March 30, 2023

Hello

Still here. Just so weary and worn out. The most recent school shooting hit me differently and I'm not sure why. I usually feel shocked and saddened and then turn away to avoid knowing the heartbreaking details. My anxiety always tells me "what you don't see can't hurt you," so I don't watch the news or look for information online. I tell myself that if it doesn't impact me directly, I don't need to dwell on it because getting too close is too crushing. I used to think this was okay, it was important for my own sanity to just pretend nothing happened. But now I see that mindset is false. However, a tendency for avoidance is a hard habit to re-wire.

I think most people will confess to this mindset as well. We offer up our thoughts, say a prayer, or maybe donate money but that's it. We live in a haze, forcing ourselves not to see. But how long can we pretend it doesn't impact us when every single day the fear rises up in the back of our subconscious? We don't know whether a similar tragedy will be at our door next and we won't be able to look away.

Several years ago I was riding a crowded D subway train. This was before my train anxiety got bad so I wasn't in a panic about being pushed up against the door of the train with little space between me and others. As we were moving from Manhattan into Brooklyn (a long stretch with no stops) I noticed the guy facing me, less than a foot away had a gun in his waist. He noticed that I noticed and he placed his hand on it as if to show me that he saw that I saw. It was absolutely terrifying. He wasn't trying to hide it at all. I just stood there trying not to look at him or the gun, praying I'd get off the train. The train car was packed and if he had chosen to take out the gun, none of us would have had anywhere to go or even hide. What this man was doing was 100% illegal in New York City and yet in other cities, it is perfectly acceptable to walk around with a lethal weapon on your belt. Explain how that makes sense and for what purpose?

Gun owner or not, I'm certain any loving soul is heartbroken by the senseless death of any person, let alone a child, at the hands of anyone. And yet, what are we doing to prevent it? 

Sigh.

My dad arrives tonight for a little visit with us and the kids. Spring Break is just after Easter and Grandma and Aunt Judy will be here to visit then. Outside is blooming with flowers and green and the great world continues to spin whether we're ready for it or not.


March 24, 2023

SO fancy

The professional "prom-style" photos from the Mother-Son dance are back and they turned out WAY cuter than I expected. I'm really happy I sprang for the extra expense. Enjoy!






True treasures.

March 22, 2023

PT for Ivy Bean

Sometimes I'm really grateful that keeping up-to-date with this blog allows me the outlet to organize things happening in my brain and somewhat download them. I've realized that summarizing events in our lives for the purpose of documentation really helps me to mentally pass it on. It is sort of like venting an issue to a friend which helps you to kind of get over an annoyance or hurdle. 

Anyways, here if the full download on what's up with Ivy.  

Ever since Ivy was a newborn I've suspected something tiny was amiss. Ivy was a floppy baby, very loose and "melted" into you when holding her. I personally love this about her. She is SO cuddly! Her feet could flex completely back and touch her shin. I noticed this the first day she was born and I distinctly recall thinking, "wow, she was really cocooned in my belly." I didn't know that it wasn't normal for a newborn foot to flex that way. 

Ivy hit most of gross-motor milestones late, but not late enough for pediatricians to suggest evaluation. She had a janky crawl and never crawled in the typical all fours position.

When she learned to stand she needed a lot of support for much longer than Kip did. It took her a lot of time to build the confidence to let go. Her stance was wide with her feet splayed out to create a wider, more supportive base. She would often curl her toes as if trying to grip the floor.

When she eventually walked, it looked a bit like a ballerina with her feet rotated out.
 

All of this was rather subtle and when we began noticing things and brought them to a pediatrician, I was constantly told it was normal or not a big deal. And it wasn't just one pediatrician who said this.

By Ivy's 2nd birthday, her walking revealed a pronation in both feet. Both ankles curve inward with her heel flexed out. I told the pediatrician at her well visit and he said she just needed better shoes. A couple of months later I scheduled a separate appointment with a different pediatrician to just address this ongoing issue, particularly the fact that Ivy cannot run or jump. That pediatrician told us we should just have Ivy evaluated by Early Intervention since she would age out of those services at age three.


So, in the fall of 2022 we had Ivy evaluated by Early Intervention for a gross motor delay. 
  
The two evaluators were incredibly kind and informative. They determined Ivy was not eligible for services but did present with hypotonia and a delay of several months in gross motor milestones. This was the FIRST TIME anyone mentioned hypotonia and the first time I became aware of all the red flags Ivy presented with since birth.

Dan and I took Ivy to get a hip x-ray in late December and she was cleared for hip dysplasia but given a confirmed diagnosis of hypotonia. Mandy and I followed-up with a podiatrist in January and had a third doctor confirm hypotonia as well as significant pronation in both feet (caused by hypotonia). 

What has been most frustrating throughout all of this is the fact that every single professional we've seen SINCE being told she has hypotonia has acknowledged an issue but simply passed us along to the next person. No one was helping us understand the problem and proposing solutions. Now here's the thing, hypotonia, while supposedly "common" is NOT normal. Fortunately, Ivy's case is very mild and that is perhaps why doctors never thought it was a problem? However, the condition is impacting Ivy's development and even after pointing things out to the doctors many, many times, it wasn't until the Early Intervention evaluators gave us a label, that we even had something to research. 

I recognize there are far worse cases and other children and parents dealing with far more frustrating scenarios. I feel for them which is why I am trying to limit my whining about this whole ordeal. I'm only sharing our little journey to this point for my own sense of closure and in case anyone else stumbles across this looking for those red flags we missed.

A week after Mandy and I took Ivy to the discouraging podiatry appointment, we had an assessment done with a pediatric physical therapist. Speaking with these young physical therapists made a world of difference. They acknowledged everything we were seeing and had suggestions! They didn't say "I've seen worse," (although, I'm sure they have). They heard us and gave us real things to work on in order to help Ivy progress. The whole appointment felt revolutionary.

Week 1: meeting Ms. Lindsey and Ms. Julianna and trying out the stairs and walking on uneven surfaces.

Week 2: practicing running with a fun game of grocery store/ice cream delivery.

Week 3: bear crawl, saucer spinning, practice jumping, walking across the bumpy beam, and climbing!


Week 4: bravery on the slide and running through an obstacle course.

Week 5: more obstacle courses and climbing.

Week 6: traversing the bumpy ball pit and rescuing lady bugs. The therapists said Ivy engages with the play aspect of the therapy really well and gets very involved in the tasks.


Because Ivy didn't qualify for services, we pay out-of-pocket for PT every week. It's not very cheap but it is worth it. The therapist is helping Ivy strengthen her core muscles and giving her guided exposure and practice working on skills like running and jumping in a controlled environment. Ivy is still building confidence to run and jump independently but she loves to come to PT and get one-on-one attention. It is special for her and she has a good time. Ms. Lindsey is helping us know how to help Ivy practice these exercises at home and talking us through issues she sees. I am grateful for Ms. Lindsey giving us tools and practical advice, that is all I was searching for throughout this entire process.

Ivy will always have hypotonia. It is not something you grow out of or gain with exercise. Her muscle tone, particularly in her legs, will always be lax. She will tire more easily and have to exert more energy to do physical activities. She will likely always feel slightly unstable and resulting in what might be perceived as clumsiness. Sports may be more difficult for her and she probably won't be a track star, but she will learn to adapt and develop her own ways to compensate. We are just hoping we help her as much as we can now so that she doesn't develop complications with alignment or pain from having to compensate in harmful ways later in life. She is learning through this experience and so are we.

March 20, 2023

Snip-its of School

Some kindergarten photos shared from Kip's teacher lately.

Every Friday is "Fun Friday" and the kids get a little bit of time in the afternoon to just play. Kip's teacher has a little play kitchen in her classroom. Kip is playing house with the girls.

Lightbox fun!

Reading group working on their journals

Valentine's themed centers work.


Groundhog's Day
 

Drawing their shadows on the wall of the school

100 Day!

And Valentine's Day 

Some sort of oral hygiene theme for centers the week after Valentine's.

And look at that face of concentration doing his journal in reading group.

Remember when we were kids and computers were just starting to become a thing they had to teach about? At my elementary school there was a computer room and it was a specials class. Giant desktops were where we learned how to use a keyboard. Now the kids are given personal Chromebooks to use in the classroom. Kip is already a master at the touch-pad mouse. Crazy times.

Did you know March 10 is Mario day? Get it? MAR-10!

 
Despite the excessive amount of absences Kip has had, he is managing to stay on track. Thank goodness! 



And yes, we are aware Kip is using an improper pencil grasp. However, he has amazing penmanship so his teacher said, as long as it isn't limiting his ability to write legibly we can let him write however he feels most comfortable and hopefully his hand muscles will continue to strengthen and the grip will correct itself with time. 
 
Top left is Kip's.



March 13, 2023

Mother-Son Dance

On Friday, I took Kip on a date to our first elementary school Mother-Son dance. Initially, Kip wasn't interested in attending since it was a new thing and he tends to resist those. But, after he saw some photos from the Father-Daughter dance in February, he was excited. All he wanted was to be able to wear a "tie-bow" which I was happy to accommodate.


The theme of the dance was "Ready Set Glow" so everything was neon and glowy. Kip opted to dress fancy but there was a pretty even mix between couples wearing formal attire and others wearing casual neon or glowing stuff. The PTO did a really nice job decorating and Kip literally ran around grabbing balloons for the first hour. Just making laps around the dance floor, totally red and sweaty but happy. I just stood by our table and chatted with a friend. It made my heart smile to see Kip just doing his own thing without a single thought about what anyone else there was thinking of him. He is still so young and blissfully unaware of peer pressure and conformity. He wasn't worried about looking silly or people laughing at him. He was just having a blast and I wanted him to enjoy every second of that freedom because I know some day soon it will fade. 
 
 

They served us a yummy Italian meal and afterwards Kip and I got our portrait taken (think prom-style photo). We haven't gotten it back yet to see but I'm sure it will be hilarious. 

Later Kip asked me to dance with him and my seriously shy self and middle-school traumatized memories were screaming at me to just be a wallflower. But, my five-year-old wanted to dance with me and I told myself there was absolutely no one I cared to impress there except for him. So I got on the dance floor (the only adult dancing) and jumped around with Kip. After a song or two, a few other moms joined in with their sons. I was proud I didn't allow my own insecurity to shape Kip's memory of the night. Instead, I had an opportunity to be a cool mom and push myself way outside my comfort zone and be the person I wish I'd had the courage to be when I was a kid. Fortunately, a friend grabbed a couple of photos for us as proof of our crazy dancing.

After dancing, we did the photo booth and then got dessert and headed home. 

Kip was absolutely exhausted but I know he had a great time and I did too.

March 6, 2023

Weekending it

Hello. Happy Monday. Don't worry, we're still here just nothing much to say as we continue to drag ourselves out from under the constant cycle of viruses running through the house. Honestly, it's offensive and I don't like reporting on it but I didn't want anyone to think something bad happened to us causing me to disappear. So here is the report.

Last weekend Kip had some sort of stomach bug, so combine that with the illness from the week prior and he missed several days of school and went to the doctor four times. Let me tell you, no bank account is safe from a desperate mom trying to find anything to make cleaning sick laundry a little easier. I'll be honest, a lot was tossed. Casualties: two sets of sheets, three pajama tops, one pair of pajama pants, two bed pillows, and a beanie boo. Praise God that pestilence hasn't spread.

Ivy and I had colds last week and Dan was sick with a mystery ailment this past weekend. Dan and I had fun plans for Sunday, but we were forced to cancel our date to see Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Bummed is the understatement of the year. I'm pissed. We haven't seen a Broadway show since before the pandemic, and I really wanted to see my friend star as Mrs. Lovett opposite Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd. Fortunately, at least, cousin's Kaleigh and Kourtney were able to use our tickets and see the show instead of us. I'm really glad they enjoyed it. I hope they don't mind me sharing this cutie photo they sent us from the theater. It made me smile.

The sun is staying out longer and longer and tiny flowers have been fooled into thinking spring is here. Despite the health struggles of the last several months, I am grateful the weather has been mild this winter. I feel spring approaching too and that has honestly saved my sanity. 

Be well and send health-full thoughts our way.