My sister’s due date is next week. My good friend Lyla is having a baby next month. I am so, so excited for both of them. I am also a little melancholy. Anytime anyone close to me is having their first kid, I can’t help but flash back to my pregnancy with Max. When I…
Category Archives: Family Life
Picture Lovers Anonymous
Hello. My name is Deborah and I am a picture addict. Back in February, I hinted at my addiction in my post about Works of Art, but now I am admitting openly that I have way too many pictures of my children displayed in my home. Ok, I hear you scoffing – how can a…
Will I Ever Know The Answer?
I’ve had many difficult decisions to make in my life, but the two most absolute heartwrenching ones were my decision to divorce my abusive husband, and my decision to place my daughter, Jessica, in a group home. I now know that my divorce was in everyone’s best interest although it’s hard to see that when…
Why I am dreading the tracheostomy
A couple of days ago, we had our followup with our ENT. Hannah has been having some breathing issues lately, and I had brought them up to her since our pediatrician and occupational therapist felt that she had airway issues. The ENT did a laryngoscopy and found that Hannah had vocal cord paralysis. She would…
Planting the “special needs” seeds
Because Hannah’s disease progression is slower than was originally expected (thank goodness!), we have been able to slowly plant the seeds of Hannah’s illness to Ethan (8) and Abigail (5). We made a very strong point never to say she is “sick” but that she has a “disease.” We don’t want them to connect being…
Resting Easy
Being a single parent with four kids means that there is always something to do. Errands to run, laundry to do, food to buy and cook, or orange poster board to locate at 9pm on Wednesday night for the school project that is due Thursday morning. I vaguely remember a time about 19 years ago,…
Just try it!, It won’t kill you!
Feeding Spiff has always been a challenge. From the moment he entered the world, he had difficulty latching (oh, the tearful cries to the La Leche League still ring in my ears!), and then difficulty with bottle feeding and formulas. (We settled on Nutramagen) Then it was textures; Too grainy, too mushy, too sticky, too…
Getting Away
Vacationing is often difficult when you have a child with special needs, isn’t it? As much as we all need a vacation, actually pulling one off can be quite an undertaking. Whenever I want to take my children away, even if it is only for a weekend, I need to know if the place we…
Do you give your kids chores?
I’d honestly never thought about giving Max chores, until a recent conversation on an e-loop I belong to for moms of kids with cerebral palsy. One mom whose son is able to crawl on the floor lets him help sort laundry and put his toys away. She was planning to have him help her maintain…
Banishing Worry and Guilt
Tomorrow morning, my birth son, Chip, will graduate with honors from high school. Pride will be foremost in my heart, but I must admit that for many, many years, guilt and worry were the emotions that occupied me. Chip has three adopted siblings, and they all have significant special needs. Throw into that mix the…