Long day.

Last Wednesday we had a busy day. It started with having a mini-meeting with the Occupational Therapist that Parker is on the wait list to start seeing. I was unsure how seeing an OT would help us... in my work children who see OTs have much greater needs than my son does so going into the appointment I felt like it was a waste of my time. When our pediatrican wanted us to see OT, I thought it was because he thought Parker was overly cautious and hadn't mastered walking up stairs yet independently at 2. It wasn't a big deal to me and I thought the doctor was making a mountain of a mole hill.
But OT will help us with so much more than Parker's lack of confidence to try new things (which could be the reason he's delayed in speech). We did an unofficial checklist/questionaire about sensory and while she couldn't say for sure after only spending an hour with us, there were some big red flags that lead us to believe that Parker has a hard time with sensory perception. Which isn't a surprise to me at all and it was even a relief that someone else, someone "official" was listening to me and agreeing with me and not telling me my intuition was wrong. We're still on the waitlist but the OT said we're among the top 20 to be seen... so hopefully within the next few months.
Next we had our last day of playgroup for children on the waitlist for speech (or those who are already in speech). I'm sad that it's over because Parker really loves that hour we spend there. After the group was finished, the leader came up to us and commented that it was amazing to see the changes in Parker over the last few months. His speech has gone through another mini-burst and he was singing along (well, not all the words but all the signs and some of the words) to all the songs. I'm really hoping they start up again in January. Not only do I really love the group as does Parker, it'll be nice for Parker to be familiar and comfortable with the building as that's where we'll be for speech and OT.
Later that afternoon we had an appointment with Parker's pediatrician. I really appreciate not being rushed and the doctor taking his time with his patients but the wait to see him is pretty long. Too long for a toddler, a baby and a mama who's been on the go all day. The appointment went well, we talked about his milestones, development and he was weighed (32lbs). There wasn't a whole lot to say as we are still on the waitlists for OT and speech but Parker's general assesment was sent over. Our doctor mentioned that while he doesn't get the autism "vibe" from him, we should keep an eye on that over the next few years. He agrees that Parker does have difficulty with sensory perception and recommended a few books to us. One thing I really liked is when he said that sensory perception isn't something we can change in Parker.. there's no "fixing" him... it's how he's wired. It's us that need to change how we interact with him and help him go through the day.
Anyhoo... it was an emotional day but like I said.. it was a relief to have someone hear me and not shrug off my concerns yet again.
I really look forward to no longer being on a wait list and to having the support our family desperately needs. Our hard days where Parker spends all day screaming or hurting himself affects us all in all parts of our lives. It breaks my heart to see him so upset and I'm often at a loss of how to help him when its been hours of crying. It affects my relationship with my husband and our relationship with him. I love my son to a million bits but sometimes it's sooo hard. Like lately. I get so overwhelmed (as does he) that I don't want to leave the house, it's too much to get us all ready to go out and when we do go out, it's too hard to go out alone with him and Sophie.
Anyways... I'm rambling now. I'm feeling stressed after a week of really rough days.... looking forward to a few good days. The good days always make up for the rought ones a hundred times over. :)