Archive for December 2013
Late Talker or Apraxia
I think I mentioned before that I joined an Apraxia Facebook Group. It has been really beneficial for me to read about other kids like Cooper. Throughout this whole journey I am constantly searching for another mom who is going through what I am. I need to find a kid that doesn’t have any words at age 3. I scour blogs, groups, pinterest, YouTube, anything that I can find. All I want is to find someone who has went through this or still is going through this. I don’t want…
Read MoreLittle Improvements
Good Morning! I have been off from work for the last 2 weeks and loving every single second of it. We had lots of family time and lots of chaos. Cooper did amazing during all of it. I was blown away. He loved having his cousins and grandparents around and played so well. He even understood the concept of opening presents! At one point he started ripping open any present he could find. This is huge for Cooper. Updates on Super Cooper 1. Cooper started opening doors. This is so…
Read MoreJudgey Eyes
Having a son who doesn’t talk puts a big target on my back. Cooper is different and yet he looks like a completely adorable, average boy. And in most cases he is. You would never know by looking at him that he doesn’t say any words. There are a lot of situations where people stare at us. For example, Cooper does a lot of high picture ‘talking’ in all vowels. Often, it is very loud. If we are at Target or wherever he will point and ‘talk’ away. Usually, he…
Read MoreI Am A Fixer
I am a fixer. I always have been. Problem solving is my thing. I work as a Project Manager and my job is to tackle multiple projects at once. Someone will come to me and say, figure out a way to make this work better. And I dig in. I love it. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and I realize that I can’t fix Cooper. I can’t change him. No matter how much I pray or hope or wish…he is who he is. And that scares the…
Read MoreEnjoy Today Mama
Cooper’s speech appointment was canceled this morning so I thought I would share a little humor. I sometimes feel like I am in a movie like The Truman Show. Last Friday I brought Cooper to speech therapy at our local hospital. We usually get there a few minutes early so Cooper can play with the train table in the waiting room. As usual, I had drunk 4 gallons of coffee so the first thing I did when we arrived was take Cooper to the bathroom. The waiting room has 2 private bathrooms…
Read MoreNext Steps
After my bad day last week I took a much needed time out. I spoke with my husband and my dear friend. And I also spoke with Cooper’s speech therapist. As I suspected they would be, all 3 conversations were very different. I also joined an amazing group on Facebook about Apraxia. If you suspect that your child might have Apraxia JOIN THIS GROUP! It’s called Apraxia–Every Child Deserves A Voice. I am so thankful I found it. The moms are just like me. Scared and sad and exhausted. But there…
Read MoreI Give Up
I give up. Simple as that. I had a tough night followed by a tough morning. And honestly, that makes 10 months of tough nights in a row. My kids don’t sleep. I’m still nursing our youngest and he feels the need to nurse at least twice at night. And Cooper…well, he either sleeps 7-7 like a perfect angel or wakes up 2-3 times a night crying. We have never been able to figure out what the magic potion is. Nightlight, sound machine, Nuk’s, fan, earlier bedtime, later bedtime, etc. He either sleeps or he…
Read MoreCooper said Cow
Cooper said Cow. Twice actually. We were sitting on the floor playing last night with a push behind walking toy. It has numbers and buttons and shapes on it and plays music. And it has one animal on it…a cow. Jamie and I were sitting on the floor next to the boys and Cooper pushed the cow and plain as day said ‘cow.’ I looked right at him and said, ‘what did you say?’ He responds with ‘cow.’ As if I was asking a ridiculous question. Now for anyone that…
Read MoreEvaluations are Crushing to a Parent
As you may have noticed, I am writing this blog a bit backwards. It took me a long time to gather up the courage to put my feelings into words and I want to make sure that I write the whole story. Around 2 1/2 we really started doing a lot of new things with Cooper’s care. He was in speech therapy twice a week at our local hospital. The school district was also coming into our home one time a week. I have been very honest about my opinion…
Read MoreNow That's How You Throw A 3rd Birthday Party!
Well, we survived the 3rd birthday party. No meltdowns…from any of us! Including me! I think I officially held my breath for 2 straight days. My anxiety for the actual party had really been building beforehand. I was scared that Cooper wouldn’t care about any of it. Or even worse, hit himself in the head. Sometimes, when he gets really stressed out, he will smack his head. It breaks my heart every time he does it. And he knows he will get a reaction so he will do it again.…
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