Cute thing #1: Yesterday I was trying to get Nate to follow me into my room, so I crawled really fast, and he followed saying "I goin getchoo!"
Cute thing #2: This morning Nate was inspecting my necklace, and I told him it was in the shape of a horseshoe, and that's the kind of shoes that horses wear. Well, today was hippotherapy and while riding the horse, Nate couldn't stop looking down at the horse's feet. :)
Doctor visit: Okay, as most people know, Nate is a very cranky child. There are some days that despite the typical little fits, he's a little angel and a pleasure to be around (like today), and there are other days when he whines and screams and cries from the time he wakes up until his eyes close at night (like yesterday). Last night I was at my wit's end--this is not normal behavior, and I don't understand what's causing it. He acts like he feels bad. So after some brainstorming, I came up with a few theories and took Nate to the pediatrician's office today. Here are the theories and what we're doing:
Reflux--Nate had "silent" reflux as a little guy, but he seemed to outgrow it, and I stopped giving him his meds around 14 months. But maybe he still struggles with it some days. He has been asking for snacks non-stop, and last night he cried and cried for milk. That tipped me off, because when he was little, he was constantly signing for milk to soothe his belly. The doctor gave us prevacid chewables to take every day.
Sinus problems/allergies--He has had a runny/stuffy nose for three months now. The doctor had previously told us to try claritin. This time he gave us claritin chewables and an antibiotic because he suspects a sinus infection since it has lasted this long.
Food allergies--I'm skeptical about this one because Nate doesn't have tummy issues, but it's a possibility. The doctor suggested keeping a food diary for him. Hmmm. I may or may not do that.
Sensory issues--Nate's PT recently diagnosed him with Sensory Integration Disorder. It's hard to explain because I still don't fully understand it, but she decided that his "vestibular sensory issues" were keeping him from walking in his walker. She gave us some things to do for that, and sure enough, the next week he was walking in his walker. Also related, he is a little defensive about what he will put in his mouth, so we're working on that in OT, and he has made great progress. He will now blow a whistle, blow through a straw (still trying to figure out sucking), take bites off of things, and today he chewed one of the chewable prevacid tablets! I told the doctor he wouldn't, but he made a liar out of me. Anyway, the PT also thinks that some of his meltdowns are because of this. He gets easily overwhelmed, and he melts. In a way, this has improved over the last few weeks since we've been working on it. For example, when we threw him in that pit of foam blocks (see picture from a couple days ago), I thought for sure he would flip out, but he loved it! And today the OT had him on his back on a big exercise ball and was leaning him backwards to pick up puzzle pieces above his head, and after some initial hesitation, he had a great time doing that! A few weeks ago, there would have been no way. So I know he's progressing here, but he's still acting really irratible some days. That's why I think it's one of the above things instead of sensory issues or even behavior issues.
(Granna and Memaw: The doctor also told me I could put some cortizone on that rash on his legs.)
So we're going to try these things and see if we can get this boy feeling better so he doesn't drive me crazy! :)
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