Just a Little Catch Up

Some of you have been with me since way back in the Toddler Tactics days, way back when my both of my boys were toddling around, when my only worries were making sure they got their naps in, making sure Little Einsteins was always on the DVR, and keeping them from taking off their clothes in public.

My how times have changed. Okay to be fair, the not taking off your clothes in public thing might always be an issue. It is for most men I know.

But my oldest is 10 now. TEN. He's a decade old and the only thing I can think is how the hell did it go by so fast? I am in complete and total awe of him every day. He's asthmatic, those of you who remember him from the toddler days will remember that. Since then he's also been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD). We noticed sometimes some of his behaviors were just a little 'off'. He would dissolve into tears in loud places with lots of people. He could ace every social studies test, but he still couldn't tie his shoes. When he got overly excited he would run through the house, following the same exact pattern every time, playing some game in his head that no one else could hear. All of a sudden at the beginning of fourth grade his grades plummeted. He was upset, anxious, and frustrated about school in general. For my happy, talkative, normally honor roll student, this was a BIG red flag. He was diagnosed with SPD at the beginning of last year, and CAPD earlier this year. It's been a roller coaster ride for sure, explaining to him what it all means, fighting with the school to make sure he gets the accommodations he's legally entitled to, and above all trying to make sure he remains a happy, outgoing 10 year old. We're still waiting on some of those accommodations (do NOT get me started on how badly public schools fail special needs kids), but we're starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A is no longer so anxious, he's started wrestling with a local team and LOVES it, and he especially enjoys making smart alec comments to his Dad whenever the opportunity presents itself. To be fair, that's a fun pastime of my own, so I get it. :-)

Our youngest is now 8. S is a sports machine. He plays flag football, has played soccer, baseball, more baseball, more flag football, rinse and repeat. Since he was a toddler he would have episodes of vomiting and diarrhea that the doctors had always chalked up to food sensitivities. I kept notebooks full of what he ate every day, trying to find any correlation, praying I'd find out okay, he's sensitive to gluten, or dairy, or SOMETHING, but we could never narrow it down. One day two years ago he came running over during baseball practice and hit his knees in front of me, sobbing that his back was KILLING him. You couldn't touch his back without him bowing outwards like a pool noodle with a fat guy sitting on it. The next day the doc finally sent him in for an ultrasound and we discovered he had severe hydronephrosis (in layman's terms it means water kidney). His kidney was massively swollen and a follow up with the urologist had him diagnosed with a UPJ obstruction (essentially a blockage which causes the urine to back up in and stretch out the kidney). Two surgeries and a year and a half later, they've fixed the blockage, but he still has mild hydronephrosis (and likely always will due to permanent damage to that kidney). Thankfully his other kidney is working like a pro, his damaged one helps out some, in still a rather sluggish way. We honestly have no idea if the bad one will stay as it is, or if it will eventually give up altogether due to the damage that's been done. I know which one we're hoping for though! I honestly never thought I'd be so well practiced at evaluating pee, that's for damn sure. In the meantime, he's been cleared to get back to sports, and he is currently one of the best players on his flag football team, splitting time between playing wide receiver and quarterback. He's also a straight A student who's best friend is our cat Wrigley, and he's full of smart ass one-liners just like his Daddy.

As for me, I'm just old. Okay, maybe not so old, but I definitely feel like my nerves have been to hell and back in the last few years. Thankfully things are starting to settle down, and I'm starting to take deeper breaths again. Parenting, definitely NOT for the faint of heart!!