A whole year has gone by

Wow a whole year gone already. What a year it has been too. Here are some updates:

Tristan: he is getting so big. Big ole 7 year old now. He joined Kung fu last summer and loves it. Moves up to a yellow belt this month. Counseling is good. He's still adjusting to dad living in Oregon now though. Grandpa is still his best friend and he is soooo happy his nana is in town for good now. He is able to tell me when his sensory stuff is needed and he is an amazing big brother. He's got his first TWO loose teeth and I think I'm more excited than him lol. School is great. Reading really well and reading everything! Math is his strong suite though just like his mama.

Brayden: he is getting big too. Two more months and he will be 2 years old. Still struggling with his asthma and now he's got developmental delays that we are working on. He goes to progress center for speech an occupational therapy. They are thinking oral sensory issues and his hearing loss is affecting his speech. Voice recognition is 35 in one ear and 45 in the other. The normal range is 25. We are being referred to get a swallow study done. He aspirates when he drinks and is super picky about food. It's hard To say what's causing  it so they wanna rule everything out. Rather find out now then later. He's got so much personality and is pretty much the cutest baby ever. 

Me: I am doing very well. I got a full time position with the city of kalama. Great pay, awesome hours, and amazing benefits. I'm the utility clerk so I bill all water sewer and garbage. I'm still an employee at Office Depot too but only on call and every other weekend. It's nice to know my schooling wasn't for nothing. I'm proud of how far I have come in the past few years. Amazing kids, amazing job, amazing life for now. 

All in all things are going good for this family. Crazy as my little family is...things are finally starting to fall into place. :)

Its Been a While

Man its been a while since I have posted on here. Lots going on in the world of craziness. So lets go down the list.

ME: I am still going to school. Going for my Bachelors in Psych and will graduate in April of 2014 if all goes to plan. Watching kids for a few friends and making some extra money that way. Selling stuff on an online auction to make extra money as well. Life is good right now. This will be a good year. Counseling is going fantastically and my health is good too. My thyroid is still low but not low enough to medicate. Check again in 6 months.

Tristan: SPD is super hard to deal with in a 6 year old. Havn't been taking him to the sensory gym as often as I should and it really really shows. He is super wound up and extra defiant. Since he has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiance Disorder things have been a little rougher for him. Hes doing amazing in school though so thats a good thing. Highest reading group and highest math group. Hes so smart. Hes got such personality and although he has extra needs he is a great kid. We go to the neurology appointment on friday to check for a tethered cord. Praying he doesn't need surgery or anything drastic but looking for answers as well.

Brayden: Oh man. He is growing up too fast. Next month he will be 1 year old. He is walking everywhere. Has 7 teeth. Is clapping and trying to talk. Time flies. We see the lung specialist tuesday and see what else we can do for him. The new action plan doesnt seem to be doing much but the pulmonologist can tell better than me. Just wish he wouldnt be so sick all the time. According to the lung doctor, he gets so many URI's because the albuteral and flovent arn't working completely as they should be. The albuterol clears the airways and makes them less inflamed and the flovent is supposed to prevent them from inflaming again. Hes super wheezy still but some of that is from the Tracheamalacia.

Overall we are doing good and getting to the bottom of the medical issues. Thats all for now. <3 you all.

Kindergarten in TWO WEEKS!!!!

So t starts kindergarten soon. I cant believe it! Hes grown so quick. I realized that after I stopped doing his occupational therapy regularly he started to act up more so back to doing that again. Not sure why I thought he would do ok without it. But we are getting back on track. Hes super excited for school and I cant wait to volunteer for his school too.

Brayden is a whopping 16lbs 15oz now. Hes starting to try and crawl and is much more active now. Signing him up for early headstart. Cant wait for him to get into that.

I am on my third week of my psychology class. I love it! The online thing is a little nerve racking but I am managing. Cant wait to be done with school and starting my career as a family advocate.

Overall we are doing good. Just going to school and hanging out with my boys. Hope everyone is doing well in their world. much love from the 3 of us. :)

It's been a while...

So I have to figure out how to get back to my blog online. Since my university of Phoenix uses google it thinks I'm trying to make a new blog haha. Once I figure that out I'll update it. I really need to post. Got lots to talk about <3 you all!

Parenting a Sensitive Child...

So here are some things that I am doing for my boy. I love his counselor. His Occupational Therapist is amazing too. Shes given me TONS of ideas to help him. I have done so much research on helping him become less sensitive and let me tell you it is a FULL TIME JOB! On top of all his emotional stuff hes got this other stuff and i feel bad for him but things are getting better. Here are some of the things we are doing now.

The surgical scrub brush is used as a calming technique. He really likes it. He doesnt like to use it in front of people because hes scared they wont understand but hopefully he will get to the point where it doesnt bother him.

The weighted lap mat is also a calming technique and helps with his seeking sensory dysfunction. I have noticed a big change in how often he runs into people for impact now that he has one of these to give him the pressure and weight he needs.

The Rice sensory bin is used as another calming technique and it has cars, marbles, and beads in it. The beads have pipe cleaners he can string them on to help with fine motor skills and every now and then he picks the marbles out with his eyes closed.

The Bean sensory bin has the same purpose as the rice bin but the beans are heavier so he likes to make them rain over his hands for that seeking sensory thing.

Helping mom cook helps desensitize him. It shows him its ok to get messy while cooking. He loves to stir but if he has to touch the butter he freaks.

This is his birds nest. We are relating angry birds to his anger and its really helping. He now tells me when he is feeling angry and that he would like to go sit in his bird nest. He has his rice bags and his bins there as well as the angry bird cool down techniques we practice and a box with books, crayons, paper, and coloring books in it to help him calm down. :)

And lastly we are making a visual schedule since he is always needing extra time to transition. This shows him what to expect for his day. He is so excited to start using it. 

This cookie sheet is our new project from his OT. I am supposed to have him do two activities he doesnt like to do (i.e. clipping nails, practice writing, washing hands, fine motor skills, etc.) for a certain amount of time and then the 3rd thing is something likes to do (i.e. coloring, playing the wii, and other things he loves doing).

All in all things are going well for my little man and we are getting along much better now that we know how to help him. He is really taking everything from counseling and the OT seriously and I couldnt be more proud of him. There are some things going on at dads but those will be dealt with very soon. Love you all! 

What a day!

Today has been amazing. Tristan has been so well behaved and doing so good calming himself down. Im so proud of him. Hes taking what we work on in counseling and really doing well with it. He had his parent teacher conference today and hes improved so much since January! All that hard work we do is really paying off. :) He also woke up dry today! Im so proud of him for that because he usually doesnt care when he wears a pull up. Hes going to get a treat after dinner for all the good things hes done today. :) Hopefully he can keep up the good work. I am finally making progress in counseling and starting next week, we start diving into where all my resentment and anger comes into play...er really where I believe it stems from.

All around we are doing well in this house today. Hope everyone else had a great day! :) <3 you all.

SPD?

So ts counselor and I suspected some sensory processing stuff with him. So she recommended we go see an occupational therapist to get a sensory profile. Although she has not diagnosed him with this she does think he has some sensory things to work on. Enough to have him go in every week. For those of you who dont know what SPD is Here is a quick overview.

Sensory processing (sometimes called "sensory integration" or SI) is a term that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. Pioneering occupational therapist and neuroscientist A. Jean Ayres, PhD, likened SPD to a neurological "traffic jam" that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively. Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder, like those of most disorders, occur within a broad spectrum of severity. While most of us have occasional difficulties processing sensory information, for children and adults with SPD, these difficulties are chronic, and they disrupt everyday life.

Thats an overview of it. This next part is where I see A LOT of tristan.

 Children with Sensory Processing Disorder often have problems with motor skills and other abilities needed for school success and childhood accomplishments. As a result, they often become socially isolated and suffer from low self-esteem and other social/emotional issues. These difficulties put children with SPD at high risk for many emotional, social, and educational problems, including the inability to make friends or be a part of a group, poor self-concept, academic failure, and being labeled clumsy, uncooperative, belligerent, disruptive, or "out of control." Anxiety, depression, aggression, or other behavior problems can follow. Parents may be blamed for their children's behavior by people who are unaware of the child's "hidden handicap."

The part in bold is where I see him. He has so many emotional issues that it really explains it. SO my goal is to pinpoint the triggers and help prevent them as well as providing him with sensory friendly activities. She said after about 4 or 5 weeks she will have some take home tools for us.

As I have said time and time before I dont want there to be something wrong with him but my instinct is telling me there is something more and has been since he was a baby. I feel relieved that someone is finally listening to everything I am saying and we are finally getting some answers. I feel a little bummed because no one wants to hear things arnt working right in their kids. But I am glad I am finally getting the tools I need to help him and that its not just me being a 'bad parent'. Hes a great kid and so smart and funny and sweet but there are things that make him more emotional. She told us today that it looks like he has problems in the Tactile sensory area, sensory seeking, and audible. The other areas there are a few things that he is super sensitive to but not as much as these three. Our first goal is to help with the noises and his hyperfocusing so he can seem like he is actually paying attention to us. All I can say is counseling is really starting to pay off, and I am so happy I kept him in it and didnt let people get to me. Like his doctor said, "It doesnt make you a bad parent, it just means that you need extra tools to deal with a different type of child."