Baby Born ~ September 2007 # 73

Ginger :hug: Wow. Autism. When did you start to suspect that was a real possibility? It's such a huge label, but like you say he's your little rockstar and this doesn't change anything about his gorgeous self. On the positive side, having the diagnosis means you can get some supports in place. And you're right, you are an awesome mumma with an awesome family to support him so he can thrive.

Cally, I'm not sure if I'm going to bother labelling socks. I might just concentrate on teaching E to stuff socks inside her (labelled) shoes instead. LOL @ your DH splashing out on Lego. I saw a mind-boggling display in your FB photos the other week. We so totally need to get across our construction skills :lol:.

Cass, my Aus day was pretty boring too. But I did manage to take myself out to get art supplies :) and to wander in quiet soliture around Big W for a bit. Totally missed most of the Hottest 100 but it was worth it for that "aaaaah" factor.

Arte - whew - home is in sight! My supervisor showed me some of his recent Christchurch photos - mind boggling. Baby gibbon sounds cute. How are things going with your DH now?

We went to trash and treasure this morning, and when we got home, Miss E set up a trading table and flogged off some of her old unwanted items to family members. No pretend play involved. She was all about the profit! LOL

Just wanted to pop back in and wish GOOD LUCK and a HAPPY FIRST DAY to all our big September babies heading off to school over the next couple of days.

And mummas, here's a box of tissues (*hands around a box of extra large triple-ply tissues*). And along with the tears (inevitable), remind yourself what a celebration this day is and what an awesome bunch of mothers you are. Every one of you. I feel so blessed to have had your company on this long and winding journey, which has finally brought each of us to the school gate, holding the hand of a gorgeous, precious September child. *MWAH*

I'll take two of those extra large boxes MD. I'm feeling quite a lot of anxiety about L starting school and I'm not normally one to get overly anxious about anything! We take him tomorrow, but i have a few last things to do today and double check he has everything he needs. Luckily A doesn't start till friday. I can handle that a lot easier though!

G, as I said, you still have your Jimmy, except now he's going to be getting some extra help. The most important thing is that he's supported and has a Mum and Dad that will do anything to help him and he's got that for sure! The early intervention is going to make a huge difference to him. :hug: I really wish I could give you one of those in person though

Thanks for the tissues MD - have no idea how I will be feeling. DH is back at work today so K and I are having a fun day together. We were going to go out for brekkie, but she decided it's too wet. Heading out for a play date later with the one little girl she knows going to school with her, then heading into town this arvo. Then big day tomorrow. I've got the day off as well as she doesn't start until late (they stagger them) and I want to be there for the pick up. Planning a day of TV, pedicures and facials.

Trill - I can totally understand why you are so anxious about L starting. He's your first one, off on a big adventure and there will be ups and downs, but from everything you've said about L and the school it seems like you made the right decision and it is all a perfect fit.

G - Big hugs for you. I'm sure it was a shock, but it doesn't change the fact he is your special little man. Knowing now will hopefully help with all sorts of things to put in place for the future with regards intervention etc. Will it be easier with L at school this year, with getting to appts etc, special time just the two of you?

Arte - home day today? Sounds like you had some great experiences on the trip that the kids will remember for some time. I'm still a bit jealous about the helicopter trip. Luckily K playing schools mainly involves pillows on the floor with a baby on each of them and she pats them off to sleep. Sometimes she props them agains the coffee table and teaches them to read. We rarely have to get involved, sometimes I have to be one of the carers, but I'm usually on my lunch break! I'm really not a fan of pretend play either. Very minimal imagination in this brain of mine. She's got into hide and seek lately too, but if I set out from the beginning that it's 2 hides each, it goes quick enough for me, but satisfies her.

HAPPY FIRST DAY for our Little Babies turned Big Kids!!!

:happyforyou:

We dont start until the Monday....in mass denial. despite all the labelling of clothes lol.

WOW G big hugs babe. Sounds like you have it all under control though!

Arte I can't believe how quick your trip seems to have gone!!

I can't believe that as I sit here typing my baby is sitting in a classroom!! He was so excited today. No tears from either of us, if L had of cried I would have though lol. He has a brand new classroom but it didn't stand up to this weekends crazy weather (a little scary) so he is in a another room until his new one is dry and fixed.

I hope that the rest of you have easy drop off's when the time comes. I can't believe our babies are starting school. I am looking forward to seeing photos of them all and hearing about their first days.

MD, thanks for the tissues, I am gonna need them! W doesn't start until Monday but I am still struggling to imagine him sitting in a classroom all day :( Have to go over and buy a uniform tomorrow. He seems alright with it and not to angsty for now, helped by the fact that I took A in for a play at kindy and the teachers welcomed him back with hugs and listened to his stories of his adventures and he is still enrolled so he is going to go for the next couple of days. They are so good to him there. In fact, I think two of the teachers had a falling out because both wanted to do his farewell at the end of last year lol. No one has said out loud, but I get the strong feeling that he was their favourite.
Have you had any tests done for Melatonin and Orexin levels?

Cally, I suspect us science types struggle with the imagination aspect. W is the easier kid in that respect because he likes his science, but A is all about singing and dancing and tea parties.

Trill, I hope all went well with L's drop off xx

Well, we made it home last night at about 11pm. Had a good couple of days at a little bay just before Picton where the kids could play on the beach all day. DH caught a fish that we carted back and had for tea tonight. I would call the trip a success. DH and I are still together, although there were a couple of close calls lol.

I have totally lost all respect for our native Weka birds. At the first campsite we thought we were lucky to see one up close by our tent, then we realised they were camp parasites and at the last place we stayed one of them grabbed a freshly laid poo out of the potty and took off with it. Foul.

Ick - you made me gag Arte!

Good luck with the uniform shopping.

hi girls
sorry ive been a bad baby buddy lately. so much on my plate at the moment. hope all the littlies have/are going off to school well. i love seeing all the pics on fb of them in their big uniforms. so adorable!

trill-hope youre ok about L going off on his way. big hugs to you, i bet you're already missing him like crazy.

L is going really well at big school. today is his first full day so luckily i get to go and pick him up soon cos ive been missing him like crazy.
trying to get everything sorted for J atm. the amount of paperwork/appointments/phone calls i have made over the last week is basically a full time job. we are currently in the process of getting him a spot at a 3 yr old kinder (the one attatched to L's school) so far they have been v supportive and have a special asd unit attached to the school with speech therapists, psychologists etc. they will also let L come and have lunch/spend time/play with J if he wants. also getting J into some early intervention at a specialist asd centre and some ready for school preparation/therapies/social groups etc. exhausting atm, but luckily we are getting the support we need.
will try to catch up with some personals really soon xo

G, that's totally understandable :hug: I can't begin to imagine what the paperwork would be like for you. But that is just fantastic that you have somewhere to send J that sounds like a perfect fit for him and for your family.

OMG Arte, I threw up in my mouth a little reading that!

Well today went off without a hitch. It was no where near as bad sending A off to school as it was on Wednesday leaving L behind :( I miss him so much and will have to wait until next friday to see him when they have their swimming carnival. I have a phone to give him, but thought it would be a wise move if I left it for a few weeks otherwise I'd be the one calling him all the time :lol: So I have to wait for him to ring and so far he hasn't so I"m taking that as a sign that he's settling in just fine.

So L stays this weekend? Yes, if he's not calling, he's having too much fun!

G - that does sound like a lot of stuff to organise. Great that you seem to be getting so much help and support.

I think Miss K is having a nap.......

Hi girls!

Trill: Massive PHAT one of these :hug: i cannot even begin to entertain how it must feel to let your kid go off into the big wide world on their own...it must be a real spinner.

G: i didnt realise that there would be paperwork...until i thought about it! eeekk, filling out forms give me the heebie jeebies...i am always worried that i will not write all the correct stuff. it seems that you guys did really choose the right school afterall then for both the boys if the school as the ASD unit incorporated. If you dont mind me asking what were the signs that Mr J were showing that raised a flag for you?

Cally: She's napping?? do you think she is tuckered out from school?

Arte: eewwwww hahahahaha! cannot believe they like poo hahahaha. the play on the beach sounds like my kind of day...i love finding those unexpected awesome days.

Oz: how did the rest of his day go? was he super proud??
did your house/area stand up to the storms ok? it seemed really wild along the coast...especially all that sea foam! did you guys cop any of that on your beaches?

AFM: all good here. birthday party action all day. have a few hours now of respite before an evening one (thankfully low key with neighbours!). went out with my mothers group last night for dinner with emilia. the poor bub just really hates being indoors in noisy places. she couldnt settle the whole time (not angry but just very awake). when we got home she totally cracked it and was inconsolable so she spent the night in bed with us...something she hasnt done for weeks and weeks now that she is sleeping pretty much through.
Marta had her first ballerina lesson today!! she was sooo cute!

Cass, happy birthday! The pics of Marta dancing are very cute!

Trill, hope you are getting through the weekend o.k :hug:

We went over to the school playground for a play this morning and W's new teacher called us over to check out his new class and to meet her. She was enquiring about his reading levels etc and got him to read a bit of a book I thought was about what he is up to. He read it flawlessly and it was a level 22-24 book. I am not sure if you have the same levels system over there but for perspective they are expected to be competent at level 18 by the end of Year 2. After she picked her jaw up off the floor, she said she has never encountered a kid as advanced as W, to be so far ahead before entering into any formal education. There was mention of possible other funding for a teachers aide for him, or possibly attending the One Day School in Taupo (one day per week, for advancement of gifted kids). They also have a gifted and talented liaison officer from the uni who can provide extension activities for him. The teacher seems very excited and it seems that she will be doing her best to keep him stimulated.
I knew he was very smart, and I knew he was a fair bit ahead of the other kids in his class, but I had no idea that it was so rare for kids to be like this. I thought that teachers would come across similar kids every couple of years but apparently not. Part of me is proud to have such a smart child, the other part is dreading all the years ahead trying to make sure he is being challenged and catered to.

Wow, that is a long way ahead, but so glad that the teacher seems willing to help him and keep him stimulated, rather than just sending him to the library and getting him to do it himself. Is it just the literacy side of things he is way ahead in or numeracy as well?

Cass - There was only one day of school this week, so I don't think she was too tired from it. She fell asleep in the car on Tuesday on our way back home after going out to lunch. She just seems to still need naps. I need to talk to DH about whether we have a school bedtime (7:15) and weekend bedtime (7:45) or just bring the clock forward 1/2 hour and make her think she is special being able to stay up on weekends. She is notorious for saying how tired she is, that she's going to have an early night, but then looking at the clock, 'oh, the big hand's not pointing down, can't go to bed yet'. The good thing about yesterday's nap was that we were going out last night to DH's workmates for dinner and didn't get home until 9:30 so it was a late night - she had a big sleep in this morning.

My little boy went off to school today :) We went over for a powhiri (welcome) with the kindy and he was chosen to put down the kete (a bag containing an offering for the host).
Then we had a hongi with all the teachers and his teacher happened to be the last in the line so I gave him a quick goodbye and left. He seemed pretty positive about it all though, he had no issue with the uniform and was nagging me to leave for school this morning. So different from the boy 5 months ago that was so anxious about it all.

Cally, not sure what the standards are for maths. I guess they will test him and find out where he is at.

Just got a phone call then - my house has gone unconditional today! Will be nice to have some free cash :) However, DH took my car 4WDing the other day and drowned it and now it doesn't go. So that may just be the spare cash used up for the next while anyway lol. You can't win everything I guess.

Leila's First Day here too :dance:

Arte: Ws school sounds pretty cool and welcoming considering how keen the teacher was/is to help him achieve and aim for his best. I guess there will be moments that are going to be a bit tough for him considering that he is a gifted kid, but I totally believe that he has landed in the right family to help him on his path.
and wow, what a BIG change for him with starting school and the uniform! woo hoo!!

What does the unconditional thingy mean?? is it sold? and whaatt??? with the car??? oops :o

Cally: we are also in a pickle now with Leila being able to tell time lol. she totally knows now when to bust us trying to shuffle them off earlier hahaha.

AFM: well, she's off at school today!!! sooo cute! we went with the neighbours as their boy is in her class and they get along famously. so excited for her. the school seems really sweet and the teacher is on the ball. i dont know her at all, but have been told that she is really good with the preps...depends i guess on what people determine as 'good' though. she seems to have a nice vibe about her.

Cass, I think you can tell a fair bit by the vibe of the teacher. The teacher W was supposed to have if he started last year didn't strike me right although she is lovely and seemed to be doing a good job. I can feel the positivity coming from the new teacher. Glad L's day went well. Was she particularly anxious about it or was she more excited?

Unconditional means that all the conditions of sale have been fulfilled and now it is only a matter of waiting another 10 days until settlement. And the car...DH got it stuck in a mega puddle and had to get towed out and now it won't start. Having a fight with the insurance company about it - it all comes down to whether or not the road is a road lol.

I can't wait for my new semester of uni stuff to arrive! E is usually only waking once and I feel like I have some brain power for the first time in ages.

Woohoo for brain power Arte!

Meltdown this morning - she wanted to wear her dress again, but it is dirty so it is polo shirt and shorts (which pretty much every girl except the kindies wear, only the kindies seem to wear the dresses). DH is home today, so I left him to it. She got there eventually. She was happy with the second day yesterday, was telling me all about the bells while I was getting dinner ready.

And plans for early nights on school days seem to have gone out the window with the Block starting up. She loves watching them build.

Arte - so glad that W had a good start.