Micah ate dinner!

Tonight, Micah ate a bite of everything we put on his plate.  He had a steamed carrot, 2 steamed snow peas, a piece of steamed broccoli and about two tablespoons of homemade macaroni and cheese.

Why is that significant, you ask?

Because Micah only eats certain foods.  In fact, 3 months ago, he had reduced back down to about 6.  None of which were healthy and none of which were a protein source.

We backed off for a while on increasing his diet and just let him be.  We also added a protein drink for kids that we called his "chocolate milk" just to get him some nutrition and stabilize his blood sugar.  Finally he started branching out again on his own with a little coaxing from us.

When you have a kid with food issues, it consumes a lot of your time and energy.  Every meal, every bite has to be carefully measured.  Sometimes a food simply being at the same table or in the same room would be too much.  Micah approaches our dinner table with trepidation.  He carefully examines each item on the table looking for something he will eat.  And I always have something on the table I know he will eat because otherwise, he won't stay and cries through our dinnertime.

At this point, Micah's food issues are part sensory and part fear.  Taking a bite of a baked nugget you have eaten since toddlerhood only to find yourself gagging and puking on your mom will make you pretty fearful about what you put in your mouth.

But tonight he ate.  He has NEVER eaten 4 cooked vegetables at one sitting.  I might get a nibble or a touch to the tongue of one, but chewing and swallowing...no way.  And mac and cheese that didn't come from the blue box...NEVER.

I didn't really think he would eat anything, actually.  My only request tonight was that he at least try to taste things and then I would get him his food.  I also attempted to bribe him a bit with the promise of a piece of Christmas fudge if he actually ate everything on the plate.

Apparently my bribe worked.  Suddenly he was willing to try and although he did gag a couple of times, he powered through and cleaned his whole plate.

He was so proud of himself.

Go Micah!

The Unknown

It's been a rough day.  School conferences for Micah revealed he is "spacing out" during school.  It's happening often enough that the 2 teachers and OT felt it was an issue and even spoke to the school nurse about it.  It could be related to his Sensory Processing Disorder, but it doesn't seem to fit.  Also, when 2 special education preschool teachers and an occupational therapist bring up an issue like that and can't offer an explanation or solution, it's something to be concerned about.  Thinking back over the past couple months, Andy and I can both think of times he has done it here as well.

I spoke with a few people today and it's possible Micah is experiencing Absence Seizures.  Our doctor is concerned enough that she has ordered an EEG to tomorrow afternoon and we will meet with her next week to consult about the findings and look at other possible causes.  Still, it's the not knowing that is weighing on us.

Tonight and tomorrow will be hard.  I have to sleep deprive him and then pretty much exhaust him before the test tomorrow at 1pm.  Then I have to convince the boy who hates to have stuff on his head, let them put electrodes on.  And then the boy who doesn't even sleep in the car, has to fall asleep in a strange while connected to machines and listening to weird noises.  I'm not sure how it will go, but I am seriously praying that we get clear results on way of the other.

Psalm 46

 ¹ God is our refuge and strength,
       an ever-present help in trouble. 
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
 ³ though its waters roar and foam
       and the mountains quake with their surging.
 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
       the holy place where the Most High dwells.
 ⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
       God will help her at break of day.
 ⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
       he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
 ⁸ Come and see the works of the LORD,
       the desolations he has brought on the earth.
 ⁹ He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
       he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
       he burns the shields ^[b] with fire.
 ¹⁰ "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."
 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
  

Grocery Madness

Every mom I know has a story about leaving a store early because of a child's behavior. I am no different. I have left for various reasons, leaving half full carts if I have to, all in the name of good parenting. i have left for each child. No one is immune to Mom's desire to shop in peace.

I've never really had a problem it. Once I even dragged a 6 year old Jason out of Lowe's on Saturday because he had started to rage. I was 9mo pregnant at the time. It wasn't pretty.

But for some reason, today it's really, really bothering me.

My friend Kelly is coming to visit with her daughter had I needed to pick up a few items at the grocery store. Before leaving the car, we covered the rules of in-store behavior. My rules aren't bad, Keep your hands to yourself. Stay with me. Walk. Be aware of your surroundings. Not too complicated and with promises of a cookie at the end if everyone behaved, we entered.

We made it 30 feet when I turned around and found Jason with the top half of his shirt stuffed in his mouth with more on it's way. This was a bad sign.

By the time we reached the dairy aisle in the back of the store, his hands had to remain in his pockets.

At the meat counter, I knew it was iffy that's we make it.

By the bread aisle, I should have known it was too late, but really, really wanted to get it done.

By the time we reached the self-checkout, Micah was wailing because he wanted to play with the lobsters and I said no, Jason was still unable to listen and the self-checkout stopped working. Apparently, I needed assistance. I looked over at the TWO people at the kiosk they glanced at me and went back to their conversation. I waited a full minute. All with a 3yo wailing and a 10 glaring at me because I wouldn't let him pretend to be a wild animal in Meijer.

So, I left.

Yep, with ground beef packaged on the conveyor and cheese in the cart, I picked up Thing 3 and walked. Thankfully, Thing 1 and 2 had the presence of mind to follow.

Now, I can sit down and pick apart what went wrong. Jason's amped up because of the pending visit. High anxiety and zero-impulse control are a bad combo at anytime. Add to that the stimulation of Meijer, his coming down after camp last week and a variety of neurological impairments and it's a recipe for disaster. Add another grumpy sensory kiddo and a mom who really, really needs a break, and I'm surpised we didn't create a black-hole.

Still, now I have to go back because the fact remains that we need the groceries. I think I'll wait though and go when Andy gets home.

The Power of a Voice

Micah is talking to his dad on the phone.

For most 2 1/2 year olds, this isn't really a significant thing, but to for my little guy, it's HUGE.

In October of 2007, we had Micah evaluated for a speech delay. I knew something was wrong. Kids do all develop at different speeds and some kids just don't talk until later, but those kids rarely scream and cry for hours because they can't get their needs expressed.

The testing revealed that while Micah understood everything being said to him and was typical in his receptive language in play, he was like a 9mo in his expressive language. The theory is that is recurrent ear infections basically made him deaf for most of his life up to that point. In fact, 6 months after the evaluation, he had a surgery to get a second set of tubes and his adenoids removed. We immediately started my little guy in therapy and in addition to the speech delay, he was later diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder.

Fast forward to now, Micah's been in therapy for over a year and has been in a school program for language delayed toddlers since September. Micah can now tell me what he needs. He's making sentences. He's telling me he loves me. He's happy. He's joyous. He's SINGING!

And in the past couple of weeks, he's talking on the phone. Before he never even tried because nobody understood him. But now, he's confident in his ability to speak. Confident enough to talk on the phone where he knows that the only thing connecting him to the other person is his voice and they are understanding him.

Sometimes, in this crazy life I lead, I just love to celebrate the little things. And today, my son talk to his dad on the phone.