WE SURVIVED THE FIRST YEAR! High fives all around. I apparently threw, decorated and attended an appropriately themed Bug birthday party for our one year old twins….thank God for pictures because as formerly mentioned….I don't remember a thing.
Goodbye non-mobile little infants. We had officially embarked upon toddler world. Frankly, not much changes except the fact that these eating, pooping, crying machines can actually move around at alarmingly fast rates. And as luck would have it, they do not like to be more then 2 inches away from their mother. So long privacy. It truly was a pleasure. I'm sure you have seen those pictures of the adorable little fingers sliding underneath the closed bathroom door, reaching for mommy….adorable. Not so much the fingers, the thought of a closed door and just me behind it, that's the adorable thought. Behind my very open door, I had (have) full on toilet paper pulling, I need mommy (buddy, you're sitting on my lap, there is no getting closer to mommy), let's poke my brother in the eye and see what happens, happening. And while on the topic. What is this obsession with the toilet?! Nolan never had this obsession, so it was all new to me..but man, it just called to the twins like a beacon. We must flush. We can hardly walk but we will find a way to that disgusting toilet water. We must throw anything and everything into the toilet! There currently is a wooden train whistle stuck in our guest room toilet that the plumber cannot get out, I'm thinking they haven't grown out of this stage yet!
At their 1yr check up the doctor mentioned that Jack's tone still seemed pretty low and that physical therapy might help him strengthen his muscles and make it easier on him to learn how to walk, climb, jump, etc. We immediately set up an assessment for that and started classes the next week. If you're not sure what low tone means imagine trying to pick up a very wobbly wet noodle. Clearly, Jack was more stable and stronger then that but you get the idea. Dr. Rowe also thought that making an appointment with the Regional Center would be a good idea just to have him checked out. Okay, wait…what the hell is a Regional Center? Why does he need to get checked out? Didn't you tell us this is something he would "grow out of"?…tornado of questions blowing through my mind. All of which I never asked aloud. Why? I have no idea.
Honestly, Steve and I were not really in any rush to have him assessed because going into any assessment we knew that he was developmentally behind…I mean c'mon we have two other kids nearly the same exact age at home. In the Fall of 2012, we were the experts of 1 year old milestones. We knew. We took him anyway and so started a whole other series of assessments, tests, examinations. Obviously they were kind enough to tell us that he was behind. Yeah, caught that, thanks.
By 14 months, Neva was a waddle walking machine. Jack was very happy to continue crawling and could actually keep up with her. At 17 months we got just a little bit concerned (although Steve didn't walk until 19 months…which he swears is a sign of intelligence because why on earth would you walk when you can be carried)! 18 months old and still nothing from Jack.
That Christmas we decided to split time with both of our parents in Livermore. Before the trip Jack had had an ear infection and was then on his second round of antibiotics. When we got home from Christmas break we had him checked out and the poor kid STILL had an ear infection. He was a little bit of a fussy kid in general but nothing extreme, definitely never showed any signs of an ear infection. What if he had had them all along? For like, his entire life….could you imagine? This poor kid! We had no idea. Hello?!?! Of course he was a nightmare on that flight home from Hawaii….It all makes sense now. More appointments…ENT, Hearing consultant (such a weird exam), and neurology…just in case.
All agreed that tubes had to be put in immediately. They checked his hearing and the poor kid could virtually only hear our yells and screams (they were all done in a playful manner I swear…we are very happy people). I mean, come on. How did we let 18 months go by and not know! Of course he was delayed…the poor kid couldn't hear! He couldn't balance due to the fluid in his ears and couldn't speak because he couldn't imitate something he couldn't hear! He must of thought we were all crazy people!
I was able to go into the OR with him while they put him under. It was awful actually. They told me exactly what to do…look into his eyes so the last thing he sees before he drifts off is me. Easy enough, I thought. I sit down in a chair with him on my lap and they get the mask that will release the sedative ready and say "go ahead mom, just talk to him like normal." Well it wasn't normal and he knew it. He started crying, and thrashing and just looking at me with his huge brown eyes asking me why I was letting them do this to him…ugh. It's the worst feeling in the world. And all the while the nurses are gently saying "look into his eyes, talk to him" BUT "don't get to close, don't inhale, don't breath…you may pass out too." Literally 10 seconds in, he was out. They took him from my arms and laid him on the operating table….I couldn't breath. They led me out to the waiting room and I just sat there and cried. Because, really what else do you do in these kind of moments? You friggin cry.
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| "untacking daddy" |
He was out of surgery and awake in about an hour. And like magic…our little Jack could hear! He seriously was a new man. His first day home he decided to participate in a game of "untacking" (game title given by Nolan because he liked the sound of it better then attacking or wrestling). PreOp Jack would stay back and look at us like we were crazy, but that day he joined in! He must have thought we were trying to kill each other before! Jack had "untacked" his way to top of the dog pile and so we clapped and cheered for him and at first he looked a little shocked and confused, then he smiled so big with that amazing Jack smile of his and I just knew that in that exact moment, Jack was hearing praise for the very first time. An amazing moment.
p.s. Jack walked at 19 months (on Mother's Day)!
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