Progress

Slowly but surely I think some progress is being made in our house. Our basement is clean, mold-free, and empty. The new flooring was delivered this morning, and the guys return tomorrow to begin installation. They are scheduled to be done by Friday, so we can start moving some stuff out of our dining room and back downstairs. Shawn is then going to repair the walls himself. That may take some time due to busy schedules, but at least the basement will be livable again (which is important since that is where the kids' playroom was!). Shawn is actually at a neighborhood meeting right now to discuss what is happening in regard to FEMA, any funds being allocated to our neighborhood, etc. We're hoping for some good news!

Jamie - Kindergarten is going so well. It is exciting to see him learning how to read and spell words. It was a little bit of a rough adjustment the last couple of weeks at school (I think partly due to the commotion in our own house). He is getting used to less play and more work and now claims he loves kindergarten more than preschool because of the "fun stuff" they are learning. Swim class and soccer are going well, and he scored his first goal this past weekend! That was certainly wonderful, but we are so proud of what a good teammate he is. And the sideline parents never cease to amaze me. One dad at the last game actually said to his son after his son scored a goal, "You got lucky." These children are 4 and 5 years old! Unbelievable!

Clare - We found a fabulous new speech therapist for Clare. (Thank you a million times, R, for the recommendation!!!!) This woman is the creme de la creme in the state of NH and beyond - she is the speech, feeding, and swallow guru. She just carved a couple hours out of her demanding schedule to see more patients in office and thanks to our quick referral by a friend, we were able to get on her weekly schedule. Clare had her evaluation this past Monday, and I, for one, am in love! First, I am impressed with any provider who took the time and effort to coordinate an hour that was convenient for me. For me, not for her! An hour which fits perfectly into our running-around schedule between morning preschool and afternoon kindergarten. Clare connected with her instantly, and even Simon was entranced. The therapist said that Clare was very weak in her facial and oral muscles, which accounted for much of her feeding difficulties and preferences, as well as her speech impediments. She also thinks that Clare's tongue-tie (which has never been clipped due to the issues Clare has with anesthesia, bleeding, etc.) could be playing a role in Clare's hard-to-understand speech. She is going to work with Clare not only on speech but feeding as well on a weekly basis. I am very excited to see where this all goes.

Clare also had the dreaded DENTIST appointment last week, and it was horrible! (Yes, it deserves capital letters, it was so bad.) She has gone with us many times to see the family dentist in action and watched Jamie get his teeth cleaned the week before. However, when it was her turn, she refused to sit in the chair. When I finally coaxed her on the chair by sitting on my lap, she lasted for one second until the hygienist came near her, then turned into a wild animal. She was screaming, biting me, kicking, frothing at the mouth (literally because she forgets to swallow her saliva when quite upset). The dentist had gone home on a family emergency, so I called it quits with the hygienist, and we made an appointment for this week with the local pediatric dentist. Clare's appointment is tomorrow (and I am wimping out and asked Shawn to take her). We have heard great things from this dentist (who specializes in special needs children and used to be at Children's Hospital Boston), so I am expecting miracles here! Tomorrow we also have a home visit from Clare's preschool teacher in the morning. Not really sure what that is going to be all about, but I am thrilled to show her our crazy post-flood house!

Simon - My sweet almost-17 month old boy finally started walking! Who knew that Jamie, at 15 1/2 months, would be my early walker! I guess my kids are just slow when it comes to getting around. Simon started taking a few steps a couple weeks ago and last week, he took off. Now he very rarely crawls and tries to walk everywhere. He is pretty steady inside and is working on his outside skills. He loves to walk holding onto something now (such as a toy or a humongous sword which is taller than he is). Simon is so proud of his new skill and receives lots of cheers from his parents and siblings!

And, last but not last, Baby Girl in Utero who is almost named - We had another ultrasound on Monday since our ultrasound three weeks ago did not result in great views of her heart. However, she was again not in a great position (chin tucked on her chest with her legs wrapped over her head, so her heart was almost completely blocked from view). The tech did the best she could to get the baby to change positions, but no luck there. I did get to see a 3D image of her (I have never experienced that before) which was amazing. However, this tech, as well as the previous tech, was not very friendly about the fact that we had our other children with us for the ultrasound. She refused to allow Shawn and the boys in the room (Clare was at school) and would not budge. Shawn asked her what she would have done if I had come alone with the kids, and she said she would have refused to do the ultrasound and made me reschedule for another time without kids. (Note - this was not mentioned to me at all when I scheduled the ultrasound appointments and have never had problems like this with my past three pregnancies.) I personally love my OB, but am quickly becoming very angered at the attitude of the techs and some of the nurses towards my family. It's an OB's office!! Shouldn't they at least tolerate children?? Instead, they treat them like they are a nuisance. Before my mother bear comes out combined with my pregnancy hormones, we'll just drop it. I was not keen on the idea of having a fetal echo done this pregnancy, but if my OB says she wants another ultrasound to look at the heart, I am going to request a fetal echo instead. For obvious reasons, I want a good look at the baby's heart, but I also am not putting myself or my family through the disapproving comments of the ultrasound staff again. Jamie at least is old enough to understand when these ladies state that children are not welcome or wanted. These are not attitudes I want my children around or have to endure. At least I know the echo tech, and she loves my family and will gladly let my kids come in and watch a video during the echo!

There's our week in a nutshell! Whew!