Tea Anyone? Spending Quality Time With My Daugher

Tea Anyone?

I'm the kind of person who likes to show of lots and lots and LOTS of photos of her kids. Yes, I am one of THOSE moms. Not because I'm bragging that my kid passed kindergarten, or because they made a 'poopie' in the toiled. Though, to be fair, I am a mom with a special needs son, so I make no guarantees. I'm just saying. You've been warned.

I adore my kids. And I find it hilarious that my younger set (6 and 4) is so similar to my older set (19 and 15). Courtney is m y 6-year old and she is the quintessential girlie-girl. If it's pink and sparkles she's game. So it was no surprise when high-pitched sequels and giggles ensued after she found out I was testing a pink and flower themed tea set. So, to torture her giddy little heart, I made her wait until I could take a picture of her with her new toy.  Sorry, the picture isn't the best because she wasn't willing to sit still long enough for me to get good pictures.  

I happened to get this particular teaset for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion. However, this is not the first time I've had this tea set- and the first set I paid full price for – and LOVED. So this tea set was a no-brainer. I knew I'd like it before I got it.

Why do I like this tea set. Several reasons.

1. They are made of sturdy metal. If I stepped on those things because a kiddo left them on the carpet, it wouldn't dent or crush. And it's not the cheap plastic you normally find that fades or cracks if you look at it funny.
2. The design is stinking adorable. Hot pink and flowers. How much better does it get for a little girl?
3. There's enough for a true party. You get 4 plates (about 4” in size) 4 tea plates, 4 tea cups, and a little teapot complete with a top.

The only think you need to be aware of is that they are not designed to actually hold liquids. Since they're assembled using rivets, they aren't water-tight. But that's OK. Less clean-up work for you when the party is over!

The only thing that would keep me from giving the Tea set an A+ is the inability to hold actual liquids. But its report card is a solid A nonetheless. I'd highly recommend this tea party kit. And I'd certainly buy it again.  

Clumsy Children = Childproofing....Again

In a matter of ten days, Jacob has wound up with a goose egg on his forehead the size of a golfball, and Courtney has has two major falls.  Now she's got bruises all over her arms and face.  It looks like she's being abused at home. Her bruises are so bad that I had to e-mail her teacher and let her know what was wrong and ask her to keep an eye out for more clumsiness at school to figure out if she's just clumsy or if I need to have a doctor check her out (inner-ear infection,maybe?).  Gah!

I've come to the point where I'm considering baby-proofing my home for my 6-year-old and my 4-year old!  OK, there's no way to Jacob-proof a home.  But I'm hoping to minimize the damage before Child Services gets called in. 

That's how the babyproofing foam edges came into play.

The picture to the left is how it came (with double sided tape) and the picture on the right is the edging on our table (I'm considering adding it to the wrought iron railing, but black on black doesn't make a good picture, does it!)

I was pretty impressed with this stuff because of how impact resistant it was and how easy it was to install.  Since it was a soft foam, I knew if Jacob hit it full-speed, he wouldn't end up with another giant goose egg.  Plus the tape, meant I wouldn't have to keep re-installing it every time Jake decided to pull it off and use it as a weapon against Courtney (or any other member of the family!)   - OK, at least it slowed him down a bit!

Granted, there aren't enough foam edging in the world to compensate for Courtney falling down the stairs again, but if I can prevent even one more bruise from happening, it will be worth it!

Hopefully these drastic measures won't be necessary for long, and both my children will regain their equilibrium soon!

Sleep Apnea Sleep Study for Jake

At Jacob's last  check up with the pediatrician, she put in a request that he get a sleep study done because children with Down syndrome have a higher tendency to have issues with sleep apnea.

It took months for us to connect with the doctor, have our preliminary visit, then actually have the sleep study done.

I'd had no idea what to expect from the study, aside from the fact that Jake would be there all night long and they'd be monitoring his sleep patterns somehow.

We showed up at the hospital at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night and met with the technician. She showed us to a room that looked very much like a hotel room complete with a queen sized bed, a couple night stands, and a chair in the corner.  There was a bathroom connected to the room, and a second room where I could sleep if I chose.  She pointed out the cameras that would be used to watch Jacob while he sleeps, then showed me all of the cables that would be attached to various parts of his body.

Jake was NOT impressed.  From the second she started trying to attach the cables to his body, he began fighting.  He'd kick, and scream, and yell, and push, and wiggle--anything he could do to keep them off his body.

We struggled for FOUR hours to get them on him, then to get him to lay down in bed, and to keep him from yanking the cables out of his hair and off his face.

FOUR HOURS.  I finally had to physically restrain him with both my arms and legs until he couldn't move, then wait for him to cry himself to sleep.  By the time he fell asleep at around 1:00 a.m. both he and I were a sweaty mess.

By morning, the technician verified that yes, he did have sleep apnea, and maybe I should get a sleep study done too.  Um, you'd sleep like a brick and snore too if you'd just fought Jacob for four hours.  That kid has stamina.  I'm just sayin...

I heard nothing for another six weeks, then finally hear from the pediatrician asking if we'd ever had the study.  I confirmed that we had and that we were waiting on results and were told it may take a few months to hear anything.  She was not impressed, so she made phone calls, and a referral to the ENT.

At his appointment this week, we were told that Jacob had obstructive sleep apnea and another form of apnea that affects his brain waves when he sleeps.  He will be getting his tonsils out shortly to help with the apnea since there is no way Jake will sleep with a CPAP machine.

The ENT said that once the tonsils were taken out, they normally do another sleep study.  I quickly informed him that there was NO WAY I was going to subject Jake to that study again. Not for a very long time.  He agreed when I told him the story and said that instead he'd do a follow-up with him after the surgery to make sure his airways are doing well.

Here's to hoping that will be enough, and we don't find ourselves in another all-night war of the wills!