So much to say, so little time!

Grace had her surgery on Friday, the 15th. It went really well, they kept her overnight to observe her, and she loved the popsicles and jello! She is very sore and so is being pretty laid back, but overall she is doing well. My house may take some time to recover, as it is covered in popsicles and jello, but such is life sometimes! We are officially getting a service dog also! It is 6:30 however, and my daughter is crying so that info will come out later! Check back and read it, help us out!

Service dogs for autism?

I recently came across some information involving service dogs for kids with autism! This was fascinating to me, it makes perfect sense, although I never would have thought of it! After spending most of the night and morning researching this I have found a lot of useful information on the subject. My husband and I have always noticed Grace LOVES animals and dogs especially. Service dogs with autistic children help to calm them down during meltdowns, are trained to help stop a child from running off, or to alert a parent in the event a child does run away, and are also trained in search and rescue! Some of the websites I have looked at talk about dogs having the ability to even redirect a child who is stimming, or to help with sensory overloads as well as many other things! As you can imagine the cost for something like this is very high! I have found prices ranging from $6,000-$16,000! In some instances it can be even higher! There are places you can contact that will assist you in training your own service dog as well for a much lower fee. The breeds they look at are larger breed such as labs, german shepherds, and rotts along with many othe herding breeds. They look for loyalty (but not protectiveness as this could be dangerous in a dog that is exposed to a lot of people) which these breeds are known for. I am very interested in this topic and would be interested to hear your feedback on it! I am going to look into some research in it and possibly look into one for Grace! Some of our longterm problems we have had are aggresiveness (she often hits herself and others when she is upset and sometimes when she is sensory seeking), wandering off, a lack of a sense of safety (she will jump off of objects way to high for her or walk into situations completely oblivious of danger), extreme tantrums, anxiety when outside the house, and a reluctance to interact with other people. Everyone of these issues where addressed with service dogs and many children had greatly reduced tantrums, less anxiety, better sleep, and a whole list of other benefits! What are your thoughts?

Rough day!

Grace had a really rough day yesterday! We made a trip to the WIC office where Grace got upset at the nurse and the day went downhill from there! She has a tough time recovering somedays when something upsets her. She screamed through the rest of the appointment and the whole time I was paying a bill. I was getting strange looks from people so I finally said, "You all want to scream in public sometimes too it just isnt socially acceptable for you to!" I know that when Grace is in the middle of a meltdown, she is just as miserable screaming and crying as I am listening to it! I know she doesnt want to do it, but she just doesnt have any other way to deal with what is stressing her out at the moment. When a child with a visible issue (such as Downs Syndrome) is throwing a fit people look at them and think, that poor mom what a great mom! When a kid with autism or another issues that isnt so obvious is throwing a fit, the mom gets looked at like she is a bad parent! Sometimes I just want to yell at people when we are out, and at the same time I feel frustrated at me that I even care what they think! Its so easy as a parent to judge other parents. Its always easier to tell other people what they should or shouldnt do with their child, but until you have walked in their shoes, you have no idea! Since I have begun this journey with Grace I have realized I was one of those moms who always gave my opinion, and I have tried to change that and only offer advice if it is wanted. Every new mom goes through the phase of everyone telling her what to do! I've gone from being the mom who gets annoyed at other people's screaming kids to being the whose annoying other people because my kid is screaming! It amazes he sometimes how we learn lessons in life! I was reading a verse this morning that touched on this for me, it is II Timothy 1:7 "For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." That verse meant a lot to me. It reminds me when I am frustrated and down and feel like no one understands what I am going through that God did not make me to feel this way, he didnt make me to sneak through places unnoticed but to hold my head high and in everything I do strive to show God's love. It was a great verse for me after the day I had yesterday!

Are you lactose intolerant?

We have been trying to determine if Grace is lactose intolerant. From everything we have seen we are sure that she is. So, thanks to moneysavingmom.com I have found a wonderful solution! Lactaid milk is expensive! (lets face it, milk at all is expensive these days!) You can purchase lactase drops (about $14 a bottle) online, or at a health food store. I prefer to buy them online since you can get coupons for future orders oftentimes (my next bottle I get 50% off for doing a quick survey of how I liked the product). I am still researching all the ways you can use them, but here is what i have learned so far! The reason people are lactose intolerant is because their body does not produce enough lactase in order to break the lactose down into lactaid which you body then uses (confused yet?). The lactase drops essentially do the work for you, and convert regular milk into lactaid milk. For one gallon of milk you would use 56 drops (more or less as needed). You then allow the milk to sit for 24 hours to break down the lactose. One bottle of lactase drops can convert 12 gallons of milk. You can also use the drops in yogurt, ice cream or any other lactose containing product (I am not sure of what the amount would be however, still researching that one!) I have also read that you can mix it with water and drink it just before consuming lactose containing ingrediants. I am not sure of what the amounts are. You can also buy lactaid chews that will accomplish the same thing. We use the drops because Grace is not old enough for the chews yet. To buy a gallon of lactose free milk is around $8.00 (it costs about $3.88 for the generic brands for a 1/2 gallon). Depending on where you get your milk (we use quik trip since its the cheapest around here) It is about $2.69 for a gallon of 2% milk. The prices may vary a little depending on where you live. At 2 gallons a week for Lactaid milk you would be paying an average of $62 a month. If you use the regular milk and add the lactose drops you would be spending about $30 a month on milk. $2.69 a gallon adding $1.14 per gallon of milk ($14 of lactase drops divided between 12 gallons of milk). It saves a lot of money! I have found the drops to be just as effective as the the lactaid milk, the only difference is you do need to prepare it a day in advance. I hope this helps you save some money, it has saved us a lot!

Time to take out the tonsils!

Well, its official, Grace got strep again last friday (April fool's day!). The last time she had it was March 9, and after she finished her antibiotics she was rechecked and it came back negative. It is officially time for the tonsils to come out! The ENT is calling me Monday to schedule the appointment. I am VERY nervous! I am not so much nervous about the procedure, but I am nervous about how she will react afterwards. She is the type of kid who will scream because she is in pain and throw BIG tantrums. If her throat hurts she tends to scream a lot more, she hasnt made the connection yet that screaming makes it hurt more! I find it easy to trust God to protect her through the surgery, I also have to remember to trust God to protect her afterwards! Do you have any young kids who had their tonsils out? What were your experiences?