Teeth Grinding

A comment I left on A Home for Darya.

My 6 year old birth daughter with Down syndrome goes thru periods of teeth grinding. She has gone thru these cycles ever since she had enough teeth to grind together. It will start out occasional, then build up to a point where I think I'm going to lose my mind. And then one day I'll realize she has totally stopped.

Her speech therapist has said it could be related to wanting oral stimulation. I wonder if it's related to her teeth coming in/oral development since it's cyclical. Anyway, she's old enough now that we can tell her 'make your teeth quiet' and she'll stop for a minute or two anyway.

Also, for better or worse, we've let her keep using a pacifier at night time to fall asleep. We've come very close to making her give it up, but then change our minds. Because when she's in one of those non-stop grinding modes, it's the only thing to give US any relief.

Found my forgotten blog!

I went to comment on someone else's blog, and my id that came up linked to this blog. I had completely forgotten about it(!)

Boy does it take me back!!

I may try and make some entries again, just for the laughs of coming back and reading them years from now. And an article at Techcrunch has me thinking.

Update:  I've been backfilling from journal entries and things I've written elsewhere.  When I wrote this entry, I hadn't posted since 2008.

Becca's Logical Leaps

Becca, my 5 3/4 year old daughter, has had a little 'thinking explosion' recently.  Kind of like when both kids had language explosions at various times.  (Becca has Down syndrome)

Story #1
Last Saturday I took her to Pierce's birthday party at Sun Country.  He's one of her kindergarten classmates, and most of the class was there.  Becca had fun and especially enjoyed the ball pit.  At the very end, the Sun Country helpers were calling for the kids from the bday party to line up.  All the other kids came running, but Becca didn't want to get out of the ball pit.  I called to her, the other kids called to her.  I started to take my shoes off to go in after her, but changed my mind.  She's almost 50 pounds now, and it's really hard for me to try and forcefully carry her.  And I didn't want to make a scene in front of her friends.

So I told the group to go on ahead, we'd be there in a minute.  Then the negotiations began.  I told Becca it was time to go, that she would be getting a balloon.  Not interested.  I told her it was time to go back to Nani's to pick up Joey.  She asked "My turn see Nani?"  I told her yes, she would get to see Nani.  "Mommy Joey?" she asked.  I laughed.  That was the logical leap.  Yes, I told her.  I would take Joey and she could stay at Nani's by herself!  Then she crawled out of the ball pit on her own.

Story #2
Becca has a little fixation on Christian's older brother Spencer.  So when we were getting out of the car one day at home, Becca starts in on "Spencer my house?"  No, I told her, Spencer is a big kid.  He plays with big kids.  Becca is a little kid.  You play with little kids. 

Becca thinks about this.  Then she asks "Courtney little kid?"  Yes, I tell her, Courtney is a little kid.  Then Becca proclaims happily, "Courtney come my house!"  LOL.  What an adorable imp!

Joey learned to ride his bike!

Mimi and Papa Bob are away at Pelican Inlet this week.  I picked up both the kids from school today and we went to check out the newly re-opened Possum Creek Park.  Now it has a skate board area.

Then I took Becca to Uncle Bill's and Joey and I came home for a few hours.  I told him I wanted to have him practice on his bike.  He said he thought today was the day.  I said then so did I!

At first I had him pushing along the curb on his bigger bike.  Not much success.  We went back to the driveway, I wanted to show him how to glide without putting his feet on the pedals, so I got on his big bike.  Then I said why don't you go get your small (red) bike and we can both try.

That did it!  He said, Mom let me try, I think I can do it.  So I let him be while I rode around the driveway some.  Sure enough, within a few minutes he rode out into the cul de sac!!!!

I dropped the bike I was on and ran out screaming 'Joey you did it!' and gave him a big hug :-)

We went around the cul de sac together (each on a bike) a few times.  He's still wobbly, catches and stops himself by putting his feet down, starts best with the momentum of going down and off the driveway.

In the end, I think what gave him the final motivating push is that his younger cousin Natalie (4) is learning to ride a two wheeler.  Joey is 7, turning 8 this month.

Anyway, Joey is ecstatic!  I'm ecstatic!  It was a good, good day.  He called Nani, Daddy, and Mimi & Papa Bob to tell them all the great news.

Well, just 2 months later!

Before my last post, my father in law had gone into the hospital for surgery for colon cancer. The surgery itself was successful, but he had complications in the hospital. It's a long story, but over 3 weeks he declined, went in and out of a coma, and died on August 27th.

I tell people I feel like I blacked out for a month of my life. There was so much going on, we were actually away on vacation the 1st week of August. Then the kids were home out of camp for a week before school started, I went to the 2nd annual Flordia Down syndrome Conference in Orlando. Went straight to the hospital when I got back Saturday night. The kids started school. My husband was at the hospital, I was at the hospital, my mother in law was at the hospital (and therefore not providing the childcare she normally does).

It was so heartbreaking when my FIL died. We were all in shock and dismay. Putting together the viewing, the funeral, then starting to go thru paperwork and records and finances. Clearing out his law office. Getting Joey a 2nd hearing evaluation. Trying to work somewhere in there.

I blinked and a month, 2 months of my life have washed away like waves on the beach. I have only the big memories, I don't know what went on day to day.

A new favorite

This isn't that new, but it's new to me. I found it through some links about Vicki Forman, whose son Evan died recently. I'm tagging it under 'Truth' - a high compliment.

The Mother at the Swings

I've been on both sides of this conversation. Actually, I'm still more uncomfortable as the mother looking on. Now that Becca goes to a special needs pre-k class, we meet all kinds of kids. I'm really curious, hopefully not in a bad way, about each of their stories. Becca wears her diagnosis on her face, but with most of the kids in her class, it's not obvious. I'd like to be able to ask the other moms, So why is your child in this class? Tell me your story, and I'll tell you mine!

4 Trips to the Ladies Room at Red Lobster

I decided it's time to give full potty training another concerted attempt. I pulled out the little notebook I've used in the past where I keep track of times & results. The last 'full out' attempt was over Spring break in April.

Becca (4 today!, with Down syndrome) has been living a dual life since then- kind of potty trained, but not really. She can go on the potty, and if you put her on at the right moment she will. But she won't generally tell us when she needs to go. So she is still in pull ups and we've tried to catch her at the right moment as often as possible.

So I went into full 'Joy Joy Joy' overdrive mode today. There's an old Dave Barry column on toilet training his daughter. Every one in their house is happy! So very happy! You need to go pee pee? Yay! Let's run to the potty! It's so fun to sit on the potty! Let's read a book! You went on the potty! Hurray! Let's put a sticker in your book! Joy Joy Joy!

Got out the stickers, got out the big girl pants, got out the plastic over pants, paid attention to what she ate and drank and when. Took her to the potty. And again. Dry pants. Clean pants. Try again. The morning was discouraging. But there was a turn for the better in the afternoon!

At 12:40, Becca walked into the bathroom as I was walking out. I told her "Mommy had to pee pee!" (Remember, Joy! Joy! Joy!) and she said "Becca too." Well whad'ya know. I put her on the potty and she went. She only had wet pants one more time today.

We went out to dinner at Red Lobster. I put her in pull ups. Right after we sat down, she signed and said 'Potty.' So I ran her to the potty. But she leaned too far forward at one point and the durn thing auto flushed and scared the bejeezes out of her. So no glory. Back to the table. 3 more times we did this. She was still dry, she'd tell us she had to go, I'd take her to the ladies room, but she was too scared to actually relax and go. She stayed dry the whole time. She was even still dry when we got home! I ran her to her own potty and she went! I am so proud of her!!

Is this it? Is it really going to happen this time??? Time will tell!