She was excited to start on Wednesday. I think it went great! She was excited to go, which was great. We were waiting outside for the teacher to come and get the kids and Mairead kept inching toward the door. She said, "Hey, I know. I have a great idea. How 'bout, go inside?" Super cute! The teacher came out and lined up the kids and told them that Mairead was a new friend. They all said, "Hi, Mairead," and though I had to prompt her, she said, "Hi, everyone," while making eye contact. Awesome! The teacher took her hand and led everyone to class. Mairead did look back to see if I was coming, but she didn't get upset. She was in a great mood when Dave picked her up and even tried to tell us about her day. Something about 'circle time, I see numbers and letters.' She was SO exhausted. It will be a strain for her to get used to the 2.5hrs a day 4 days a week, so we'll have to take it easy on her until she gets used to it.
I did go in and introduce myself to the nurse, tell her Mairead's story, etc. She was super nice and was going to go to the classroom to meet Mairead and put a face to her name.
The ONLY possible bad news is that I think she may have had another absence seizure on Wednesday. It looked just like the last one that my mom and I witnessed, but was only about 10 seconds. She just stared off to the right with her eyes fixed. I called her name several times and jostled her shoulders with no response. Then, she just snapped out of it as if nothing happened. There's nothing we can really do; I just wrote down the date, time, and circumstances and how long it lasted. Next time we see the neurologist we'll just talk to him about it. I hope I am wrong and it was nothing, but it was definitely noticeable.
But, that first day was still a HUGE win for us-- we have been working SO hard for this for so long. I teared up a bit as I walked away from the building because this moment has been so long in coming. It was such a relief for me. It's only been three days, but she seems to be doing great! No hesitation at all going with the teacher- in fact, she gets really excited. We wait outside for the teacher to come get the kids and she is all excited and impatient, waiting to go in. One of the best parts has been that both yesterday and today, little girls came up and said hi to her, and today, one girl told her mom, "that's my new friend, Mairead." Cue me fighting back tears. Mairead still needs prompting, as in, "Can you say hi to Sophia?" But then she looks up at the girl, smiles, makes eye contact, and says, "Hi." Amazing.
Yesterday, she came home and kept talking about hummingbirds, how they hum, what color they are, that they suck on the apple juice (?), they have a beak, etc. Today, she asked, "I have a banana in my lunchbox, mommy?" Just her awareness of needing something in her lunchbox for school is so big for us.
Three moms have introduced themselves, made small talk, etc. That never happened at the other program. No one knows anything yet about Mairead's challenges, etc, so I just hope all these positive relationships keep going once other kids notice that she is a little different or needs extra help, etc.
It's only been three days, but things are already so much better for us. Mairead seems happier, the boys are on a great schedule, and I can actually get things done around the house since I have 2- 2.5 hours of her at school while the boys nap. I feel so much more in control of our life.
Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive- the past year of fighting for this has been so hard on us, and you have been amazing. Again, I know this placement will not immediately solve all of our problems- Mairead still has a lot of challenges and I still have a lot of concerns about her education, health, etc, but I really believe that this is the beginning of much better things for us!
I did go in and introduce myself to the nurse, tell her Mairead's story, etc. She was super nice and was going to go to the classroom to meet Mairead and put a face to her name.
The ONLY possible bad news is that I think she may have had another absence seizure on Wednesday. It looked just like the last one that my mom and I witnessed, but was only about 10 seconds. She just stared off to the right with her eyes fixed. I called her name several times and jostled her shoulders with no response. Then, she just snapped out of it as if nothing happened. There's nothing we can really do; I just wrote down the date, time, and circumstances and how long it lasted. Next time we see the neurologist we'll just talk to him about it. I hope I am wrong and it was nothing, but it was definitely noticeable.
But, that first day was still a HUGE win for us-- we have been working SO hard for this for so long. I teared up a bit as I walked away from the building because this moment has been so long in coming. It was such a relief for me. It's only been three days, but she seems to be doing great! No hesitation at all going with the teacher- in fact, she gets really excited. We wait outside for the teacher to come get the kids and she is all excited and impatient, waiting to go in. One of the best parts has been that both yesterday and today, little girls came up and said hi to her, and today, one girl told her mom, "that's my new friend, Mairead." Cue me fighting back tears. Mairead still needs prompting, as in, "Can you say hi to Sophia?" But then she looks up at the girl, smiles, makes eye contact, and says, "Hi." Amazing.
Yesterday, she came home and kept talking about hummingbirds, how they hum, what color they are, that they suck on the apple juice (?), they have a beak, etc. Today, she asked, "I have a banana in my lunchbox, mommy?" Just her awareness of needing something in her lunchbox for school is so big for us.
Three moms have introduced themselves, made small talk, etc. That never happened at the other program. No one knows anything yet about Mairead's challenges, etc, so I just hope all these positive relationships keep going once other kids notice that she is a little different or needs extra help, etc.
It's only been three days, but things are already so much better for us. Mairead seems happier, the boys are on a great schedule, and I can actually get things done around the house since I have 2- 2.5 hours of her at school while the boys nap. I feel so much more in control of our life.
Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive- the past year of fighting for this has been so hard on us, and you have been amazing. Again, I know this placement will not immediately solve all of our problems- Mairead still has a lot of challenges and I still have a lot of concerns about her education, health, etc, but I really believe that this is the beginning of much better things for us!
The boys have been incredibly funny and cute lately. They are starting to really play with one another and communicate a lot more. Last night, they were playing 'cymbals.' I assume that I have the Fresh Beat Band to thank for that new vocabulary word.
Today, I gave them a bath and each boy had a cup. Ben would fill up his cup while Jack waited patiently, and then Jack held out his own cup. Ben would pour his cup into Jack's, and then when it was full, one of them would say, "there, perfect!" Or, "there, all finished!" So cute! I scooped Ben up and wrapped him in a towel and held him for a minute to keep him warm. He peeked out from under the corner of the towel and said, "Kiss, Mommy?" Are you kidding me? Talk about the little moments that make life great.
I hope that all of you have a great weekend- thanks for reading!
2 comments:
I'm so glad Mairead is doing well at school! She's so cute in that dress!
Connor has been asking for cymbals lately in his new found love for musical instruments. I should send him up to your house!
2 was such a fun age for us...three for our boy has been the challenge. I am so SO SO happy for Mairead and she really seems to be just taking it all in stride. What a great answer to your prayers.
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