too. When I picked him up, he was grabbing his throat and saying his mouth hurt. He ran a fever of about 102 Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, his fever hit 104. Needless to say, we ended up in the ER. He has tonsillitis. Wonderful. He is doing better now. No fever yesterday or today. I'm just worried about all the antibiotics he has been on lately. Poor kid.
He has been on hiatus from PT and OT the last two weeks. Apparently he hit his limit of OT/PT visits for the year. His new year doesn't start until April 29th. I think we have everything worked out and he should be able to start back on Tuesday. It has been so sad to go to his speech appointments because we have to drive past his OT and PT building and Noah always cries and says, "I wanna go see Noelle. I want Noelle." He really loves his OT. He's even been asking about Miss Laurie, his PT. Can't wait to see his reaction when he sees Noelle again.
I know being sick and the change in routine and not feeling well is really getting to him. He is so cranky and irritable. He's been crying way more than usual and has been more aggressive toward himself and others. He's back to hitting himself or the dog or me when he is upset. He's also back to head-butting and head banging. I was so sure we had seen the last of those. I just want things to get back to our normal. I just want my little guy to be the happy kid I am used to having around.
We had a support group meeting on Monday. It was nice. I love those people. They are like a second family to me. This journey would be so much harder without the wonderful people that I have met online and through the support group, Thanks for being here.
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