3 Months Old and an Updat

Parenting 2 children is definitely a skill that takes some time, but for the most part I think I'm doing well. Sometimes I feel like Evie is missing out on mommy time because Andrew needs me so much, and that part is hard. I have to hold him a lot and she comes over to lay on me and I put my arm around her and try to explain to her that Andrew can't do anything for himself so I have to. She doesn't seem torn up over it, but she has g otten extremely cuddly (which I like). She's always laying in my lap, hugging me, snuggling into my sides, and generally being a sweet mommy's girl. Andy took her to the store yesterday and she was saying "mommy mommy" the whole time! She's still not happy with daycare, but I think things may improve. We finally got to talk with the people from the Infants and Toddlers program, and they said she has a sensory processing disorder. Right now I'm thinking it is THE sensory processing disorder (SPD) because she fits it so well. Now that I have her program in writing I can bring it to daycare and go over everything with them so they can put her in the best classroom and make sure they're not expecting things of her that she can't do. Children with SPD are often gifted in intelligence, but their sensory integration dysfunction causes problems with motor skills and things. We're working with Evie and have gotten her some things to help her so she can be caught up to the other kids in fine motor skills for kindergarten.

Her speech is picking up a lot. She says all sorts of words and phrases now, but it's still not enough. We still need to take her to Kennedy Krieger for an official diagnosis and make sure her SPD isn't part of some other disorder. My guess would  be that it's standalone, but we need to know for sure so they can put her program together. At least I now know why she's always standing on her head and throwing herself around and just so crazily full of energy. Why she doesn't color (she can grasp the crayon, but she can't push down hard enough to make marks) or use utensils. An Occupational therapist is coming to work on these things with her. The thing is she's smart - she counts and does colors and letters and things, but we cant sit with her and work on learning because she can't concentrate, so hopefully these things will help with that. And hopefully once the daycare folks understand her behavior, they will stop acting like she's being the "bad" kid. It's not behavioral - it's neurological. And they can work with her on improving her skills as well.

Andrew is doing well. He still rolls front to back, and he can roll back to side. He smiles a lot and can bat at toys. He LOVES laying on his play mat talking to his octopus. He's just such a joy to be around. He does not sleep well, though. He's still doing 3 hour stretches, which means I have to get up and do everything, put him back to bed, then fall back asleep myself, so I don't get 3 hour stretches. It's tough because I am so exhausted and yesterday I thought I would break down. This has been going on for over 2 months now, but because he's so little, he's not ready to sleep longer. He's just now a little over 10lb, and experts say at 11 they start to be able to sleep better. He just needs a ton of calories to put on weight. But mommy needs sleep desperately. Hopefully he will start sleeping better soon so I can catch up. I'm a mess right now. But looking at that sweet smile every morning reminds me how worth it it all is!

Daycare Woes

After some more evaluators came to the house, they decided that Evie has a sensory processing disorder. Difficulty processing multiple stimuli. Which basically equates to ADHD, but they don't want to call it that in a 2 year old, which is fine, but I will refer to it as such because it's easier and I'm lazy. They recommended daycare for her so she gets more interaction with other kids and structure. I put her in daycare last week. She goes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and she hates it. She screams when I drop her off and she cries on and off all day. They keep telling me that ALL kids do that at first. I have friend whose daughter cried for months. But it's making  me question my decision, and is the hardest thing I've done as a parent so far. It's so incredibly difficult to leave Evie there knowing she's miserable. She knows I'm going to come back by now, and the rooms are filled with kids, toys, and books, but she doesn't want to be there and I don't know why. I'm hoping she'll adjust but right now my heart is pulling at me to just yank her and keep her at home. But she's going to have to go to school eventually, and I don't want her doing this in kindergarten. I really am beside myself. Am I doing the right thing? I don't know. The state agency says yes. My heart says no. My head says she'll get used to it and start to have fun. I guess time will tell. It's only her second week and she had 4 days off so she may have thought she didn't have to go back. But she does. And I'm just praying it helps her and she starts to enjoy playing all day.

Andrew is doing well. He's been a little snotty and still doesn't sleep well, but he's such a doll. My parents kept him last night so I could sleep, and he kept them up all night, but that's just what he does because he's little. He'll adjust to life on the outside soon enough. He's such a wonderful little person. He's rolling over, and holding his head up well. He doesn't talk much, and really loves being on his mommy, but I enjoy it because one day he won't anymore. I just love to kiss his sweet head and cuddle him.

I love my kids so much. It's a challenging time for us but we're getting through it and I think if Evie can warm up to daycare we'll be in a pretty good place.

This is Evie arriving home after her first day of daycare. She was happy to be home.