The Adventures of October

The month of October we began to investigate neurosurgeons. In the mist of this, I attended a talk my boss was giving. When I arrived, I found out that he was speaking with Dr. Eric Trumble, a pediatric neurosurgeon. To my absolute shock and amazement, he was speaking about Chiari I Malformations. Now those of you that are very close to me know that since my father died, I have truly struggles with my spirituality and connectedness to God. However, in that moment, I felt that he was giving me a swift kick in the but to remind me that he is in charge and taking care of us regardless of my doubts. Dr. Trumble was very kind and spoke with me about Alex's diagnosis. In fact, he said that he feels strongly that peds neurosurgeons should perform the decompression surgery because it is a congenital condition and usually diagnosed in childhood. I immediately called Alex and told him. Alex did see a couple of physicians, but ultimately did decide that he was most comfortable with Dr. Trumble.

Ian started OT this month for Sensory Processing Disorder. The idea is that the hyperactivity, "body bumping," and resistance we are seeing is related to sensory defensiveness. The therapy is supposed to help smooth the neurological pathways and help him to regulate his behavior. I am a bit skeptical, but it has helped him to at least calm more quickly at bedtime and fall asleep. It is all fun and games to him, so I guess it doesn't hurt.

We also participated in Ian's school Fall Festival and taking our annual pictures at the pumpkin patch. Charlie loved the hay that was at the patch and tried to eat it while we were taking pictures. On the weekend before Halloween, we hosted our 7th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party (pictures will be coming). It was a lot of fun and a bit different this year since we had to host it at the rental house. Our winners included: The scariest carving by Kristen and Peter Janke; The most intricate/difficult carving by Monique Rogers; and The Best in Show by Amy Rodriguez.

The month ended with Trick or Treat. Charlie was a chicken and Ian was a scary skeleton. Ian's costume was actually PJs I found at Gap the month before. He fell in love with them and basically asked to wear them every night because he enjoyed the bones that glowed in the dark. However, I think he became a little confused about what a Halloween costume actually is because a couple of nights before Halloween, I told him he could not wear his skeleton PJs because we needed them to be clean for Halloween night. I put on PJs that have pictures of monster trucks on them. He looked down at the picture of the monster truck and said, "Mommy, next year I want to be a monster truck for Halloween and I will wear these pajamas."

We decided to hit a few houses in our neighborhood with Charlie and Ian together first and then meet up with the Jankes. Charlie has been getting sleepy around 7:00 p.m. so we decided to ask Grammy Pam to stay with him and let the big kids (Taylor and Ian) stay up late. Ian and Taylor went out for Halloween last year and were very unsure of what exactly they were supposed to do ... not this year! They were literally fighting each other to get out of the wagon first, run up to the door, and knock. Ian soon realized that ringing the door bell was really much more fun than knocking. He liked to ring it several times despite the fact that Taylor was knocking at the door! When the door opened, Ian tried to invite himself in with an extended arm that was ready to grab candy out of the bowl whether the person at the door was ready for him or not. One house had a cat. Ian loves cats and we often joke that he is the "cat whisperer." So every house after that one, Ian would ask, "Do you have a cat?" instead of saying "trick or treat." Taylor looked very pretty in her Cinderella dress that Kristen made for her (I was VERY impressed at Kristen's sewing abilities). By the end of the evening, Taylor and Ian were dragging their treat bags to the wagon and looked pretty tired. It was a fun night.

The Month of September

I can hardly believe that it has been over two months since I've posted anything to the blog. It has been two months packed with adventure, get aways, a wedding, but also some challenges. In the beginning of September, Joe and I traveled to his Partner meeting in Captiva, FL. It was the first time we were away from Charlie over night and for 5 days! I was initially VERY apprehensive about leaving Charlie, especially since I am breastfeeding. I was worried my milk supply would decrease or that he would not want to have anything to do with feeding when I returned to him. Fortunately, neither of these things happened and when I returned Charlie picked up right where he had left off as if nothing had ever happened. This is a testiment to his truely laid back personality (which he did not get from me). The trip was relaxing and I enjoyed having uninterrupted sleep and mid-day naps so much that I was a little sad to leave.

I am proud to say that I went along with the guys flats fishing and caught the most fish in the boat. I even surprised the fishing guide when I got impatient and decided to reach into the live bait, pull out a fish, and bait the hook myself. I turned to the guys on the boat as they stared at me and stated, "What?! My uncle taught me how to do this! What's the big deal?"

When we returned on September 13th, Charlie was really crawling with purpose and determination. We quickly did laundry and repacked our bags to head to Bath, New York for Andrew and Georgia's wedding. I had decided that it was time for Ian to transition to life without the pacifier so early Thursday morning I headed to Michael's, purchased feathers, and type up a letter from the Paci Fairy. Ian was very brave and only gave a small protest when I read him the letter that requested that he pack all of his pacifiers into an envelope and mail them to the fairy for little girls and boys who needed them. We put the envelope in the mailbox and hopped into the car to head to the airport. On the way to the airport, I got an emergency call from a patient that needed to be hospitalized. That was stressful, but we managed to get onto the plane. I am so proud of Ian, because despite his high activity level he has become a very good traveler. Charlie did pretty well too!

Once we arrived in Rochester, NY we had to get into the rental van and drive to Bath. On the way we came across a huge field of Windmills and Ian was simply mesmerized. The rest of the trip, no matter where we went, he would announce that he was keeping his eyes open to spot windmills. Even now when we are driving down I-4 in Orlando, he mentions that he is looking for Windmills.

The wedding itself was a unique event. Held on Georgia's family's farmland in Howard, New York. In preparation for the wedding they cleared a field and path into the woods on the back of the lot. The guests were warned not to wear heels to the ceremony because of the walk into the woods that opened into a tiny clearing where Andrew and Georgia pledged their love under the blue sky surrounded by towering trees. It was definitely Andrew and simply beautiful. Ian's absolute favorite part of the ceremony was when Georgia and her bridesmaids came down the hill on a flatbed that was towned by a tractor. Ian's attention was also captured by Georgia who looked beautiful in her white wedding dress. From the moment she walked down the aisle to meet Andrew, Ian repeatedly stated to me, "Mommy, I NEED to talk to her." Ian enjoyed the reception. He ran and chased his cousin Kate in the field. Once the band started, we could not get him off the dance floor. The night was completed by a gorgeous view of the Milky Way. When we returned to the hotel, everyone was exhausted and we fell into bed.

The next morning, we woke and traveled with Grandma, Uncle Alex, Aunt Karen, Uncle Johnny, and Aunt Jenny to Niagara Falls. We wanted around the park surrounding the falls to get an idea of what was around because we planned to come back the following day to sight see. The next day had a bit of a rough start. As we all prepared to go to the Cave of the Winds, Ian had a melt down and refused to put on rain poncho and sandals. I had to send the rest of the family ahead. After about 15 minutes of time-out that included a lot of crying, screaming, and defiance, Ian finally agreed to put on his poncho. He would not compromise on the sandals, but I decided to let it go since the sandals where actually too big for him and he would have probably tripped on them anyway. Once he was down at the cave, he seemed to quietly take in the massive water fall with a sense of awe. We also went on Maid of the Mist. Ian was pretty amazing on this. He put on his poncho without complaint. Once we were on the boat and we were approaching the falls, he sat down, pulled himself and June entirely into the poncho and hunkered down until we were out of the spray and headed back to the dock. After exiting the boat, I ask Ian, "Wasn't that cool?" He stated, "Mommy, I'm wet. I need to change my clothes."

On Tuesday we headed flew home and Charlie demonstrated how quickly he is growing by showing me that he could sit by himself and pull himself up to a stand in the span of a couple of days. This was way too many gains all at once in milestones for mommy and it was a bit shocking. Joe and Ian worked diligently to lower Charlie's crib so that he could not launch himself over the side now that he was standing.

September ended with some difficult news. Alex had been experiencing some neurological symptoms and had an MRI. Soon after we found out that he has a Chiari I Malformation. This is when the bottom part of your brain is slipping through the opening of the base of the skull and often leads to increased pressure and a backup of spinal fluid. We quickly understood that this would mean a neurosurgery. The search for a neurosurgeon put me on a mission to identify the best physician in our area. At the same time, we were hearing more frequently from the teacher that Ian was struggling in school. He is having difficulty participating during center time, preferring to wander the class and socialize with his classmates rather than sit and participate in activities. In addition, he seems to really struggle with sitting still at circle time. He was exhibiting a lot of sensory symptoms where he was seeking out rough, and at time aggressive, interactions with peers and teachers. After some research, I started to read some more information about Sensory Processing Disorder and felt that this was describing Ian pretty well. However, he continued to have very moody and irritible days where he would wake up tired. I was extremely frustrated at this point so I decided to schedule him an Occupational Therapy appointment to learn more about SPD and how it may impact behavior.

Ian's Sleep Study

Beginning in July, I began to notice some behavioral changes in Ian. He was waking up irritable and tired on many days. Being in the sleep business, this concerned me. During the day, he seemed to be more active than normal (HOLY COW! I MEAN CRAZY HYPERACTIVITY) and his frustration tolerance was so poor that he seemed to be constantly in a ball on the floor crying about something. I listened to my mother's intuition and decided to schedule him for a sleep study.

Forever being the pediatric psychologist, I immediately started to engage Ian in medical play to prepare him for what was to come. Now a sleep study is not painful, but it does require you to be hooked up to an average of 25 lead wires, various chest belts, and a pulse ox on your finger or toe. It can be a bit scare for some kiddos, especially the toddlers and preschoolers. I quickly enlisted June's help and over several nights, June went to the "sleep lab" aka Ian's bedroom and Doctor Ian and sleep tech Mommy hooked her up, explained what all the "wires" did and watched as June "fell asleep." Ian loved this so much that he insisted that Casey also needed a sleep study.

On the day before the study, I got permission from Dr. Ajayi to bring home the actual equipment. Dr. Ajayi was so amused by the pictures of June and Casey that he requested I email them to him for his next talk. June had one last sleep study in the real equipment and then Ian and Daddy tried on a few of the wires and the chest belts. Ian cooperated with only a brief complaint, which turned into hysterical laughter when Joe pretended he was a robot with wires walking around the living room.

Ian did beautifully during the actual sleep study. I stayed home with Charlie and Joe took Ian to the study. He was perfectly cooperative and Joe sent the pictures I posted above to me after Ian was hooked up. The techs later complimented Ian for his compliance and polite manners. It turns out Ian has a mild case of Sleep Apnea. His oxygen never drops below 91% so that is a blessing. Typical treatment is allergy management to shrink the tissue around the adenoids and tonsils so he started taking a nose spray and oral meds. We will be keeping an eye on him for the next month to see how he responds.

Family Pictures

My good friend from my St. Margaret Mary MOMS group took beautiful pictures of the family. Check out video on Meredith's Website Blog under the month of August 2009.

www.meredithwilckephotography.blogspot.com/2009/08/animotocom.html


Thanks, Mer!

The First Day of School

On Monday morning, August 17th, Ian attended his first day of school. He was very excited and grabbed up his hand made Fish school bag(by a mother of one of his classmates, not me) to head out the door. After much discussion between us, Joe and I decided it would be important to drop Ian off for his first day even though we would not be able to do this normally. Joe wanted to walk him to the classroom, but after speaking with many of my mom friends and Ian's teacher, we decided to drop him off at the carpool line to get him into his normal schedule. As we pulled up he got a big smile on his face. The teacher's assistant opened the car door and unbuckled him. He hopped down and then started to reach his hand through the seats and grab at Joe, "Daddy, you come with me?" I turned and stated, "Ian, this is your big day! You get to go to school by yourself." I immediately jumped out of the car and encouraged him to do the same, which he did. I gave him a big hug and as I did, I turned his body in the direction he needed to walk toward the classroom. "I love you, Buddy. Go have fun and say hi to Mrs. Fogg for me. Hold Betsy's hand." And with a little push and a brief turn to wave goodbye to Dad, he was off. I got back in the car and Joe and I drove out of the school parking lot. He turned to me and said, "Are you alright?" "No!" I replied. "Me either!" he said. And then we headed to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a Chai Tea to contemplate the fact that our first born is now going to school.

Ian did amazingly well the remainder of the week. His excitement to go to school grew each morning and by Thursday (the end of his school week) when I picked him up, the teacher's assistant that buckled him in said, "he wasn't sure he wanted to go home." As we drove out of the driveway Ian asked if he could come back tomorrow. I explained that he would have to wait until Monday, but he could definitely go back then. Once again all of my anxiety was for nothing. Thank God!

Tooth Number Two and Ian "Bear" Goes To School

Ian on the playground at school.

Ian and Mrs. Fogg ... It isn't you, Mrs. Fogg.

Ian just isn't into the picture scene right now.

Charlie woke up yesterday with tooth number two! We could tell it was coming for about a week because his gum looked swollen and he was drooling and chewing like crazy. The other funny coincidence is that every time we have tried to schedule his 6 month pictures/pictures with Grandma Alberta and Papa, he has gotten a tooth. The first time was a couple of weeks ago and he did not even make it through pictures with his grandparents before he was crying and stuffing his hand in his mouth. We rescheduled for yesterday to try and get some pictures of him alone (now 7 months, not the goal of 6 month pictures we were aiming for...). I will post a link to the proofs as soon as they are available. We will also be taking pictures with the Kirkpatrick side of the family for my Mom's birthday next week.

We have been preparing Ian to attend preschool for some time now. We started by reading The Berenstain Bears Go To School. Overall, he has reacted positively to this idea, with the exception of telling Grandma Alberta that he was going to cry when he went. Ian participated in meet the teacher this past Thursday and he starts school tomorrow. He will be attending the 3 day 3s from 9:00 a.m. to noon. He enjoyed meeting his teacher, Mrs. Fogg, but was not into completing the picture frame art project he was supposed to do with the teaching assistant while mommy and daddy spoke with her. He decided to explore the classroom instead and found two of his most desired objects - cars/trucks and a water fountain. The classroom has a small drinking fountain attached to the sink. It is just the right size, of course, so he decided to help himself and see how high he could get that thing to squirt. Needless to say, Mrs. Fogg, may need to tell him at least half a dozen times a day to get away from it. We were able to redirect him and he discovered several firetrucks behind a curtain on a shelf that he enjoyed playing with until we were done. As you can see, he was not too agreeable to taking a picture with Mrs. Fogg before leaving, but we had to get one any way!

Charlie's First Tooth and Other Weekend Happenings

Charlie cut his first tooth this morning! He woke about an hour earlier than he typically does and when I gave him my finger to chew on (which happens a lot lately) I noticed a strange something inside ... A TOOTH on the bottom center right. Here are some pics of Charlie and Ian this weekend taken on Park Avenue in Downtown Winter Park. Going to the farmers market and hanging out by the fountain are Ian's most favorite ways to spend a lazy Saturday morning. Aunt Jenny and Uncle Johnny also came this weekend and watched the boys so we could go out for dinner and a movie. Thank you for the awesome break! It was much appreciated.