Another week and more news

So this was quite an eventful week. It started out with taking Alvin to a trial class at the Little Gym. It started out well enough but about half way through I started wondering if it was right for him. I had to go in and assist the teachers to control him when they broke out into stations. He screamed and cried thinking he was in trouble. By the end of it all I saw him struggle heavily to interact with other kids. He wanted to so bad at times but just couldn't figure out how to. The teachers suggested that I bring him back on Wednesday night due to that night being a smaller and calmer class.

Tuesday morning at work I got the call that the occupational therapist had an opening that afternoon. I dropped everything at work and made it home shortly after lunch to get him and head to the hospital for the evaluation. The team (one occupational therapist and one master's student) were wonderful with him. Within 15 minutes they knew what was going on with him. We went through some exercises and other things that would help him including using a plastic bristled brush to calm him. Once during the evaluation Alvin was sitting in a seat and suddenly slumped over then popped right back up. This immediately caught the therapists eye. She asked me if he had done that before and I said yes. He is 3 so of course he's clumsy. Well apparently this is not just him being clumsy and its called a drop seizure. She wasn't overly concerned but said we should go ahead and consult with our pediatrician.

So the next morning I got on the phone with the pediatrician's office and we got an appointment at 11 that morning. I discussed everything that happened and he came to the same conclusion that the occupational therapist did. He wants him to have an EEG on the 18th just to rule out anything else with the drop seizures. He reassured us that this was something that is very hard to spot in a kid of his age. 3 year olds are inherently clumsy and drop seizures can be very hard to spot.

On Thursday he had is first speech appointment with his new therapist and he did great. He was taken away to a seperate room and after 10 or 15 minutes he warmed up to her and finished strong. When we left he was happy and had a sense that he accomplished something that day.

So right now we have had 3 professionals tell us the same thing. So right now I'm about 90% confident with what we know. Right now we think Alvin has Asperger's syndrome. Basically its a form of autism where the person or child has a high level of functioning and a high level of intellect but have a hard time socializing. W and I are actually taking it pretty well. We have our moments when we break down and wish we didn't have to worry so much about therapy. We now approach Alvin slightly different. We work with him as much as possible and and make sure we are handling the situations appropriately given what we now understand about him.

This next week we continue the process. I'm meeting with a psychologist tomorrow to discuss his case and when he can be tested. Tuesday we go back to the occupational therapist and Thursday we go back to the speech therapist.

For a while this is just the way its going to be for a while. Luckily everything we are doing right now is in hopes of getting a better diagnosis and preparing for the evaluation in January.

Another twist and turn

The past month or so has been a blur. I’ve been working on finding another job after figuring out that things in my group are just not going to get better. I’ve done everything I can and still things have gone downhill. I’ve been sending out resumes and applying for jobs both in and out of state. I even got as far as to a second interview with a company in the northwest and after dropping everything to get up there with a 48 hour notice I got the call on Tuesday and was told thanks but we decided to hire someone else.

During all this Elliot turned 1 and we had her birthday party. Everything went well and we got a few good shots of her smashing a cupcake and loving every bit of it.

The biggest impact on things we have been facing is a challenge with Butters. I’ve been in denial about it for some time but we finally got him tested by a speech pathologist and were not prepared for the results. We knew he was speech delayed and that since Elliot was born but not the degree we were told.

The basic diagnosis so far has been a severe delay in receptive and expressive language skills. Basically the test said that he is around the same place as a 1.5 year old with language and he is 3.5. When I read this it was like someone just knocked the wind right out of me.

Also her recommendations on how to start correcting things were quite drastic. She said that we need to take all of the things he loves (his cars, numbers, hockey ect) away from him. She suggested that the only tv he get to watch is educational programming. Well this is not the path we decided to take. We are working within limits and doing everything we can to encorage him to use more words together. Something as simple as saying “juice please” is a big deal and we are getting him to say it more and more.

The funny thing is that in the past couple of weeks Butter's has started to learn the UAH Hockey roster. His favorite thing is to say “Starting at left defense, #2 Ryan Burkholder”!

So what do we do now is the question I’ve gotten from a few people. Right now we are working like crazy to get him into the early intervention program at the elementary school we are zoned for. This is becoming challenging though because they can’t evaluate him until January 5^th. So in the mean time we are working like crazy to get another evaluation set up at the children’s hospital as well as social therapies started. The hospital has a therapy center for this kind of thing but first they have to evaluate him for speech and occupational delays.

Luckily since beginning this post I was put in contact with a speech pathologist that works primarily with preschool aged kids. The therapist I got to talk to on the phone was really wonderful. They just ask that I bring a copy of the initial test results and give it a shot. She recommended that we try a couple of sessions then if he doesn't take to her then maybe we could try someone else.

I’m also looking into starting him in a structured athletic activities. The Little Gym has a preschool program and we are going for a trial class Monday night to see how he has responded. I’ve also contacted several other gyms about their classes trying to find the best fit for him.

So this is the point we are at now. We are doing our best to get things started but it’s a very slow process.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo courtesy of Will Nickelson

I'm late posting this but the birthday girl enjoying her cupcake! She turned 1 on October 5th.

My take on babywearing

After seeing a lot of posts on twitter and facebook about the recent baby carrier recalls I realized that while I have been doing quite a bit of baby/toddler wearing since Alvin was born but I've never really talked about it here.

I started out when Alvin was about 3 months old. I had a Jeep front carrier and quickly realized that it wasn't working well. Then I went searching for another and found the mei tai. I wore it with Alvin all the time. It was my best friend and hockey games and I used it in any weather for about 3 years.

Taking a ride in a backpack carry.

When Elliot was born things changed. I had already received a ring sling as a gift and was prepared to use it. Then I found a fleece pouch sling on clearance. This was the answer to what I would need to get through the next few months of hockey season with a infant and 2 year old. The sling worked wonders for us all season long. I managed to nurse in it when needed and juggle both kids and their needs with ease.

Napping in her peanut shell before a hockey game.

During the middle of the game her bottom is still in the sling and she knocked out.

As the kids have grown the way I carry them as also grown. Now I primarily use my Ergo carrier. Its a quick on and off and also easy to nurse discreetly in when needed. I can walk around for hours and not need to readjust or mess with it once its on.

In her normal spot getting ready to go inside for a hockey game.

Sleeping in the Ergo during the middle of a college hockey game.

I have gotten a lot of comments over the years regarding how I wear them, why and what carriers they are. Every time they ask where I got one I refer them to a local shop and advise them to bring their child with them and get help with getting fitted for the right one. I am a big supporter of baby wearing but I also advise people to get the appropriate help when choosing one.

My carriers though have gotten us through sleepless nights when motion was the only thing that helped them. Its given us the ability to walk around museums, malls and other crowded places without needing to break out the stroller. But above all else its given me closeness with my kids. The time I have spent with both of them strapped to me has let me get to know them both in different ways. I got to know their personalities and it allowed them to be very social in situations that I never would have imagined.

Elliot 11 months

Part of me can't believe that she is almost a year old. The past week I have begun planning her birthday party next month and I think I am about ready! Over the past couple of months she has gone from crawling slowly to being able to go rather fast. She is at least 24 lbs now and really doesn't like it when we try and feed her anything. She is definitely an independent feeder and would prefer us to give her cut up pieces of meat, fruits and vegetables rather than us feed her anything.

She is also cruising using on all the walls and furniture. Alvin has also learned to keep his snacks and drinks out of her reach since she will eat anything within her reach. She loves to say ma and ba.She recently discovered how to roll a ball back and forth. Around the house she has become very aware of Alvin and follows him around like a puppy some days. When he is around all she wants to do is play with him

The other night we got home from running some errands and she found one of Alvin's hockey sticks and a puck and started trying to hit it. The cutest thing was when I picked her up to let her practice walking she refused to let go and wanted to carry the stick with her! I guess our love of hockey is starting to wear off on her. I just wish I could have gotten a picture!

Luckily for all of us here the start of college football season means college hockey season isn't far off! We will be going to our first game on October 7th and 8th and we can't wait. This will be the first year that she will be able to really start watching and I can't wait to see how she reacts to watching warm ups.

And now for the pictures:

After the Swim For Melissa. This was the smallest shirt they had and it swallows her!

Battling cranberries for dinner. She didn't care she was a mess and had so much fun!

Here have some pasta.

Swinging at the park.

College football game day. Complete with the hounds tooth bow.

Roll Tide!

My recent issues with pumping at work

If anyone has been following my twitter or facebook feeds you would know that last week I had some very interesting things happen at work.

I've talked about my pumping situation a couple of times before. Here and here. Basically I use an executive's office who is only here about once every 3 months or so. When he is here I use the storage closet next to it. Its a nice situation and I do everything to work around people's schedule and basically make sure I'm not bothering anyone. I even keep paper towels in my bag just in case anything spills it gets wiped up immediately and there is never a trace that I was even there.

On Wednesday I was approached by one of our administrators. She was unhappy about something and seemed really uncomfortable about what she needed to tell me. She said that one of the people upstairs (executives) had made a complaint about me leaving a mess in the office. She said there was now some cleaner/disinfectant in the office and that every time I am in there I need to wipe the desk down. While it disturbed me that someone had said this I assured her that I would be more sure than ever that there was nothing left behind. But like I said before I'm still not sure why anything was said since I am extremely paranoid about leaving any trace that I was ever even in the office.

The next morning I ran into the IT guy and he asked if our administrator had said something to me. I told him about the conversation the day before and said that he had even heard some rude comments about it. While he doesn't have kids he completely supports what I do. He said that one of them actually asked why I couldn't just go in the bathroom. His response was perfect. He asked them if they would like to go in the bathroom and eat and that's when the person dropped it. The IT guy also said he expects the wet marks on the desk were from other executive's that use the office from time to time. I was just getting blamed because I'm an easy target.

To cap off the week on Friday morning I was talking to someone and they told me that at this point my daughter was getting no nutritional value from nursing and that there was really no benefit. He said it was a lifestyle choice and that making a consecssion for me to have a room to pump in is liken to letting gay couples have rights in the work place. He said it was all about lifestyle choice and I could just give my daughter formula and save the hassle for everyone. At this point I ended the conversation. That kind of stupid logic I just can't deal with.

The funny thing about all this is it took me pumping at the office for almost 10 months before this stuff was ever said!! Reaslly! I honestly expected this kind of thing to come up much earlier if it was.

So why am I posting this. Well first off to share my story. I refuse to back down on this. Luckily the health care reform law was passed in March. This guarantees me that my employer can not ask me to pump in the bathroom. It specifically says that until she turns 1 I am entitled to pump in that office.

The entire situation last week enraged and frustrated me. I now know why so many women who work full time give up pumping when faced with these obstacles. If I had not been better informed or as educated regarding the law and my companies policies I could have easily backed down. Luckily I know what I can and can't do and stood my ground.

So what happens now. Well I am collecting information and printout to keep with me at work. I want to be able to pull this stuff out a moment's notice. I also hope that what has happened to me won't happen to any other woman that wants to pump at work. I plan on giving a copy of pertinant information such as the law and company policies to our administrators so that they can also help since most of the time they are just the messangers of the news.

If you have any comments or suggestions I would be happy to hear them!

How to take really young kids to a UAH hockey game!

I'm published over at Save UAH Hockey! Go take a look! Basically after 3 years of taking at least one kid under the age of 3 to games so I have a good idea of what works for us at this point.

Here are 2 quick pictures of the past 2 years of taking them to games.

Tackling the steps before a game.

Elliot sleeping through a game.