Logans 3rd Birthday - Family Edition

Logan had a great birthday!!  It was mainly all family, plus Dave, Renee, Grandma and Sara were in town for Eric's HS graduation so we had more family than normal.  He also had 2 friends come over (it was at 2pm on a Monday so lots of people were at work).  Caleb from next door came over for a bit and Eloise (I used to work with her mom) came over too.  He did great with them and enjoyed the day!! 

**im going to do a whole other post on the decor and stuff, this is just the pics of the party fun**

he got this awesome trampoline from me & ian, but he wasnt 100% sure about it yet

we finally got him in by putting Nora in, he was showing off for her :)

Eric & Sara

Kristen & Eloise meeting Amelia.  Eloise will get a new baby brother or sister in October!!

the dogs were desperate to come in and join the fun (or steal food or get out of the heat, im sure they each had their own reason)

this was some crazy worm that had all this stuff on top of him (I suppose for camo) and was crawling along the top of Logan's slide, it freaked me out, I made Ian take the picture!

he was actually trying to blow in this picture!!!!  that is a skill we have been working on with him.

pointing to the R, he loves the letter R

blowing out candles is hard work!!

Jaska was ready to get anything that was dropped from the table

Logan decided the B and the R needed to be together :)

He also felt that Lighting and Mater were being left out, so they got to hang out with the cupcakes

Lion and Elephant!!!

Checking out this funky looking stuffed animal from his abuelita

eating the toy food from Eloise

Of course the babies needed to have a photo shoot!!!

OH NO - he is coming to bother us :(

he loves "mo ah"

this one of nora just makes me smile each time i see it

he decided later that night (after all the non-family guests had left) to walk around in his birthday suit!!!

he was exhausted by the end of the night, it was a fun day!!!

Logan's Therapy

Logan is 3, he should be saying a lot.  He doesnt.  He is vocal, do not get me wrong on that, and he most certainly has his own ways of communicating, but verbal communication is most certainly not a great skill of his :)  

In April of 2012 (a few months before he turned 2) we decided to get him in speech therapy.  I spoke quite late and we just kept thinking maybe he would too, but I also was in speech therapy throughout elementary school and still have some sounds I really have to focus on to not mess up, so I got a referral to get him started.  Many people told me to wait, Lisa (and her co-workers) told me not to, Lisa likes to remind me of this often (just figured I would put it in here otherwise she would remind me again!)  So we found a therapist that came to the house on my day off to meet with Logan, after awhile we had her meet with him at daycare.  We were on a high deductible plan, it was getting expensive, and while she was nice and he really liked her, it was a lot of money and we didnt see any progress really.  He was still making animal noises (which he had been doing before) but still wasnt saying any words.  He still didnt say ma, or da, or really any word.  He did start to say ball for a bit but has since stopped (still doesnt say it).  Anyway, Lisa had told me about a government program called Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and told me to check it out since she knew I was getting frustrated and it was getting pricy and this was a great option that was based on income.  So I called them, they had to come do an evaluation (he had to qualify to be part of the program), they tested his communication skills, gross and fine motor skills, basically everything and surprisingly (massive sarcasm here) he did qualify.  His verbal skills were super low (since they are nonexistent) and was behind on a few other skills but also significantly ahead on some others.

In August 2012 we started with ECI.  His therapist, Emily, was great and he just loved her.  She would come to the house 3 times a month to meet with him but also give lots of tips of things to do when she was gone.  She also tried to help with his eating problem (he doesnt eat anything good for him at all).  When I would say Emily was coming he would sit in his play room and look out the window waiting for her car.  He was slow to make progress but he did eventually.  If anything it was saving us tons of money.  We had started paying $70 a visit, then it went up to $140 a visit, then with ECI it went to $115 a month (regardless of the number of visits), to $85 a month (when I lost my job) to $20 a month once we had Amelia and our family size increased.  Plus at the end we were having about 5 visits a month, so that was great!!!  

Once he started getting close to his 3rd birthday Emily started helping us get new options since you can only stay in ECI until you are 3.  She got us hooked up with the school district and he once again qualified for a program that I think will be amazing for him. It a 5 day a week 3 hour a day preschool program at his local elementary school.  The program is called PPCD (preschool program for children with disabilities) and since its from the school district it is 100% free!!  He will be in a small class with other children with disabilities or developmental delays, I do not know who he will be with at this point, they still need to get a teacher for the class he will attend, but I think it will be great.  He will get a meal there (so hopefully he will eat it, he used to eat at daycare so I am hopeful), and he will have 5 hours a week of 1 on 1 with a speech therapist and the other 10 hours focusing on speech and some other skills he is a bit behind on (some motor skills, self care skills, and social skills).

By the end of his time with ECI he was meeting with Emily (focusing on speech with help on eating), Becky (focusing on fine and gross motor skills to possibly help speech) and he meet with an OT (occupational therapist) to discuss some concerns we had about sensory issues.  The subject of autism came up quite a bit, as he has some issues with things that go along with it, but he also does many things that are not typical in austistic children.  The OT agreed that he has some sensory processing problems and gave me some tips of way to cope with it.  She was familiar with the PPCP program and said that when he starts in the fall (he had to wait since school let out for summer 2 days after his birthday) that she thinks the program will be great for him.

our thank you card and cookies for Emily, she got him a Thomas the Train birthday balloon!

So thats where we are at, he is still making progress (and with his current love of the alphabet has been making huge strides with sounds these past two weeks) so we are just playing up the ABCs as much as we can in hopes it will keep the new sounds coming.

I know one day I will forget all this, so I am going to sum up his sounds and issues below (plus you might be wondering yourself):

Eating:

- this is all he eats and how often he will actually eat it when presented with it, he doesnt eat anything that gets his hands dirty and tries to not use a fork or spoon (though he does know how)

• hot dogs - 20%
• cheese - 75%
• m&ms - 100%
• peanuts - 80%
• cheese-its - 90%
• goldfish - 100%
• red licorice - 100%
• fruit snacks - 100%
• french fries - 80%

- he used to eat the following foods (in the past 2 years) but no longer does

• rice
• beans (black and baked)
• fruit (all berries, cantaloupe)
•  fruit bars (like nutri-grain)
• jelly beans

Yes, he somehow survives off this food, he does drink a pediasure every day and loves to drink whole chocolate milk (still on whole since he could use the fat), all sorts of juice (which we water down), and water from Ian's camelback!

Vocabulary:

• ma (mom)
• da (dad)
• ah (stands for either amelia or for baby, we arent 100% sure yet)
• mo ah (stands for either nora or more baby, again, we are still trying to figure it out)
• dink (drink)
• mo (more)
• go
• bird (always goes along with him flapping his arms like wings)
• ousi (outside)
• bye
• a woo (marcie moo, lisa's dog - either trying to say moo or its his attempt at woof)
• right there (cant begin to type it how it sounds, you wouldnt understand it if you heard it, but I do and its consistent)
• vroom (the car sound)
• lots of animal sounds (moo, neigh, baa, roar, sound of a pig snorting, quack, monkey noises)
• letters sounds (again, these are all new) - a, b, c, d, e, f, i, l, m, n, o, p, s, t, u, v, x, y, z (so as you can see most of them, the ones he doesnt say he knows the letter and knows the order, he just doesnt produce the sound)

he loves his letters, but not so much the U as you see its still in the box.  the missing letters were taken upstairs to our bed with him the night before :)

 he probably says a few more than this but these are the ones he says more often, if i think of more ill add them later

Sensory Processing Issues:

• hates to get his hands dirty, refuses to finger paint, get paint on his hands (he must wipe it off), might let some get on but after a good 20 or 30 minutes of playing, doesnt like food residue, crumbs, soap, etc on his hands.  However, he LOVES to play in the water and doesnt mind if dirt gets on his hands, although he will wash it off as soon as he can (which is fast since his water table is always out and full)
• doesnt mind when his diaper is wet or dirty, this is one that is surprising since he doesnt like otherwise being dirty.  but HATES getting his diaper changed, he kicks and bucks and swiggles horribly
• really dislikes getting his face wet, i know no child likes it, but he reacts a bit worse than most
• HATES HATES HATES getting his hair cut, again, I know no child likes this, but he is horrible.  We have to buckle him into a chair and have 2 adults holding him down as he is screaming bloody murder and trying to break free as lisa cuts his hair.  I took him to get it done but he was so bad, so we just got some clippers and Lisa (god bless her soul) cuts it as Shawn and I hold him down (god bless shawn's soul too).  after we are ready with candy and then he gets to play in the tub, so he forgets pretty quickly
• most days refuses to let me brush his teeth, he will let me if he is in the tub or in the shower with me, but no longer if is he just standing at the sink, its a complete melt down.  he likes to brush his own teeth (really just chomp the brush), and when he lets me I dont get much time
• he is always biting down, luckily he doesnt bite hard enough to hurt his tongue, but always biting.  he DESTROYS straws, even hard plastic ones! 
• I also think he sometimes doesnt realize the force he is using when he touches people or animals.  sometimes he is super gentle and other times he hits very hard.  Maybe he does, maybe he is just mean :)
• he has very specific routines (too many to list) and if you dont follow them be prepared for a full breakdown.  again, i thought it was typical toddler stuff but the OT agreed that his reactions are just a tad bit worse than they should be and that with how often Ian has tried to piss him off by not doing what he wants, he still reacts and hasnt adapted 
• REFUSES to wear a jacket or hat or shoes other than slip on ones.  Thank goodness its not cold here that long or that bad because he would not put on a jacket, hat or gloves all winter and luckily he seems to tan and not burn because he will not wear a hat in the summer either.
• is very afraid of new places and situations, you often times have to drag him through doors or pick him up because he wont move past them.  he also is not a social butterfly and tends to shy away from most kids but since the dont understand why he isnt talking to them (cant tell you how many kids have asked me at the park what is wrong with him!) and I am sure to him they are very loud, it makes sense. (maybe not a sensory thing, but one of his many quirks)

loves to play in the sinks, he pours water from one cup to the next

 

using his new found love of letters, i got some letter cookie cutters and we are using them with playdough.  that is another item he will not touch until it is in a perfect ball or in the shape of the letter, but we keep working on it.

But he is a smart little boy and can do many things.  He is always trying to figure out something new, is always making noises (just gibberish ones) and is a joy (even with him many tantrums and now constant whining sounds).  We will keep working on these and I think once the program starts he will make great strides!!!

Who is who???

These kiddos look a lot alike.  Below are pictures from each of their first baths, can you get them right???

A Boy and his sister

Logan loves Amelia so much, he is always in her face or near her.  Most of the time he is nice, but sometimes he doesnt understand his force.  He also loves to stick his fingers in her eyes and mouth, dont really understand that one.  I dont mind the mouth too much, but the eyes scare me.  Sometimes I'll turn my back for a minute and he will be trying to pick her up, squeezing her head (with how much force I have no clue), ripping her pacifier or blanket out of her hands, uncovering her when she is sound asleep, and many more things, but he sure does love her, there is no question about that.  If I start to watch a video of her or look at pictures of her he gets so happy and makes us watch it over and over again.  If I try to go downstairs and she is upstairs sleeping he wont go until I bring her with (which can be quite annoying at times).  But here are just a few of the many pictures I have of my little boy and the little sister he will love and protect for many many many years to come...

Happy "Birth" Day Amelia!

So yes she was born 3 months ago, but know you can hear her not very exciting birth story, since it was pretty scripted and scheduled :)  So lets back track about 3 years, Logan was looking to be quite big (10lbs) so we decided to go ahead and schedule a c-section for the day after his due date.  He did not come before that on his own (honestly he seemed pretty comfy dont know how long he would have stayed in there if we let him), so on 6/3/2010 I woke up in the hospital and was wheeled to the OR at 7am to have my precious boy.   

So now lets come back to just the distant past, when I found out I was pregnant with Amelia my OB (who I love) asked me if I wanted to try for a vaginal birth or schedule another c-section.  Not surprising to anyone that knows me I went with option #2.  We decided we would schedule it for one week before her due date (which was 3/19).  I know many women who do not agree with my decision, even mom questioned if my OB talked me into it (which she sooo didnt), but you know what, I never wanted to be pregnant because I was terrified of labor and all it involved.  I am happy to say that I have 2 beautiful children and have not had to experience one contraction, and I will die perfectly happy and content knowing that.  I will not look back in life and regret my decision, it was my decision, it is my body, and as long as a medical professional said it was safe for both me and my children I was ready to move forward.  We live in a day and age where mothers (people really) have become very judgmental of each other.  Now I am not ever going to say I dont judge people, because I do, but I keep my opinions to myself and realize that often times they are not nice and that I do not know all the facts around the situation.  I know I do not hide the fact that I think women who want to give birth without drugs are freakin insane, but you know what else I know, that I would never make them feel bad about their decision, cause seriously I suppose more power to you for trying to be strong and all, I just dont see the need.  When I can be saved pain due to modern medical technology spare me the pain!!!  Anyway, lets get back to Amelia's story.

So sometime in Jan or Feb we decided to reserve my hospital bed.  We were gonna go with monday 3/11/13 (since that was the day my OB had her hospital shift) but it was 1 week and 1 day before her official due date so for insurance purposes we couldnt.  3/12/13 didnt work because my OB was at another hospital that day, so we went to 3/13/13.  With Logan they were able to plan my c-section for 7am but as you can guess 3/13/13 was a popular day that I guess people were requesting, so I had to take the 12noon slot.  What does that really matter you think, well, you cant eat or drink for 12 hours prior, and telling a very pregnant women to not eat, much less not even drink water for that long, sucks, but what could I do.  

So on 3/13/13 ian and I took logan to moms house and then off we went to the hospital, the next time we would come home we would be a family of 4 (and we still dont think logan had a clue what was going on, but we really dont know since he cant tell us).  I had gone to the hospital with Logan the day before for all the paperwork and blood work and stuff, so we just needed to be there by 10:30am to get me all ready to walk over to the OR at 12noon.  I dont think I ever wrote down Logan's story but let me tell you that I was sooo afraid of the spinal tap (and I suppose the entire procedure) but after it happened realized it wasnt that bad (again thanks to my awesome OB who wrapped me with a warm blanket and gave me a hug as it was happening), so this time around I wasnt afraid of the spinal tap (I mean I wasnt looking forward to it) instead I was just positive that I was going to die.  Yes, I am a pretty negative thinker, I had been telling my OB this entire pregnancy that I was just sure something was going to happen to me at the hospital.  I was trying to tell myself I was crazy but I just couldnt.  I think I didnt think about it with Logan because I didnt have a baby yet, but knowing that if something happened to me now, how he wouldnt understand it and how I wouldnt be there for him, well it got in my head and I just couldnt shake it.  I made Logan a card before I left and put in it a few pictures of us together and wrote down a phrase I had found on pinterest "if whatever happens, remember i did, i do and i will always love you" and tucked it inside his card, all the while tears pouring down my cheeks as I wrote it down.  So you can imagine the very short walk to the OR was horrible for me this time, apart from already being cold and nervous (and therefore shaking uncontrollably) a part of me felt like I was walking to my death, it was the longest short walk I have ever taken.  But I made it there and the wonderful hospital staff got me all setup and then in came Ian with my nurse and we were ready to go.  

At 12:20pm out came Amelia screaming her little tiny head off!!!  I dont even think she was all the way out before she starting screaming, she was mad!!!  She was 8 lbs 14 oz and 21.5 inches long.  Everyone except one person in the room swore she was over 9 lbs, she must have looked hefty for her size.  But she was beautiful and it was a wonderful moment.

her very first picture ever!

first picture with daddy, she must have stopped screaming for a second ;)

first picture with mommy, the screaming came back

  So I made it through the surgery and after an hour or so I was back in the room where Amelia and Ian were waiting for me.  I did much better with the recovery this time, I didnt stop forgetting to breath like with Logan and wasnt trying to not use the lovely drugs that were offered to me, I had the pain pills coming on a schedule, not just when I remembered to ask, much smarter move.  But now that I survived that I was sure that when I went to stand up I was going to die of a blood clot, so I was eager to get out of bed to keep everything moving but again so afraid that when I did stand up it would be the end.  I of course couldnt even attempt it until later in the night, so Logan had already come to visit and it was soooo great to see him.  We got him a backpack with some gifts in it but he didnt really seem to care about those or Amelia, he was just happy to be spending the day with his abuelita and to see me after going almost a whole day without me around.  Finally late at night I decided I was ready to get up, and called my nurses (I had 2 that first night as one was not a new nurse but new to this hospital so she was shadowing another nurse) and they helped me get up and guess what, I am still alive to tell the tale!!!!

Amelia did great with latching on and breastfeeding, but she was having lots of issues with her blood sugar and had lost almost 10% of her birth weight by day 2, so we decided to supplement her with some formula.  I do breast feed and want to try for as long as I can, but I have no issues with formula.  Mom formula feed all of us and Logan had to go on formula around 4 months because I couldnt pump enough when I went back to work.  But it made Ian and I laugh because when they mentioned the prospect of supplementing they were so ready for us to fight back and we just said "ok".  I mean come on, she needed more milk that I could provide, thats all I needed to hear.  Initially they had be use a plastic syringe and when she was breast feeding I was supposed to squeeze little bits into her mouth as she sucked, but it was getting everywhere plus it was poking at my nipples (which were sore enough already), so one nurse asked if we just wanted to have her nurse an then give her a bottle after (again, ready for a fight about nipple confusion) and I was just so happy I couldnt say yes fast enough!!!  We ended up having to stay in the hospital and extra day, they didnt want to release her until her blood sugar levels remained normal and until she stopped losing weight, so for that to happen I had to feed her every 2 hours, for about 36 hours.  And that was every 2 hours from the start of a feed.  So say I started at 1am, she would finishing nursing around 1:25am, then finish her 1 ounce bottle around 2am (yes it took that long), and then we needed to start again at 3am.  We were both soooo tired, I was so glad when they said we could let her sleep and just feed her when she woke up (but no more than 4 hours).

Logan meeting Amelia

On 3/16/13 we were finally able to take her home.  While its nice being in the hospital and having warm meals delivered to you and nurses there to help you with anything, it was nice to go home, and even better to see mom and logan waiting for us.

all ready to go home!

her welcoming committee :)