Yum!

We took Pup to Disneyland for the first time.....an annual holiday adventure. He went on Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others. Of course, with the exception of during this picture he wasn't at all fussy. It was a good day.

Here's A.J......He IS his mama's son for sure.

Pup tried carrots tonight. Liked them. His teeth on the top are really coming in. Drool everywhere and lots of hand biting. He's always laughing, especially at his big brother. It makes me happy. I just got the new issue of the Fragile X.org newsletter and there's an article in there by Jayne Weber that completely made me cry. It's all about the good that comes with having a child with FXS. I've been in a rut lately thinking about the future. Then I hear him laugh and I am healed. I'm having a really hard time lately, though, because as a teacher I have a few kids in my class with some special needs. One has autism and the other two don't have diagnoses but their behaviors are challenging, and they have definite learning disabilities. I think about Pup and what he'll be like when he's in school. Other teachers and even parents of other students are sometimes insensitive with comments about certain students, and I'm particularly sensitive to those comments now that I have my own child with special needs. I want to say, "Don't you know who you are talking to?" People don't get it.

OMG! I just turned around and AJ is playing "therapist" with Pup. They're doing "exercises."

Getting Brave

I've decided to start adding pics to the blog, as I love seeing everyone's photos. Here are AJ (aka Peter Pan) and Pup (the scary skeleton) in their Halloween costumes. Pup is now almost 6 1/2 months old. AJ is 3 1/2. They are best buds.

Pup is really enjoying solid foods. He's now eating sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, cereal, and started applesauce. Yum! He's opening his mouth and gets excited when he eats. (Don't we all?)

Top teeth are coming in.

Thanksgiving Therapy

So, as usual I ate my way through two days of Thanksgiving festivities. The 4 pounds on the scale prove so.....Pup had sweet potatoes. He is really getting the hang of eating from a spoon. He will open his mouth, take the spoon, and then put his fingers in his mouth. Sometimes I have to hold down his hands to feed him. Last night at the mother-in-law's Friday Thanksgiving feast, he cried in between spoonfuls. He couldn't get it fast enough.

Pup had Lucia (the infant teacher) come out on Friday. She didn't want to miss a day! He lasted the whole session without getting fussy. He's finally doing better on rolling over from stomach to back although he doesn't really do it unless prompted with a toy, etc. She told us to start massaging his hands open as she feel that's one area is a bit behind in. She feels his palms should be open more. He resisted her massaging them as they were pretty tightly closed. He did, however, sit up for about 5 seconds before falling to the side. She told us to just keep him on the floor as much as possible and gave us a list of things to tell the OT (occupational therapist) for the evaluation on the 10th. I'll take a 1/2 day that day so I know what's going on. It's hard to work with therapists,etc. coming to your house. Lucia said that the OT will come 1 to 2 times a week depending on his/her evaluation on top of the time Lucia comes! I asked her how many times she thought he may need depending on her work with Pup, and she said it'll depend on the OT. She said that it will also depend on how Pup does during the eval. If he's really fussy, etc. and not wanting to do anything he may get 2 times a week. I don't really know which is better? Is more times a week better?

I keep worrying that he can't hear me based on the hearing test. I mean...I know he can hear, but I don't know how well. Dr. K. said it was like he had a finger in one of his ears. I've been putting my own finger in my own ear and it's not pleasant. Maybe I should just stop. haha

So thrilled

I came on here tonight and didn't realize that people were posting comments! I'm so happy you are all reading.....
About the eye contact... I agree with all of you. If he's a comfy distance away he'll stare right at you. At his well baby exam last week (6 months!) the regular pediatrician said he had a slight gaze aversion also. But I think he was looking for it because he had just read Dr. H's report. I'm not discounting the fact that he has FX, but I don't think he would've thought anything if he didn't know Pup had fragile x. What baby stares at your face for 10 minutes! He's doing well and that's what I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving. Considering I prepared myself for a floppy, poor feeding, etc. baby during my pregnancy so far I've been blessed. I hate Fragile X and what it's done to my life. I'm tired of analyzing everything he's doing. I just want to love him and I think that's what I'm going to do.

His ears have to be watched as he didn't do well on the right side on his hearing test. He may need tubes although he hasn't had any ear infections.

Anyway, I think Pup started saying baba tonight....I can't be sure but it sounded like it. Maybe if I believe it it'll be true.

AJ, at school today, said that on Thanksgiving he's going to eat PB and J sandwiches. I thought that was funny.

6 month well baby

Today was Pup's doc appt. He got his first flu shot. You'd never know he got four shots. No fussing at all. Dr. K. said that Pup is having some gaze aversion so I need to be "in his face" and rewarding him with smiles when he looks at me. This makes me so sad as in many ways I'm still in denial. He seems so perfectly normal..............He will also have to watch his ears as the right one is blocked. I'm hoping he doesn't need tubes.

DH and I both got to pick up AJ from preschool yesterday. We watched him through the observation room and saw him in the kitchen area wearing a necklace and bracelet. Then he went to string some beads. He's so funny to watch. The teacher says he loves school and seems very happy. He's still a bit shy, however, and doesn't really know how to approach the other kids when he wants to get into their activities. He'll ask, "What can I do?" to the teacher, and she has to help him join in. I love them both so much.

LAUGHING!

DH was making Puppy really laugh this afternoon. He got real close to his face and kept saying "I see you." Pup was hysterically laughing! It was so cute, and it was a first.

Minocycline Over

So, Puppy did really well on the medication. No reactions at all. I had to keep a weekly journal for the Dr. and did so. I thought about posting it here, but decided not to. When I went back up to the MIND Institute to reevaluate him after the meds, Dr. H. was impressed by his progress. Although I don't really know if his progress was because he was a month older or if it was the meds. Who knows.......as long as something is happening I should be happy. He became a lot more focused and interactive. He's laughing more, smiling, getting really stong. He's doing crunches, like a sit up and is balancing for a second or two in a sitting up position before falling over. He also rolled over from stomach to back (he was already doing back to stomach) a couple of times....but on this he's stubborn.

Pup also got his first two teeth! The bottom two and I don't think they're discolored which I thought might happen because of the meds.

Halloween was fun. Pup was a skeleton and AJ was Peter Pan. It was fun taking him trick-or-treating for the first time. Everyone thought he was Robin Hood. When one man asked him if he was Robin Hood he said, "No I'm Peter Pan." The man replied, "Oh, Peter Pan!" and AJ said back, "Yeah, whatever you want to call it." He's only 3 and the things that come out of his mouth are hilarious.

His preschool had a fall family festival last week. It was fun seeing him in his element. He introduced us to Teacher Tina, showed us his classroom, and of course....went to play in the kitchen area. He's such a crack up. He has access to so many toys but all he wants to do is pretend to cook and BBQ. DH and I will get him a kitchen or bbq for Christmas. I know he'll love it.

Even though he likes what he likes at school, he is venturing out into new things there. He chose to paint for the first time and is attempting to ride the tricycles they have there although he's still a bit timid. I hung his painting in his room where he wanted to look at it everyday.

Today was election day and I took AJ to the polls with me. He said he was going to vote for Aunt Kelly.