Thursday, August 1, 2013

Kiddy Up!

I've received more than a few complaints for not updating Finn's blog.  So....

This summer has been great, but busy.  With both kids home, I have hardly a moment to catch my breath.  Finn has something going on every day of the week...therapy, allergy shots, swim lessons, and doctor apts.  Both kids have become awesome swimmers and grateful for Florida living with a pool in our backyard we use everyday.  I'm trying to take advantage of all the time I have with them this summer as I will return to work later this month.

We had a bit of a health scare this summer with Finn's heart, but he got discharged from cardiology (again) last month.  His language continues to develop and he sometimes seems to be speaking in long paragraphs, but we may only catch a few words.  His vocabulary is increasing, he is asking where and what question,s and his articulation is improving. 

But...what I am most excited about is how he is responding to equine therapy.  Finn started horse therapy at the beginning of July going once a week for an hour at a time.  He went to a wee- long horse camp at the end of July and cried each day upon seeing me arrive to pick him up in the afternoons.  There is no question he had a blast as he repeatedly said "turn around" and "horsey again" the whole way home.

Horse therapy works like this: a therapist works with Finn to groom the horse.  The brushes are all different sizes, textures, and colors and he is learning about direction (brush left to right and son on) and body parts as he bonds with the horse.  After Finn is helped onto the horse, they may stay stationary and paint the horse...yes actually paint the horse.  Or Finn may tell the horse to "walk on" as they start their way through the ranch.

While Finn is on the horse,  he plays catch, basketball, stretches and reaches to work his core and balance.  He works on numbers, colors, and letters.  He searched for eggs the other day that were strategically placed in low lying tree branches.


Kiddy Up Ranch follows the horseboy method.  In additon, they incorporate Finn's individualized education plan from school and other speech therapy plans, etc into Finn's horse therapy lesson plans.  I am so glad we found this place.   It's not like many others that say they have horse therapy and charge you an insane amount to walk in a circle for 15 minutes.  They cost is only $30 for an hour session and the therapists and
 volunteers love these kids like their own.

Also at the ranch is a small petting area with Finn's favorite character, Mickey the donkey.  Mickey is just Finnley's size and I they formed a bond rather quickly.  Finnley likes to give hugs and Mickey likes to recive them.  Finn likes to feed Mickey and Mickey likes to eat.  Finnley likes to open the gate and Mickey likes to escape...a partnership for the ages.


The first session, Finn did not want to put on his helmet and was weary to get on the horse.  But now, Finn walks into the stable like he owns the place and pets the horses and even kisses them without hesitation.  It is amazing to see his confidence increase in such a short period of time.  There are some people and things that I knew instantly would have a profound positive effect on Finn and equine therapy is one of them. 

P.S. If anyone has any good ideas for keeping glasses on a toddler who defiantly doesn't not want to wear them, please e-mail me!!!

















 
 
















Friday, January 25, 2013

Choices

This morning, at a somewhat reasonable waking hour, Finn was standing at the side of my bed, grabbed my hand, and said, "Hi Mommy.  I love you."  Does it get any sweeter than this?  First time, Finn said "I love you" spontaneously.  I even think he knew what he was saying.  My heart is still melting.  Finn proceeded to climb in bed with me and snuggled while we played games on his Nabi. 

I love our mornings together, just Finn and me.  We don't get much alone time, so I cherish these week-day mornings, even when they start at an unreasonable waking hour.


It's hard to believe, a year and a half ago, I actually struggled with the decision of whether to stay at home or continue my career.  All I can say is I made the right choice.  I can make my list of pros and cons and sure, staying at home has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, all that matters is I get this time with the kids and they get the time with me.  I'm going to cherish each and every moment.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Finn Post-Op

It's been just over two weeks since Finn's surgery and as far as we can tell, it was successful.  The doctor repaired Finn's ear drum by using cartilage from behind Finn's ear, repaired the hammer bone in the ear, put in new tubes (yes, 5th set), and cleaned out his sinuses. 

All in all, the surgery went well.  It was a bit longer than anticipated and the nurse scared Dan and I half to death during Finn's operation.  Dan and I were waiting in the waiting room when the phone rain and it was for us - it was about 15 minutes after they took Finn back.  My heart jumped out of my chest as I answered and the nurse just wanted to let us know that he was asleep and everything was going fine.  Sigh!

And dear Tampa General, those cribs you make the kids under age of 5 stay in are so instutionally scary.  Can you please think of something else to make them a bit more cheerful.  At least we "turned" Finn's crib into a train.    

We went home the same day and Finn kept the large ear covering that was "glued" to his forehead and around his head on for two days.  I was amazed he didn't touch it. By the way, Finn on pain killers = funny.

Finn has a scar that runs along the outside of his ear, but frankly, you can hardly notice it.  It's quite amazing what doctors can do.



We were very grateful that my parents were able to come in from out of town and stay with us for a few days.  Camila got some great time with her grandparents while we focused on Finn. 

Since the surgery, we have really only had one bump in the road and it was completely unrelated to the surgery.  Finn had a pretty bad allergic reaction to something last week.  He woke up with two swollen eyes, two swollen ears, and hives all over his body.  His knees were so swollen from hives he could hardly walk.  So as Dan and I fed him Benadryl and discussed whether or not to take him to the emergency room since it was 5am and no other place was open (Benadryl not working at this point).  I grabbed the epi-pen and started to get dressed to take him to the hospital and then realized, our closest hospital is no longer in network.  Thank you UHC and Baycare.   So, we call the on-call nurse and decide to wait to see his pediatrician at 8 am when the doc office opened since his breathing was still normal.  Some steroids and lots of benadryl...three days later all of the hives were gone.

I know parents with children that have multiple medical needs know the feeling of always being on edge.  It is seriously hard to relax when you know at any moment you may have to rush your child to the ER.  These moments have dwindled for us, but this recent allergy scare brought back a lot of memories.

We are officially back to our normal routine as of today!  I want to thank everyone for thinking of Finn on his day of surgery and through the recovery.  It means a lot to us to have so much love.