Finally...Speech...

I'm so relieved to have finally heard good news from our family's coordinator in regards to Isaiah's speech therapy! We have found speech for him two days a week. One day a week in our home and another at a Pediatric Therapy Clinic. I anticipate nothing but good things and maybe some more clues to the puzzle. Even though 4 days or sessions a week is going to be a lot, it's so nice to have the resources that Isaiah needs. We have seen nothing but positive things from our two year old since he started the program and we are thrilled that he now has the help he needs from all angles! Plus, I can now go about my day with delightful new songs stuck in my head as a result of sitting in on his every therapy session....

"We are going for a ride....We are going for a ride....Sit down and buckle up...we're going for a ride!" (Oh Lordy....)

We will return to the hearing test center in June because during his test this week he had fluid in his ears, and the hearing tech could not complete one of the tests she needed. She did say that as of now she had no concerns, but this other test will need to be done. So it's back to Sertoma in June for that. We are headed to Illinois Masonic in April to have a clinical evaluation for Isaiah. On the team who will be evaluating or playing with Isaiah for all he knows or cares about will be: a Speech Therapist, OT, DT, Neurologist, a Specialized Pediatrician, and maybe a Psychiatrist. Wow! What a team! I'm glad to be ruling things out if nothing else, and hopefully they will just tell us that Isaiah's only challenge is his speech delay. In the meantime he is beginning to interact with his little brother more, and his imitation and pretending skills are improving.

A day of Doctors

This morning we had Isaiah's hearing test which...drumroll....he passed! Afterward Mark and I had mixed emotions and all we could say was "Well...I guess that's good?" It's not that we were wishing he wouldn't pass but it would have been a huge "Ah Ha" moment as to why Isaiah's language development is so delayed. At least we have ruled something out. The good news is that since starting OT and DT Isaiah's receptive language seems to be improving a little bit. It's onto the next evaluation while we are waiting to get Isaiah into speech therapy.

Noah had his 6 month well baby check up this afternoon and all continues to be well with him. At 18 lbs 3-4 ounces it's obvious that he is a good eater. His days are filled with non stop talking and his new favorite hobby is shrieking as loudly as possible.

Target Angels

It seems like not matter how stressful things get with dealing with two children two and under I am always thanking God for the two wonderful children that we have. Today I was especially humbled when an Angel came upon me and my boys at Target. Now usually during grocery shopping trips I get the usual negative stares or comments from older women such as "Oh you are too young to have two kids... or Aren't you too young to have children?" Or my personal favorite...when it's 70 degrees outside....."Your baby doesn't have socks on....he is cold." Really!?!? My usual response is that well...maybe when my husband and I are 40 I will maybe look 20 by then and he is that 40 year old with the hot 20 year old wife! Anyway...today at Target I was again tackling my two boys fussing while I only needed one thing! A woman passed us and I noticed that she had a little girl around the same age as Isaiah. She stopped us and asked how old Noah was. I said 6 months. She said "Oh I have a little boy 6 months old!" I kind of found it odd that he wasn't with her. Before I could ask where he was she told me..."He died when he was one month old." My heart sank and all I could say was "Oh I'm so sorry God bless him." She proceeded to tell me how he passed away and then asked when Noah was born. I told her Septmeber 20th and she told me her son was born on the 26th....Noah's original due date. I could then tell that even on her small frame she still had a small post partum belly and immediately I felt very selfish. I am so hard and down on myself most of the time for not having the perfect tight body that I once had in my previous life before children. This woman that I met was such an inspiration and seemed so at peace, and I almost didn't feel worthy of the time that she gave me. She was so sweet. It really reaffirmed Mark and mine's thoughts that we say over and over again and that is "No matter how bad things could ever get between us and our family at least we have our health." And it's true. I would take a million bad days alone with the kids over anything else really. You know I recall when I was pregnant with Isaiah so many people told me..."Your life is over"....what they really should have said was..."Your life as you know it might be over....but the best part of your life is just beginning." I feel blessed to be touched by one of God's angels today. Her positive attitude through such a tragedy was inspiration beyond words. God bless you and your family. :)