Updates and Referral Meeting

I can't believe it's already mid-September already. Doesn't it just seem like time is flying by!? We've been pretty busy here with plenty of ups and downs. Here's a look:

* PTing: We have taken a major step back from potty training. LB is now fully in pull ups. It had gotten to a point where I was so frustrated with "accidents" that I would yell and put LB in time out. Not cool, Mommy, not cool. And then I figured that she's not even sure that she's having "accidents" since she'd happily sit in her dirty diapers. So I took a deep breath and took a step back. I realized I was pushing for something that I wanted and not something that LB necessarily needed right now.
Big mommy moment.
I had to fight to get LB to even sit on the potty which was a huge wake up call. So I started putting her on and counting to 10 and if she hadn't gone by 10 then I took her off, hugged her and thanked her for trying. This was a big confidence builder for us both. Now she sits on and we sing "one, two buckle my shoe" song together and she goes 80% of the time. There's still accidents but with pull ups on I'm not too concerned with it (or frustrated by it!)

* Budgeting: We're treading deep waters these days and even though we try and stick with only what we need we're still not making ends meet. I'm looking for a weekend job (easier said than done!) We're also trying to buy more generic items, sticking with buying only what we need instead of what we want and I'm making dinners that can be used for multiple different meals. If we disregard our scary debt then saving money is kinda fun. It's like a game when we go grocery shopping and trying to stretch all the ingredients I buy.
The only down side is wanting. I realize I am a wanter. I want stupid things all the time. Things I don't need. I'm having more self control because I have to but the real test will come when the day I want - can have, but still say no. I'll let you know when I get there ;-)

* Referral meeting: We had our referral meeting with wake county public schools yesterday. It was very thorough and intense and tiring. Definitely overwhelming. I had asked our old visual therapist, our new visual therapist (that deals more with sensory and visual issues than Dee) and our service coordinator from CDSA (early intervention) to be there with us so nothing was overlooked. And it wasn't. It was a two hour meeting going over ever little details of LB's concerns and strengths.
This is what we decided after two hours of questions:
We need more evaluations.

1. Mobility eval: We had already planned to do this one. Just a repeat of our good friend, Jane, from GMP doing an obstacle course to see how Lily traverses it.
2. Functional visual assessment: Already in the works. This is just a report that our visual therapist will come up with to determine how well Lily Belle uses her vision in every day life. How she gets around, plays with toys, interacts.
3. Play assessed group: A whole panel of experts will sit and watch LB play with a bunch of toys and determine how well she plays by what she chooses to play with and how she interacts with them.
4. Playgroup assessment: One major worry they had was that LB was developmentally delayed with socialization. She can socialize the heck out of an adult but when it comes to other kids, she would be just fine on her own. They asked me if LB was in a room with another kid what would she do? And I said, she would play with the toys on her own and would choose not to interact with the other kid. Even if the other kid interacted with her it's more than likely LB would ignore them. They were worried that since LB had been with her playgroup for years and still didn't openly socialize with them that it was a problem that needed to be addressed.
So, even though LB has the vocabulary to interact with others, she wouldn't. And in a school setting, socialization is very important.

From my huge packet of notes from yesterday here are the areas of concern:
1. "Plays poorly with others" (Social skills are not well developed with children)
2. Drools constantly (Seriously, not sure why this is a concern, lol)
3. Lacks physical mobility, age appropriate visual motor skills, age appropriate self-care.
4. Low muscle tone
5. Sensory problems
6. Fatigues easily and acts out when fatigued.

Whew. I agree with all. I'm not concerned with the term "developmentally delayed" or having these evaluations done. I'd rather have all our bases covered and to get the most services we can. We're more and more concerned with LBs sensory stuff and it seems that Charli, our new visual therapist, will help us a lot with that when she comes Monday.
The evals will help us determine if LB needs a visual therapist or if she will need a teacher for her developmental delays more and visual therapy secondary.
I'm happy if she gets all her needs met, of course, and will continue fighting for her to get what she needs. I'm thankful that others seem to be working towards that same goal!