Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Second day of school

Well, waiting for the bus this morning didn't go so well. It doesn't help that the bus for the regular elementary school also comes to our house because we live on a corner. They're scheduled at the same time! Anyway, Sarah was very distressed waiting outside as she's used to us going outside and straight to the car. I wound up bringing her inside and waiting in the foyer for a bit. Once the bus for the other kids came and went, I brought her outside to wait for her bus. This time I brought a toy with us to keep her happy. The distraction worked! She was very confused getting on the bus and pretty upset, but I think in a few days she'll be used to it.

I ran a quick errand while she was at school, and got home ten minutes before the bus was due to arrive to find it already there. Thankfully they were waiting for me. I don't know how long they were there. The bus driver said the times vary if not all of the kids are at school that day. I'll keep that in mind. I felt bad for not being there when she got home, but they were ten minutes early! I asked the driver and aide how she was, and they said she got on the bus, walked to her seat, and climbed right up. I was surprised she adjusted so quickly! Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow morning.

The note from her teacher said she was in a good mood today. That's always nice to read. I hope she's enjoying school.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The feeding clinic ends and school begins!

Well, we are done with the feeding clinic now. We are now in outpatient services, and Sarah goes once a week for feeding therapy, followed by a speech therapy session as well at the same hospital. I pulled her out of the speech clinic at the college due to our schedule being very full as it is. If I'd kept her in speech at the college, that would be three afternoons a week we're out of the house for therapy and she won't be taking a nap. That's too much on her, and way too much on me. Besides, she absolutely loves the speech therapist she had while at the clinic, and I am really happy we can continue with her.

In typical Sarah fashion, she went out of the feeding clinic with a bang. Shortly before it was time to feed her lunch, the head doctor at the clinic told me she was limping. Nobody was sure why or what happened. She had come back from the sensory motor group (where they take the kids to the physical therapy gym and let them play on the equipment), and as far as anybody could tell, nothing happened there. She even walked all the way down the hall back to the playroom at the clinic. She just started limping out of the blue. Anyway, he was telling me that the nurse practitioner was calling our pediatrician's office to get us an appointment.

They brought me back to see her and the nurse practitioner got her an appointment for a time when she'd normally have her afternoon snack. If she's going to miss something, I'd rather it be that than lunch. I fed her lunch and she did a great job, and then her main therapist and one of the playroom ladies carried her and her stuff out to the car for me.

I let her lay on our bed and watch a DVD while I ate my lunch, and then we headed to the doctor's office. The doctor watched her try to walk and checked her out. She said that she looked okay and it was likely just a mild sprain, but sent her for x-rays just to be safe.

The x-ray lab was in the next building over, and unfortunately I had to call Rob out of a meeting to go into the room with Sarah. I can't go in while pregnant without being covered in lead and signing a waiver. It wasn't a risk we were willing to take, so he went back with her. She didn't want to hold still, and was very frightened. Which is to be expected. But the good news is, nothing was broken, and we were sent home and told to give her Motrin.

Friday night she crawled a lot and hardly walked, but Saturday morning she was jumping on the bed! She still had a slight limp on Saturday and Sunday, but the limp is completely gone as of yesterday morning. What a relief!

Today was Sarah's first day of school. I took her to school myself because she had a ton of supplies and I wanted to get her settled. The bus came this morning anyway (on time), and they told me they want her on the curb five minutes before their arrival time. Good to know for tomorrow! She smiled all the way into the building and classroom. She seemed a bit uneasy going into the classroom, but was just barely fussing when I left. I didn't drag it out, which I think helped.

I ran much-needed errands and stocked up as best as I could since I will likely stop driving after this week as I am getting too big to fit behind the steering wheel!

I managed to finish my errands and eat a quick lunch before her bus arrived (a couple minutes early). Sarah was so excited to see me! She got off the bus as happy as can be. The bus driver said she was a little upset at first, but calmed down once they got moving. We both figure in a couple days she'll be used to this and will do just fine. She was happily running around the house when she got in, and I got a note from her teacher saying she had a good day. She got upset a few times, but played nicely with the boys in her class (she's the only girl).

I'm really excited about tomorrow since all I'll have to do is get her on and off the bus!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Week 5

Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been exhausted lately!

Blogspot finally works from the computer here at the clinic, so I actually have time to update.

They have started the protocol at the clinic where she has to earn back the TV (or toy, she responds equally well to the TV and a toy) by doing something with a non-preferred food. It's definitely getting better. I also have been doing a lot of the feedings lately. She actually eats better for me than the therapists. That's fine with me considering the therapists aren't going to move in with us when she gets discharged!!!

Our family meeting was last Thursday. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed. She is still making progress overall. It's slow, but steady. So far they are still planning to discharge her next Friday, February 15.

This past weekend I gave Sarah her Gerber Graduates peaches in her oatmeal without cutting them, and she ate an entire ounce both days! So that's great. We're practicing a few things from the protocol at home as well. I try to get her to at least practice "kissing" graham crackers or Cheerios. And she seems to respond well.

Sunday was Sarah's third birthday party. It went really well. She even seemed to realize she was the lady of the hour. She had the cutest grin on her face when they were singing to her. We had four kids blow out her candles since Sarah doesn't know how to do that yet. She even tasted a little bit of cake icing. The last time she tried that (this past December) she threw up. This time, she didn't even make a face! I'll try to add some pictures to the blog from home if I get the energy.

I've been spending more time at the clinic lately because I'm doing a lot of her feedings. I've missed at least one meal a day all week because of appointments. But I'm done those for the week, so that's good.

We got the official word on Tuesday that Sarah is in the morning class at school. They originally stuck her in the afternoon, which I thought was really dumb. Most 3-year-olds I know take an afternoon nap! I already have to sacrifice Sarah's nap two days a week to keep her in speech at the college. I was also worried about having to call the college and try to reschedule her sessions because I'd already talked to her student clinician (who seems very nice). But I got bus information and everything, so all is well. I filled out the huge pile of paperwork for her school, so I'll probably try to drop those by the school sometime next week.

That's us in a nutshell for now!