Some progress

Yayy!

So today my son and I were snuggling on the couch after breakfast and I started tickling his feet through his socks. I took his socks off and started tickling his toes. He said "piggies!" through peals of  giggles and started laughing really hard after he said it. So of course we had some very fun rounds of the popular tickle filled nursery rhyme.

It was very nice to hear him make a connection. Any little bit of progress is something we celebrate. 

OT and Speech Therapy June 24, 2015

This was not the most productive visit by a long shot,  but we got to talk a bit about the two year checkup. You can read about Monday's checkup here.

C. the COTA and M. the Speech Therapist came by and my son came to the door with me to greet them. The last few times he has an been very upset to see them. When I opened the door,  he smiled broadly at C. and grabbed her hand. He was babbling to her and was super happy, until we came into the living room.  As soon as we all sat down, he started crying and clutching at me. I got him some Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies and water as a snack and M. and C. observed him eating.  He picked up his little snack bowl and tipped it into his mouth.  M. stopped him from choking. My son countered by sticking his hand into the bowl and grabbing literally a fistful of bunnies and tried unsuccessfully to mash them all in his mouth.  C. started rationing his bunnies one at a time.

As he ate, I told them about the Pediatrician's concerns about his weight.  They both looked surprised and said he looks propionate and he has a pot belly. M. said both me and my husband are a compact little couple so we probably aren't going to have a large child.  C.  suggested giving my son Ensure as well as increasing the amount of milk he drinks from two cups to four, or more cups per day. M. suggested ranch dressing made with whole milk as a tasty condiment that also gives calories. C. suggested to use condiments and have him learn how to dip food in them so he slows down a bit while eating.  M. said that the same thing happened with her child and she gave them a scoop of ice cream after lunch. She said kids this young don't have cholesterol issues so it isn't that bad to do. I told hem I bought sour cream and I was stirring that into his food, only about a spoonful, and also I add olive oil to most of his food as well.  C. said we can use snack time as a way to connect.  We can work on eye contact, and fine motor skills, as well as language skills.  For example, I can make him ask for more using either sign language, or eventually words. 

I also told them about the Autism screening. M. looked surprised and asked why I think that is a good thing.  I told her if my son has Autism, it would be good to know so then we can start focus helping him instead of just giving general help for a delayed child, and if he doesn't have it, that is good to know too.  C. said that I should not be very surprised if it takes more than one visit to the CNDC to get a diagnosis, or to confirm he doesn't have Autism. 

When I told them about his potential upcoming surgery, M. said to let them know so all services can suspend until he is healed which takes about 2 days.  They both said it is pretty routine, and more than likely it would be laproscopic.

By this time my son was done eating/mashing bunnies into the rug and was drinking his water.  We took a quick time out for me to vacuum and finally, halfway through the visit his actual therapy could begin.

But my son was still not feeling it today.  They used the sensory ball which he usually likes.  Finally they were able to use the Melissa and Doug Peek a Boo Farm puzzle to get his attention.  

We had some actual success today.  My son usually just bounces on his legs but today he held my hands and actually jumped on the floor. He lifted his feet clear off the ground.  They are going to tell T. the Physical Therapist about this.

My son showed C. and M. how his climbing is getting better by climbing up on the couch all the way up so he could look out the window.

I told M. that my son said "hug I love hug" to me and then hugged me Monday night. It melted my heart to hear that.  I told C. how he paralleled played with three little girls that we know over the weekend. The girls range in age from 3 to 7 and they had a stuffed pig. My son watched them play with the pig and the four kids picked dandelions and shared them with each other.  That went so well, we are going to try to make with the parents so the kids can play again.

I think that is all that happened this visit.

My brother gave a TED talk on black holes

My brother,  David Neto, graduated from Rhode Island College with the highest gpa in physics since the school opened. He gave a TED talk on black holes, and other than his mutton chops, it is pretty good.  I am attaching a link to the talk below.

https://youtu.be/8khcH5Lqxgk

My son's two year checkup, not as much progress as I had hoped.

Yesterday my son had his two year checkup. It was sort of late since he turned two in April, but we had scheduling conflicts.

Seeing how much progress he made in other areas,some of the visit was a shock to me.

We got a huge surprise when he got weighed. Somehow my eating machine is only 23.5 pounds and 33 inches. If you remember, we had nutritional services for a while because he wasn't gaining and growing in the past. The Pediatrician asked us what he eats. I told him that the day starts with fruit, goat yogurt and cereal, plus water and whole milk, or whole goat's milk; lunch is either leftovers or eggs and vegetables in a wrap, or peanut butter and banana sandwich, or quinoa and vegetables or something to that effect; supper is whatever I made for supper that night. He gets milk before bed, and when he is hungry he gets snacks. I also drizzle olive oil on his food so he gets more healthy fat. He needs to eat more snacks, and we have to go back to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist to check that everything is working ok.  If you guys could see him eat, you would be impressed with how much this kid packs away. He has chubby cheeks, a huge pot belly, and very chubby legs. He certainly does not look underweight and he is solid as a brick. I would definitely love advice on what I can do to help him healthfully add weight.

She then asked if he is showing signs of potty training readiness which I think he is. He pulls off his diaper, he holds his bladder, he grabs his crotch when he is wet. Since he is nonverbal she said we would have to work out a strategy for him to signal when he needs to go, which we already did. OT suggested we take a picture of his potty and put it where he can see it and point to it and say "It is time to go to the bathroom." She said we can certainly go ahead with potty training, but since he is nonverbal, and has developmental delays she said to really not push too hard.

She then proceeded with examining him and when she got to his genitals, she looked concerned. She asked with a worried voice if we noticed his testicles in his scrotum when he takes a warm bath.  My husband and I looked at each other and no we don't pay particular attention to our son's scrotum when he is in the bath. She then said his scrotum looks empty and asked if we noticed his testicles ever. I said I see them time to time when I change his diaper, but again, I don't pay particular attention to that region other than making sure it is clean and well, looks ok.  She said he needs to have an ultrasound to make sure they are not twisted inside his body and he may need surgery to pull them down and pin them into his scrotum.  I thought my husband was going to pass out when she said that.  She said it is a routine procedure and there is always the chance they will drop before the surgery.  For those medically inclined, here is the procedure that may be done: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/undescended-testicle/basics/definition/con-20037877

Finally we got to his developmental delays.  She said A. the EI coordinator called the office and said my son has rigid behavior patterns, is nonverbal, had issues with gross and fine motor skills, has low muscle tone, and does not play as a twenty four month old child should be. She asked if I agree. She made a referral for him to get an Autism screening done.  I told her that I am so happy that finally that is going to happen.  If you remember, I wrote about concerns with Autism before. You can read past entries http://momlovesscifi.blogspot.com/2015/05/hearing-test-05182015.html and http://momlovesscifi.blogspot.com/2015/03/thoughts-on-this-weekends-trip.html that sum up more or less how I feel he might have Autism.  We can handle this, and I wanted to get a diagnosis for a while now because then we will know how to better support him and help him succeed.  This isn't his journey, or my journey, it is our journey. I need to learn how to be a good mom and support to him, and he needs to learn how to comfort himself, how to adapt, and how to play up his strengths.  I am reading Temple Grandin's right now and have taken books on Autism out of the library.  This screening is going to benefit all of us and I frankly cannot wait to go.

We have a full week ahead with OT, going to Sensation Station and meeting with a mother of an Autistic child later this week.  I will keep up with my blog about our journey as I have been doing.

Star Trek Renegades North America Premire

From Star Trek Renegades official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/STRtheSeries


The production team is in talks to rent a very large theater so cast, crew, and fans can all meet together to watch the pilot/film.  It looks like the showing will be in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, August 1st.  Based on what is on Facebook at this time, there are not any firm plans for YouTube or DVD releases.  It also looks at this time, it is not known when the general public can see Renegades.

You can get more up to date news on their website www.startrekrenegades.com

Renegades really is good.  This fan truly hopes we haven't seen the last of Star Trek Renegades.

Star Trek Blog

I was looking through my Google Analytics information for this week and I saw one of my referring sites was http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/  This is a very cool blog. It is links to Star Trek fan films and news from around the internets.  I spent way too long checking out all the information on the blog. If you have the chance, I would suggest taking a look at it.

Jessleecreations on Etsy

I would like to share this ETSY store with you all. Jess makes adorable crocheted items that are reasonably priced.  These make great gifts, or even presents for yourself.   I really like the bottle holders.  She even makes lovies for children.

I should soon be receiving this Yoda lovey:


I will be reviewing the Yoda lovey when I receive it.

Here is the bottle cozy:


She even makes bags:


You can visit her Etsy store at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jessleecreations?ref=search_shop_redirect

Signs of more progress. OT and Speech Therapy 06/10/15

I was not sure how this visit would go today.  My son spent the weekend howling in pain from teething.  He is getting his two year molars right now and he is not enjoying it at all.  He also came down with a pretty nasty cold that resulted in a low grade fever. He never went about 101 which is good, but he was awfully miserable.

C. showed up and had A., a new COTA with her today.  I discussed the Sensation Station with them while we waited for M. the Speech Therapist to arrive.  C. was pretty excited because one of her professors opened the Sensation Station.  We discussed how my son is saying "go car" and how he is climbing now, by using me as a jungle gym.  M. showed up shortly after C. and A. arrived and I told them all how my son was under the weather and that I wanted to at least try to see if we could do the hour session.

My son started crying when C. and A. went in the living room. This was new behavior and it concerned me.  He shied away from C. when she sat on the floor to engage him.  He was also wary of M.  I could see him being shy with A. since he never met her before, but C. and M. he has seen multiple times.

My son has sensory balls, similar to the image below.  M. started the session off by rolling the ball along the bottom of his feet and down his arms.

This calmed him down and M. and C. played with my son using his sensory box. Because he settled right down, M. suggested doing deep pressure massage, or the ball on his feet to settle him down when I need his attention.  I think we will do this when we do ring bearer practice. He normally likes to just empty it, but he is learning what comes next, and he filled it back up.  

Because my son was irritated due to teething and being a little sick, M. and C. let him play at his own pace a little bit today.  

C. told me that there is going to be a sensory play group at the beach this summer.  I am not sure if we will be able to attend, but I think that is an excellent idea.  

Because my son was literally howling in pain over the weekend due to teething pain, I broke down and bought him some teething gel.  C. said many parents don't use it because sometimes kids swallow it and it numbs their throats.  She suggested  in addition to massaging his cheeks, to give him popsicles.  They make mini popsicles that would be perfect for him.  I told her I have been freezing fruit, like mangos as well and he seems to enjoy that.  

M. and I were talking and she mentioned my son paying attention to the world around him more.  I asked if that is what she wants to hear more about. When she answered positively, I told her that we were walking and my son saw a big black ant cross in front of him.  He wasn't sure how to respond, he just stood on the sidewalk with his arms raised wiggling his fingers. His eyes were wide and he wasn't moving.  I told him it is just an ant and I bent down to point at it.  My son also crouched down, eyes wide, staring.  He also reacts more to sirens and especially motorcycles.  Even if he doesn't look straight at them, he raises his arms and wiggles his fingers with his hands moving.  Or he stands still and shakes a little bit.  He really likes the sounds motorcycles make, he tries to find where it is coming from.  Over the weekend, we went to  a friends house.  My son engaged in back and forth play with an 18 month toddler by passing stuffed robots back and forth to him.  The two toddlers went on a little wagon ride around the house and my son maintained eye contact with him, and did back and forth play the whole time.  For my son, this is big.  There were four boys in total ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years old.  My son didn't really play with any of them more than the back and forth play with the baby, but he did watch them. In the past, he would not acknowledge other children.  At one point, the 18 month old and an eight year old were on a trampoline and my son wanted to join them.  He was fine until he realized I was too big for the children's trampoline and could not join him, at which point he started crying.  But he wanted to be near other  children.  Later in the evening, my son wanted something the 18 month old was holding so he walked over to him and grabbed it out of his hands. M. said she likes bad behavior. She said my son was aware that he wanted the object, he was aware someone else had it, and was aware of how to get it. That is three levels of awareness. She was really happy that he is progressing. 

This was a really good session as always.  Looking forward to next week. 

Why I am so Excited about Star Trek Renegades

When I first heard of Star Trek Renegades, I did not know that I believed what I was hearing. I  was told that there was a new Star Trek series that may be picked up by CBS depending on how well the pilot is received. It was going to be a kickstarter and hopefully would be debuted at a convention.  The person who told me about it did not delve far into the plot, but talked a little bit about the background of the story of the creation of the pilot itself. As production progressed, I followed the progress on Facebook, and Google+.  At first I was more excited about Star Trek continuing than the actual plot of Renegades.  I started seeing production pictures of Adrienne Wilkinson as Lexxa Singh and then I saw pictures of Chasty Ballesteros posed with a phaser rifle, and I knew this was not a typical Trek series.  I knew Sean Young would be involved, and I got really excited when I saw pictures of Courtney Peldon as Shree, an Andorian computer hacker. If this story was handled correctly, this looked like it would be an exciting adventure.  I have now seen it twice, back in May and now that the backers have a had the film released to them. The first time I saw it, I was too excited to really think about the plot more than "That was amazing!", but the second time I saw it, I really watched and thought about it.  I realized while watching it that instead of women quietly moving in the background and helping the plot along, the women are the main characters and it the men who quietly help the plot along.  This show would fill a gap in TV.  We need a woman who is at the helm of an action sci-fi series.

I was very wary of Adrienne Wilkinson's acting when watching trailers.  I thought she was going to chew the scenery, but I was very excited to see I was wrong.  Watching her scenes in context, you can see what motivates her to play the character of Lexxa Singh the way she does.  In some scenes, her acting is actually subtle when it needs to be. She gave a very strong performance.

I have liked Star Trek my whole life, even when it decidedly not acceptable to be an avid fan.  I spent my Saturday afternoons watching four hours of Star Trek on a local Fox affiliate. James Kirk was the captain that we needed in the 1960's.  He was a man's man. Every woman, regardless of planet of origin, wanted to be with him, and all men wanted to be him.  Jean-Luc Picard was a captain with the heart of a poet. When he was not avoiding the advances of Lwaxana Troi, he was reading or deep in conversation over Earl Grey tea, hot.  Benjamin Sisko was a very forward thinking father who turned out to be the prophesied Emissary of the Bajoran people, but he kept his cool under pressure even if he may have started the Dominion war. Then along came Kathryn Janeway.  Maybe it wasn't her fault she was an awful captain.  Maybe the stress of having her ship flung out to the Delta quadrant or maybe it was all the Maquis who had to join her crew that did it. Maybe Neelix switched her coffee to decaf and never told her. I did not watch much of Voyager because every show started with "Here is the problem." and Janeway responding with "I don't know anything at all about that." or "I am so confused."  Voyager could have been such a better show, but the captain never grew or held her own with well anyone really. It was disappointing to see such a lackluster performance from a female lead. Lexxa Singh is the female captain we need. She is not technically Starfleet, more of a contract employee for them.  She is the perfect mix of emotion and action that Jim Kirk, Picard, and Sisko embodied.  She had a troubled past and had to rely on her inner strength survive.

In the original series there were strong women characters.  You could not survive on the original Enterprise if you could not keep your wits about you.  The Next Generation brought us Tasha Yar, a character sadly killed off before we fully knew her.  Kira Nerys was the woman we waited for as Star Trek fans, but toward the end of the series even she was under utilized. Star Trek Renegades brings us a ship full of strong women characters.  Lexxa Singh and her almost entirely female crew show that we can have a strong female presence among the stars.   She is a very strong character who can carry the show, if it gets picked up.  I also enjoyed Chasty Ballesteros as the Betazoid Ronara who has a genetic defect.  Sean Young is excellent as Dr. Lucien.  She plays the character very soft spoken and I hung on every word.  Her emotions project off the screen and you understand why she makes the decisions that she chooses.

As I understand, the production crew is in talks with CBS to have Renegades picked up as a series.  As a fan, I would watch this on any platform.  It is not the typical Star Trek storyline, but it is also not typical Star Trek characters. These characters are outcasts, they have seen things that cannot be unseen. The may have done dark things for either the greater good, or their own personal gain.  I feel this as a show would lend much to the Star Trek legacy.

If you did not see Star Trek Renegades at Fed Con, and if you are not a backer, it will be available in its finalized version this summer. I urge you to watch it when it does become available.

 I did write a spoiler free review of Renegades. I also watched Of Gods and Men, which is by the same production team.

STAR TREK RENEGADES IMPORTANT NEWS

Today, June 10, 2015; Star Trek Renegades was sent to backers.  This is amazing. To date, the film has only been shown in Germany at Fed Con in May.  Fans can finally get a first glimpse at this project if they were not able to attend Fed Con.

It appears that the finished version will be released some time next month.

It is still not known if this will be a fan film, or a series.  As someone who saw Renegades, it would be an amazing series.

The production crew has asked that all that received the link to not share it at this time.

Also, this is not 100% finished. There are still some editing/effects work to be done.  If it looks a little rough, hopefully all the finishing touches will be done by next month.

Thank you so much for sharing this project. Speaking as a lifelong fan, this looks pretty good.  I did review  Renegades last month and you can read the review here: http://momlovesscifi.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-secret-can-be-told-spoiler-free.html

My son, the ring bearer.

My friend L. is getting married in October and I am very happy for her.  Her fiance is a wonderful man and I know they will be happy forever.  L. wants to have a moderately sized wedding, and she wants to have a full wedding party including a ring bearer and a flower girl.

L. is a spiritual aunt to my little guy and he loves her.  We will actually be signing paperwork soon that in the event me and my husband were to pass away, L. would become his guardian.  She has been close to him since he was born.  Before the wedding was announced L. said my son would be her ring bearer.  I got a little nervous because he didn't start walking until last December so I thought for a while he might need a wagon.  Now the wedding date has been announced, L. and I spent a little time hanging out and looked at suits and tuxedos and discussed her wedding colors.  I am so excited my son will get to be a part of her special day.

I am nervous though because of the developmental delays.  He does not respond to verbal instructions.  Also, he lives in his own little world. He might not want to walk down the aisle, but wander around the venue.  He might not want to give up the rings when the time comes.  He also gets bored with objects easily and when he does, he throws them over his shoulder and walks away. All I can see is my son getting distracted, tossing the rings, and me crying and apologizing like crazy on my hands and knees scrambling to find their rings.  L. is going to have him walk with a 10 year old flower girl so she can instruct him down the aisle.  We also will be doing ring bearer practice at home.  I have asked L. if we can have him carry plastic rings so if he throws them it won't matter.  I am very much looking forward to all of this for him, and he is incredibly photogenic so he is going to look great in her wedding photos.  Also L. and her fiance know that my son has some limitations so I know they won't get upset.  I think this is just my overthinking and everything will be fine and go smooth.

Does anyone have any tips for us?

June 4, 2015 PT/EI plus something exciting for my son.

This visit was supposed to be at the park, but me and my son had a rough morning. He discovered his nose and has been enjoying picking it.  When I woke up, his face was covered in caked up blood and he was having trouble breathing, like he was congested.  After I cleaned him up, I discovered he had given himself a nosebleed, and a bad one at that.  By the time we were done sitting together, it was about twenty minutes before the PT visit was going to start and I realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. So we had the visit at home.

It was supposed to be just PT with T., but A. the EI service coordinator called and said she had a cancellation and asked if she could come by as well. I told her that it would be fine for her to come by.

When T. and A. showed up, I had some cool news. My son has started saying "go car" a lot. Like all the time. More words are a good thing even if only the speaker understands them.  My son has also started climbing!  He uses me to climb on to the back of the couch to perch up there and look out the window. He worked with T. to climb from the floor to an ottoman to the couch  and then up the back.  I was standing behind T. just being quiet and watching them when my son got very nervous and started looking anxiously behind him.  He has become more aware of his surroundings which is also good development.  When he finally saw me, he calmed down.

He was very apprehensious of A. and T. this week for some reason. He usually hugs A. and smiles at her, this visit he screamed and cried.  He is getting his molars in and he grew about five inches last week, no lie he had a major growth spurt, so we were thinking he was just in pain.

T. said not to keep the ottoman static, but to move it from one side of the couch to the other so my son can practice climbing on both sides, using both legs.

We discussed potty training again, but a little more seriously this time. My son does not like to dirty a diaper he already soiled. He will hold his bladder until you change the diaper.  Also, he has started taking his diaper off more.  We discussed how this could be hard because he is non-verbal.  The hints they gave me was to give him a plastic "bubble" book that can be washed off to look at on the potty and then he will eventually relax and go.  Also, T. said to take a picture of his potty and put it somewhere visible in the living room/his bedroom/the kitchen, just somewhere visible, and when it is time to go on the potty to tap the picture and say "Time to go to the bathroom." Eventually he will make an association and should be able to point to the picture of his potty when he needs to go.

The other thing we discussed was my son joining a play group for non-verbal children aged two to five or four at the Sensation Station. (http://sensationstationus.com/).  The playgroup will do sensory play and use musical instruments.  T. and A. are both pretty excited about this. The playgroup will run for 8 weeks and I think it will greatly benefit my son.  I should be meeting with the director of Sensation Station June 9 , and I will definitely blog about it.  A. filled out a disclosure agreement so she can reach out to the Sensation Station to help chart my son's growth.

That was pretty much it this week, but there has been some progress so like always, I am looking forward to next week's therapy.  It continues to help both me and my son.

[Giveaway] Microsoft Surface 3 Giveaway Contest

Exciting Star Trek Renegades News!!!

I found out some things about Star Trek Renegades I wanted to share with you all :)

As you know I saw the movie and reviewed it (http://momlovesscifi.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-secret-can-be-told-spoiler-free.html).  Soon the backers  can also see the movie/pilot as well.  Looks like it will be released to the backers the beginning of July.  Backers, check your emails for updates.

Also, the production team is still in negotiations with CBS for a show on some platform to be developed.  It might be a web based show, which would be great since so many people stream shows anyway.  Hopefully we can get a limited run season at least. I know I would watch it, and frankly I streaming to television.  Any thoughts?