Addy ... Addy ... Addy.
That is what Payton now calls Nika ... and we have no idea why. Or where she got it from. We assume that one of her teachers or therapists are referring to her as Addy, given that her name is Addison. But we rarely call her Addison ... and we have never called her Addy!
Quite frankly, we think it is adorable that Payton has her own little name for Nika. And we love how she says it ... oy, time for a name change?
Poor Nika.
Showing posts with label Payton (aka: Chicky). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Payton (aka: Chicky). Show all posts
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
One of us, not one among us.
Mason: Mommy, what does Chicky's shirt say?
Me: It says, "One of us, not one among us."
Mason: What does that mean?
Me: It means that Chicky is just like everyone else, even though she has Down syndrome.
Mason (in a joshing voice): Noo she doesn't.
Me: Yes she does. Do you know who else has Down syndrome?
Mason: Nikers (referencing Nika, pronounced Nee-kers).
Me: Yep, and who else?
Mason: Lila.
Me: Yep.
Mason: And lots of babies have Down syndrome. Like Charlie.
Me: No honey, Charlie does not have Down syndrome.
Mason: Oh!
Ha. He was impressing me there for a minute until he told me that he thought Charlie has Down syndrome. But you know what ... it just shows me that he views Chicky, Nika and Lila just the same as he views Charlie.
And isn't that the point? Love him.
Me: It says, "One of us, not one among us."
Mason: What does that mean?
Me: It means that Chicky is just like everyone else, even though she has Down syndrome.
Mason (in a joshing voice): Noo she doesn't.
Me: Yes she does. Do you know who else has Down syndrome?
Mason: Nikers (referencing Nika, pronounced Nee-kers).
Me: Yep, and who else?
Mason: Lila.
Me: Yep.
Mason: And lots of babies have Down syndrome. Like Charlie.
Me: No honey, Charlie does not have Down syndrome.
Mason: Oh!
Ha. He was impressing me there for a minute until he told me that he thought Charlie has Down syndrome. But you know what ... it just shows me that he views Chicky, Nika and Lila just the same as he views Charlie.
And isn't that the point? Love him.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Excitement. Love. Happiness.
Last night, I sat down to blog.
I wanted to share pictures I took yesterday of my baby sister's belly. I wanted to scream my excitement for a loved one who learned yesterday that she is expecting after several failed intrauterine insemination and in vetro fertilization procedures. I wanted to show the love I felt for my children ... and the happiness I felt knowing that two very important people in my life will soon have that love in their hearts.
And in the midst of me opening up my blog, I watched this video. And I felt sad. I felt defeated. I felt angry. I felt frustrated.
And I no longer cared to share my excitement, love and happiness. Because right then ... I needed to advocate.
But for now ... I would much rather be back in the place I was before I watched that video.
Ahem.
My baby sister is set to give birth to her first child in three days. I use the term baby sister loosely, as she really is only 10 months and 10 days younger than me.
I wanted to share pictures I took yesterday of my baby sister's belly. I wanted to scream my excitement for a loved one who learned yesterday that she is expecting after several failed intrauterine insemination and in vetro fertilization procedures. I wanted to show the love I felt for my children ... and the happiness I felt knowing that two very important people in my life will soon have that love in their hearts.
And in the midst of me opening up my blog, I watched this video. And I felt sad. I felt defeated. I felt angry. I felt frustrated.
And I no longer cared to share my excitement, love and happiness. Because right then ... I needed to advocate.
But for now ... I would much rather be back in the place I was before I watched that video.
Ahem.
My baby sister is set to give birth to her first child in three days. I use the term baby sister loosely, as she really is only 10 months and 10 days younger than me.
She is having a girl. Olivia Grace.
Shortly after my sister and I gathered to showcase the life growing inside of her, I learned that a loved one had just received news that she is expecting. This comes after a very long journey of infertility, miscarriage and numerous failed procedures. If you have a prayer to spare, please pray that this new life remains safe and healthy in its mother's womb.
Last night, as my husband prepared to take our children upstairs to put them to bed, I was reminded of my intense love for these little people. As I am every night.
Payton is umm, shall I say ... a very strong willed person. I am not sure where she gets that from? As she is being called up the stairs to head to bed, she puckers up and kisses everyone in the house. One round, two rounds, three rounds, four rounds of kisses. She would go all night if we let her.
But seriously ... it isn't easy to tell her to stop. Because watching her shake her little booty across the floor with lips puckered ... well it is the cutest thing.
As she did this last night, it made me so happy to know that this love would soon be felt by two very important people in my life.
And for me ... that is what life is all about.
And for me ... that is what life is all about.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Nika ... and some of her doctors.
Pediatrician ...
A couple weeks ago, Nika had her three-year well visit with our pediatrician. The visit went well, however there were a few things I wanted to discuss with her.
Last week, Nika saw our geneticist. A few people have asked us why we see a geneticist and I guess the answer is that our geneticist basically serves as a developmental pediatrician for us. I discussed all of the same concerns with our geneticist and came to all the same conclusions. I got scripts for our annual bloodwork and got Nika's stats ...
Weight -- 26 pounds, 10 ounces
Height -- 35 1/4 inches
Down syndrome growth chart -- Weight: 25th percentile, Height: 75th percentile
Typical growth chart -- Weight and Height: 10th percentile across the board
So yeah, that is why everyone is so surprised when I tell them she is three years old. Oh, she is so tiny! Yes, I know this people. She is in the bottom 10% amongst her peers for size.
Sleep lab ...
This past week, I had a follow up appointment with our sleep lab to discuss Nika's second sleep study. The first one was inconclusive.
So the bottom line is that Nika does have obstructive sleep apnea. The specialist that we saw told me that textbooks do not give guidelines to classify children Nika's age in a category -- be it mild, moderate, etc. This sort of confused me, since we have previously been given a diagnosis of moderate sleep apnea for Payton, but whatever. The specialist basically told me that he believes Payton was classified using adult guidelines, which clearly you cannot do for young children. Sigh.
At the end of the day, Nika had approximately four episodes per hour that she stopped breathing while asleep. The specialist said that if he had to classify her into a category, for a child her age he would say moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Being as though Payton had way more than four episodes, I guess he would have diagnosed her with severe.
Who knows.
Beyond that, during each episode, Nika's oxygen is dropping to 89% ... while she is maintaining 98% the remainder of the time. That was quite concerning to the specialist.
His recommendation is that she have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Given her extremely high and narrow palate, he also told me that I might want to consider a palate expander for her -- and for Payton, actually. He told me that expanding their palates would allow for air to move more properly and blah blah blah.
Next step --> meet with our ENT to discuss the sleep study and the specialist's recommendations. I guess surgery is looming.
ENT ...
While we were at the sleep lab, I stopped into the ENT's office since it is right next door. Nika's nose has been a junky mess, even after being on antibiotics for two rounds of strep in the past month. They agreed to squeeze us in ... thank God they did. Our pediatrician can't really see in her ears ... although they try to claim they can. Riiight.
Our ENT took Nika under the microscope -- double ear infection. That ... in addition to her junky nose = one round of Omnicef. And if the nose is not clear after the 10 day round, refill it for another 10 days. Oook then.
When is it summer again?
A couple weeks ago, Nika had her three-year well visit with our pediatrician. The visit went well, however there were a few things I wanted to discuss with her.
- After we received Nika's referral in Russia, we saw that her medical record stated that she had a Grade III brain bleed at birth and semi-compensating hydrocephalus ... those were the translations, anyway. These two things were obviously a concern to us and we needed to know more information before we adopted her and brought her home.
We were very lucky to be able to have her seen in-country at the American Medical Clinic. They performed an ultrasound that revealed no evidence of calcifications on her brain -- which may have been there if she really had a brain bleed -- and no evidence of hydrocephalus. Where these diagnoses came from ... I don't know. Heck, I don't even know that an ultrasound was enough to detect what we were looking for, but it was enough for us to bring her home.
That said, the one thing we did find out during the ultrasound was that her ventricles were measuring a tiny bit large ... as in, a couple milimeters larger than the standard for a child her age. Ahh, so many variables there. Anyway, these things have always sort of been kept in the back of my mind ... not knowing whether or not they really meant anything -- or if they were even true.
A few weeks ago, I was reading an article that showed a link between enlarged ventricles and balance. Imagine that. So then the question comes in -- is Nika's lack of balance just a low muscle tone thing or is it something more?
I asked our pediatrician about this and she feels that Nika would be showing more external symptoms if she really had something serious going on. And given the fact that she seems to be doing just fine, it isn't worth sedating her for a CAT scan to see if something really is going on.
All I can do is trust her. And for now, I do. - Over the summer, we realized that Nika does not sweat. I discussed this with our pediatrician and we agreed that I need to pursue it further at our local Children's Hospital.
- We discussed the fact that Nika does not get any one-on-one therapy at school -- and that is a battle I've already fought. She does ... however ... get private speech and physical therapy through our insurance and her Medicaid -- thank the Lord for that. Our pediatrician and I discussed also getting her occupational therapy, as it is clear she would benefit from it. I told her I have chosen my battles thus far, but agreed that I have been thinking about getting her an OT evaluation and so that is what I am going to do.
- Nika is almost caught up on her immunizations. She still needs a couple booster shots, but enough time has not lapsed yet for her to be able to get those. Oh ... and we still have a year to go before she will be getting any MMR vaccines.
- We discussed Nika's two bouts of strep throat over the past month. Just to be sure that this last round of antibiotics got it all out of her system, we tested her again and sent it to the lab ---> negative, finally!
Last week, Nika saw our geneticist. A few people have asked us why we see a geneticist and I guess the answer is that our geneticist basically serves as a developmental pediatrician for us. I discussed all of the same concerns with our geneticist and came to all the same conclusions. I got scripts for our annual bloodwork and got Nika's stats ...
Weight -- 26 pounds, 10 ounces
Height -- 35 1/4 inches
Down syndrome growth chart -- Weight: 25th percentile, Height: 75th percentile
Typical growth chart -- Weight and Height: 10th percentile across the board
So yeah, that is why everyone is so surprised when I tell them she is three years old. Oh, she is so tiny! Yes, I know this people. She is in the bottom 10% amongst her peers for size.
Sleep lab ...
This past week, I had a follow up appointment with our sleep lab to discuss Nika's second sleep study. The first one was inconclusive.
So the bottom line is that Nika does have obstructive sleep apnea. The specialist that we saw told me that textbooks do not give guidelines to classify children Nika's age in a category -- be it mild, moderate, etc. This sort of confused me, since we have previously been given a diagnosis of moderate sleep apnea for Payton, but whatever. The specialist basically told me that he believes Payton was classified using adult guidelines, which clearly you cannot do for young children. Sigh.
At the end of the day, Nika had approximately four episodes per hour that she stopped breathing while asleep. The specialist said that if he had to classify her into a category, for a child her age he would say moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Being as though Payton had way more than four episodes, I guess he would have diagnosed her with severe.
Who knows.
Beyond that, during each episode, Nika's oxygen is dropping to 89% ... while she is maintaining 98% the remainder of the time. That was quite concerning to the specialist.
His recommendation is that she have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Given her extremely high and narrow palate, he also told me that I might want to consider a palate expander for her -- and for Payton, actually. He told me that expanding their palates would allow for air to move more properly and blah blah blah.
Next step --> meet with our ENT to discuss the sleep study and the specialist's recommendations. I guess surgery is looming.
ENT ...
While we were at the sleep lab, I stopped into the ENT's office since it is right next door. Nika's nose has been a junky mess, even after being on antibiotics for two rounds of strep in the past month. They agreed to squeeze us in ... thank God they did. Our pediatrician can't really see in her ears ... although they try to claim they can. Riiight.
Our ENT took Nika under the microscope -- double ear infection. That ... in addition to her junky nose = one round of Omnicef. And if the nose is not clear after the 10 day round, refill it for another 10 days. Oook then.
When is it summer again?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Persistence pays off ...
If at first you don't succeed ...
... try ...
... try again.
Don't give up too easily ...
... persistence pays off ...
... in the end.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Gingerbread Village.
Once upon a time, there was a girl. She concocted a grand scheme to build a gingerbread village.
She had enough money for lumber and nails. Oh ... and someone donated a bit of decor.
But half way through the build ... her workers went on strike. And the village was left deserted ... never to be finished.
Sigh. Maybe next year she can find some workers that won't go on strike.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Housekeeping
A few housekeeping items ...
I have created a new section of my blog for Fun Finds! When I have time, I get sort of obsessed with searching the internet for fun craft projects, great coupon deals or even free stuff. In order to not clutter our family blog with all this stuff that I am constantly wanting to tell you about, I now have a place for it.
So click on over to check it out ... and if your child has a Leapster, you might really want to click on over to see what I just posted. Also, if you come across any Fun Finds that I should include, please let me know and we'll get it up there.
Housekeeping ... I had to create a new blog for Fun Finds, so if you want notification of these posts into your google reader, then you'll have to follow it separately.
Speaking of following blogs, I never added that Follow widget to my blogs until a few days ago. I never really saw the point of it and just was not understanding the purpose. I also did not follow anyone else, because I just added everyone I wanted to follow to my google reader and didn't want to clutter the sides of my blog with all the posts showing up. Err something.
Until the other day I clicked to follow someone else ... and then in my google reader I realized that blog automatically showed up there for me to read. Genius!
Who knew? Ha ... clearly not me. And I just thought I'd share that with ya'll ... unless I am the only one who did not know this?
Very well could be.
Speaking of housekeeping, if the spammers of blog land do not stop spamming my post about My Hotel Guest, I am going to close the comments. For whatever reason, the URL to that one post must be hanging out somewhere that spammers hang out and I get several comments a day about Cialis ... stop, please! I do not want your Cialis!
And speaking of the hotel we are running around here ... does anyone know if hotels typically have a dressing service ... err something like that?
If not, I think I need to invent one. One of my hotel guests has gone n*dist since she graduated to undies. Obsessively n*dist.
Speaking of undies, Payton has successfully been out of pull ups for about two weeks now. She goes accident free most days, however accidents are still lurking around. Regardless, I am so proud of her!
Now ... if we could just get her to keep her clothes on!
I have created a new section of my blog for Fun Finds! When I have time, I get sort of obsessed with searching the internet for fun craft projects, great coupon deals or even free stuff. In order to not clutter our family blog with all this stuff that I am constantly wanting to tell you about, I now have a place for it.
So click on over to check it out ... and if your child has a Leapster, you might really want to click on over to see what I just posted. Also, if you come across any Fun Finds that I should include, please let me know and we'll get it up there.
Housekeeping ... I had to create a new blog for Fun Finds, so if you want notification of these posts into your google reader, then you'll have to follow it separately.
*************
Speaking of following blogs, I never added that Follow widget to my blogs until a few days ago. I never really saw the point of it and just was not understanding the purpose. I also did not follow anyone else, because I just added everyone I wanted to follow to my google reader and didn't want to clutter the sides of my blog with all the posts showing up. Err something.
Until the other day I clicked to follow someone else ... and then in my google reader I realized that blog automatically showed up there for me to read. Genius!
Who knew? Ha ... clearly not me. And I just thought I'd share that with ya'll ... unless I am the only one who did not know this?
Very well could be.
*************
Speaking of housekeeping, if the spammers of blog land do not stop spamming my post about My Hotel Guest, I am going to close the comments. For whatever reason, the URL to that one post must be hanging out somewhere that spammers hang out and I get several comments a day about Cialis ... stop, please! I do not want your Cialis!
*************
And speaking of the hotel we are running around here ... does anyone know if hotels typically have a dressing service ... err something like that?
If not, I think I need to invent one. One of my hotel guests has gone n*dist since she graduated to undies. Obsessively n*dist.
Speaking of undies, Payton has successfully been out of pull ups for about two weeks now. She goes accident free most days, however accidents are still lurking around. Regardless, I am so proud of her!
Now ... if we could just get her to keep her clothes on!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Mom, can we wash your car?
A couple days ago, Mason and Payton were playing in the front yard. Nika had just woke up and had a massive blow out, so I was getting ready to run upstairs and give her a quick bath. I told Mason to stay in the front yard with Payton where I could see them and that I would be right back down.
Mason: Mom, can me and Chicky wash your car?
Me: No dude, it is too cold out to be washing the car. (It was like 60-70 degrees out. LOL)
So I ran upstairs to wash Nika ... and when I came back downstairs, I saw this ...
Mason: Mom, can me and Chicky wash your car?
Me: No dude, it is too cold out to be washing the car. (It was like 60-70 degrees out. LOL)
So I ran upstairs to wash Nika ... and when I came back downstairs, I saw this ...
Seriously? In less than five minutes, they have got the entire car washing system out of the garage ...
... and Payton has her shirt, socks and shoes off. The only clothing she had on was soaked to the core,not to mention her little booty was practically hanging out ... hmm, I wonder how that happened!
Mason ... any idea? Ha.
Err wait, maybe she was the one responsible! She seemed to be the one in charge of the hose ...
... and Payton has her shirt, socks and shoes off. The only clothing she had on was soaked to the core,
Mason ... any idea? Ha.
Err wait, maybe she was the one responsible! She seemed to be the one in charge of the hose ...
That's right little lady, get back to work! Ha.
This little incident actually reminds me of when Mason tried to help me wash his coat. Ha.
Love my crazy kids!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Potty. Err not.
I feel like Payton has been potty training forever. She has done so good with it and is so ready to make the big move to panties. Granted, we still have to take her to the potty and remind her to go, but what kid in training doesn't need that? And ... this is a kid that has special needs and can't talk well ... we need to just take her!
Prior to starting school ... and when she is home full days with us ... she stays dry. Sometimes we remind her to go potty, sometimes she tells us she has to go ... we have a happy medium. However, since starting school, I have noticed she has been coming home wet ... which is odd since she is rarely wet at home.
So, I asked her teacher how often they are taking her potty at school. Once ... right after snack, which is 3 hours after she leaves home. Mind you, she is gone for a little over 4 1/2 hours total ... and when she gets on her bus, she has just finished eating lunch and drinking a full cup of liquid. So I'm pretty sure she hasn't been making it to potty time at school ... wouldn't they pick up on the fact that she is wet every time they take her?
Hello, that means take her earlier! They know she is potty training ... I just don't get it.
Two weeks ago, when I asked how often she was being taken potty, I told Payton's teacher that she needed to be taken at least twice. The first time fairly soon after school starts ... perhaps after opening circle ... and the second time, perhaps again after snack or maybe a half hour before it is time to go get on the bus. I felt like her teacher sort of blew me off and I told her that if they didn't work with me on this, then I would call an IEP meeting to add it as a goal. Of course then she piped up.
But fast forward two weeks and I hadn't seen any changes.
So I brought it up again ... and got a little more stern with her. I told her I didn't mean to sound rude, but that helping her to potty train while she is at school is not an option. I again threatened to have it added to her IEP, at which her teacher again balked.
Of course she doesn't want it added to her IEP, because then she HAS to do it.
She then explained to me that they have a busy classroom and they have lots of kids with behavioral problems and blah blah blah. I told her I didn't know what any of that had to do with Payton and that Payton won't be suffering because of the issues the other kids have. This is not about them. Urgh. I also told her if she didn't start taking her potty more than once, then I would start sending her in panties and having them deal with wet pants everyday when they don't help her get to the potty. I bet that would get them moving.
So anyway, that day I marked Payton's pull up with a red X. Sure enough, she came home with the same pull up on, dry as a bone. Wow, imagine that! Her teacher also had come up with a little sheet noting two potty times, stating that Payton was dry and used the potty both times.
Okay, this is what I've been telling them ... I guess they finally believed me.
I am giving it two weeks and then sending her in panties. That is it. I'm taking the day time pantie plunge and praying I don't end up with a mess on my hands.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
31 for 21: Day 4 {My baseball player ... I mean players}
Mason decided that he wanted to play t-ball again. He played his first season last fall ... what a difference a year makes! Instead of wanting to play in the dirt much of the time, he actually plays ... as in gets in ready stance, catches the ball, throws the ball ... you catch my drift.So much fun to see him being such a rock star out on the field!
Mason is pretty much the largest kid on the team ... um, imagine that! Here he is after getting the team ball ...
Chicky loves to go watch her brother play ball. She gets so excited when we pull into the fields and says, "Yay!"The other morning, Payton came walking in the kitchen wearing Mason's t-ball hat and carrying a bat ... soo stinkin cute! She took my hand and pulled me outside, where she said ball ... I guess that was my cue? Haha.
So I got a ball and she held the bat out for me to throw it to her. Basically she held the bat out so I could just bounce the ball off it ... so funny.Maybe it is time to enroll her in t-ball? Hmm, I wonder how that would work out.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
31 for 21: Day 3 {Big Mama}
I have always known Payton was a little on the husky side, but after having to weigh her the other day and realizing she ... my 3 year old ... had hit 40 pounds ... uhh, I've grown a little concerned. That is 90th percentile for weight on a typical growth chart and she is off the charts on the Down syndrome growth chart. Sigh.The child is solid as a rock. She isn't fat ... per se ... just solid. People often times go to pick her up and they just about put their backs out, because they don't expect her to weigh as much as she does. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given how big her brother is ... and I guess I should be happy since kids with Down syndrome tend to be on the smaller side.
Today I took Payton to Target to get her more clothes for school, because nothing we have seems to be fitting her. Even some of her 4T stuff that we just bought ... it is ready to be handed down to Nika, so she can wear it in like 2011. Ha.
So there I am, standing in the middle of the big girls section, trying size small on her ... that is like a size 6! Seriously. I was really trying hard to fit her in the x-small, but I'm afraid that once it is washed, it will no longer fit. It was quite depressing, actually ... and I sat there and had my pity party.
No matter what, these stubby little fingers are still my favorite!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Potty. Gingko. And an ABR or two.
Payton and Nika waiting for Nika's busPayton has been doing so good with her potty training. I'm still really nervous to put her in panties, but she does remain dry pretty much all day. And the best part is that she is finally telling us more and more that she has to go.
Nika has definitely been showing an interest in potty training ... I assume because she has been seeing Payton doing it. She often will sit down on the little potty chair ... fully clothed ... grunt a little, stand up, cheer and then "pour" the potty insert into the big toilet. Crack me up.
So this morning when she was still dry from last night, I sat her on the big potty. She tooted a few times, so I wonder if she associates the big potty with going #2. LOL ... TMI, I know. So I went to get the little potty, sat her on it and she went pee. OMG, she was so excited. She stood up really fast, clapped and said, "Yay!"
***********
Disclaimer ... I am not bringing this up for people to come on here and bash me for using TNI. I know it is controversial and this is simply what is best for our family. So please refrain from bashing. Thank.you.very.much.
So if you have read my blog for long, you may know that we give the girls a targeted nutritional intervention called Nutrivene-D. Basically in so many words, it is a compound that is specifically formulated to help the body of a person with Down syndrome ... which means less DNA damage, less oxidation and a healthier lifestyle for my girls.
When Payton was younger, we used to give her DHA oil ... which is Omega-3. For some reason, we never were good about giving it to her and it has sat in our fridge. Fast forward to now, I have made a pact with myself to make sure that both girls are getting their DHA every.single.day.
And ... we have started giving each of them Gingko Biloba Extract in liquid form. I have read a lot lately about the use of Gingko helping kids with Down syndrome with improved speech and cognition overall. So we have been giving it to the girls for a few days now. I'm not sure if this statement is premature, but I have already noticed a difference in both of them.
*knock on wood*
So if you have read my blog for long, you may know that we give the girls a targeted nutritional intervention called Nutrivene-D. Basically in so many words, it is a compound that is specifically formulated to help the body of a person with Down syndrome ... which means less DNA damage, less oxidation and a healthier lifestyle for my girls.
When Payton was younger, we used to give her DHA oil ... which is Omega-3. For some reason, we never were good about giving it to her and it has sat in our fridge. Fast forward to now, I have made a pact with myself to make sure that both girls are getting their DHA every.single.day.
And ... we have started giving each of them Gingko Biloba Extract in liquid form. I have read a lot lately about the use of Gingko helping kids with Down syndrome with improved speech and cognition overall. So we have been giving it to the girls for a few days now. I'm not sure if this statement is premature, but I have already noticed a difference in both of them.
*knock on wood*
***********
After continuous failed behavioral hearing tests and flat lined tympanograms, we decided that it would be best to have an ABR ... a sedated hearing test ... done on both girls. Given their speech delays, I wanted to be proactive just in case there was hearing loss involved.
Nika's ABR was smooth sailing. The child is so chill ... almost too chill sometimes. They were able to place her IV without as much as a whimper. She woke up very quickly from her anesthesia and was very happy.
Nika's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!
Payton on the other hand, not quite as easy. We warned them that placing her IV was going to be a fight, so they brought three nurses to try. In total, with the audiologist, there were five of us holding her down, while the sixth person tried to get a successful IV line. The poor nurse was so nervous, that the shake in her hand was making it a little hard.
It is sort of comical to me that people never believe me when I tell them how strong Payton is. She will fight, and she will fight hard. Even with the five of us trying to hold her down, she still gets loose. Crazy kid.
It took two nurses and two tries to get the IV line placed in her hand.
Fast forward an hour when they are finally ready to sedate her ...
They started giving Payton the anesthesia through her IV ... and nothing was happening. We knew from doing this with Nika that it should only take a couple seconds before she should have been out. Yeah, not so much. Payton is fighting like a horse and everyone is sort of panicking because the anesthesia is not working and Payton is just getting more and more pissed. We know the anesthesia is going in because it burns, hence the reason Payton is getting pissed ... we know she can feel it. I'm basically laying on her trying to hold her down ... I'm pretty sure my adrenaline has never pumped so fast in my life. It was ridiculous.
All of a sudden I hear one of the nurses say, "It infiltrated."
Are you fricking kidding me?! By this point, I thought Kyle was going to lose it on them and I was so ready to tell them to forget it, that we were leaving. Ugh!
So they pull the IV out and give Payton a dose of Valium to try to calm her down. Then they tell us they want to try to get a line in her foot. Ugh. By then, the Valium had taken effect and they were able to get a line in her foot on the first try. Phew. They then successfully sedated her and started the test.
I seriously have never felt so exhausted in my life after all that. I had pain in my chest from all the stress I endured ... it was crazy! I told Kyle that after all that, they had better be giving me good news after the test! LOL.
Payton's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!
After continuous failed behavioral hearing tests and flat lined tympanograms, we decided that it would be best to have an ABR ... a sedated hearing test ... done on both girls. Given their speech delays, I wanted to be proactive just in case there was hearing loss involved.
Nika's ABR was smooth sailing. The child is so chill ... almost too chill sometimes. They were able to place her IV without as much as a whimper. She woke up very quickly from her anesthesia and was very happy.Nika's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!
Payton on the other hand, not quite as easy. We warned them that placing her IV was going to be a fight, so they brought three nurses to try. In total, with the audiologist, there were five of us holding her down, while the sixth person tried to get a successful IV line. The poor nurse was so nervous, that the shake in her hand was making it a little hard.It is sort of comical to me that people never believe me when I tell them how strong Payton is. She will fight, and she will fight hard. Even with the five of us trying to hold her down, she still gets loose. Crazy kid.
It took two nurses and two tries to get the IV line placed in her hand.
Fast forward an hour when they are finally ready to sedate her ...
They started giving Payton the anesthesia through her IV ... and nothing was happening. We knew from doing this with Nika that it should only take a couple seconds before she should have been out. Yeah, not so much. Payton is fighting like a horse and everyone is sort of panicking because the anesthesia is not working and Payton is just getting more and more pissed. We know the anesthesia is going in because it burns, hence the reason Payton is getting pissed ... we know she can feel it. I'm basically laying on her trying to hold her down ... I'm pretty sure my adrenaline has never pumped so fast in my life. It was ridiculous.
All of a sudden I hear one of the nurses say, "It infiltrated."
Are you fricking kidding me?! By this point, I thought Kyle was going to lose it on them and I was so ready to tell them to forget it, that we were leaving. Ugh!
So they pull the IV out and give Payton a dose of Valium to try to calm her down. Then they tell us they want to try to get a line in her foot. Ugh. By then, the Valium had taken effect and they were able to get a line in her foot on the first try. Phew. They then successfully sedated her and started the test.
I seriously have never felt so exhausted in my life after all that. I had pain in my chest from all the stress I endured ... it was crazy! I told Kyle that after all that, they had better be giving me good news after the test! LOL.
Payton's ABR results ---> No hearing loss ... good to go!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First day of school
If there was one word to describe me today, it would be wreck. I have literally been a wreck all day.
Mason was the first one to leave for school this morning. He was very excited to go to school, so there was no anxiety on his part. Me ... not so much. We all walked up to the bus stop and waited for his bus. He is friends with our two neighbor girls, so I think it helped him to know that they would be on the bus with him. As soon as the bus came, it was a mad rush of kids ... and Mason went right with them like he had been doing this for years. So funny.
There he goes! Bye, baby!
Mason sat in a seat with our two neighbor girls, so they were excited and good to go ...
As the bus pulled off, I cried ... ahh, so many emotions.
Here is some video of Mason loading the bus ... I think he thinks he is too cool for school!
Payton catches her bus three hours after Mason does. I was so happy she got to see him go first and see how things work. She was all trying to get on Mason's bus this morning, so I hoped she would do the same when her bus came.
And my little go getter, of course she did.
As we saw the bus coming down the street, she got so excited ... screaming and jumping up and down. The doors opened and off she went ... no coercion needed. WTF ... wasn't that the part that she was supposed to cling to me and not let her go? Haha. I was a mess the entire time, sobbing like a baby. I was so proud of her for being such a big girl, yet I was so nervous for the bus to pull off with her on it.
I can do this myself!
I'm getting there!
Still climbing!
Once she was on the bus in her seat, she became a little unsure of things. The aide was trying to put her seat belt harness on her, which she didn't like. They let me board the bus to help explain it to her and she was okay. I got off the bus and she waved goodbye! And I continued to sob like a big baby.
Here is the best part ... getting to see it on video. She cracks me up!
At the end of the day, the kids got off their buses with no problems to report.
I asked Mason lots of questions about his day, but pretty much all I got was, "I don't know." Hmm, sounds like a great day! He did manage to tell me that some of his classmates got in trouble and would be getting sad faces on their behavior charts ... I guess that is all that boys care about? I am happy to report that Mason got a smiley face on his chart, meaning he didn't have any sticks pulled from his behavior envelope ... yay!
Payton was out of it when she got off her bus, so I suspect the poor girl was so tuckered out that she fell asleep on the bus. I did not get any feedback from her teacher, so I will be asking for something like that when I talk to her. Wouldn't it be common sense to send something like that home with a preschooler? I digress.
Mason was the first one to leave for school this morning. He was very excited to go to school, so there was no anxiety on his part. Me ... not so much. We all walked up to the bus stop and waited for his bus. He is friends with our two neighbor girls, so I think it helped him to know that they would be on the bus with him. As soon as the bus came, it was a mad rush of kids ... and Mason went right with them like he had been doing this for years. So funny.
There he goes! Bye, baby!
Mason sat in a seat with our two neighbor girls, so they were excited and good to go ...
As the bus pulled off, I cried ... ahh, so many emotions.Here is some video of Mason loading the bus ... I think he thinks he is too cool for school!
**************
Payton catches her bus three hours after Mason does. I was so happy she got to see him go first and see how things work. She was all trying to get on Mason's bus this morning, so I hoped she would do the same when her bus came.And my little go getter, of course she did.
As we saw the bus coming down the street, she got so excited ... screaming and jumping up and down. The doors opened and off she went ... no coercion needed. WTF ... wasn't that the part that she was supposed to cling to me and not let her go? Haha. I was a mess the entire time, sobbing like a baby. I was so proud of her for being such a big girl, yet I was so nervous for the bus to pull off with her on it.
There she goes!
I can do this myself!
I'm getting there!
Still climbing!
Once she was on the bus in her seat, she became a little unsure of things. The aide was trying to put her Here is the best part ... getting to see it on video. She cracks me up!
**************
At the end of the day, the kids got off their buses with no problems to report.
I asked Mason lots of questions about his day, but pretty much all I got was, "I don't know." Hmm, sounds like a great day! He did manage to tell me that some of his classmates got in trouble and would be getting sad faces on their behavior charts ... I guess that is all that boys care about? I am happy to report that Mason got a smiley face on his chart, meaning he didn't have any sticks pulled from his behavior envelope ... yay!
Payton was out of it when she got off her bus, so I suspect the poor girl was so tuckered out that she fell asleep on the bus. I did not get any feedback from her teacher, so I will be asking for something like that when I talk to her. Wouldn't it be common sense to send something like that home with a preschooler? I digress.
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