Six Month Review

I met with his therapists today to revise his therapy plans as it has been six months. I can't believe it has already been six months! The first steps program has been so wonderful for us! Not only do we love our therapists but as a mom to have the therapy come to the house is amazing. We looked back at his previous goals and were able to check so many off the list. It is so easy to get focused on the day to day that we forget to look at how far we have come. In all honesty the last two months he really has stepped up his progress. I was also very thankful to revamp the new goals as we now face many different obstacles.

Our main issue right now is the major lack of sleep. This silly guy can't seem to fall asleep before 11:30 at night, is up throughout the night in our room, and is up for the day between 5 and 6, often with no daytime nap. The only way he seems to be able to fall asleep is burning the energy until he literally collapses in my arms asleep. Our sleep schedule is exhausting to me, so I can't imagine what it does to him. No wonder his behavioral problems have increased. We start the bedtime process around 8 and it is a full attention all hands on deck assignment until he is crashed, close to midnight. From weighted blankets, to massage, to singing, to rocking, you name it, we've tried it. We've even had Frank sleeping in the room with him, night lights, etc. He eventually squeezes into a space that is about 5 inches wide to sleep face down on the hard wood floor. He will move any pillow or blanket. Sometimes he sleeps upside down on his head with his bottom up in the air. Sometimes he falls asleep sitting up right in the corner. It is bizarre!

It is our ongoing prayer request that he could just fall asleep on his own at a normal bedtime and wake up without the screaming. That is our other main problem right now. He can't transition from sleep to wake without a good hour long wailing session. Usually it involves a lot of other deep pressure activities, like ramming his head into my chest. During which he lacks ability to think clearly at all. He won't let me touch him, won't answer questions, just screams and cries. This happens morning, afternoon, and sometimes at night.

He has actually made some major improvements in his vocalizing! We have increased our sounds and although they aren't exactly accurate he is making major progress. In his own way he is trying to say juice, baba (for milk), no, yes, bubble, ice, yellow (super random), boo (blue), mom, dad, and sis. The colors, bubble, and ice are only spoken upon request. But he is initiating the others. Which is a major major accomplishment for him. There may be a couple of others I'm not thinking of, they are just not clear to the average listener. So we are now going to start working on more vowels and more consonants as well as initiating sound without being asked. His time with first steps will end when he turns 3 in November, which will be so sad! It really has been so amazing and I feel like his speech therapist has become a part of the family. She has really gone above and beyond to not only help Cruz but help me switch over to gluten free. I couldn't have asked for a better match. She is truly an answer to our prayers. So, we have some lofty new goals to work on the next few months. Some of which include teaching him not to lick things in public  (yes!).  Please keep us in your prayers as we are seeing them answered, slowly but surely!

Looking back through pictures 6 months ago, there are not very many differences. The kids look about the same and most of the pictures include Cruz in some weird position for deep pressure. I tried to post some normal looking pics below. On the surface level, there aren't vast differences. Underneath, there are some major changes taking place.
Instead of posting a bunch of side by side pictures, we will leave you with some fun summer pictures of Cruz and his best friend Frank, just keep us in your prayers.