A MIRACLE!

Okay, maybe not. But, it sure felt like one when Jaden’s preschool director today told me they have a space for Jack! I am so incredibly relieved! I think it will be good for him to be where Jaden is and I really like this school and the teachers. I was not thrilled about trying to find another place for him and making 3 stops every morning and evening. Whew!

We have been home a little over a week. It is hard to believe that Jack has been with us for just 3 weeks. It seems like so much longer than that! He is adjusting to life at the Herne house and his siblings are adjusting to life with Jack. I am trying to figure out how I am going to get out of the house in any reasonable length of time – for anything!

Last week, Carter very generously shared his killer cold with the five members of his family. We all got very sick, very fast. For several nights, everyone seemed to be up with some ailment or inability to sleep. As a result, Mom was not a happy camper. Chris was going to work, so every time someone got up with some hacking cough, I got up, shared in the hacking myself and then tucked the poor soul back into bed. It seemed that by the time I got myself back into bed, someone else was crying or at the bedside. I am glad all that is over. We all seem to be recovering now.

The fantastic news is that Jack is sleeping through the night, in his crib, by himself. A huge accomplishment for this young lad – only after a few rivers of tears. It took about 3 nights of mean mom putting him to bed for naps and night time and letting him cry. He now offers his courtesy protest cry for about 2 minutes and then sucks his fingers while he drifts off to sleep. He does still wake up in the middle of the night, but only with some grunting and then goes back to sleep on his own. This was a tough 3 days for the whole family, but the result is that everyone gets to sleep at night. Poor Jaden had the worst of it since she couldn’t sleep in her bed while her new brother cried. She went from Darby’s bed to Carter’s floor, to mom and dad’s floor. It was a happy night when everyone was sleeping in their own beds all night!

Last week, we had the pediatrician check up. Good news – Jack is developmentally on target except for speech. I thank the Half the Sky program for this. However, he is not even on the growth charts – he is so small. He weighed in at just 21 pounds. I can see that his little legs are getting some chub on them, so maybe he will catch up at least a little bit. He also got 4 shots and was so very brave. He really didn’t cry much at all for this – well, not compared to the going-to-sleep-by-yourself-torture. Then, we had blood work - that was rough. I am glad it is over and I am sure he is too. Unfortunately, it made me think of how many times this little boy is going to have to be stuck with a needle over the next few years as we deal with his hearing and ears. I think it is harder on me than it is on him!

Tomorrow, we go to Palo Alto for Jack’s first ENT appointment. It is my hope that he will cooperate for the behavioral hearing test. If not, he will have to be sedated. I am expecting that they will order his hearing aid on Wed and then we will get it about a week later. In the meantime, I have signed him up for the early intervention program through the school district. They will provide a speech therapist who will come to our home a few times a week – awesome!

Jack and I are enjoying our days together. He loves to play with cars and enjoys being outside. He can’t quite reach the pedals on the trike and wishes very badly that he could. He loves going to the store and the post office with me and is exploring a variety of new foods. He still prefers noodles to anything and so I am using a little trickery to get some veggies in. He ate goulash laced with peas and ravioli laced with green beans. Today, he ate a cup of noodles with tofu chunks – ha! He is also feeding himself with a spoon and fork. See the video evidence here...

In the evenings, Jack is playing with his older siblings. He is still throwing things a bit too much and throws himself a little pity party several times a day if I tell him “No” to anything. Once he is done crying (and often flailing) in his crying spot, he stands up and gives me a big hug. I think it does him good to just let it out. These episodes are decreasing in frequency and length, so I think we are making progress. Tonight, he stood on a stool and helped make the pizza dough with Jaden. He then helped make his own pizza and stuffed his mouth with some of the extra pepperoni. He was soooo proud to be “helping.”

Jack’s vocabulary has been expanding as well. He says “bye, bye” now and likes to say this and take off in the other direction with the little shopping cart. Very cute. He also can say Jaden – though it sounds more like “Ada.” He can sign more, eat, drink, and done consistently. Just yesterday he ran around the corner saying, “mama, mama” and signing “drink.” I got him his water cup and he was so pleased with himself that he was able to tell me what he wanted! I enjoy so much watching his progress!

Sorry, I can't post photos because Chris has the cord I need to upload... More after tomorrow.