Journey to regain confidence and self care as a mom of a special needs child

 It's been a week since my last post, and I am overwhelmed and stressed to the max! Luckily it is the LAST day of winter break before the girls start school back on monday. It has been a very difficult week from outbursts/meltdowns to doctors appointments.... Several good things happened so it wasn't too terrible. I will explain The week started out rough, and it got me missing my grandmother as she was always my first go to when I needed support. I smelled something funny, so I went to make sure our unit for heating/air was ok. As I rounded the corner of my house, on the corner of my property was a Blue Heron... the reason I mention this is because my grandmother LOVED watching the Blue Herons in the creek by my dad's house. Seeing the Blue Herons remind me of my grandmother, and as long as I lived in my house I have NEVER seen one on my property. This happened to be on the first stressful day with "S" having a meltdown. I like to think that my grandmother sent t...

 Day 4 Recap,  Another typical day in our household, "S" tried her best all day to behave. The morning was very productive, I woke up around 5 am and started my day by prayer and devotional, asking God to comfort my girls and help to give them peace and calmness throughout our day, and giving thanks to all the blessings in my life. "S & J" woke up and got medicine and breakfast, while sitting in the family room to watch cartoons. Once "S" medicine kicked in, again she was helpful in getting some things done (my only wish is that it carries through the rest of the day; work in progress). We put some presents under the tree which proved to be a mistake, because all "S" asks is if she can open them; plus hearing "I'm hungry or I need a snack" every 5 minutes. Still the afternoons prove to be a little difficult, seems that its the time for both girls to become active. Dinner prep is usually hard, I tend to rely on easy dinners becau...

 Day 3 recap.... I am unsure about how I felt about yesterday (day 3). Seems like every day with both girls being home is challenging more each day. The mornings are great once "S" has her medicine, but once they wear off it becomes difficult. I have to admit that it was helpful to have her ABA Tech here to help with her growing behavioral issues. Change is never easy with any child; however "S" seems to really struggle. A lot of her "bad" choices were in the afternoon around the time that her tech came at 3:30pm.  It was hard monday and tuesday because we all were under the weather and I needed to make sure that we were better and house was disinfected before having ANYONE inside to help stop the spread of unwanted germs. Her whole environment changed when winter break started, which I tried my best to accommodate for her.  As a mom of a special needs child, you are NEVER fully aware of how much it takes out of you. Raising children isn't an easy part...

Recap of Day 2, I am still recovering from a head cold, so it made it very easy for the girls to "acts" up. Morning after administration of medicine was off to a good start. Girls were content playing on their Amazon Kids tablets we got for them last christmas. It's cold for them to go outside as we are still getting over colds. "S" actually helped clean up a little bit, putting her toys in her room, while "J" picked up garbage and wrappers from the floor. We took an extra day off from ABA therapy for "S" to help us while recovering to stop the spread of germs. Although the girls were behaving, I still heard " I need a snack" like 20 times since 9am, even though they still had snack in their bowls. Towards 11 am, "S" started getting anxious for lunch as her meds were wearing down, but I'm sure its because they were "bored". Not much to comment on, other than the afternoon was pretty tough, as "J" wa...

 December 20, 2022 Yesterday was the first day of winter break; "S" seemed to be doing alright, had a couple meltdowns throughout the day. It's understandable given her whole routine has changed, and didn't help that I was feeling under the weather with a slight head cold.  One thing I find hard is juggling 2 girls who have totally different personalities. I often have to remind myself to not judge either of them based on their development. "S" learns at a different pace than "J" does. Unfortunately because "J" is still learning and "S" has trouble with behavior, "J" is learning some of her big sisters "bad" habits.  "S" still needs to be reminded that 1. Every action results in either a reward or consequence, and 2. that her little sister follows in her steps and doesn't understand right from wrong yet, just like she doesn't fully understand either. That "S" has the opportunity to...

 A day in the life of our family. My mornings usually start at 5:30am when I wake up and have a little time before the household starts the day at 6am. I try and give my morning praises to God and do my devotional, gets me started along with my morning skin care routine. Start my day with my 3-step program that gives me more energy throughout the day, manages and curbs my appetite, and fill my cirkul bottle with water. 6am alarms start to wake up hubby, and the girls. When "S" comes out she gets her first dose of medicine and vitamins that takes about 20 mins to get into her system. In the mean time the girls get a choice of breakfast, sitting in our living room to watch TV and eat breakfast. Hubby gets into the shower to get himself ready for work. On a school day, "S" starts getting ready for school around 6:45am complete with brushing hair (most days, and she doesn't like her hair brushed) and brushing teeth with assistance. At 7:15am we get our shoes, jacket...

"S" was diagnosed about 4 years old with ADHD, She was VERY hyper active and schooling proved to be difficult at times. When we moved to our home, we weren't expecting to add an addition to our family right away but we were surprised with our rainbow baby in December of 2019.  My sister has told me since "S" diagnosis of being ADHD, she noticed other traits and characteristics that were outside of ADHD. So I got a referral to a Developmental Pediatrician, and after several visits we FINALLY had a diagnosis of "S" having Autism Level 1. Now that we had the answers we were looking for, the next step was finding the help that her and I needed. As far as raising a child with special needs, I didn't know where or what to look for as far as how to assist her. It wasn't until I met another mom of special needs children "K", who shared the same ideas and beliefs I did. She really guided me all the way in letting me know what I needed to resea...

 Welcome! Upon moving to our forever state; we noticed that our daughter was not quite like the other kids. There was something very special about her, she was slower to develop and some tell tale signs of disability.  It wouldn't be until age 4 that she was diagnosed with a learning disability and ADHD, we love her no matter what diagnosis was given. She changed my world when she entered, making me learn a whole new meaning to the word patience. Even though she was diagnosed with ADHD, some things we feel still weren't right. My sister had told me that she believed our daughter had some form of Autism. So I started researching more and asking questions to various doctors. As if having a difficulties with our daughter wasn't enough, in May of 2017 we found out we were pregnant with our second child. When we went for a fetal scan to find out how far along and our expected due date, they had a hard time finding a heartbeat. After confirming with several doctors in the office,...

 Welcome!! This is the beginning of my journey with loads more to come... When my husband and I got married, we didn't think we would be expecting to have a baby soon after.  We got married in March of 2012 after being together since 2008. We decided to have a small intimate wedding with just family and some close friends. Despite some telling us it would never last, we seem to be set on showing everyone that they were wrong. I struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life, leading me to party hard. That is until about August of 2012 when I didn't feel myself, so I went to the dr and found out that I was pregnant. After letting the news settle in, and coming to terms with it it was exactly what we needed. Things weren't the best in terms for us, but God had a plan for us (which we didn't realize at the time). Our living situation could have been better, but again everything happens for a reason and brought us to where we are now stable. We were living with a...