Collette Graduates

As of one week ago, Collette officially graduated from Early Intervention. Last Thursday, Sebastian and Collette had their reevaluation. After talking with their case worker (who has been with us since the beginning) and Sebastian's SLP, who also monitors Collette, albeit unofficially, I was fairly certain that Collette would not qualify for services and that Sebastian would. Even Sebastian is borderline, as its mostly pronunciation that is the problem. Of course, I can understand him well enough and so can his SLP because that's her job. But she had to evaluate him more objectively because most "lay people" would have no clue what he was saying most of the time.

So, I only have to pay for one kid now (woo hoo!!) but still get the same kind of support I was getting before. The one dilemma that we now face is with their drop-off play group, or "school" as I like to call it. Collette is now considered a community child, which means she can still go to group and be a role model for the kids that are in Early Intervention. Wonderful. However, our group already has the maximum number of community kids in it so they're not sure what to do. Obviously, I cannot sit outside in the next room (where the parents wait while the kids are in group) with Collette and Matteo and chitchat with the other parents - Collette would flip her shit not being allowed in. So, the options seem to be:

1. break the rules and let her be in the class anyway
   
2. move us to a different day where there is room for another community kid - not sure how likely that is since we waited a while to get into this class and it was my last choice, day of the week-wise.
3. Let me leave the parenting group so I can be out and about with Collette and Matteo, hopefully softening the blow.
4. Get a babysitter for Collette.

If I had to rank these choices, it would go 2, 1, 3, 4. 3 and 4 really suck because I think Collette's presence makes Sebastian feel better, even when they aren't playing together. Luckily, our case worker (who is also one of the teachers in their group) agrees and is trying very hard to work something out. So, we'll see. Needless to say, I'll be pretty upset if Collette can't continue. Fingers crossed that it doesn't come to that!

A sentence and other news

Back to talking about my big boy, except this time, it's good news. Today, after getting up from a nap that should have been much longer, Sebastian was looking out the window at the cars in the parking lot behind our house. (This is a favorite post-nap activity of his as he has perfectly stereotypical car obsession.) I was in the middle of changing Collette's diaper when I heard him say, clear as a bell, "I see a car!" I can't wait for our speech therapist to come tomorrow so I can tell her!

This language spurt is coming on the heels of same major fussiness, as you may recall from my previous posts. Hopefully, this explains some of it. We are also having Sebastian checked out by an ENT specialist, after our speech therapist suggested it because she has concerns about his mouth breathing and excessive drooling, which is even worse now because of the constant runny nose he gets during the cooler months. She suspects that all these things may indicate enlarged adenoids or some other issue in his sinuses. Our appointment is on October 28th so we will see what they say. My hope is that they find something we can fix and make him more comfortable. If our speech therapist is right and Sebastian has trouble breathing through his nose, I can only imagine how uncomfortable the past 23 months have been for him.

And in case you want to know how bad his drooling can get in the winter, here is a prime example:

Not Yet

I realize I have not posted in a while and thought that might give the impression that I was too busy having a baby to blog. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Still very much pregnant through yet another heat wave. F*** you, summer!

Quick updates, as it's late and I'm sleepy:

Next OB appointment is Wednesday where I will get another internal exam and hopefully get some reconfirmation that Matteo is head down. Also, I spoke with my OB about different scenarios and it seems that there is certainly wiggle room on when I can go into labor - she will let me go up to about a week late, depending on other factors. She also said if need be, we could try inducing with Pitocin but nothing stronger than that. So, good news for a VBAC.

Also, I feel gross writing this but I want to be an honest pregnant woman and tell it like it is. Sometimes, it feels like the baby is pushing down so much he might fall out. The closest comparison I can make is when you put a tampon in but can still feel it, like you did it wrong and didn't get it in the right way. Like I said, gross but honest. It's a very odd feeling and one I'm hoping means that he is almost ready to make his debut.

In toddler news, Sebastian and Collette have both "learned" a number. That number is 2. They skipped right over 1 which I suppose is appropriate, with them being twins and all. I guess that means they should hurry up and learn 3. Sebastian also knows the letter C. Not sure if Collette knows that one as she is not as eager to label things - she is way too cool for that. They are adding vocabulary more quickly, in general, but still not putting two words together so still much progress to make on the speech front. Quite frankly, I'm not that worried about it anymore. They understand so much of what I say and what Billy says to them in Spanish that I think the rest is just a matter of time. We'll continue speech therapy as long as they qualify through EI because I like the services and the feedback but I won't be stressing about it. I have enough to worry about with a baby on the way! :)

Last thing - we are almost done Matteo's room so I will post pictures soon. It's livable but we still have some decorative things to put up.

Stay cool! I'm off to Lala-land...

Finally, Some Words

In the past few weeks, Sebastian and Collette have made some big strides in the language department. Of course, this happens right before Sebastian starts speech therapy (in partnership with his EI therapy) but no matter. I'm just happy that they both have found ways to express themselves.

Both Sebastian and Collette have added a few spoken words to their vocabulary, as well as some signs. Here is where they both are to date.

Sebastian's spoken words:

• Car
  
• Ball
  
• Dada
  
• Mama
• Doggie
  

Sebastian's signs:

• Help
• Please
• More
• All Done
• Eat
  

Collette's spoken words:

• No
• Nose
• More
• Up
• Dada
• Mama
• Doggie

Collette's signs:

• Help
• Please
• More
• All Done
• Eat
• Blankie
• Yes (nodding)

The signs for "help" and "please" have been especially useful - I think Sebastian has been less fussy since discovering a way to ask for things. His frustration level comes down the instant I ask him if he needs help (and then he signs it if he does) - you can see the look on his face change when he realizes that I finally understand him. Collette uses the sign for "blankie" when she gets upset or frustrated as that is her comfort object. For instance, we were playing with some stacking cups during EI today and she got mad about something and immediately signed blanket (and then found it) and all was right in her world again.

Of course I want to focus on their spoken vocabulary but they seem to learn what they want. I tried to teach Sebastian to say "up" for weeks, to no avail. And now, with no pressure from me, he is saying "car." I'm sure I taught him this word - we see enough cars in a day - but I wasn't making a special effort. Yet, that's one of his 5 words. I'll keep trying, because it's my job, but I get the feeling that he will progress as his own pace and say the words he is interested in saying. Which is what all those wise, wise people have told me from the get go. Ah well. Lesson learned :)

Early Intervention, Round 2

Last week, Sebastian and Collette had their reevaluation to see if they would continue to qualify for Early Intervention services. I had already talked about it with B (our social worker, the one who does our weekly visits) and she let me know that she was pretty sure they would qualify. I wasn't surprised by that either - they aren't saying any words yet and Sebastian doesn't babble nearly as much as he should be. Recently, Collette did start saying "up" and they both say "deedee" for dog but that's it.

The evaluation involved four people: B, two other EI specialists and a grad student. The scores each of them got didn't come as a complete shock but they were still unnerving. To be fair, they did great in most areas, sometimes even above age. Apparently, I have very social little buggers. It was the language component that bothered me. For expressive language, they both scored at 8 Months! I knew they were behind but not by that much. What was even more surprising is how they measure this. They kept telling me that the kids aren't imitating me enough. And I guess they aren't but that's what they said 6 months ago, at the first evaluation. So, shouldn't they have improved? They scored 5 months old then. By my math, that means they only "aged" 3 months in this department. And that was with services!

Part of me thinks I should can the whole thing since it didn't really help them catch up with their language delay. But a much bigger part of me thinks that if we stay the course, we will start to see results. I think that we need to focus more on the language development; it's very easy for me to get sidetracked by other issues that are a big deal for me (like feeding issues, transitions, etc.) so I often use a lot of our time talking about things unrelated to Sebastian and Collette's language. Not to say we ignore it but I'm sure we could focus on it much more than we do now. To that end, I will request that we have a speech therapist/speech language pathologist be part of our "team" and our weekly visits - our IFSP is Wednesday. Not only will it be beneficial for us to have an expert in the field with us each week, it will also help me keep my focus where it should be.

***

On a related note, I just finished reading the book NutureShock, recommended by LauraC. Very good read and I also say, if you have some time, read it. Quite the eye-opener. Anyway, there is chapter dealing with how infants acquire language. I read it before I read any of the other chapters hoping I could find the piece that I have been missing. Basically, the research says that the best way to get kids talking is to not talk so much. Of course, we want our kids to grow up in a language-rich environment (whatever the F that means) so us moms tend to narrate everything we do. And everything our kids do. But the studies they bring up in the book show that kids whose parents simply let them babble and then just responded to their babble (even with just a touch or a kiss; not necessarily talking back to them) talked earlier than those whose parents did not respond to them as quickly and as often. The trick is, your kid has to start the talking, not the other way around. I have been trying this lately and I can't say if it's the technique or just coincidence but Sebastian has been babbling WAY more. As much as Collette, sometimes more. Very promising, either way.

I'm sure that in a year, I will be writing about how they won't stop talking. Sigh. :)

Makes My Monday: 10 months!

10 months!! We are officially in the double digits - woo hoo! And on this last day of summer, we also have our first EI meeting. Our case worker, B., will be here every Monday for the next 6 months at which time both babies will be reevaluated to see if qualify again. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

This past month has been another winner. The whining has been up and down but mostly manageable. Collette has been whining a lot less since she learned to crawl a few weeks ago. Now both babies are bored with crawling and focus most of their energy on pulling up. Pulling up on the TV stand (don't worry - the TV is anchored to the wall), pulling up on the couch, the high chairs, old bouncy seats, trash bins - if it's about 2 feet high, they are pulling up on it. Also, Sebastian took a couple of steps on his little baby walker and my camera was no where to be found.

In the continuing solid food saga, both babies have pretty good pincer grasp now and can reliably get well over 50% of the food in their mouth on the first try. With the new bibs, it's much easier to just scoop up what they missed and put it back on the tray so we have been wasting a lot less food. To date, here are some favorites:

diced pears

diced apples, nuked to soften (although I'm sure that's killing most of the nutrients. *sigh*)

diced peaches, may need to be nuked if not soft enough

sliced strawberries

sliced bananas (not too ripe or they get slimy)

raspberries (WARNING! very messy and they stain!)

cubed kiwi

baked sweet potato cubes (bigger hit than sweet potato fries and easier to make)

steamed asparagus

pasta in marinara sauce (ziti and rotini cut up have worked best so far)

diced chicken

smoked salmon pieces (just Sebastian)

baked haddock pieces (big surprise, thanks Legal Seafood!)

beans (just Collette)

very small cheese cubes, a soft, mild cheddar

As you can see, we are lacking in the veggie department and that is mostly my fault, I have tried a couple of veggies that haven't been embraced (like zucchini pancakes) but others I just haven't tried yet, but plan too. On deck are steamed, sliced carrots, edamame, peas, steamed, cubed squash (summer or winter), sauteed peppers. Still, most any kind of bread is a hit, even naan. Spices have made their way onto Sebastian and Collette's plates - they thoroughly enjoyed my curry butternut squash soup! And they will be eating Tabasco in no time if Billy has anything to say about it.

Our 10 month schedule is pretty much the same as our 9 month schedule, with the exception being naps - they tend to be closer to 9 and 1, sometimes even after 9 and 1. From what others have told, the same happened to them so we're just going to roll with it. I'm also working on pushing back bedtime in preparation for daylight savings. Did anyone else have to gear up for the time change, or did you just make him/her/them "sleep" an hour later?

And, I'm happy to report that the feud between my camera and computer is over! Just in time for chair pictures, hurrah!! As you will see, it's really hard to keep 10 month olds in a rocking chair. Without further ado, here they are:

Collette about to crawl off the chair and Sebastian trying to roll over her.

Coming soon: review on my new Valco Ion 4 Two stroller! In the meantime, check out some other Monday Makers at Twinfatuation.

Early Intervention Evaluation

It seems that while I was all worried about crawling and rolling over, I should have been worried about language development.

We had an EI evaluation on Thursday and both Collette and Sebastian qualified for services based on their inability to imitate. Whoops! I was a little sad at first, like I had failed them in some way, but then I realized that only good things can come from this. We get an expert in development to see ours kids every week. So, whenever Billy or I have a question or concern, we have someone to ask! Also, our kids will get to partake in their play groups, so that will be another activity for us to do during the week, with a specialist and chances to meet other moms and their babies.

My only reservation is that this might lead us on a slippery slope of intervening whenever something is not up to par. Not everyone can be at or above average at everything, all the time and I don't want us to expect that of our children. I do not get the feeling that EI operates that way but, as parents, it's easy to let your thinking go down that road.

So, fellow moms: Anything I should know about EI? What to expect at our meetings and play groups?