Posts Tagged ‘autism’
Mommypants Moment – Better late than never
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Today’s Mommypants Moment is by Cheryl of Little Bit Quirky. It is a place where she chronicles being the mother of a high-functioning daughter who has autism. Cheryl is very supportive of other parents who have kids with autism and her blog is the perfect blend of humor and raw honesty.
When I was younger, I always thought that my mommypants would fit perfectly, and I’d look fantastic in them. I just “got” children. They loved me! I was a natural! I couldn’t wait to wear my mommypants.
I ended up not getting a chance until I was 38 years old. I wore them beautifully during my pregnancy. I was one of those annoying women that loved being pregnant. I even enjoyed the nausea and getting big. But toward the end of my pregnancy, I began to develop complications that could cause serious problems for my baby. Suddenly, my mommypants weren’t fitting so well anymore.
I had my baby about six weeks early, thankful that she narrowly escaped death. She had to spend her first two weeks in the NICU. During this time I felt helpless. I also realized how clueless I was in taking care of a baby. I had never changed a diaper before. I had no clue you were supposed to feed your baby every three hours or so (sometimes even two hours with a preemie) around the clock.
I quickly found that any time I found a pair of mommypants that fit me, they would quickly change and no longer fit. I just had no clue how to take care of my baby. Even breastfeeding wasn’t going well. My baby’s belly became terribly distended, and she started to projectile vomit. It turned out she couldn’t digest protein. So, I had to eliminate some food groups from my diet in order to breastfeed. Nothing much. I just couldn’t eat anything with dairy, soy, nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, and eggs. I was only able to stick with this diet for four months. Then, down to a too-tiny 108 pounds, I did something I have regretted ever since: I stopped breastfeeding and gave my daughter a bottle of really disgusting hypoallergenic formula. My mommypants disappeared.
During this time, my mother passed away. It wasn’t until this happened that I realized I wanted to borrow mommypants from her. Unfortunately, I realized this too late.
As my daughter grew, I found my mommypants again. They didn’t fit well at all, though. My daughter didn’t start walking until she was 19 months old. She went through horrible terrible twos. And threes. As she grew, she never switched from parallel play to more interactive play. I kept asking her preschool teachers if there was anything “off” with her. They all told me she was fine. I believed this for a year. Then I found my mommypants that fit just right.
My daughter was four-and-a-half years old. She taught herself to read a few months earlier and was showing a lot of signs of being extremely gifted. We went to the park to play. She had a total meltdown when a toddler ran up and ruined the toy placement she had done. As I watched her tantrum, for the third time that day, I had my epiphany. Screw what her teachers said. Something was wrong – horribly wrong.
I wore my beautiful mommypants and sought out a diagnosis for my daughter. It didn’t take long for the school district to assess her and diagnose her with high-functioning autism, probably Asperger’s. We then got a private diagnosis that confirmed this.
That was three years ago. Now my daughter is learning to navigate the extremely confusing world of social interactions. She’s starting second grade next fall at a gifted magnet, to which she is excited to go. She did confide to me that she felt a little sad that she was going to miss her friends at her current school. Yes, she has made a lot of friends at school this year.
I’m very proud of what my daughter has accomplished. While I wish I had found a pair of mommypants that fit this well sooner, I suppose it’s better late than never. Right?
Tags: Aspergers, autism, Little Bit Quirky, support
Posted in Mommypants Moment | 33 Comments »
Mommypants Moment – I am the mother
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Today’s Mommypants moment is from an amazingly talented writer, Varda of The Squashed Bologna. Varda to me is an artist. Her words always move me, and her post Autist to Artist is one of the best pieces I’ve ever read. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Varda in person and she’s as lovely as you’d imagine.
I have worn (and nearly worn out) many a pair of Mommypants in the eight and a half years my twin sons have been on this earth.
Like most everyone else, I pulled on my first pair right at the start, during that part of my C-section when they were putting me back together. Along with my guts being sealed in, those Mommypants were being stitched right onto my body, girding my loins for all that might lie ahead.
I had to put in for my first upgrade about 6 months later.
I’d had twins. Unlike many new parents who only intimately know their one child, this allowed me to see where Jake’s development was not mirroring and keeping pace with his brother Ethan’s. I could compare and contrast, and the red flags went up. (more…)
Tags: autism, mommypants moment, she is the mom, Squashed Bologna, Varda
Posted in Mommypants Moment | 70 Comments »
Mommypants Moment – A soft place to land
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Today’s Mommypants Moment is brought to you by Gigi of Kludgy Mom. Have you ever met someone and keep saying “ME TOO!” after everything she says? Yeah. That’s Gigi and me. We call each other “twin” and when we met in person a few months ago it just reaffirmed how alike we are. So I am thrilled to feature her today, and if you haven’t stopped by her blog, you are missing her kick-ass content that never fails to make me laugh, sigh, and most important, think.
I put on my mommypants a little bit late.
And I don’t mean late as in I was 35 when I had my first child…even though I was what they call a ‘borderline geriatric pregnancy.” So maybe this post should be called my Depends Moment. But I digress. (more…)
Tags: autism, gigi, I love this woman, kludgy mom, speech delay
Posted in Mommypants Moment | 103 Comments »
