Owen update

Time for another medicalish update on Owen.

He went to the ped today to recheck his ears. They are mostly clear (but not completely clear after 10 days of antibiotics), so that's good (and bad, at least they cleared up some). We got a referral to an ENT. His ped thinks he should get tubes because of how many infections he's gotten and also because he NEVER tells us that his ears hurt when he does have ear infections. Often I take him to the doctor for something else and that's when I find out he has ear infections. The doctor is concerned that, even with the high number of infections we know he's had, he's probably had more that we don't even know about. So that sucks. He sees the ENT on March 13th.

His ped also gave us an order to get blood drawn. He's going to test for immune deficiencies and also do a blood count. His doctor is concerned that Owen may have an immune deficiency (specifically IgA deficiency) given how many ear infections, throat infections, upper respiratory infections, etc he's had in the last 4 years (starting with croup at 3 months). Since we hadn't gotten around to doing the blood draw for the genetic testing yet then we'll do it all together so we only have to do one poke. We're going to try for this week, but I'm not positive yet.

On Friday Owen sees the developmental/behavioral team here for another autism evaluation. We've been waiting like 6 months for this appointment! Very big appointment. I've already told myself that this will be his last autism evaluation. Whatever the outcome, I'll take it and work with it (his first one he was diagnosed with autism, the second one they said he had many autistic tendencies but they didn't want to label him as autistic until he was in school.... basically so they didn't have to provide him with any services for the next 3 years. This evaluation is being done in a large hospital setting so they have nothing to lose/gain by giving/denying a diagnosis, unlike the school district). He goes through spurts where I totally believe he has autism. Then there are good days where I'm not so convinced. Unfortunately, the good days are always followed by another bad one (or two, or 30).

Just for kicks, I just did this pdd assessment for Owen again (I've done it randomly over the last couple years). Of course this is not a diagnostic tool to be used by parents at home. It's more or less something for me to fool around with. Today he scored a 127 when I did it for him ;( That is right smack in the middle of "moderate PDD" :( :( Of course, that means nothing in reality other than it's time for mama to worry some more.

I also printed out a bunch of questions for Owen's teachers at daycare to answer so that I had something to give to the doctors on Friday so they can get a quick look at how Owen does at daycare (I know they'll probably ask the teachers to fill out more forms, and that's fine, I just wanted him to get an idea on Friday). Some of the answers are shocking. As I'm getting these questions back (I've gotten some back, others I'll get back next week) I'm starting to think I don't really want to know and should just seal them in an envelope to give to the doctor without reading them. It seems to be the general consensus that Owen doesn't have any friends, he doesn't interact with the other kids at all (except to run into them or roll on them), he doesn't interact with the teachers at all- he may answer his name sometimes and the only questions he'll answer is "what is your name" (he answers with "Owen") and "what is your favorite food" (which he randomly answers with whatever food is in his sight- he doesn't *get* "favorite" yet). He doesn't really play with the toys appropriately (he may move them around but not purposefully)- he usually chews on them or throws/kicks them and he's obsessed with the tv and computer. I'm definately a little shocked by some of it. I had no idea he was that "different". I don't work much in the big kid room, but when I do I see what the other teachers do. I have to agree with what they've written, it's just hard to hear that other people are seeing these things too.

Anyway, that's the update for Owen for now.

Oh- he's also meeting one on one with his OT on Tuesday. She's going to try to give me some ideas on what to do about Owen's oral stuff. Wednesday I went into his classroom and found his sleeve on his sweatshirt SOAKED up to his elbow! Apparently he forgot about his chewy necklace and chewed up his sleeve. Doh! Fortuantely we have a dryer there so I could dry it before we went outside.

Birthday :)

First I want to say THANKS for all the birthday wishes from everyone :)

Yesterday was fun. I worked all day (9-6), which kinda sucked but, well, welcome to adulthood. LOL! At naptime Jason came and brought me some lunch (Arby's) and ate with me (and Owen because he doesn't nap so at naptime he gets kicked into whatever room I'm in). He also brought me my gift, which was a spa package. Woo! I get hours without anyone else. No screaming, no pinching, no slapping, no kicking, no tantrums, no worries about Owen escaping from wherever we are. Just me. And silence. The package includes a 25 minute relaxation massage, cleansing facial, pedicure and either a shampoo/blowdry syling or a manicure. Wee! Jason did well :) I was surprised to say the least. I really didn't expect anything like that! It is exactly what I need.

At work I got another good present, though the giver didn't have any idea what she gave me meant so much. I was busy working when my boss came running down the hall calling my name. My heart sank thinking something was wrong with Owen, that he had escaped or something (she was working the big kid room at the time). She came into my room all excited and asked if I knew Owen could read. I said yes, I did, and that he reads pretty well. She was excited and doting on him saying that 2 of her kids were using an online reading tutoring program. Her son was supposed to be doing his reading and Owen pulled up a chair and starting reading her son's work. LOL! So then they flipped it to her daughters age level (2nd grade) and Owen was reading to her! Another one of the teachers came in too all excited. She asked how I taught him to read but didn't believe me when I said I didn't- he taught himself. The most I've done is use my finger to follow along the words sometimes in books (something he insists I do). That's it. My boss said that in the 10 years she's been doing this work (daycare) he's the best early reader she's seen. And it's not just reading words that he recognizes- he sounds out words he doesn't know. He's definately very advanced with this. Anyway, I was thrilled to hear them talking about Owen like that :)

After work Jason, Owen and I went to dinner at Tumbleweeds. It was yummy and fun. At the end Owen was mixing his pizza scraps and a bunch of other things (salsa, applesauce, ketchup, sour cream, salt, pepper, sugar, splenda and steak sauce). Then he turned to me and said that he made pizza and did I want a bite? My heart melted. That's one of the first times he's used his imagination like that. And then he offered me some to boot. It was horribly nasty looking, but how could I say no to that?!



I couldn't. Yup, I ate some. Amazingly, I didn't puke. He was so happy that mama ate his creation.



A birthday kiss for mama!



After that we ran some errands then went home. At bedtime Owen melted my heart even more. He was getting ready to go to bed and walked by me and said "I love you mama" for the first time (unprompted). He'll say it if someone tells him to, but he's never said it on his own. Awww.... It was cute. Now we just have to work on him actually looking at me while saying it. LOL!

Rest of the night was spent relaxing with Jason and watching a movie :)

Question: How long does it take one 4 year old child to bring an adult to tears?

Answer: Not long. A matter of minutes, in fact.

It's been a rough couple of days (weeks? Months? Who's keeping track). Some of Owen's issues that I thought were resolved are coming back full force. Some of his "autistic like behaviors" are just out of control where, previously, we had them right where we wanted them. Unbelievable that he was doing so well and now, just as we're about to have him re-evaluated, he's hugely regressing. Can I beat my head against a wall now? Pretty please?

The running away has me terrified. He went through a running phase a while ago (maybe 2 years ago? 1 1/2 years ago? Something like that. Funny how the mind tends to block out bad memories). It was to the point where he was harnessed ANY time we left the house. Even walking to the parking lot from our apartment door was horrible (even holding my hand he was likely to yank it away and run, forget it if I had to carry groceries or anything). Anyway, he was harnessed for a while, then- it seemed- he was doing so much better. We could go to the grocery store and he would, more or less, stay by me. Lots of calling him back but most of the time he would stay in the same aisle as me. Parking lots were still a huge cause for concern, as he seems to have no fear of cars (I have tried time and time again to teach him to stop and watch for cars). But he was doing a lot better. Now, though, he's back to running away. Some days I would rather starve than brave the grocery store with him. I still have his harness, and have toyed with the idea of putting it back on him. I just don't have the energy to deal with the nasty looks/comments from people who don't know what I go through every day.

And it's not just the store- I can't even breathe a sigh of relief and relax when we get home. He's figured out how to open the back door and the door to the garage- and won't hesitate for a second to do it. We've installed alarms on both of those doors that sound whenever the door is opened. The other day he had worn me down. I needed 10 minutes to relax. So, I drew up a bath and had him sit in the master bedroom (I was in the attached bath). I gave him his Leapster (figured if I could hear the Leapster then I would know he was safe). About 4 minutes into my bath I heard the alarm sound. I got out and ran downstairs to find him in the garage, on his tip toes trying to reach the button to open the garage door. Shit. Thankfully he's a little too short to reach it. But I know the day will come....

So, maybe I can get a break when he's in daycare, right? Wrong. Last week it was the end of the day. I was getting the last child ready to go, getting her coat on her. I looked around the room and didn't see Owen. So I yelled to one of my co-workers to look for him. She found him. Outside. Thank God another of my co-workers was by the door when he went out so she just stood out there with him until I got there. None of them would dare try to get him back in, knowing what would happen (kicking, screaming, clawing, etc). I have no idea what to do about him. Had my co-worker not seen him leave he would have been gone. He would have been running and he wouldn't have stopped. The daycare isn't on a too busy road but it's 1 block away from a HUGE road (probably one of, if not the, biggest in the town).

Tomorrow is my 24th birthday. I feel like I'm closer to 50. I have no energy. He's taken years off my life with his crazy tactics. I'm afraid to not constantly dye my hair for fear of how many of them are actually gray. You know what I want most for my birthday? One day- just one- where Owen takes it easy on me. I love Owen to death. I want to spend my birthday with him (wouldn't have it any other way). But I would love to go to the grocery store and not have him run away from me. I would love to be able to relax in a bath for 10 minutes without dashing down the stairs to keep him from running away. I would love to be able to sit down and read a book to him without him flipping out about me being "too close" and start scratching/biting me. I would love to be able to take him to the park and relax, knowing he's having fun, instead of being terrified that as soon as he gets to the top he's going to jump down (I, currently, have to follow him EVERYWHERE he goes at the park because he will climb to the highest spot and jump down without any concern about breaking bones).

But, that's just a dream. It's not going to happen. Maybe for my 25th birthday. Hey, I can dream right? Whatever gets me through the next year?

Chewing and biting.

Owen is chewing and biting everything. Including Jason and I. It's not a fun phase. His OT thinks it's probably partly behavior (attention seeking.... someone should tell him he'd get a lot more attention if he walked up to me and said "hey mom.... can we play a game?" or whatever). But she also thinks it's probably partly sensory issues. She thinks this because it's NOT just us he's biting, but objects too. He's chewing on his blanket a lot (that thing has been through 4 years of being chewed on! LOL!), clothes, pillows, anything lying around. The other day I walked in the living room to see him chewing on the couch. Uhhhh.... no, we don't have a puppy. Please don't chew on the furniture.

I talked to his OT on tuesday and bought some chewing tubing to make a necklace for him. He does chew on that, so there's a little success right there (I've ordered a chewlery necklace and a green chewy tube, just waiting for it to get here). But he still thinks moms belly is pretty tasty.

So today he had OT again (his OT is his group feeding therapy). She wants to see him one-on-one to get a better sense of his sensory issues and try to help me problem solve. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any morning time open right now (and I work afternoons). So we're just going to wait and if she gets a morning cancelation they'll call us and we'll come in.

In the meantime she gave me a list of things to do with him to help with the sensory stuff. We also went out after therapy today and looked for some teethers and dog toys (got him a dog chewy toy and one of those water ring teethers.... not sure if he'll chew right through that or not but it was only $1 so we'll try). The one I wanted (the star vibrating teether) they didn't have so we'll look at another store after work. I find it kinda funny that 4 years ago he wanted nothing to do with teethers, but now he'll chew on anything.

Drumroll please.....

Double ear infections (right worse than left), sinus infection and a throat infection. Maybe strep, maybe not. We didn't even bother doing the test because he was going to get antibiotics anyway, no matter what the test came back as. So.... another 10 days of Omnicef. He goes back next Friday to recheck his ears. The doctor is wondering if his ears are even clearing completely since he was in for ear infections in November, December, January and now February. Depending on what he sees on Friday we may or may not get an ENT involved to talk about tubes.

And, on a completely cool note... this is the first time we've actually met his doctor. At Owen's first visit to this ped clinic we just saw a random person. At that time we were asked who we wanted to see for all well child visits (each ped has 1 day a week they do well child visits. The other days they may or may not be in the office to see sick kids). Not knowing any of the peds I asked the dr he was seeing that day to recommend one. He recommended Dr. P. Ever since then Owen's only been in for sick visits and Dr P hasn't been working those times, so he's seen different doctors. But today Dr P was there, so he saw Owen. We spent over an hour talking about autism. Dr P seems to be very knowledgable about it. He's done many seminars and speeches (doing another on Friday). He has a 10 year old Grandson who is on the spectrum. Dr P had a student in with him today and was talking to her about a lot of different things. We talked about possible causes of autism (and, amazingly, he and I both had similar theories), how it affects different kids, how Owen got diagnosed with it, IGA deficiencies, Sensory Integration Disorder and how it affects kids (and Owen, in particular) and a lot of other stuff.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what he thinks of Owen next Friday when O's not ill and laying on the table moaning.

Seriously? Again?

103.4 fever, red and swollen throat, wheezing/breathing difficulties, doctor appointment at 2:30. Need I say more? I think I'll be making an appointment with his regular doctor to discuss his tonsils and ears because this is getting stupid. If I remember correctly- he's had 4 or 5 strep/tonsilitis infections in the last 12 months and who knows how many ear infections (maybe 6 or 7 in the last 12 months). He's usually got a few months (June, July, August and maybe pushing into September) where he's fine, usually has no illnesses. The rest of the year he's down every other flipping week. Argh! Update this afternoon after his appointment....

Valentines Day part 2.

I never did write about it, did I?

Morning was pretty uneventful. I ended up working in the morning 10-2 along with my afternoon shift (2-6). I got to work the morning in the big kid room with Owen, so that was pretty fun (but man those kids are loud! LOL!). The afternoon was with the infants, much quieter!

After work O and I went home, expecting to pick up Jason, run to grab a quick dinner and go to the movies. Only I hadn't heard from Jason in a few hours and he wasn't answering his phone, which is kinda odd.

So we get home, I get Owen out of the carseat and we go in the garage. There's a note on the door saying to leave Owen there and slowly go get the mail/package on the front doorstep. So I did. When I got back to the garage door Owen opened it up and said "Happy Valentines Day. I love you mama". Adorable, and obviously coached at his age. LOL! I got inside and there were flowers on the table with a note telling me to go upstairs to our bedroom- where I found a box of chocolates, a card from Jason and another note telling me to go to Owen's room. In there I found a little teddy bear, a card from Owen and a bag of m&m's and a hershey's bar (both of those to Owen from Jason).

Cute idea :) Even better was he was cooking dinner. Woo! He had a little help from his mom (lol) but we had steaks on the grill, carrots, salad, some pasta, and..... ummm.... I think there was something else. Oops. Oh, and he made Owen some mac-n-cheese (his newest obsession).

Then we had to run to make it to the movies on time. We saw the new Veggie Tales movie. It was cute, and Owen had a blast. At the end he didn't want to leave and asked "Can we see another one?". LOL. It's not like at home, dear, where we can press play again! So I told him the next time a kid movie comes out we'll take him to see it. I'm glad he had a good time though, this was only his second movie theater experience (and the first did not end up well. At all).

We went home, got O in bed and spent a little time together, watching some movies. It was a good day!

Early Valentines Day

Jason and I had decided that since he doesn't know whether he's working Valentines night (and won't know until Wednesday) we would go out last night. It was just easier that way, since places weren't as crowded (and they will be Thursday). We decided to go out with Jason's friend *D* and his girlfriend *C*. I've met *D* before but I'd never met *C* (they've only been dating a few months but all 3 of them have been friends since they were little kids). So we dropped Owen off with Jason's parents and went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill. It was pretty tasty. I'm not a huge seafood fan but their Bang Bang Shrimp is really good!

After that we all went bowling for a little bit. I've only been bowling a couple times in the last few years, and I suck pretty bad, but it was fun. LOL! Jason won the first game and tied with *D* the second game. It was a pretty fun night. The only downside was when we were bowling there was a large group of seniors there too, looked like they were having some sort of party (food, balloons, etc). One elderly lady decided to do the "granny ball", only backwards (so she was facing the rest of her friends then put her head down and rolled the ball through her legs towards the pins). Bad idea. She face planted into the floor. From what we saw she broke her glasses and had a cut on her head. Poor woman :(

But, other than that, it was a fun night. I wasn't sure whether the night would go well since I didn't really know the other 2 people we were going with but they are both cool and we all had lots of fun. We'll have to do it again someday ;)

When we got back to pick up Owen (5 hours later) he didn't even want to leave, barely even noticed we had walked into the house. LOL! The poor boy was exhausted though and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

On Valentines Day we will probably take Owen to see the new Veggie Tales movie and maybe dinner at McDonalds or Fazolies or somewhere that's not too busy. If Jason does end up working then I'm not sure what we'll do. I'll either take Owen alone or we'll find something else to do (maybe the childrens museum).

The drama of outgrowing clothes....

Owen has a red Thomas shirt he loves. He's had it, and loved it, for 2 years. It's well worn and, now, outgrown. He wanted to wear it this morning so I put it on him. I explained that it was too small and he wouldn't be able to wear it anymore. He flipped. He cried. He ran away saying I couldn't take the shirt. Oh the drama king. LOL! So I told him that today was the last day he could wear it and we'd go out and find a new Thomas shirt. Success! He was okay with that.

Except we can't find a new Thomas shirt. Oops! I think Thomas must be a toddler thing because I can't find any "big boy" clothes that have Thomas. Bummer. But, he did find a cool Lightening McQueen shirt that he likes. It lights up when he moves. And it was on clearance for $5. Score! He said he wanted the Cars shirt and that he would still give up the Thomas one.

So, here he is.... his last few moments in his beloved shirt....


And in his new Cars shirt which, apparently, is an acceptable alternative to Thomas ;)

More eating success!

I really am amazed at how much this OT/feeding therapy is helping Owen. This is probably the best thing I've done for him.

Sunday while we were walking around a mall on the way home he asked to go to Subway to get a sandwich. Now, Owen doesn't eat sandwiches (well, he eats grilled cheese sometimes and pb sometimes.... but not subway). Jason and I weren't hungry so we told him maybe another day. So yesterday we did go to Subway to grab some subs for dinner. Owen was thrilled and said he wanted to eat a sandwich too. Okay..... So we got home and I cut off about 3" from my sub (including the meats and veggies). He picked it up, without taking all the stuff out, and started eating it! I think he was attempting to eat just the bun. After about 3 or 4 bites he got some meat and a pickle in his mouth and freaked out. But he did great until that point! So I took all the insides out and he just ate the bun. Still..... huge improvement! And the fact that he *wanted* to eat the sandwich and tried to is huge!

Then today we ran by Kroger after the gym to grab some stuff for dinner. Owen said he wanted fries and ketchup (big surprise). A couple days ago I'd seen "shrimp fries" and was intrigued. So I showed them to him and he decided he wanted them (they were "Peter Pan fries" since Peter Pan was on the box). So we were walking down another aisle and he yells for me to "stop mama! I want waffles and fries and ketchup for dinner!". Okay.... he's never eaten a waffle before (offered one plenty of times, never even taken a bite). But, if he wants it.... who am I to say no? So we stopped and I showed him all the different kinds of waffles and let him choose. He picked plain waffles with hot wheels cars on them. LOL! Cute.

So we got home and I made him his waffle while the "fries" were in the oven. He ate the whole darn waffle!! No kidding!!!! So in less than a week he's added cereal and waffles, which is awesome because his standard bagel and cream cheese was making breakfast boring. LOL! He did eat one of the shrimp fries too. I think he liked them (he ate the whole thing) but didn't eat more than one. Probably because he ate a whole waffle and a clementine too.

So.... happy dance tonight!

Sad story though.... sometimes I don't think he *gets* it when I threaten to discipline him. Tonight was one of those examples. It was bedtime. Normally bedtime and getting ready for bed do not cause a fight (knocking on wood!). So tonight we went to his bedroom and got his clothes off (down to his undies) and I told him to go to the bathroom to go potty and brush his teeth. He sat on his floor and said no. I asked again, he said no. I told him I was going to count to 3 and if he wasn't in the bathroom then I wouldn't read a Thomas story tonight (he LOVES Thomas stories and I read him one before bed every night). He laughed and said "read thomas story!". I told him to go potty and brush his teeth so we could read it. He looked at me blankly. So I said "1". Still staring at me. "2". Nothing. I asked "do you understand that I'm not going to read thomas if you're not in the bathroom when I get to 3?". "yes, read thomas". "3". Nothing. So helped him stand up and he walked with me to the bathroom (not fighting me at all). As he was peeing he said "read a thomas story?". I told him no, we couldn't read one tonight because he didn't go to the bathroom when I asked. You could just see in his facial expression that he *just* got it. His face fell. Tears started coming down. He finished brushing his teeth and went to his bedroom and collapsed on the floor. I put his pj's on him and layed him in his bed (with no fighting from him, so it wasn't a tantrum, it was more of a realization of what just happened).

I caved. I couldn't follow through (bad mommy!). Nothing like tearing at a mom's heartstrings! I had a little talk with him about why he needs to do things when I ask him to. He agreed that he would go potty next time I ask him to. And then I read him the story. LOL! We'll see if he learned his lesson tomorrow ;)

Weekend Pictures!

Lots of pictures, starting at Friday night and going to Sunday afternoon :)

Comfy bed!

Oh, yeah... this is comfy!

Talented, he is. LOL!

Yum, birthday dinner!

Playing the piano.

"Yum.... tissue paper is kinda tasty!"

Hug time!

"Which is tastier.... the dress or the hanger?"

"Eh, guess I could play with a toy..."

"What's next?"

"This is kinda tasty"

"Oh, yeah.... definately good stuff!"

Golfing....

2 out of 3 kids looking isn't bad!

Swimming

"I'm packed and ready to go home mom!"

Eating success!!

Owen had his OT (feeding therapy today). It went AWESOME! I cannot be more happy for him. Normally there are 2 little girls with him. Both were out sick today so it was just the OT, Owen and I.

For those who don't know- Owen eats NO cereal. None. At all. Never has. Today his OT had Kix. He tried one and loved it (and, subsequently, ate her whole bowl of kix!). Then she tried 2 different indian foods (one was a teeny tiny cereal, which he ate and liked. The other was a ball a little larger than the Kix, a rice ball, which he ate and liked!). Then he ate a dried pea (!!!!). He touched a few of the other foods but didn't eat them. Then, at the end, he drank apple juice!!! (He only drinks water and OJ). He drank his whole cup of apple juice, then ate mine!

I was secretly jumping for joy! His OT must have seen my happiness so really helped me play up the whole "we can go to the store and buy Kix and apple juice and eat them at home". Owen was so thrilled to hear we could eat these at home. LOL!

So we went to the store after OT and bought apple juice (little bottles so we can take them with us this weekend), a box of Kix and one of those packages with 8 little individual boxes of different cereals. He was asking me what all the cereals were called. When I got to Cinnamon Toast Crunch his eyes perked up and said he wanted to eat that, with milk. Hmmmm....k. So we paid and went home. He didn't end up eating it with milk (just played with it) but ate about 1/2 the box of the dry cereal!!! No kidding! I just about fell over! Over 4 years and he's never eaten cereal. In 1 day he eats 2 kinds! YIPPEE!!!!

His OT says he's doing great. He may be in this therapy for a few more months. When he's done he'll move to a "mixed food" therapy (right now he's in single food theraphy). That one deals with things like casserole, lasagna, etc.

WOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Alright, gotta go eat and get ready for work.