Speech Delays... and progress

When those first words just don't come like they should, you start to get concerned.  At two and a half I'm sure most of your children can call you Mommy or Mama.  My son did not... until today.  I am overjoyed he is making progress!

We had him evaluated last week at the children's hospital speech department.  He is at least a year behind on verbal expression.  He only says maybe 10 words.  He is fine with everything else, he surprises us daily with how much he comprehends, and you only have to tell him what something is once.

For all the parents out there that are struggling with the same problem, I feel for you.  It isn't easy, and it can be quite frustrating.  It's also hard when it is recommended that he go to daycare or preschool to be around children his own age when you can't afford the first and the latter is an issue since it is hard to potty train with a non-verbal child.  Luckily, there are options out there for us.  I am hoping we get accepted into the school district's early intervention program.  If not, I will be driving an hour to speech therapy and an hour back once a week.

A year past... and so many things!

I can hardly believe almost a year has passed since my last blog post.  I was overwhelmed by everything in my life and pretty much had to stop posting for a while to focus on family and everything.

I did have the radioactive iodine treatment last February.  I stayed at my grandparents' house, and unfortunately the day before I was to have my treatment, my grandpa fell and broke his hip badly.  A good part of the spring and part of the summer was spent visiting him in a rehab facility.  He is home now, but isn't the same by far.  My son did quite well staying at our house with my mother in law during my isolation period.

My energy levels bounced around for a while as my thyroid adjusted to having cells killed off.  I ended up using disposables on a regular basis.  I have since gone back and forth.  Cloth really helps out now that my son is old enough to start thinking about potty training.  I hate to think we missed a magic window when I was not well, he was very interested in late winter/early spring but I just didn't have it in me.  I think he will train soon now though.

Six months after my treatment, my thyroid levels were completely normal!  I have NEVER been that way!  I was able to discontinue my heart medication as well since the palpitations I experience had dropped off dramatically.  My thyroid nodule had shrunk, but was still there and hadn't collapsed as they expected.  I will go back in for another thyroid ultrasound next month.

I have had energy like I haven't had in years.  However, I had this killer anxiety problem, and I had no idea what was causing it.  I could hardly leave the house, even to visit the family.  After talking to my cardiologist, then doing a little research on my own, I came to the conclusion that it was my birth control pills!  Ladies if you are feeling out of sorts and you are on the pill, it could be the culprit!  It took three months for it to be totally out of my system, but I am SO incredibly better now.

Last spring I purchased an embroidery machine for fun!  I thought it would make a great addition to my sewing hobby.  I have really enjoyed making gifts for friends and family.  I may start listing a few select things on etsy to keep up the cost of my habit.

As for my son, he's been a really great kid through all this.  He is happy and loving.  Unfortunately, his words just haven't been there, and at 2 1/2 he isn't talking as much as he should.  We recently saw a speech therapist for an evaluation, and he will begin therapy soon.  I look forward to him talking as opposed to whining all the time.  He has maybe 8 words right now.  He loves watching Caillou, and he's actually learned a few of his words from watching it.  He's developed a love for all things cat, he has to have a cat book read to him every night, and he loves his stuffed cats.  Nothing compares to his JellyCat monkey though!

If any of you are still reading this, I hope you stick around.  The focus of the blog may change a little, but don't all as our kids grow?  I am still a huge proponent of cloth diapering, I have helped two friends start cloth diapering their newborns in the past few months.  I fully plan on cloth diapering my next child, whenever he or she decides to come along.