Sept Pics

Sept went by very fast, with the start of preschool. Elle has adjusted very well to Kindergarten and I am almost adjusted myself- weaning is hard any way you slice it. Her teacher and I had a few disagreements and all seems to be smoothed over now. She is learning sight words and can read quite a few, the first word she learned to read was "wheat", as in "wheat free". She would ask if a food was wheat free when she could read wheat on the box.

Justin is doing well in Preschool after some early difficulties. He went from a class of 8 to a class of 20. He hated circle time at first but has figured out the routine and has the opportunity to play alone when he is feeling overwhelmed, which helps tremendously with socialization. We started him on some digestive enzymes this summer after I did some research on them (they were always too strong or the wrong ones before), and his digestion has improved immensely. He has improved so much from the use of enzymes that - dare I say it- he acts like a normal kid now. No more sensory issues, no more meltdowns for no reason, no more gross motor weakness. His speech has made some leaps, but still needs work, but I am happy to say he is only about 3-4 months behind what is developmentally appropriate right now.

I wanna go home!

Maybe it is the early cold weather. High of 41 today. We were in our skivvies in August. What gives? I am not looking forward to a cold Halloween.

I keep toying with the idea of moving back to NOLA. Sure we'd have to pay for school. Sure it would be mind numbingly hot. Sure it might be an aggravation to deal with drama again... but wouldn't it be better than living here, alone with no help, in the cold?

I feel like I am going through the five stages of grief. Maybe I am on the bargaining part now- if I sell off half of our stuff, we can afford a decent small house there, and maybe even be able to pay for school. But then I'd have to work. And deal with day care for Miles. And deal with whoever takes care of Justin and make sure they adhere to his diet to a tee.

Kindergarten: the Great Equalizer

Everyone told me it would happen, and I thought it would, and it did... my baby started full time school. I still can't believe it's been five whole years since she was born in Hilton Head. Hard to believe we are in Iowa, but the school system is great here, and I have no complaints... at least I wish it were that easy.

Taking your baby to school and dropping her off for seven hours with someone you don't know, much less had a lengthy conversation with, is like walking blindfolded. Frustrating, terrifying, and made worse by the fact that the school wants to simply slam the door in your face so that you will drop them at the door and not say a word. Well, we all know I am not that kind of parent. Leaving my child all day, every day is like walking away without an arm, or a leg. I thought it would feel like my heart was breaking, and it did for a second. But once we got home it felt more like I had a limb missing. A month later I am still walking around the house confused as to what I am supposed to be doing. My whole world is completely thrown off, and now looks like a cockeyed version of the old life. 

My response to Mothering's Vaccine Debate article

Thank you, Mothering, for running the Vaccine Debate article. I am a parent who chooses not to vaccinate. As a nurse with a BSN who practiced in hospitals for 8 years before having children, I never once questioned vaccinations. I even consented to the flu shot when I was three months pregnant, after asking the nurse giving it if she was sure it was safe. She simply shrugged.

My life changed when my daughter was born at 35 weeks. She had her first Hepatitis B shot in the neonatal intensive care unit at MUSC in Charleston, SC. Looking back, I still do not understand why you would vaccinate a child whose immune system is already under attack from pneumonia and respiratory distress, at less than ten days old. Once we got home to Hilton Head, I questioned her pediatrician as to why I should vaccinate her on schedule, because the guidelines at the time (2004) said that premature infants should be vaccinated according to their gestational age, not when they were actually born. He convinced me to stay on schedule, and being a health care provider, I never questioned him.

Elle reacted to her two month shots with high pitched screaming that lasted for more than 24 hours. I just thought it was an extreme expression of her already frustrating colic. Then after her four month shots, she stopped breathing during a nap. I went in to check on her because the room was a little too quiet, and she was blue around the lips and nose, and her chest wasn't moving. It took me 1-2 minutes of rubbing her sternum to get her to breathe, and about an hour for her to come around and be fully coherent.

Safety Town

After having moved here from the murder capital of the U.S. I am a bit jaded. A guy came to our house the other day looking to sell a security system. I almost laughed in his face, but that wouldn't have been polite... then today we called the water company because we hadn't had a delivery in quite a while, and they asked where a "safe" place was to leave our water if we weren't here. Seriously? We live in lily white land.

It's really dry here. Dry people, dry land, dry music... I guess coming from a place that is surrounded by water and full of angst to a place surrounded by land and free of angst is an adjustment. My neighbor used to be the lead singer in a band, and he gave me the CD to listen to. The lyrics were so white bread and rhymy- good music, but no soul, no depth, no spontaneity. I'm not knocking it, don't get me wrong, but there is something to be said for a bit of soul and water in your music.

Why I love Iowa

I love this state!  For quite a few reasons... first it was 75 today.  And like 100 in New Orleans.  I was complaining to Elle a few months ago that it was always cold, and I was tired of opening the front door to the cold in the morning, but if the summers are like this, it's worth it!  This is so nice- it's like California weather.

Also when you're nursing a baby in public, people are like, "oh how nice.  She's nursing."  And move on with their lives.  They don't look at you like you've just shot their dog, or are pooping in public, or are out to warp their children.  The South is so backwards.

Moving On

I was about to call it Turning My Back on the Past.  But that's not right.  I'm not turning my back on anything, I still have a piece of my heart in New Orleans.  However when people ask me how I like Iowa, I have to be honest and say I love it.  I really do!  We've lived in 5 states now in the past 15 years- Texas, Louisiana, California, South Carolina, Louisiana again, and now Iowa.

Updates

I want to make a few things clear... when I was asking Eric if he thought Justin was ever autistic, he got confused. He said that most people think autism is an incurable problem, a dead end diagnosis.

It's actually a constellation of things- social disconnect, sensory integration issues, delayed speech, stimming (doing the same behavior over and over again), delayed gross or fine motor skills, inflexibility, and labile mood. Physical manifestations are food allergies, gut dysfunction, immune system dysfunction, yeast overgrowth, and sleep disturbances.

Autism is treatable. There are biomedical treatments, homeopathy, physical treatments, OT and speech therapy, detox, chelation, methyl B12, on and on. It is like being hit by a bus. You don't get cured, but you can recover. Kids can recover from autism.

Justin's Issues

I know it's been a long time since I wrote about Justin's issues so I am going to try to bring you up to date. We went to speech therapy for 5 or 6 weeks before we moved, with a lady at Ochnser. She was super! Had lots of toys and was able to engage him well. When he was evaluated at 2 yrs 9 months, he tested for speech at a less than two year old level. He did very well in speech but it is hard to say if he progressed a lot because we didn't continue when we got up here (insurance doesn't cover speech unless you've had a stroke here). So I need to look into the state-run program for Iowa.

Swine Flu Info

I was really curious as to why we are freaking out about 190 confirmed cases when there are 300 million people in the U.S.  Compared to the average winter flu, that is a drop in the bucket... there is some evidence out there that this virus was produced as a biological weapon, much like the H5N1 virus (avian flu), but that is conjecture at the moment.

Thought you all might find this interesting.

K

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-reality30-2009apr30\
,0,6192735,print.story>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swi\
ne-reality30-2009apr30,0,6192735,print.story



Scientists see this flu strain as relatively mild

Genetic data indicate this outbreak won't be as deadly as that of
1918, or even the average winter. 

How to Sell Your House in 90 days or Less

How to sell your house in 90 days or less!

First, buy a house in a demand neighborhood, especially if you plan to move again in 5 years or if you have a short time period to sell when you do move (frequent job transfers, etc). Take your time looking for a house like this. It might cost you more but it will save you in the long run when you have to sell.

If you aren't moving in 5 years or less you can pick a less expensive or desired neighborhood, but be smart. Don't buy the house with termites because it's cheap, or the house next to the paper mill. If you do buy in one of these neighborhoods, be sure you have time when you sell to wait, because the turn around is longer.