|
 |
 |
|
WELCOME, GUEST |
|
|
| |
 |
 |
 |
(3 members)
|
 |
 |
6 |
 |
|
|
liyahs0236 |
|
|
|
red366 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
THE MCTRIPLETS
McTriplet Mommy |
|
| Category: Home | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | | | | 1 | | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
|
|
|
|
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ENCOURAGING
|
|
Oct 06, 2006 11:53am (EST)
Okay - so we're back from the eval. Wow... didn't expect this... I'm crying already! 
Okay - the good. Lots and LOTS of good!! We live so close (half an hour, more in traffic) to an AMAZING school for children with visual impairments. EVERY teacher there is not "just" a special education teacher but is specifically a teacher for the visually impaired. This is a preschool - like other preschools - where they will learn colors, shapes, listening, playing with others... but will also be able to receive therapy at - even specialized stuff like O&M and Braille!! They will be exposed to things *specifically* for children who have visual impairments - things may be presented bigger than they typically would, things are maybe more contrasted they they typically would, lights used, things like that. What an *amazing* opportunity. I mean - even the building is great!! There are different colored tiles leading to different places in the building (yellow tiles to the classrooms, blue to the nurse, etc.). There are even physical, acoustical changes in ceiling height, etc., so that even children with NO vision can navigate safely, and somewhat independently, because they can *hear* differences in the hallways to find where they are going. I mean, it is really an amazing place!!
Their O&M instructor (they *did* qualify for services) is a GREAT woman!! I truly love her like a sister. She has been the boys' TVI (teacher for the visually impaired) for the past 18 months in the CCVI infant program. She went to "O&M school" this summer and is now the O&M instructor! So, we still get to see her! She is GREAT and the boys LOOOOOOOOOVE her. 
As another Share mom put much more eloquently in her blog a few days ago, new therapies are not usually a bad thing. Now we have one more person to help the boys reach their *full* potential. One more person on our *team* that is working for OUR boys!! One more resource in my corner to help prepare my boys to the world. Awesome.
And, I'll tell you another thing, my boys are "just" visually impaired. Every time I visit CCVI I realize that. They are not severely, multiply disabled. They do not have major cognitive disabilities. Lorne still has some on-going, physical issues but none of the three of them really have HUGE developmental concerns anymore. I can't even believe I can *actually* say that!!! My boys who were born months before they were supposed to... are really not THAT far behind! They're not even as far behind as their *adjusted* age anymore. They're kind-of in the middle.
Of course, all of this is a huge reality check. Kind-of like those of us that really, really would not admit... until they wheeled us to delivery... that this baby (or these babies) was *really* coming. The tenny, tiny part of us that clung to hope that even if our water broke, or mucus plug came out or we were having contractions... the babies would wait. Those of us that thought the hospital wouldn't be so bad if we really, really *got to* spend MONTHS there if that meant the babies spent more months inside. That's kind-of what I have been clinging to. That the boys would have "bad" vision. You know - like anyone else with bad vision. Mine isn't the best and Scott's isn't perfect. We both wear glasses and contacts. Many of the boys' aunts and uncles and grandparents do, too. Geez - most people I know do!! So maybe that would be "all". But... today was a ralization. 
The boys will need special services just to learn to be safe moving around. I'd already accepted that they'll go to a "special" preschool... but maybe that would be "all". Maybe they would be so good at that school that we underestimated them. No dice. I don't know... it's GREAT but it's so bitter-sweet... if they NEED the services - hooray for them getting them!! Three cheers for a GREAT place at which they will receive them!! But I wish they didn't *need* them - know what I mean?
Anyway, the other guy that came in to do the eval with Nicole (she is still doing her internship so has her mentor around for some things) was *really* encouraging!! He said he was *really* impressed with the way they use the vision they do have. He said they are doing GREAT!! That, yes, they would benefit from direct O&M services but he was really impressed with what they already *could* do. It was so encouraging to hear from another, totally impartial, party!!
So... thanks for going through this with me. You guys really *do* rock. Truly.
I'm off to get a few things done while the boys nap. We're going to take Isaac and Sullivan out on Sunday for *their* birthday. I'm so excited! The mom of three two year olds... that will be me in my next blog entry! Amazing. It seems like the absolute shortest - and amazingly long - two years of my life! Then Monday... preschool! 
Take care, have a great weekend!
Kara
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (10) | Permalink
|
|
|
THE "B" WORD AND OTHER RAMBLINGS OF A NERVOUS MOTHER
|
|
Oct 06, 2006 04:05am (EST)
Today is our Orientation and Mobility (O&M) evaluation at school. For those not familiar with the term, O&M is basically the ability to move around safely in your environment. For people (like Scott and I and like Sullivan) who have "typical" vision - this is practically a non-issue. If you're coming to a set of steps, you walk down or up them. If you're about ready to step on a toy, you step over or around. If you're looking for a certain room in a building, you go through the halls (no need to "trail" the wall on your way) and read the signs to find it. If you come to a curb in a parking lot, you step up to go into the store. When crossing a street, you wait for the "Walk" signal, make sure all cars are choosing to abide by it, and cross. Big deal. For kids (like Isaac and Lorne) who have a visual impairment - this sometimes needs to be taught as they don't notice these things without learning to - or least being able to do so safely.
My boys have very good, as they call it, "functional" vision. That is - good "up close" vision, basically. To come in to my home, where the boys are used to playing, and watch them run around - even manuvering around ALL of the toys sure to be on the ground - you might not guess how bad their vision is. Even when they are sometimes without their glasses, we don't notice a lot of running in to objects or tripping on toys and things. You could sit at the dinner table with us and, besides their VERY thick glasses, may not think much about my boys' eyes as they shovel their food in to their little bird mouths. They do art projects and other fine motor activies like most other kids would do.
A trip to the park or our backyard, however, is a different story.
Their depth perception is WAY off. We have a "lip" in our garage (like almost everyone with a garage does) - a two inch step down so water doesn't come in when it rains. This *really* throws the boys off. Isaac insists on getting on his hands and knees, like we've taught him to go down stairs, and crawl over this "drop down". Lorne just stands at the edge and screams. This is actually a HUGE improvement because they used to not even notice it and always trip and fall at the edge. Now we've really taught them to, "Look down," (a phrase you'd hear a lot around here!) and they're starting to notice more things like this. That's the first step so I take pride in knowing they've got that down - "just" from Mommy and Daddy's teachings! Of course, even that can be lost in a fit of excitement - like a kitty in the drive way or something. Shadows also pose a problem. Same reactions - Isaac insists on "climbing down" on his knees out of a shadow (that the tree makes on the grass, for example) and Lorne usually stands at the edge (in the sun or the shade side - wherever he happens to have started) and scream. This is where the visual impairment becomes painfully obvious.... So, they're having an O&M eval to see if they qualify for more instruction in this area. They likely will and I'm actually hoping they do.
While grilling our teacher on her *last* visit <sniff, sniff> Wednesday for info on the future (poor girl - I am *constantly* asking her to basically predict the future!!) she also dropped another bomb. The big "b" word.
Braille.
She said the boys will certainly be considered "low vision" and will likely need enlarged print to read. This is another thing you would probably notice at my house. When they are "reading" their books - that thing is an inch from their face. Sometimes touching. But, as she explained, eyes fatigue... I'm sure you've noticed this yourself if you read or use the computer for a long time. So, "just" large print may not be the total answer. Plus, it's not always efficient. If you need things blown up to a 40 point type to read it - you're getting one, maybe two, words on a page. It would take an eternity to read a book flipping THAT many pages!!! So, she said they'll probably learn Braille.
What a *wonderful* system that Louis Braille set-up. What a concept!! To *read* with your fingers. Thousands of little dots on a page mean the same thing that hundreds of letters and words mean. The brailler is a really, really cool machine, too. (I've been checking ebay!!) Amazing. I've always been kind-of intrigued by it. I used to always "read" (I'm sure lots of kids did this!!) the signs on the bathroom, classroom, or anything else when I was a kid. It felt so cool - those little bumps. I am actually very excited to learn it myself! Scott even said the same last night. Our school offers GREAT training in this area and there are several courses (most free) that can teach you. Of course... I'd like to *just* learn it to learn something new. To enrich MY mind. Not because my children will NEED to use it to function in their school and life. That part is kind-of a punch in the gut.
I just really never saw myself as a parent of a child with special needs. I'm sure no one does. Not that I'm not overwhelmingly thankful for the opportunity to parent these beautiful boys and not that we're not grateful that their vision IS as *good* as it really is. But, just not the way I pictured my 2.5 kids in my house with the white, picket fence.
Okay, enough of my pity party... since I'm actually leaving the house today (hooray!) better make myself presentable. I'll be sure to update after. Thanks to all of you for being the best. 
Kara
|
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (6) | Permalink
|
|
|
LAST PICTURES...
|
|
Oct 04, 2006 10:23am (EST)
Okay... this is it! I couldn't help but share though. These were a *nightmare* to take. Lots of crying and it took two trips and two hours... I'm happy with the end result though! We got an *adorable* picture of Isaac with his big, toothy, cheesy smile... and goldfish in the corner of his mouth and hands! It was clear bribery... so this facial expression is okay but clearly the best overall of the two. I had to include the group pic we *didn't* choose, too - too funny not to!
The house is mostly picked up now after the party. Not that it won't be trashed again soon! The *new* toys are more big boy toys though - less tiny pieces and balls and stuff and more big balls and big cars and things. Nice for clean-up!
Tomorrow is the daunting cardiology appointment for Sullivan. Actually, I'm looking forward to it. We will NOT receive bad news tomorrow. They're not going to say, "Oh my goodness - his VSD is SOOOO much bigger!" They're either going to say, "Things look the same," or, "Look - it's closed!" So I'm not really dreading it - well, the outcome... I sure am dreading the appointment! Holding my tiny six month old down for an echo was very hard... holding my two year old down is going to be near impossible!! I can't imagine how this will go... I should be thankful that we don't go more often! Please think of us tomorrow... I am *really* hoping for good news!!
Take care, Happy Hump Day!
Kara
Lorne sears
Sears Isaac 2 - best
Sears Sullivan
Sears group pic 1 - best
Sears group crying
|
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (14) | Permalink
|
|
|
NEW LA-LA'S!!!!
|
|
Sep 29, 2006 11:18am (EST)
Or... for those of you that don't speak "Lorne" - new glasses!! They're very similar but blue. With newwwwwwww, unscratched, unchewed on, perfect lenses!!
It was so "funny" when we went in there to look for the frames - they gave me this speech about how they can use this other type of lens and, "...really thin out those lenses so they aren't SO thick and don't distort his (Isaac's) beautiful blue eyes underneath." I politely informed her that the last place had already done that and that this already WAS the thinned lens! They don't see much prescriptions in the high teens/twenties I suppose!!
Isaac's glasses are "just" an extra. Actually now his old pair, which contain VERY scratched lenses, are the extra - these are his new every day glasses! Okay... Sunday - for pictures - they will become his new every day glasses... for now they're on the shelf.
Lorne's are going to be a Godsend! We have to patch him 3/4 waking hours to strengthen that lazy right eye. His left eye has not had cataract surgery or any surgery other than "just" the laser so it is so much stronger. His left eye is very near-sighted still (-11.25) so on this pair, we took that lens out! Well, we made it a "fake" lens so our doctor said we can do this instead of patching! He can wear this pair 3/4 of the time and then the old pair the other part of the day. Since the correction for his left eye is so substantial, our doctor said not having it but having the prescription in his right eye is just as good as those stupid patches he doesn't keep on anyway. Woohoo!!
Hoping to post pictures of my cake adventures... I'm too busy calling Hy-Vee though and seeing how much notice they'll need to personalize a cake. Not going well! The big Par-Tay is tomorrow - I can't wait!!
Happy Friday!
Kara
isaa new glasses 1
lorne new glasses
|
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (13) | Permalink
|
|
|
OVERREACT? WHO... ME???
|
|
Sep 25, 2006 06:33pm (EST)
Okay, Lorne's "ringworm" is gone - less than 72 hours later and without treatment. Okay... so I jumped the gun.
We had THE busiest day!! It started at 8:30 with Lorne's LAST visit with his PT!! We chose months ago, when he would officially have "graduated," that we'd like to keep her on until school started just to make sure... that way if they felt like he needed anything at school, he would already have it on the books and not need another auth. He did great and she still sees *no* need for him to need further PT. I'm so proud!!
Lorne then had a feeding clinic appointment at 11:00. It went just okay. Lorne was extremely irritated about something and didn't "perform" very well. He only wanted to sit on Mommy's lap and wouldn't do much other than chant and whine, "Down! Down!" I kept offering him a choice, you know - like you're supposed to... "No, Lorne, down is not a choice. Your choices are Mommy or highchair. Do you want Mommy or highchair?" "DOWN!" She did say we could try thickened liquids in a cup for him!! Very exciting. We don't have to go back for six weeks. She commented on how in the past five weeks, he is talking SO much more!
Then... the big appointment. His official two-year old appointment. He weighed.... 28".4" pounds (it irritates me when they put ".4" when they mean "4 ounces"... which would be ".25"... but that's the nerd in me ) ANYHOW... 28 pounds 4 ounces - the 40th percentile for his actual age. He was... 35 1/2 inches long - the 90th percentile for his actual age. These numbers were the opposite of this last time - like 10% for height and 75% for weight. He was FAT. But, those that have seen Lorne lately, he's NOT a skinny boy now, either. So, we're happy with those numbers. Lorne was half an inch shorter than a ruler when he was born... now he's half an inch shorter than a yard stick.
She said the "ringworm" was likely an allergic reaction to bug bites. The word "allergic" made me a bit nervous but she assured me it was not a big deal. She said that the more he is exposed as he grows older, the reaction will lessen.
I brought up the Synagis something like, "What do you think about just asking the insurance company about Synagis for Lorne this year?" The response..., "I sent in requests for *all three boys* on Wednesday." What a gal! Of course, that doesn't mean anything but that she asked for them - not that we'll get them - but I love that she had already done that!
As we were leaving, I asked her about when we needed to come back. She said if we don't get Synagis (they would, of course, weigh him before each shot to determine the dosage) he should come back in six months for a weight/height check. She said THAT is her main concern (the height and weight) because, get this, "I don't really have any developmental concerns for him at this time."........ for those of you that missed it, and are rubbing your eyes in disbelief, I will repeat... our DOCTOR said about MY Lorne that she, "Doesn't have any developmental concerns for him." Okay, so she added, "at this time," but who cares? MY little boy - remember him? The one who was born 17 weeks early... before the "point of viability"... who couldn't sit up or roll over or cross mid-line on his first birthday... doesn't evoke any developmental concerns in a medical professional. Amazing. Of course he is getting EI services still, ST and OT but they are really cutting back on those and I don't think he would qualify for them now if he had to. She asked me how many words he said, I guessed 25 (never really thought about it!) and she wrote that down... minutes later when we had been there for a while and she had seen him in action, she said, "I'm SURE he has more than 25 words." My dad made a comment like, "Wow... did you think two years ago he'd be at this place?" And I responded with, "Geez... six months ago I wouldn't have believed we'd be at this place!"
The poor kid is SO doctored out and freaked to be put on the exam table at the doctor. He hates shots (who *likes* them?) and got one of those today. So I thought, why stop there, let's get a haircut! We've rescheduled our 2 year pics for Sunday so I wanted him to look nice... he did SO well! This is the kid who last week the (LAZY) woman at the haircut place refused to cut because he was freaking out so much. He whined a bit but did great!
What a FANTASTIC day!!
Can't wait to see you October 14th and 15th in KC for the Share (Re)union!
lornepic1
lornepic2
|
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (16) | Permalink
|
|
|
SOMETHING NEW FOR THE MCTRIPLETS
|
|
Sep 23, 2006 06:20pm (EST)
There are many rites of passage in childhood... in OUR days it was chicken pox - though they have a vaccine for that one now. Pink eye... and then those others my boys have already endured... pneumonia... bronchilitis... TWO bouts of the stomach flu.... and now... ring worm! Yeah, seriously, *ring worm*. 
I can't help but KNOW that Lorne got this nasty ailment at Paradise Park on Wednesday. He has spots on his arm (times three) and two spots on his face. We were not able to make urgent care today (we assumed these were bug bites for a long while and didn't get worried until after UC was closed) so they are not "confirmed" but Mom's intuition says.... all out.... *ring worm*.
ICK!!! I mean, totally yuck. It is nasty - like athlete's foot on your face. It is REALLY contageous and I'm sure all three boys will have it soon. For now, it is "just " Lorne. We can "only" wash sheets and towels daily, sanitize EVERYTHING... but we truly can't possibly limit ALL skin-to-skin contact between the boys. Honestly... a skin infection is absolutely NOTHING compared to the stomach flu or, God forbid, a respiratory infection. Who cares??!! Of course, this means canceling our two year pics tomorrow and we are obviously not attending the ice cream social tomorrow. UGH!! I'm almost *so* happy the Rock girls are sick though and planned already NOT come over... instead of us noticing these spots on Lorne tomorrow after they'd already been exposed. There are urgent care hours tomorrow but Lorne already has an appointment on Monday... I don't think we would do anything different in the 24 hours in between but that means exposing Lorne TWICE to peditrician's office germs... so I think we'll just stick with Monday's appointment.
UGH!! Ode to childhood illnesses... the gross ones that *don't* worry me that much!!
Kara
|
|
|
|
Posted by McTriplet Mommy | Comments: (8) | Permalink
|
|
 Archives
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
