8.29.2007

made my day

i thought i'd get a post in while i have a minute (cause lord knows i don't have much more than that anymore during the day).

right now, at this very second - holden's jumping on his trampoline. zoe was sitting on it, and he pushed her off, in true "holden" fashion. but, then, she got off and he pulled her hand back. he's trying to get her to get ON the trampoline with him, to jump. he's smiling at her and keeps wanting her to pick him up.

he's actually PLAYING with her. my day is officially "made".

8.22.2007

"wonder" drug & new therapists

Holden went for his bloodwork yesterday at the DAN! doctor's office. I had gotten a prescription for EMLA cream prior to his appointment. I didn't go to his appointment, seeing as I'm 10 day post partum, and Zoe started school the day before and I needed to stay home and make sure she got to school.

The EMLA cream apparently works well. Dietrich and my mother-in-law both said he didn't flintch one bit while being poked and having blood drawn. It wasn't until they began to administer the Glutathione that he had a mild freak-out session. And, I honestly think it was because the Glutathione was so thick, that it may have burned going into the vein. When I had Jackson, they gave me a pain med in my IV and had to give it slowly because it was so "hard" on the veins. It burned like hell. So, I'm sure he also felt the same thing, since the nurse said the Glutathione is extremely thick and has to be given very slowly.

So, Glutathione is this "wonder" drug. It's not a "drug" really. It's an amino acid. Our bodies naturally produce it, so it can't be classified as a vitamin. It's the most important agent our bodies produce in order to naturally detox our systems. Holden's Glutathione levels were only 1/2 of what would be considered "normal" range. His body doesn't naturally produce it right now. We opted to have the IV push of Glutathione to see if it made a difference. It did. Last night, Holden made more consonant-vowel sounds than he ever has. He said "wow" yesterday on the way home from the doctor. He was happy. His energy level was increased and he laughed and smiled and made good eye contact. The nurse says there are ways to administer Glutathione daily. It doesn't work orally - it should be given through a cream form, or an aerosol (breathing treatments). We have a followup appointment on September 4th and I'm going to ask for some type of daily dose.

We fired Holden's behavior analyst. She called in sick ALL. THE. TIME. I liked her, but, she was just not dependable. Not consistent. I called and asked for a new thearpist. She came out today. Her name is Barbara and I like her. I think she's definitely more professional. She asked a lot of questions. When I told her that I want to learn how to do what I need to do at home for Holden when she's not there, she said "that's what I'm here for". She's more positive. Even going as far as explaining to me that many of his behaviors I told her about are "normal", but just exaggerated. And, that teaching him in a different way is what is going to help him most. Did I mention I like her? Cause I do. So, she'll be at the house from 9:30-11am every Monday & Wednesday. Here's looking forward to Monday......

8.20.2007

He's here!


Jackson Collier Block. Born on August 10th @ 12:53pm. Weighing in at 8 lbs., 15 ozs. He's wonderful!



8.06.2007

holy moly, we're busy!

Zoe turned 8 yesterday. 8. I can't believe it. She's just the best kid in the world...
Holden imitated me 3 times in a row on Saturday evening. He was in his highchair and I asked him to "do this" and he did 3 things I asked him to - 1.) tapped his spoon on his highchair like I did, 2.) put his hands in the air, and 3.) clapped his hands. He did them all on either the 1st or 2nd request. His eye contact has been pretty good lately, too. I don't know if it's the L-Carnosine or not. He's up 600mg. now and I'm going to add the other 200mg. in the next 2 days. Research shows we could see improvements within 1-8 weeks of being on it. He's been on for 1 week and hasn't reached the full recommended dose yet. I'm hoping for great things to come our way soon.
2 more days until the amnio on Wednesday. Then the c-section on Friday. I'm SO ready. I need a martini!