Mama Knows Best

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!