Posts Tagged ‘toddler’
To the Mom of the Toddler That Won’t
To the mom of the toddler that won’t sit still at mom and me music class. To the mom of the toddler that won’t interact with other kids at Gymboree. To the mom that is chasing her toddler around Gymboree while the other moms are standing chatting pushing their kids on the swings. I just want to say I see you. I was you. I was the mom that sat in her car after buckling her boy in his car seat, wearing sunglasses trying not to let her boy see…
Read MoreMy Third Born
I have four kids. They range from 1 to 11. And while they are all carbon copies of each other visually, they are each very unique. When I describe them I often say my Cooper, he sees people. He has the gift of sight that most will never have. I describe my Sawyer as being an old soul. He is thoughtful and kind. My baby, she is stronger willed than any human I have met in my life. And she’s unbelievably smart. She runs this house at 17 months. And…
Read MoreWhen Babies Don’t Sleep
My name is Kate and my beautiful baby doesn’t sleep through the night and there is nothing wrong with him. I feel a relief just saying that out loud! There is this weird stigma around babies who sleep. Or don’t sleep. Like some moms get good babies and some get bad babies. Or babies who don’t sleep through the night have something wrong with them. Or the parents are doing something wrong because their baby wakes up to eat or snuggle or have a dance party at 3 am. It’s…
Read MoreThe Fear of the Unknown
I’ve been scouring the internet like a crazy person for the past 3 months. I’ve downloaded all of the packets from autism websites. I’ve obsessed over all of the milestones that we aren’t hitting. All of the red flags. I’ve called specialists and early intervention and therapists. I’ve read and watched and listed to articles, videos, and podcasts about research and diets and advice for parents of newly diagnosed. I’ve read all the blogs and sought out wisdom from mothers who have been on this journey for a while. All…
Read MoreCooper showed his 'Calm.'
There are many times throughout the day when I will look at Cooper and think ‘what the heck is going on in that little brain of yours?’ Last night was not one of those nights. This kid let his smarts show. A little backstory. Everything Cooper does is AMPED up. If he wants something he shrieks and whines and points and jumps up and down. He goes from zero to one million plus one in under a second. If his train falls off the track he takes the freaking house down. If I…
Read MoreOccupational Therapy and Super Human Mommy Strength
In the meeting on Wednesday, Cooper’s speech therapist recommended that Cooper start Occupational Therapy. And she even recommended a place to go. Woo-Hoo! I called right away on Wednesday and made an appointment for Friday to meet with her. Well, Friday morning Cooper woke up pissed off at the world. He wanted Oreo cookies for breakfast and was really confused as to why he couldn’t have them. So, the whining started early. And my patience got worn early. And I was worried about his behavior during the appointment. Coop’s and I left…
Read MoreSpeech Therapy Became Our New Normal
Once the hearing debacle was over we were back at square one. I actually thought we were worse off. I’m not a debbie downer but we still had no good reason as to why Cooper wasn’t talking. I would like to call this phase our ‘do it all’ phase. Cooper was receiving speech therapy services 2 times a week at our local hospital and also receiving a visit once a week from the school district. During this time I felt really paralyzed about what to do. I didn’t know who to talk…
Read MoreRaising a Child With Needs and Your Marriage
Having a baby changes your whole life. Time changes. The days are long. I used to say, “Cooper gets us up at the crack of dawn and doesn’t quit until he collapses at bedtime.” Before we had Cooper, our marriage was very strong. We wanted a baby so badly and got pregnant easily. When you are pregnant, and even before, you picture what life with this baby is going to be like. My husband went to college on a baseball scholarship and I played sports as well so I pictured…
Read MoreCooper at 2 1/2 years
Around the time that Cooper was diagnosed with his hearing loss, many of his ‘behaviors’ came on strong. I would like to add that we didn’t know any different. Meaning, we knew that Cooper was A LOT of work but we didn’t know how much work he was compared to other kids. All of my friends have little girls. Fast talking, sweet, sociable, easy little girls. Their kids do art projects and activities and my son was so different. But I held onto the fact that they were girls and…
Read MoreTell Me This Is Going To Be Okay?
At so many times during this journey with Cooper I have wanted someone to tell me what to do. Tell me if I am doing the right thing. Am I giving Cooper the best medical care? Should I be doing more? Why is it so hard to raise him? Why is he so difficult? Will he ever talk? Will he ever be able to say Mom? Or I love you? Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. I am completely and utterly responsible for this little…
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