I have a confession, before I
became a parent I was one of those non-parents that judged other parents and
said things like, “my child will never do that!” and “when we have kids they
are going to......blah blah blah.” I
would like to take this moment to apologize for such comments and to say that I
totally get it now. Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of the day Lanae
and Reese came home. It has been the craziest and most amazing year of our
lives, I’m pretty sure we have been through almost every human emotion possible
this year. We have had awesome days where we felt like we should write a book
or teach a class, and we have had days where we have simply wanted to survive
the day and have the strength to start a new one. We are so very grateful for
grace, forgiveness, and that God’s mercies are new everyday.
The most important thing I have
learned this year is when you have no idea what to do, pray and go with your
gut. Our sweet little Reese has had us constantly looking for answers. At home
he plays well with his sister and has pretty typical behaviors for a two year
old. As soon as he is in a room with peers he becomes so stressed that he
pushes, hits, bites and takes toys. It has taken eleven months but with the
help of some amazing people we have come to the conclusion that our little guy
has sensory processing issues. I have felt so relieved in knowing that there is
a reason for his behavior and there are things we can do to help him.
As of next week I will be teaching
two days a week, since May we have been planning on putting Reese in a
mother’s day out program. We felt like he definitely needed the social
interaction and we felt he would really benefit all around. A few days ago I started to feel really uneasy about our decision,
I just wasn’t sure this was what was best for him. I felt like we were setting
him up for failure. We just found out about his sensory issues last month and
we have not yet started the therapies to give him the tools he needs to process
the things going on around him. After many tears and several long discussions
we have decided that what is best for our little man is to get two days of TLC
from grandma and grandpa. After a year of occupational therapy we will reevaluate.
To all of you mamas out there, pray
and go with your gut, mama knows best! What works for your best friend’s kid
may not work for yours, and that’s okay. We live in an age where there is too much
competition and not enough support. Don’t get me wrong, it is amazing that your
two year old speaks Latin, but I’m just glad mine goes on the potty!
