Teletherapy and Cutting Teeth

Peter is now 11 months old. He cut his second tooth (the top tooth opposite the bottom one he already had) a week and a half ago, so I can say he had two teeth at 10 months. The third tooth- his other front bottom tooth cut on his 11 month birthday. I think that tooth contributed to a couple REALLY hard days for mommy.

We had gotten accepted for a pilot program of teletherapy out of Stanford, and notified on a Friday that they wanted to start the following Tuesday! I managed to rearrange my day, get everything ready for the French class I teach, and ask my mom to take Samantha to dance and bring the girls back to my house just in case I didn't make it back in time to meet the kids arriving for French. Peter was supposed to sleep in the car all the way to Stanford so he would get an hour-plus nap. Of course, he didn't sleep until JUST before we got there and woke up in the waiting room, cranky. That trend continued throughout the meeting :(

We met with a social worker to talk about how we approached Peter's deafness, and she offered to touch base as the surgery date approached, when I might be having more concerns. Then we met with J., Peter's Speech Therapist for the program. She talked to PJ for a while, then we filled out some assessment questionnaires to set the "Starting Point" benchmarks. Peter screamed. Peter cried. Peter threw toys. Peter was calmer when I held him upside down like a bat, but he was definitely tired and unhappy!  I felt bad that the team at Stanford was being screamed at, and I was getting stressed, too.  Finally she gave me my loaner iPad and I sort of ran out of there juggling the carseat, Peter, iPad and stand, and the diaper bag. Hopefully Teletherapy is smoother!

The next day that third tooth came in, and a couple more days and he got his 4th tooth! No wonder he was so cranky!!!

First time I feel a little left behind...

The Baby Center email just came. It's the one that tracks your pregnancy (This week your baby is as big as an avocado...) and the milestones through the first year. The email this week said: "Your baby's ability to vocalize is improving, and he may say his first word any time now." A friend whose baby was due the same day as Peter just posted on Facebook that her boy is saying "gog" for dog now. Peter is right there with all the physical development, if not ahead. And Peter has signed, and I know he understands many signs, but knowing that he IS behind his peers in spoken language and listening just kind of hit me. 

I am so glad surgery is already scheduled and I have a rough idea of the plan for next year. I know it will be a lot of work, and driving, and hopefully it will be worth it!

Nice Surprises

This last week had a few nice surprises for us- a gifted trip to Disneyland was a big one.  My parents were supposed to take my brother and his family, but my dad ended up needing surgery and was still recovering, so I got his tickets. My mom was generous enough to buy the girls tickets, too. Peter was free. Peter also slept through most rides, or was cranky that he could get out and scrabble around, so I'm glad he was free;). He did like the characters, though. I think it was the big eyes. They loved him back, too. I think he got some extra special attention with the hearing aids, but maybe it's just cause he's cute! We also got to practice lots of fun signs (ASL) like BOAT (the big ship Columbia) TRAIN (both the railroad and monorail were hits) and the big draft HORSE that pulls the trolley was a favorite. The Orange County airport was a great place to wait for our flight- we saw HELICOPTER landing, and several small AIRPLANE s practicing taking off and landing. That and all the TRUCKS!

Two days after we got back I got another surprise- the call to schedule Peter's first surgery! I had been grumpy because the surgery schedule wasn't open and wasn't open, and when I called on the 22nd (and the April schedule still wasn't open) I was told it would probably be a May surgery :( And of course the May schedule wouldn't be open until the end of March....But we got a date in April!!! Just two days after Peter's first birthday!!!

I am a planner. I can adjust to anything, as long as I have some time to plan. I felt like a lot of my life was on hold waiting for this surgery date. Why? Not because I am obsessing over Peter's ears, but because I need to get the logistics sorted out- Nana coming out, appointments to move, etc.  now that the date is fixed I can work the other pieces in around that, and go back to enjoying my little guy. His teeth are still making him cranky. He is now cruising and getting bruises as he wobbles over things. But the teeth and the walking will happen when they happen. I don't worry about schedules or planning for that kind of thing, because you can't ;)

A last little surprise this week was seeing a ton of daffodils all over my yard, and in a couple spots in the garden I had forgotten I had planted them. The bunches of happy yellow flowers match my mood now :)