Sam is finally getting over a monster of a cold. This is the second time this year he has had one like this - a week of coughing so hard he pukes. The other night he woke up in a puddle of vomit and then had to sleep with us with lovely smelling hair ( I tried to clean it but he was hysterical!!) Now Maya and I have the cold but we don't seem to be throwing up (keep your fingers crossed). So now I need the arm and the cold to get better before I have this baby . . . .please.


I just entered Sam in an ipad contest on this blog:

http://marissasbunny.com/


5 ipads are being given away so if you have a special needs child you might want to check it out.

The arm is healing although the process feels so slow. I got the stitches out on Tuesday (3 weeks after the surgery). I got a removable cast/brace that allows me to take a real shower. I can move my fingers and bear a TINY bit of weight on the (the weight of a few papers or a kid's plastic plate). I can't do much with the thumb yet. The surgery was just below the thumb so I guess that makes sense. I should be in this cast until the baby comes. At my appointment on tuesday the doctor asked me to come back in three weeks for an x-ray. I asked how flexible he was with that because I was planning to have a baby in 3 weeks. H said call when I deliver because they might be able to do the x-ray while I am in the hospital! That would save a lot of trouble.

I had a bit of a scare on Friday because it felt like I was going into labor. I was awake most of the night because of Sam and because I just felt strange. When I went to work I made sure to drink lots of water and I tried to eat but I had no appetite. I began cramping/contracting right as the day began. They were not too intense but strong enough to be uncomfortable. I had three hours of non-stop teaching first thing in the morning and then a 25 minute break. During those 25 minutes I told the main office I needed to leave. I organized work for my afternoon classes and left. I tried calling my doctor but they were "out to lunch" for an hour and a half. When I finally got the secretaries, they asked me to come in right away. The doctor checked me and I was only dilated a tiny bit so he din't think it was true labor. He told me to take a hot shower, lie down and drink half a glass of wine. I did n't have the wine because I was afraid I would fall asleep on the spot. By the next morning the cramps had died down and I began to feel normal again. Can you imagine a newborn, a 2 year old, and Sam. . .and me with only one working arm?

Sam has had a tough time with my injury. He doesn't understand that he can't grab my arm to lead me somewhere. He has also had to adjust to Dad dressing him after his bath. I am starting to be able to do it again but I don't mind keeping it as my husband's job for a while. Sam continues to have sleep issues despite Clonidine and melatonin ( it worked great for a while but like everything it seems to have stopped having the full effect). When he wakes he is less stimmy than off the meds but it still makes for tough nights.

One nice thing that came of this is that I got a lot of kindness from neighbors, friends, and people at work. Some cooked us dinner and others pooled money for a gift card to a local take out restaurant. My mom sent a package of frozen meals. One neighbor took Maya outside to play in the snow with her kids (which was a real treat for her since I can't even do that when I am healthy because Sam won't go). The first couple of days I had NO arm control and I had to get a neighbor to change Maya when she pooped.

On hard thing about all this though has been the "alone" factor. Mark just couldn't take off from work for financial reasons and I have basically been on my own with the kids (outside of work) six days a week. While it was hard to go out with Maya and Sam before, it is impossible now. I have been able to find ways to do most things one-handed but it is very difficult. If I thought I was tired before, it was nothing compared to now ( try sleeping with a 9-month pregnant belly and a broken arm). The night I had the surgery, we couldn't find anyone who could pick me up. Mark had to drag the kids out of bed at midnight and bring them to come get me. He waited outside the front doors until they wheeled me out. My mother and my sister have both made trips on Saturdays to help out for a few hours (I need help carrying laundry baskets around the house) which has been nice but I have been finding myself envious of people who live near family or who get to stay home with their kids and have the time to get to know other parents in the area.

One thing that made me very happy though was that I wasaqble to knit a few rows yesterday. It was slow work but it was a start. Since knitting is my only "thing" outside of work and kids, it has been tough not to have that distraction.

A Perfect Storm

-Bad weather kills Mark's business
-the unsual financial issues
-8 (soon to be 9) months pregnant
-broken arm that has to heal from surgery
-most stressful time at my job (high stakes testing)
-Sam has stopped sleeping on a regular basis

So will our ship be lost?


On a slightly more positive note, Sam is giving Maya quite a sibling experience lately. He zeroes in on whatever she is playing with and either syeals it or knocks it over. Classic bratty brother.

Typing one handed stinks.

broken bones

Maya's kimono sweater. I love how easy the pattern was and I think I will whip up another with some other yarn I have.

First pair of baby booties.

Second pair with a yarn I LOVE (Malabrigo 100% merino)

Matching hat

I also made an olive/burgundy baby blanket and I started a burgundy baby sweater.

I also have this lovely organic merino wool waiting to be knit.

But it may be a while before I can knit because I fell on some ice on Tuesday and I broke my left arm in 3 places. I spent the day and most of the night in the hospital having the baby checked and then getting surgery (awake with a nerve block b/c of pregnancy). I guess I am lucky it was my left arm since I can still do some things. The kids are freaked out and giving dad a very hard time when he has to do something I would usually do. Both are having a hard time sleeping. My arm should heal up by the time the baby is due. sigh.

Big Kid Cup

Sam got this cup in his stocking this year. I decided it was important for him to have a more age appropriate cup to take to school or out in the community. It is not that I want to "hide" his autism, that is pretty much impossible due to the constant stims and noises, I just don't think he should use sippy cups forever. He CAN drink from a regular cup but he has to be very closely supervised. He is so stimmy with his hands that the cup often gets knocked over. Also, he has a bit of an obsession with how he "releases" objects. He doesn't place things down gently, he has to release quickly so that they fall a little - not always good with an open cup. Sport water bottles are not good because he loves to let those drop as well and they make a bog mess. He gets a kick out of water dripping on the floor or on himself. This cup has been almost perfect. It doesn't leak in his bag and it doesn't leak when he "drops" it. He figured out the bite valve with no trouble. It is age appropriate (I have one myself but it doesn't have the cool pictures on it). The only issues with it is that, as with everything, Sam had figured out how to stim with it. He holds the spout/bite valve with his teeth and walks around flapping his arms and making his stimmy noise. I take the cup aways as soon as he starts that so hopefully we can defeat this behavior before he ruins the spout. Overall, this big kid cup was a great buy.

A note from the teacher

I got this email from Sam's teacher today:

Hello
I just wanted to reach out to you and tell you how well Sam has been doing lately. He recently has shown an interest in two of his peers (_______ and _______). He will get in their face and smile or he will pull on their shirt. It's very cute! After he gets a reaction from them, he has a big smile on his face.
Have a great day!!


This fits with what Sam seems to have been trying with his sister as well. I also caught him looking over at his babysitter's son the other day and flapping his hands like he was excited. He saw the son playing with a friend and he looked like this tiny little part of him deep down inside wanted to join in but he had no idea what to do.

Moments of Normal

Every so often it is possible to look at what is going on in our house and not notice anything about Autism. Sam has recently figured out how to play chase with his little sister. Unfortunately the way her asks her is to walk up to her, pinch her and run away but it often does the trick and the two of them circle the house in a chorus of laugher. Sam has also started to realize that he can chase Maya too (much to her delight). He doesn't like the game as much that way but with a little nudge from me, he can sometimes be persuaded. Add dad to the mix and both kids are in total ecstasy. They both get to run away and to be tickled. Maya insists that dad yell "yar!" as he chases them (she associates this sound with dinosaurs and pirates). There is very little else they would choose over this game. When they are running and laughing together, you hardly notice Sam isn't really using any clear language. It is all squeals and laughs from everyone involved.