Much of this blog will be about my sweet exceptional little man Hayden but I needed to celebrate some things for my baby girl. It has been a pretty exciting few days for Julia. Despite my disappointment in her first words choice my little girl is saying dada. I often wonder why that is easier than mama but it has been for both my children. It is amazing how even hearing dada sounds cute. I think us mamas just wish they would call us first but I still know she loves me, so I guess using the word disappointed isn't exactly true. We also discovered our feet and a big surprise for me last night was sleeping 5 hours straight. Woo hoo!! Oh, how I missed sleep. I thought she would be a great sleeper like Hayden but she has given me a little bit of a challenge in that department. Here is to hoping we continue on this accomplishment.
Yesterday, may also go down in the books as a moment I would like to cherish with my little man. It was my husbands birthday yesterday. Hayden was so excited it was daddy's birthday. He went to school and told his favorite para that he was going to bake a cake for daddy. I picked him up from preschool and sure enough he still remembered we were going to bake a cake for his daddy. I love the time I have with my man alone. We don't get that too often being a family of 4. So, I took my lunch break from work and we made a birthday card for my husband and painted pictures. The smile on Hayden's face was priceless! Then we had the real fun we started making his cake. Hayden helped me mix the cake mix and pour it into the cake pans. I have not seen him this excited besides maybe looking as Christmas lights. He loves Christmas lights. Once the cake was finished he even helped frost the cake. Now, I am no baker but I think we did an excellent first time job. If I can figure out how to load a photo to this post I will post a picture of our finished product. I think what made this one of the best days is just how happy Hayden was doing this. He sat on the kitchen island holding his happy birthday card for his daddy and yelled Happy Birthday Daddy as my husband walked through the door. I don't think it gets any better than that. Right?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Exciting Morning
Today started out as I would deem a typical morning in our household. Julia, Bob and I are awake and Hayden is still sleeping. It is 9:30 am and we wait on Hayden to get up. He is such a great sleeper. Always has been. We are blessed in this category. Now, his sister on the other hand is my early riser, my girl who is afraid to miss something, my girl who at 5 months today!! still does not sleep through the night. Sigh :( I was on the computer checking out my item selling on eBay. Super excited about that because it was my first time and I have a bidding war. I also was downloading our professional photo's for JcPenney's to my computer when I hear my sweet boy calling. Mommy come get me.
I went upstairs to get my exceptional little man we start to get dressed and I saw the sign of going number 2. I am sure years down the road he is going to hate I am sharing this story with the world but that is what mommy's do right? So, I told him let's go sit on the potty and go poopy as we call it in our house. We left Julia in the swing downstairs. Bob and I sat with our sweet man until it happened. That is right we pooped on the potty. This was amazing we have been trying this forever it seems. He finally did it. So, we promised him after he ate his pancakes for breakfast we could go to the playground. Pure excitement beamed from my little man's face. After he quickly ate those pancakes we spent about an hour at the playground. Luckily, my neighborhood has a playground set that Hayden can use despite his disability. He loves crawling back and forth on the ramps and going down the slide. This is a place he can feel free and play like everyone else. Now, we are home. I am blogging, Hayden just had lunch, and is now watching the Fresh Beat Band. Life is good!
I told him I am going to make a potty chart. Once we fill it with stickers he gets to do something special or pick something special. Let's hope he doesn't ask to go to Mickey Mouses house or Elmo's house. He loves them and wants to go back to see Elmo all the time. I also want to take him to see Mickey soon. Maybe in 2012 or 2013 we shall see what the future holds for our visit to Florida.
Now, if we could only get that specialized potty chair in we ordered. I hate that as a special needs mama it takes forever to get things for your child. It took us forever to get his walker and now his potty chair. We have been waiting a month. He is able to use the regular potty but it is just so much harder for him. Unlike us he has to focus on holding himself up and then going to the potty. We can't wait to get the potty chair to relieve some of his struggles. Life will be so much easier. Stay tuned for some more exciting potty blogging post. I hope to have many more to share!!
I went upstairs to get my exceptional little man we start to get dressed and I saw the sign of going number 2. I am sure years down the road he is going to hate I am sharing this story with the world but that is what mommy's do right? So, I told him let's go sit on the potty and go poopy as we call it in our house. We left Julia in the swing downstairs. Bob and I sat with our sweet man until it happened. That is right we pooped on the potty. This was amazing we have been trying this forever it seems. He finally did it. So, we promised him after he ate his pancakes for breakfast we could go to the playground. Pure excitement beamed from my little man's face. After he quickly ate those pancakes we spent about an hour at the playground. Luckily, my neighborhood has a playground set that Hayden can use despite his disability. He loves crawling back and forth on the ramps and going down the slide. This is a place he can feel free and play like everyone else. Now, we are home. I am blogging, Hayden just had lunch, and is now watching the Fresh Beat Band. Life is good!
I told him I am going to make a potty chart. Once we fill it with stickers he gets to do something special or pick something special. Let's hope he doesn't ask to go to Mickey Mouses house or Elmo's house. He loves them and wants to go back to see Elmo all the time. I also want to take him to see Mickey soon. Maybe in 2012 or 2013 we shall see what the future holds for our visit to Florida.
Now, if we could only get that specialized potty chair in we ordered. I hate that as a special needs mama it takes forever to get things for your child. It took us forever to get his walker and now his potty chair. We have been waiting a month. He is able to use the regular potty but it is just so much harder for him. Unlike us he has to focus on holding himself up and then going to the potty. We can't wait to get the potty chair to relieve some of his struggles. Life will be so much easier. Stay tuned for some more exciting potty blogging post. I hope to have many more to share!!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Hayden's Story
For those that know and those that may not know. I have an exceptional little boy named Hayden. He was born with a medical condition called hypotonic cerebral palsy. This is only about 10% of the cp cases. My sweet little boy met that 10%. Some tell me they are sorry to hear about my son's disability but you know there is no reason to be sorry. He is bright, happy, funny, and will light up everyone's world he meets. I won't say that our road has been full of rainbows but we have many more wonderful memories than bad.
When I knew something was not quite right? I think around 9 months I thought hmm my happy sweet boy is not sitting or his own. He is not pulling to stand like other kids or bearing weight on his legs. Here is when our roller coaster ride for 2.5 years began. I spoke to my son's pediatrician who I adore. Really love him!! I can't praise him enough for his compassion and interest in my son but enough about my doctor we will talk about how we got to our diagnosis. After I met with my son's pediatrician we went through an evaluation which I will not pretend was pretty. I cried, I was devastated, I thought to myself why did this happen to my sweet boy. I can remember vividly crying and calling my very best friend Mickie who tried to comfort me the best way she could. She just listened. That is what I needed at that very moment. For the longest time we were told Hayden had hypotonia. Those not familiar with that medical term it means low muscle tone. This impacted everything that Hayden did from learning to sit, crawl, stand and start to walk. Well, after we qualified for services we started receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy from Easter Seals. Two wonderful ladies came into our lives Denise our pt and Colleen our ot. Honestly, they got me through some very trying times. They were there teaching my little man how to do all the things we take for granted every day. Hayden learned to sit at the age of two, began to crawl at 2.5, and learned to walk with a posterior walker called a crocodile walker closer to the age of 3. Given Hayden's medical condition he also was delayed with his speech Easter Seals also provided us with a great speech therapist who boosted his language in preparation to transitioning to preschool.
We still stay in touch with our therapist. They honestly are like family to me. Hayden now transitioned to the school system and goes to pre school at TECC. He loves it there! It amazes me to see my little guy walk to his classroom with his walker. He is talking so well now too. He is just the best little boy you will ever meet. We think he has a future in politics.
I cannot wait for everyone to read more about his adventures.
When I knew something was not quite right? I think around 9 months I thought hmm my happy sweet boy is not sitting or his own. He is not pulling to stand like other kids or bearing weight on his legs. Here is when our roller coaster ride for 2.5 years began. I spoke to my son's pediatrician who I adore. Really love him!! I can't praise him enough for his compassion and interest in my son but enough about my doctor we will talk about how we got to our diagnosis. After I met with my son's pediatrician we went through an evaluation which I will not pretend was pretty. I cried, I was devastated, I thought to myself why did this happen to my sweet boy. I can remember vividly crying and calling my very best friend Mickie who tried to comfort me the best way she could. She just listened. That is what I needed at that very moment. For the longest time we were told Hayden had hypotonia. Those not familiar with that medical term it means low muscle tone. This impacted everything that Hayden did from learning to sit, crawl, stand and start to walk. Well, after we qualified for services we started receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy from Easter Seals. Two wonderful ladies came into our lives Denise our pt and Colleen our ot. Honestly, they got me through some very trying times. They were there teaching my little man how to do all the things we take for granted every day. Hayden learned to sit at the age of two, began to crawl at 2.5, and learned to walk with a posterior walker called a crocodile walker closer to the age of 3. Given Hayden's medical condition he also was delayed with his speech Easter Seals also provided us with a great speech therapist who boosted his language in preparation to transitioning to preschool.
We still stay in touch with our therapist. They honestly are like family to me. Hayden now transitioned to the school system and goes to pre school at TECC. He loves it there! It amazes me to see my little guy walk to his classroom with his walker. He is talking so well now too. He is just the best little boy you will ever meet. We think he has a future in politics.
I cannot wait for everyone to read more about his adventures.
The World of Blogging
Today I made a decision to start a blog. I have seen so many of my special needs mamas start a blog. For some it has been a release of stress, for others it is about keeping family and friends informed, and some use it as a way to educate. For me it is all of the above. I have gone back and forth on whether or not I want to post our story. I ponder the thought of no privacy but really whose life is private anymore right? Plus, our story is of hope and strength. Why not share that with everyone. I have a lot of catching up to do since I am now starting to document our adventures at 3.5 years into our life with kids. Hey better late than never.
Just some back ground. I am married to my college sweetheart. We were married in 2004 and it was amazing despite a small hurricane that passed by on our wedding day. We set off on our life adventures in 2004 enjoying our honeymoon, working on the purchase of our second home and endless travels as a couple. We decided it was time to make our family a family of three. We already had 2 four legged children why not add another into our life. In April of 2007 I found out I was pregnant. It was the best news I could have wished for. We had been dreaming of the day of a positive pregnancy test and here it came. August of that year we found out it was a boy!! My precious baby boy who we named Hayden. I have been fond of that name ever since I babysat a little boy who was my love at the time many years ago. I always thought that would be my sons name and thankfully my hubby agreed. I went through the 38 weeks of pregnancy not complaining too much. I mean I was tired and sick in the beginning nothing to bad. We joked about Hayden coming before his due date of 1/12/2008 for a tax deduction. Little did we know that was going to come true. On December 30, 2007 my water broke at 9pm. At first I was not positive it was my water because when you are that far along things are out of whack anyway. We called our neighbor, called the doctor and off to KGH we went. My labor wasn't too terrible. I got an epidural which for me was painful, had some sickness due to pitocin, and was tired by the time my baby boy arrived. He made his grand entrance at 5:33 am on December 31, 2007. I remember this day like it was yesterday. The first time I saw him I fell in love. I cried because I was so happy. He weighed 6pds 15 oz and was 20 inches long. My sweet little boy. We ended up spending a week in the hospital since I suffered post partum hemorraghing. That was not a fun adventure. I lost half my blood supply and refused a blood transfusion. If anyone knows me I am such a worrier and was scared about contracting something from the transfusion. It took me months to feel better again. Looking back now I probably would have opted for the transfusion. Life was great when we came home. My baby boy was eating and sleeping well. We were first time parents so we really didn't know what to expect. I will write more about my exceptional little boy soon!
Fast forward 3 years or so. In October of 2010 we got our positive on our pregnancy test! To my dismay I bought six tests, yes six to confirm the positive. We got pregnant quicker this time so I really didn't believe the first test. Silly me!! In February of 2011 we found out we were having a baby girl. Of course little miss as we call her was not cooperating so we didn't believe it was true. We opted for a 4d ultrasound and there she was showing she was a baby girl. The best photo is of her sticking up her middle finger at us. Not once but twice. We knew we were in for it from that moment on. We named our baby girl Julia. She arrived on July 10, 2011 six days late. Funny, how my first one was early and my second one was late. She almost got evicted on July 12, 2011 but I am happy she came on her own. This labor was remarkably fast. My water broke at 5:00 am. Although, I think I may have started early labor the day before, I could barely walk down my deck stairs because I felt like she was falling out. This labor/delivery was night and day different than with Hayden. We didn't experience any of the heart rate drops or need of oxygen. I barely was able to get my epidural because I dilated so quickly. She was born at 11:32 am on July 10, 2011 with 4 pushes in a total of 10 minutes!! She came out yelling and moving her head. I took one look at her and my heart just consumed with love. I was worried how I would love two children but I did. I felt an instant bond with her. I couldn't believe how much she looked like her big brother Hayden with the exception of a full head of hair. Hayden had hair but not like hers. She was a big girl too 8 pounds 2 oz and 19 3/4 inches. I thought the scale was wrong because there was no way I was having an 8 pound baby. Later that day had to be the best moment of my life. Hayden came to see us. He was so excited to hold his baby sister. Pure love!
Just some back ground. I am married to my college sweetheart. We were married in 2004 and it was amazing despite a small hurricane that passed by on our wedding day. We set off on our life adventures in 2004 enjoying our honeymoon, working on the purchase of our second home and endless travels as a couple. We decided it was time to make our family a family of three. We already had 2 four legged children why not add another into our life. In April of 2007 I found out I was pregnant. It was the best news I could have wished for. We had been dreaming of the day of a positive pregnancy test and here it came. August of that year we found out it was a boy!! My precious baby boy who we named Hayden. I have been fond of that name ever since I babysat a little boy who was my love at the time many years ago. I always thought that would be my sons name and thankfully my hubby agreed. I went through the 38 weeks of pregnancy not complaining too much. I mean I was tired and sick in the beginning nothing to bad. We joked about Hayden coming before his due date of 1/12/2008 for a tax deduction. Little did we know that was going to come true. On December 30, 2007 my water broke at 9pm. At first I was not positive it was my water because when you are that far along things are out of whack anyway. We called our neighbor, called the doctor and off to KGH we went. My labor wasn't too terrible. I got an epidural which for me was painful, had some sickness due to pitocin, and was tired by the time my baby boy arrived. He made his grand entrance at 5:33 am on December 31, 2007. I remember this day like it was yesterday. The first time I saw him I fell in love. I cried because I was so happy. He weighed 6pds 15 oz and was 20 inches long. My sweet little boy. We ended up spending a week in the hospital since I suffered post partum hemorraghing. That was not a fun adventure. I lost half my blood supply and refused a blood transfusion. If anyone knows me I am such a worrier and was scared about contracting something from the transfusion. It took me months to feel better again. Looking back now I probably would have opted for the transfusion. Life was great when we came home. My baby boy was eating and sleeping well. We were first time parents so we really didn't know what to expect. I will write more about my exceptional little boy soon!
Fast forward 3 years or so. In October of 2010 we got our positive on our pregnancy test! To my dismay I bought six tests, yes six to confirm the positive. We got pregnant quicker this time so I really didn't believe the first test. Silly me!! In February of 2011 we found out we were having a baby girl. Of course little miss as we call her was not cooperating so we didn't believe it was true. We opted for a 4d ultrasound and there she was showing she was a baby girl. The best photo is of her sticking up her middle finger at us. Not once but twice. We knew we were in for it from that moment on. We named our baby girl Julia. She arrived on July 10, 2011 six days late. Funny, how my first one was early and my second one was late. She almost got evicted on July 12, 2011 but I am happy she came on her own. This labor was remarkably fast. My water broke at 5:00 am. Although, I think I may have started early labor the day before, I could barely walk down my deck stairs because I felt like she was falling out. This labor/delivery was night and day different than with Hayden. We didn't experience any of the heart rate drops or need of oxygen. I barely was able to get my epidural because I dilated so quickly. She was born at 11:32 am on July 10, 2011 with 4 pushes in a total of 10 minutes!! She came out yelling and moving her head. I took one look at her and my heart just consumed with love. I was worried how I would love two children but I did. I felt an instant bond with her. I couldn't believe how much she looked like her big brother Hayden with the exception of a full head of hair. Hayden had hair but not like hers. She was a big girl too 8 pounds 2 oz and 19 3/4 inches. I thought the scale was wrong because there was no way I was having an 8 pound baby. Later that day had to be the best moment of my life. Hayden came to see us. He was so excited to hold his baby sister. Pure love!
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