I did what she asked. We used sposies (disposables) for nearly a month. I thought for sure we were going to fall in love with the convenience of throw away diapers. No. I hated it.

Mostly I hated buying all those diapers!! I hated watching the pile dwindle down and the inevitability that we were going to have to buy more soon. We bought a new box every 10-ish days! Granted, we were using Seventh Generation diapers in size 4 so each box only had 50 dipes in them. If I had resolved to get jumbo target brand then only 1 box would’ve been enough. I’m no crunchy granola mom but I do like to choose as natural a diaper as possible and even then I’m sure there are more Eco friendly options. Every time I spent $20 on a box I kept thinking I could’ve bought a new cloth diaper or maybe 2 used ones! I was happy to return to cloth last week.

I did notice a difference in how he walked, so I made it my mission to try some other, less bulky, cloth diapers. Most of my stash is Bumgenius and a few Kawaii Baby. I sold 11 of my cloth diapers and bought 13 new (to me) other brands from the various swaps on Facebook. I really enjoyed THAT retail therapy

The brands I bought were: Bottom Bumpers, Itti bitti, Peachy Green (including a Fishnoodle & a Bright Star Baby which was their old name), and Swaddlebees. I also want to try Charlie Banana, Apple Cheeks, Grovia, and Thirsties. If you know cloth, you can see I chose diapers that are sized rather than one size that I had. I read that buying sizes greatly reduces the bulk in the butt and between the legs.

It will take a while to really consider and decide about each diaper, but I have a long hiatus coming up (6-8wks looks like) and I plan to take good notes on each brand and review them! Stay tuned! In the mean time, enjoy these adorable photos of Levi in the Bottom Bumpers!

~Leasa
PS. Don’t forget to answer the anonymous poll about cloth diapers!! ————————–>>

Speech
Levi is doing well! He is imitating more and therefore working on his expressive language. He try’s to make the sounds of words after you say them. He can initiate and say: all done, tree, mama, dada, dog, down, kiss. As I list them I am more impressed in his progress! He says other things too after you say them like bubbles or Elmo. We still use a lot of sign but usually with some sounds too. We are trying to get him to make the various vowels with a consonant. Example: he says ‘Puh’ for up but won’t say pee, po, pa sounds. I’m definitely pleased with the progress. Some of his success I attribute to some recent brain development that we notice as well as how awesome his preschool is!

Physical
He still gets PT once per week for 45 mins. They work on motor planning skills like how to execute a series of body actions to do something. She sets up mostly obstacle courses for him and I find them adorable and funny. I see this skill developing more when we are at the playground. The sequence in which he moves his body are much more connected now.
Last week, the PT said his base of support was still too wide and that it should be much more narrow. She thought the cloth diaper was hindering because of the bulk between his legs. We put a disposable on and we did see a difference. His stance was more narrow and his steps were bigger and more forward than swinging out to the side. If that makes sense. She asked us to use disposables for a week and see if it made a difference. Our apt is tomorrow so I will ask what the consequences are if we don’t want to stop cloth diapering. Side note: the cloth did not cause this problem. As with many things, a normal developing child (average child) is unhindered by the bulk of the cloth. However, it can hinder a child already struggling.

Developmental/cognitive
He still does this once a week for an hour. I’m not sure what they are working on and if he still needs it. I should ask her next week.

Food Allergy
We tested everything and couldn’t recreate the hives. With eggs he still got the mouth rash. Apples and cantaloupe produced no symptoms that we could see. We couldn’t do a full test of peanut butter because he would eat it. The few times he did he had runny/puffy eyes and nose. Same with the peaches. The allergist told me to give him a ring with the results and he wants to see Levi in about 3 months. We haven’t tested the other half of the panel and I’m sure we will discuss the results of our trials and whether or not these allergies can/will strengthen over time.

New Preschool
Ah.Maz.Zing! I’m so happy with them! Levi is learning so much and really doing well with more hands on attention and learning! They work with them on being independant! They serve themselves snacks and drinks as well as throw their trash away. He is so good about clean up and has been ‘helping’ more at home. We have also been taking the cue from them and encouraging him/challenging him more at home. Helps with the tantrums when he has a job to do! The school had an open house night last week and I enjoyed taking pictures of the pictures!

The slide show has images from the open house, Physical Therapy, speech therapy, and allergy testing apt.

~Leasa

Yay!! But I don’t know what I’m doing! Yay! You can find this blog on bloglovin and you can follow me (do they have that feature??) on there too! My user name is PieceOLease.

Also, on the topic of social media… you can find me on Pinterest, Etsy, Facebook, and Instagram too!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

~Leasa

On friday I heard for 2 of my friends I work with (and recommended to go there) that they were called to pick up their babies immediately and that they could not come back.

Both of their teachers were fired and 8 babies were sent home and denied their daycare spot.

Someone (I was told it was a few parents but others are blaming one of the fired teacher) called the State licensing board for Ca about concerns… too many babies and babies transitioning to toddler group before they were ready.

Investigator came and sited them for 8 babies over capacity. They also were using an area for care that wasn’t permitted and didn’t even meet fire code.

We were notified but wasn’t being given satisfactory answers from the director. I also talked to the fired teachers who revealed other violations like lack of security (anyone can come into the infant toddler area), teachers were improperly documented with finger prints and background checks. They discovered that homeless were sleeping in the courtyard of the playground because of easy access and lack of security gate… and some other things.

I spent all weekend talking to terminated teachers and parents. The other PTA rep with me told me they requested she remove her child from the daycare but that they would still help her out 2 days a week “off the books” in the nursery room belonging to the church. Sooo… more illegal activity.

I had of course we decided he couldn’t stay but I hadn’t decided how quick to pull him because of logistics. We have no family nearby to help out and I am returning to work today!

Then, I got a call from Pickle’s teacher that SHE was also fired on Friday! And no one from the school notified me! They also told her that her 6 kids (min included) will probably be turned away too.

So my sister drove from out of state to help us out and stay with him this week. There is a PTA meeting on Tuesday that I plan to attend (so long as I am not called before that and told my spot is gone). I want to hear what the Director has to say. And then I will officially withdrawal him on Wednesday. So for now I am frantically, but not hastily, looking for a new daycare.

Thats the story so far! Im sure more will come to light every day.

Leasa

This morning was Pickle’s speech therapy assessment. The therapist was from the same company as the Child Development therapist. They always start off the same~ asking about my pregnancy, his health and any issues. She gave him toys to interact with while she asked us so many questions. Its hard to remember them all but she asked things like can he say any words meaningfully, babble consonants, attempt to say simple words, follow simple commands, make animal sounds, say yes or no, point, recognize objects and body parts… things like that. And the short answer to those things is no. He can’t.

I always am diligent about keeping up with what he should be able to do for his age from the early intervention website HERE ever since all of this came up. Here is what they say:

In speech development, typical 18-month-olds can:

• Use 10-15 words spontaneously
• Attempt to sing
• Say “No” meaningfully
• Gesture to express needs
• Name one or two familiar objects

Developmental Red Flags For 18 Month Child Speech Delays

• Not using at least 15 single words
• Not beginning to use 2 word phrases
• Not able to follow simple instructions

The red are things he cant do. He doesn’t have any words he uses spontaneously (just saying them out loud to nothing in particular). No attempting to sing or even imitate any words or sounds we make. If he is in a mood to try, its always “aiye” kind of sound, repeated. Even if the word is duck. He can name no objects. The red flags are self explanatory. I made the “follow instructions” bullet point orange because she did ask if he could follow simple instruction and our answer was “kinda”. He can follow a command if it is a simple object that you point to and he can see, and put it somewhere he can see or bring to you. Example: Levi, get that ball (pointing) and give it to me (hand out). He couldn’t, however, follow a command of things out of site. Example: Levi, go get a diaper. I don’t even things you could ask him to go get a ball if there wasn’t one in sight.

She said he was pretty behind. More like a 9 month old. I was shocked! So I looked at the early intervention site for what 8-12 mo olds can/should do. They say:

Most 12 Month Olds can:

• Recognize name
• Say “mama” and “dada” (nonspecifically) and 2-3 words besides “mama” and “dada”
• Imitate familiar words
• Understand simple instructions
• Recognize words as symbols for objects: car  points to garage, dog  barks
• Babble single consonants
• Shout for attention
• Wave hi and bye
• Demonstrate an understanding of some words by gesturing or pointing

Developmental Red Flags For 12 Month Child Speech Delays

• No pointing
• No single words
• No gestures or imitation of gestures (waving, clapping, etc.)
• Not beginning to recognize common objects or people

This is where I saw he is performing just under a 12 month old. Of course he knows his name and can babble mama & dada. And he knows who we are. But he cant call us by that to get our attention or if we suddenly come in the room, therefore its kinda nonspecific versus meaningfully. No imitating and, again, the instructions bullet point is orange for the same reason I listed above. He cant point to things you name, especially in real life. Sometimes he can correctly point to a ball or shoes in a book if you ask, but a few minutes later he is pointing to everything and you’re not sure if it was a fluke or not. No babbling consonants except for dada and sometimes “shhhh”. Definitely lots of shouting! LOL! No waving hi at all. Now pointing…. thats new… like as of ONE WEEK AGO! Another tell-tale sign that this child is a solid 6 months behind… just as he was cognitively and physically when we started those therapies.

There are a lot of good things, though. Pickle is very social and she recognized this right away, saying that this isn’t a question of confidence like many other children delayed in speech. She said cognitively he is right on and doing great. There is no concern for a diagnosis of anything other than developmental delay. We have been operating with this assumption/evaluation for a little while now but every confirmation is another sigh of relief. Of course she said that he needs speech therapy. I don’t know how often or how long until she writes her report but she said this could take a while since he is so behind. But, she doesn’t know Pickle. She doesn’t know the progress he can make once therapy begins. I hope to be pleasantly surprised as I was with his fast progression in physical therapy.

Lastly, we talked a lot about what we should focus on at home to encourage his speech. And we talked a lot about signing. She was happy that he signs so well… and learns it so quickly… but we all kinda got iffy on if we should stop teaching him more signs. It isn’t encouraging his speech. And why should he try to communicate verbally if he can more effectively communicate with signs and gestures. We didn’t come to a definite conclusion, but I will be researching it more and doing whatever is necessary to help him. Some of you may be thinking “its not like he will never talk”. Of course…. and those comments are ones I have had to deal with all along the way. But the older he gets he will only get more delayed. How could I forgive myself if I just waited it out and a few years down the road it was effecting his ability to progress in school? Or we get to the age where children can recognize those different than themselves and tease? Not to mention how much more difficult it is to get service after 3 years old. So instead ask yourself if you would be pursuing the same avenues as I… and I think you would say yes.

On this path, his delays and struggles have shown me that common objects like walkers and jumpers, though not the best, are fine for the average developing child. But they can hinder a delayed child. Even the subject of healthy educational methods that many parents swear by like Montessori methods and the above mentions sign language are not the best for every child. Montessori wouldn’t work for him because he doesn’t learn through exploration like the average developing child does. And obviously sign could potentially further delay verbal speech. I really feel that I have learned, first hand, that a good parent must recognize and accept that our littles will dictate what is best for them. And we need to listen. And sometimes that may mean accepting that your child isn’t exceptional… but I don’t mean that in a bad way. It means accepting that the best methods for teaching, learning, socializing, potty training, and parenting … even when based on the recent research and leading experts and blah blah blah… are not always best for your child. That’s my child and I love him.

Thank you for traveling this path with us. We will get there! Wherever “there” is!

~Leasa

ps. Speech poll in the sidebar! Please vote! —–>

I have an unexpected, but welcomed, mini hiatus from work. So I am off the next 3 weeks! I decided to make a chore list to attack during that time instead of week to week! Here it is:

Health~

1. GET PICKLE WELL!

Photography~

1. Finalize time/location for Kelan 3mo session
2. Edit session
3. Sign up for online backup
4. Export photos of Pickle’s first year
5. Backup ALL THE THINGS!
6. Work on new site

Crafting~

1. Finish quilting “Birds n Buttons” quilt
2. Sew binding onto “Birds n Buttons” quilt
3. Photograph “Birds n Buttons” quilt
4. List “Birds n Buttons” quilt on Etsy
5. Attend craft day
6. Cut squares for “Woodland Whimsy” quilt
7. Assemble squares for “Woodland Whimsy” quilt
8. Refrain from spending all the money on more fabric (…maybe a little money)

Shopping~

1. Get foods for “Game On” group weight loss challenge (starts 1/28)
2. Get foods for Pickle
3. Get foods for me for lunches at home
4. Get salad & garlic bread for craft day

Appointments~

1. Speech therapy assessment 2/4/13 @ 10am
2. Food allergy consult 2/6/13 @ 9am
3. Reschedule PT re-eval
4. Make apt with eye doctor (for me)
5. Go to the DMV for license renewal (not my idea… they made me)
6. Attend BF support group and get info about weaning

Other~

1. File taxes for sellers permit
2. Renew license for tax collection in LA for sellers permit
3. Vacuum
4. Rotate toys & books
5. Reorganize changing station including cloth diapers
6. Burn disc for mom of photos, mail
7. Burn disc for Vee of requested photos
8. Write NY resolution post…. before the end of January
9. Write birth story!!
10. Make comps for t-shirts for PTA
11. Have lots of fun with Pickle!!!!

Thats a whopping 36 items! Wish me luck!

~Leasa

Obviously, being 16 months old this past Christmas, this was not Pickle’s actual first Christmas… but it was his first one that was interactive! It was so fun to watch him discover the Xmas tree over the month of December. Being as cautious as ever and softly hooting is questioning/concerned sound . I was so pleased how gentle he was with ornaments and only broke 2! He didn’t particularly enjoy touching the tree… he has an aversion to sensory things like that… and managed to leave presents alone too! We were smart, though, and only decorated the tree and wrapped presents when he was asleep for the night. Even though it was hard to get into the Xmas spirit (something just didn’t feel like Xmas) it was far better than last year when we were dealing with the sprinkler explosion and flooding in the house!

Christmas came and we were excited to be spending it with my dad and step-mom! This was the first time we ever got an Xmas alone with them. The night before, we set out only a few Santa gifts. We got him a Sheriff Woody and my dad supplied a T-ball setup. The images I captured of Levi running down the hall to the living room are priceless. He wasn’t excited because of Xmas or Santa… he was excited simply because of your love, excitement, and attention on him! He quickly learned about unwrapping the gifts and seemed to enjoy it. A few gifts in and he was too preoccupied with the new stuff to keep going, so Craigery and I opened ours. Soon he was interested again and we finished opening the gifts. We got him: Stride Rite shoes, 5 Golden Books of Pixar stories, Bongo drums, and a Wooden food chopping set by Plan Toys. In his stocking he had things like bubbles, wooden train whistle, a Jacob’s ladder, and a giant crayon of melted crayons. Pickle had a great Christmas and got many other things from our families. I am happy to say that nothing was a dud and sports and instruments seemed to be the focus! Enjoy the photos!

~Leasa

Hi all! A quick list to start the year off right and organized. So much to share about holidays, updates, and new years resolutions for 2013! Lets see what my goal is for this week…

1. Write NY resolution blog post
2. Write Xmas blog post complete with photos
3. Upload xmas Pickle photos to facebook for family
4. Logo and upload Shetera’s maternity shoot to photography fan page
5. Finish editing Shetera’s baby shower photos
6. Mail disc of both shoots to Shetera
7. Mail purchased clothes to @farmermissy
8. Mail purchased Etsy remnants to customer
9. Get Pickle another (read:better) haircut
10. Vacuum
11. Organize & export last year’s Pickle photos (this is a HUGE task)
12. Burn a photo disc for my mom and mail w/late gift (oops)
13. Work on art swap piece… try to finish!
14. Make eye apt for new glasses
15. Cut squares for next quilt
16. Add content to Piece O Lease facebook page
17. Touch base w/Tracey & schedule Kelan’s 3 mo session
18. Take down xmas decor
19. Put up winter/Valentines day decor
20. Read

That’s good. As usual, I don’t expect to get all of this done, but I will still try! Check in later this week to see my progress!

Leasa

Today was our 15 month well-baby and I was glad to have it. Pickle awoke with some sort of reaction going on! He had terrible welts on his shoulders and a little on his chest. We looked for bug bites but couldn’t find any. Pickle didn’t seem to be bothered by it. By the time I got to the Pediatricians office, the welts he had subsided some to red spots but now he had welts on his legs, lower back, and a little on his hands. The Dr. said it had to have been something he ate but he had only nursed so far that morning and I didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary. Last night’s dinner included some things he doesn’t often have like cauliflower and chicken gravy all part of a casserole. And the Dr. said that would’ve been too long ago. Anyway, his breathing was fine so he got a dose of Benadryl to stop the reaction. By the time we arrived at daycare, all that was left was some slightly red areas. So weird.

He weighed in at 23.5 lbs and was nearly 32″ tall. That’s 58th percentile for weight and 72nd for height. Head circumference was 19.5″. I still decided against the shots, for now, especially because of the reaction which the Pediatrician agreed with. She really recommended we start giving some of them at the 18 month well baby in February. I think I will be ready by then. He is making such great progress that there is little concern about them triggering anything. Ill need to go back to the Dr. Sears book and see which ones I want and which ones can wait. I’d like to get past 2 years old for some of them. He hasn’t had any reactions to vaccines before, but I want to take precautions, especially since he isn’t the most advanced child and does show sensitivity to food at least.

As far as therapy goes, he is doing really well in PT (physical therapy). He can walk now but doesn’t use it on his own to get around. Only does it when prompted as a game or practice. It wont be long I think. He had a re-eval yesterday though and they said he is still pretty weak in the right leg and hip. When he is encouraged to lead with that leg, he collapses when bearing all his weight solely on that leg. The left leg he doesn’t. They want to continue with 2x per week and would prefer 3x per week to correct issues faster. Once he is walking continuously, its harder to correct some of these issues. You can only fine tune after that, pretty much. I don’t really have anymore visits though so I have been on the phone with Regional Center, a national government provided service for families to get the help they need for their delayed and disabled children. They can kick in when insurance is up, but Pickle isn’t as delayed as he was originally so I wont get as many visits. But, my insurance can release another 28 visits at the start of the new year so worst case scenario, he will have to wait until then.

The Pediatrician was asking about Pickle’s speech. He can only say “mama” and doesn’t even attempt to imitate any words you say with him. As well as he is doing, he still doesn’t imitate. So, she said by the 18 month well-baby, she wants him to be able to say 5 words which is the minimum for that age (doesn’t have to be clear, but it has to be a consistent word relating to something). If he cant, then off to speech therapy we go. I don’t think we will reach the end of therapy for a while. It’s hard, but I am so grateful there are services out there and that he can get the help he needs. It’s just so exhausting.

That’s all she wrote!

~Leasa

I realized this morning that Thanksgiving is next week! Shit that came up fast! Here is my chore list for this week…

1. Get a turkey!
2. Get ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole
3. Get ingredients for Mac n Cheese
4. Get Stuffing & veggies
5. Get ingredients for rolls (hot roll mix maybe this year instead of scratch)

Photography related:

1. Narrow down Graziani holiday shoot sellections
2. Edit Graziani selections
3. Mail dvd to Graziani’s
4. Mail dvd to Joy
5. Research and choose location for Shetera Maternity shoot
6. Schedule Veronica’s newborn shoot
7. Choose selections from Baby Kelan’s session
8. Edit baby Kelan’s session selections
9. Post and mail Kelan’s session
10. Order Susie’s album
11. Order Susie’s prints when they come in

Misc:

1. Edit photos from Connors bday & send
2. Mail holiday cards
3. Post handmade gift tags on Etsy
4. Well-baby blog post

Manageable I think.

~Leasa