Potty Training Update

After having wirtten my last post and after getting a couple of answers to my potty training questions via my twins group, I have decided that we we muster on.  We are not at the point of the kids telling us that they have to go to the potty, but they will and want to use the potty.  They still ahve accident, but some days are better than otehrs and some moments are better than others! 

My husband and I are on the same page.  We have decided that they will be in underwear pretty much eery day.  We are going to stop giving rewards for going on the potty, because they pretty much have no problem sitting on the potty and actually going.  Where they have the issues is not always staying dry.  I started thinking that we needed to start rewarding for the behavior we wanted not the behavior that we already had.  I wasn't sure if it would work, but I thought about rewarding for actual dry diapers.  I got some positive feedback on this and we are starting this process.  We are also stepping up how often we offer the potty.  Michael's teacher said that he is on the cusp of being ready.  He will always go on the potty, but will not tell them that he needs to go.  I needed to get more diapers for school so I decided to buy pull ups.  They're much more expensive and I know some people disagree with their use, but I think in this instance, it is worth it.  Michael will go to school in either a diaper (since I still have some left) or in pull ups which I am hoping will help make it easier for him to be trained while at school.  The one comment I got also suggested to put them in underwear and if they have an accident to put them in a diaper and continue to bring them to the potty.  They will also be going to be in a diaper at this point.  I have a feeling this is not going to be a quick and easy process like for some kids, but they are definitely interested in going on the potty and I really want to encourage that as much as I can!  I am totally in this for the long haul and feel much more comfortable continuing moving forward after getting some advice from other moms.

On another note, we have had the twins re-evaluated for early intervention.  Thomas was not screened in, but Eva Rose was.  What is so interesting about this is that I always thought that Thomas was going to be the one who was behind, but it seems like Eva Rose and Michael are the ones behind.  Michael is doing well in school.  He is able to sing the tune of twinkle twinkle with some words thrown in, and also able to go through the book Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, and you can actually understand him reading the book.  At this point, I'm sure it is more him memorizing the words, but he is right about the colors and the animals.  My goal is to record him singing the book.  Once I have it recorded, I will make sure to post to this blog!

Amy

Public Preschool Eval

Michael turns 3 in about 3 weeks.  This means he'll age out of early intervention.He still has a pretty huge speech delay so we are having him evaluated through the public school system.  I know that he'll qualify for speech therapy, but I am also hoping along with speech, he'll get to go to the public preschool.  I think that he'll benefit from the preschool program for his socialization skills.  He is just starting to parallel play with others.  He is just starting to be social rather than always being on the outskirts of things.  I know that this is most likely just him being more introverted and shy, but I think that he needs to work on this skill and I think our EI group has really helped him with this.  I also think that this will help his speech instead of just having speech therapy a couple of times a week.  In 2 weeks, the school psychologist is coming out to our EI group to evaluate him.  The next Monday, the day before he turns 3 we have his IEP meeting where we will discuss what the public school's assessment is and what the plan is.  Thankfully our EI worker is going to the meeting with me.  My step father is watching the other 2 so I can go to the meeting and hear what they have to say.

I really can't believe that Michael is going to be 3.  It feel like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with him.  I was just looking at the picture on the top of this blog, for Halloween 2010, and from that short time, it looks as if he has become such a big boy.  I can't believe how much he has changed.  He has done so well in EI, but he really still needs loads of speech therapy.  I really hope that the school feels the same way and he gets to go to preschool with in a week or so after he turns 3.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow, but I am actually a little nervous too.  Any words of advice from others who have been there?

Amy

Update On The Repeat Audiology Visit

So, Eva Rose went for her follow up audiology visit today and pretty much nothing had changed from her last visit.  Her hearing is borderline normal, which isn't really the issue.  The biggest issue is that she continues to have fluid in her middle ear and the negative pressure in her middle ear was worse.  Her last appointment was 3 months ago and either nothing has changed or it has gotten worse.  We now have to see an otolaryngologist to evaluate what to do next.  We have an appointment in 3 weeks which is the soonest appointment that we could get.  I was thinking about an appoint on a different day of the week, but that would have meant that the appointment wouldn't be for at least 2-3 more weeks and the audiologist didn't want her to wait that long.  We may be looking at tubes for her if the fluid doesn't resolve by the next appointment.  She will also have another hearing test the day that she sees the otolaryngologist.

The good news is that even though she is borderline normal hearing, meaning that she hears fine at close distances, but may not hear so fine at further distances.  This also means that if there is a hearing loss it is not impacting her speech.  She, along with her brothers have all progressed quite nicely with their vocabulary.  There is some talk about whether or not they will be eligible for further services through EI.  I am hoping that they will still get services since they are doing so well with the services that they have!  I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens at the next appointment.  The best thing that could happen is that the fluid dissipates on it's own.

Amy

Good News!

We had EI (early Intervention) today and we talked about the fact that the twins are coming up for their re-evaluation in a couple of months.  Amazingly enough, the EI workers feel that they may not qualify next time.  This is such great news, but it also stink in the fact that I have loved having people to come in and help with the kids speech.  At least, I now know what to do to help them get their vocabulary going.

Michael is coming up for his evaluation at the same time, only the biggest difference is that he is going to age out of EI at his next evaluation.  He will then be evaluated by the school system and I am really hoping that he will get picked up for pre-school through the schools.  He is progressing, but is at at least the same point as the twins and maybe even a little behind them.  Given that he is 10 1/2 months older, I am assuming that he should be further ahead than he is.  EI is going to do an evaluation also prior to the schools evaluation, I think.  They are at least going to do their own evaluation before Michael turns 3.    Hi EI worker doesn't think that he'll qualify for pre-school since he really only has speech delays.  She does think that he may qualify for speech therapy, but that may be it!  It will certainly be interesting to see how things go over the next couple of months!

Amy

If anyone has other suggestions for helping with speech, I'd love to hear them.  Anything else that I can do to continue to get the kids to progress is great!

Early Intervention

We finally have all 3 kids signed up for early intervention and their individual sessions start this week.  Michael starts tomorrow and the twins start on Thursday.  We have been going to group for 2 weeks so far and as great as I think it is, I'm not sure that they are getting anything out of it yet.  It is interesting to watch my 3 interact or not interact with the other kids in the group.  I really feel like my kids need to have more interaction with other kids so that they start to learn social skills. 

I am really looking forward to having the individual sessions start.  I have noticed a big difference with the twins and their immitating skills and Michael has gotten better, but not the the extent that the twins have.  I have hearing test scheduled for all 3 kids and Michael goes this week.  It should be interesting to find out if there is an issue with his hearing that has made him delayed in speech or if it is something else.  I am hoping that he is jsut developing on his own time and that there is not more going on with him or the twins.  I am a little nervous taking Michael for his hearing test, not knowing what to expect.  I may put a message out to the twins group to see if anyone has had experience with hearing tests at this age and what I should be expecting from the visits for the 3 kids.

It's amazing how I was looking for things to do with the kids and now that early intervention is involved 3 of 5 week days, the kids have some sort of intervention happening.  At least Tuesday and Friday are early days, but Thursday is right in the middle so that only leaves the morning to really do anything on that day.  Now that I am working, it makes it a little more difficult, but not impossible and at least I know that we have things going on 3 days a week.  And the best part is that the kids will hopefully start talking more soon.  From what I hear, it happens quickly and EI works wonders.  hopefully it will help with their socialization skills as well as their speech skills.

Amy

Early Intervention Update

Today we had the twins evaluated for EI and like I expected, they qualified for due to a speech delay.  Now all 3 kids are accepted into EI for speech.  I am actually glad that all 3 are involved as I think it will make life easier overall.  We are trying to get them into a group, which I think is beneficial for all of them.  Personally, I think all 3 kids could use some interaction with other people than just me and my husband.  I think they need to be around kids their own age other than each other.  I am hoping that with the fall coming and the weather getting cooler, we'll be back at the park more often.  I plan to look more into other groups, hopefully that are free or really low cost.  I'm really looking forward to getting out IFSP (plan) in place so that we can start working with the kids.  They have already given us a bunch of good suggestions that we have actually started to incorporate into the schedule.  The best part about EI is I am supposed to incorporate thigns into our daily lives not try to find a special time to set aside to work with them. Since I  have 3 under 3,  this makes so much sense.  The thought of trying to remember to set aside time to work specifically on speech is kind of terrifying.  On the other hand, the thought of incorporating it into our daily lives is so freeing.  I am looking forward to getting things started and moving forward with their speech!

Amy

Early Intervention

So, Michael had his early intervention eval today and it was great.  He did get picked up for services for his lack of receptive and expressive communication, but I was so impressed with the things that he was able to do.  I loved watching the assessment.  I loved watching him interact with other adults than just family and friends that have always been around.  He did have a little melt down at one point, but thankfully regained control fairly quickly.  He right at where he should be developmentally with regards to his gross and fine motor skills.  There are things that we can work on with him to help him improve a little bit, but he doesn't need any intervention with regards to these areas.  Of course, now that he has been evaluated, he is certainly doing a bit more imitating, but he is still not where he should be.  The EI evaluators also said that his level of development with fine and gross motor should actually help him with his language development.  They also pointed out that movement seems to make him more likely to use language.  I will certainly be trying to use that bit of knowledge to my advantage.

Next week, the twins have their evaluations. I don't know if they will be eligible for services, but I am really looking forward to watching their actual evaluations.  Part of me hopes that they do qualify, just so that they can get a little extra help.  Again, I think for them, it is a matter of language development vs physical, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on the gross and fine motor skills.  Today, we had 2 evaluators and next week, we will have 4 since they will be evaluating 2 kids.  Luckily today, the twins went in for a nap during most of the evaluation so both my husband and I got to observe.  Next week, I think I want to have someone watch Michael while we have the evals for the twins so that he can have fun and we can pay attention to the evaluation process.

I am really happy that we made the referral.  I have a few ideas of things that I want to get for new toys for all 3 kids.  I also want to kind of schedule the day a little bit more so that there is a little time for direct learning through play instead of just winging it.  I want to get back to the park and this time I want to try to help Michael do some more socialization with other children his age.  Any suggestions for toys, activities, or playgroups for 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old kids are totally helpful?  Also, I am interesting in arts and crafts for the 3 kids.  Any suggestions on supplies or even a class that we can take (probably a 1 time only depending on the cost)?  Any good websites for learning for this age as well?

Thanks,
Amy

Rant!

I jsut need a place to rant about people giving unsolicited advice.  No matter how well intentioned, sometimes people should just keep their mouths shut!  Case in point, early intervention.  Michael will be 2 1/2 Sept 8th and really has no functional communication.  As an aside, my husband and my little sister both talked on the later side of the developmental spectrum and there is nothing wrong now that they are grown.  After much deliberation, my husband and I decided to make a referral to EI for all 3 kids since the twins are really not talking either.  Today was the initial gathering of information and then we still have 2 more days of evals before we know who will be eligible if any.  Tomorrow is Michael's eval and I'm guessing that he will probably be approved.  The thing is, the way some people talk, Michael should be so much farther ahead than he is and we should have made a referral a long time ago (which is exactly why I am having the twins evaluated).  When we did the developmental things today, the evaluator said that she wasn't sure that the twins would qualify, but michael maybe will, she's not sure.  Granted, they all still need to have their individual evaluations, and we won't truly know if they qualify until then.  Also, given the state of the economy in the state with all the cutbacks in services, it is going to be much harder for anyone to qualify for services.  The thing is, people are so willing to point out when kids are not meeting milestones at the "normal" rate and they make you feel like there is something wrong with your child, when in fact, it just may mean that your child is developing at his or her own rate.  My husband has been really good at reminding me that not all kids do things in the same time frame as all the other kids. 

The thing is, there may be things that we can do better as parents of 3 kids so close in age.  I don't want to equate myself with a mother of triplets, but it is so hard to have 3 kids this close in age.  Sometimes I feel like I am not giving them the attention that they would be getting if they were farther apart in age and singletons.  With Michael, he was only 10 1/2 months when the twins were born.  Then there is the fact that I was on bed rest for 3 months of my pregnancy.  Then the twins were in the hospital (NICU) after being home for 2-3 weeks and then Michael turned 1 right after they came home.  Then I had to ensure that 3 babies were taken care of.  Don't get me wrong, I actually truly love having them so close in age, I just hoep that their development is not suffering because of it.

So to all those "well meaning" people, please keep those comments to yourself.  You don't know everything.  You don't need to scare parents.  Kids do not always develop at exactly the same time, including siblings.  If you don't truly know what qulaifies as a delay, keep your mouth shut.  Those "well meaning" comments can cause parents worry about their child's development and if it is normal and cause them to question themselves and that just isn't a fair place to put anyone.  I do hope that the kids qualify because I think that they can benefit, but because of certain things that were said to me (even though I was smart enough not to take the comments at face value and I researched on my own) I have questioned my own parenting and my own belief system when it comes to my children.  I am slowly learning to listten to me and my beliefs and not let others influence me without first assessing the whole situation and making sure that I get the facts straight.

One of these days, I hope that I can trust myself enough to know that I know what's best for my child and not let others influence me.  Sory about the rant, but i am just frustrated with unsolicited advice!

Thanks for listening,
Amy

Early Intervention

Our EI evals start tomorrow.  We will have 2 people at the house tomorrow to start the process.  I am not really sure what to expect and am assuming that all 3 kids will qualify for speech.  I would have to say that Michael has some useful communication skills, but not a ton.  He hasn't put words together yet and is almost 2 1/2.  He is starting to say more and say things like bye appropriately, but noting really more than that.  I am a little concerned that there is more to this than just a speech delay, but it is probably my obsessive nature that is rearing it's ugly head.  The twins are not really talking either, but they are only 18 months and I thin they are doing more than Michael did at this age, but are still behind where they should be. I am hoping that EI will give me and my husband pointers on what we should be doing differently.  I will feel so guilty is there have been things that I should have been doing but haven't that may have contributed to this delay.  the good thing is that if they get accepted by EI, then they will get teh help that they need and I have heard so many positive stories about how EI has benefitted other's kids.

Along with the EI evals, I plan to start planning my meals better.  This will help in so many ways.  This is one of the major stressors in my life.  I am just not good at being organized and having things planned.  Along with that I will be doing better at getting myself organized with regards to daily cleaning.  I need to stop trying to do things all at once and start doing things in small doses so that I don't get overwhelmed by the many tasks that go along with having a house, taking care of small kids, having a husband, and now a part time job.  I need to get better at planning and scheduling so that life goes a little smoother.

Thanks for reading,
Amy

Early Intervention

We have been trying to figure out when and if an early intervention referral needs to be made for any of the kids.  At this point the only issue that we are concerned about is speech.  None of the kids seem to speak at an early age and since my husband and my little sister started speaking at closer to 2 1/2 and 3, we weren't that concerned.  Now that Michael is nearing the 2 1/2 age and is speaking more, but only still saying 1 word at a time, we decided that it would be important to have him evaluated and at the same time have the twins evaluated since they really aren't talking either.  I know a ton of people in my twins group have had EI for quite some time and for all sorts of developmental delays and they have, for the most, part been really satisfied with the service and felt that their kids really benefitted.  Today, I made the referral to our local EI office and will here back from them in 7-10 day regarding an evaluation.

At this point I think things are fine with all 3 kids, just a slight delay in their speech.  I have to admit though, I am a little worried that they will find out that there is something more to be concerned with.  If there is, I know that it is better to know now and get the assistance that is needed, but it is a little scary to think that maybe there is more to the delay than just late speech.  I am also feeling a little guilty since another twin mom pointed out that kids are finished with EI at 3.  That  means that Michael will be in it for all of 6 months if he is found eligible.  I'm sure that there is follow up after EI, I just don't know what.

There are all sorts of questions that I have regarding EI.  I am hoping that my twins group will be a great resource for all of my questions.  I definitely tend to think about the worst possible outcome, I just try not to obsess about it!  I'm sure that I will find support in my twins group for this, as they have been really helpful in the past for me and for others with questions regarding many topics.

Right now, we are just waiting to schedule an evaluation for all 3 kids.  I am going to just wait for that and not think about the worst outcome of the eval.  I will just wait and see where it brings us!

Amy