Henry

Blogs. We share what we like...only a glimpse into our every day lives. Some things are too personal to share. This has been VERY personal, but now our family is ready to share. We embrace it, have lots of hope, and bond together ready to to keep on (to quote The Grateful Dead)...TRUCKIN!!!!!!!!!

August 2008:

I was an emotional mess. It was Emily's first week of kindergarten, and I was a sobbing wreck! Perhaps my five month baby belly had something to do it. One word...hormones! A Thursday...a day that would forever chance my life. Jon met Laney and I at my doctor's office for the big gender reveal! We already had two perfect girls. If I was a betting woman, I would have said GIRL. Three girls sounded pretty wonderful. Jon also said girl (just preparing himself for another girl. His dream of having a son, might be just that ...a dream.). And then in the doctor's office, Jon knew right away when he saw the screen. Me? I had no idea.( looked like complete black and white craziness to me!) (Note: a few years earlier hubs also knew that I had a heart murmur when he looked at the ECG screen. And moi? No clue! Glad I have a cool hubs who can read screens!). Well, the screen in front of us on that Thursday morning.... Boy! We were both shocked...excited shocked. A boy to carry on my husband's last name. The only boy on both sides of the family! A boy... Our boy!

Fast forward.....

From day one, Henry Oliver has been our pretty special boy. The baby of both families. We all showered him with so much love and attention (still do more than ever). He was growing like a weed and hit developmental milestones on target ...even a bit early! But ...

I started to notice that he wasn't talking ...at all. Most chalked it up to having older siblings. I tried to agree, but when he wouldn't respond to his name or try to tell us he wanted food or drink...a red flag went up.

Fist step, getting his hearing checked. This post was right after we got the results. His hearing was fine. I had already accepted the long journey of hearing aids and was ready to rock the hell out of embracing my son's new world. But... He could hear. And knowing that scared the hell out of me. If he could hear, what was going on?

Now....
Henry has been working with a speech therapist for 8 months. This is no every day therapist. She is a family friend. Jon's family has known her since her bitty babe years! She travels an hour a week, just for private sessions with Henry. She is my rock. She is my saving grace. If she told me to jump up in the air and bark like a dog, it would be the highest jump and loudest bark. Our son has come such a long way since she entered the doors of our home.

It all comes down to this...My son has a speech delay.

At 2 1/2 years, he is now a professional mimicker, and we love it! He has yet to call many family members by name ( including his sisters), but I know it will come. Baby steps. Just last week, he went up to a tree, looked a me, and said it loud and clear...tree. This is HUGE in our world! He's starting to initiate words (like the above), which is beyond amazing.

My Henry, he may not say much, but this little slice of heaven can carry a tune! He chases his sisters, craves attention and has a deep belly laugh that makes anyone else in the room smile, then laugh out load with a swollen heart! He climbs cabinets and tears apart anything he can get his little fingers on. Oh, and he definitely looks when his name is now called.

He is not up up speed with others his age, but he is excelling at his own pace...Henry speed. Even though we are so happy with his progress, after much talk,research and a trial period, we took the plunge...

Henry is now gluten (wheat) and casein (dairy) free. Why did we do this? Some people (their bodies) have a negative response to gluten and casein. Their bodies react in different ways... sickness, hives, tummy trouble ( Henry) and delays ( like Henry's speech delay).

Last Saturday, we filled a huge cooler with ice and traveled an hour to our nearest Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Our first ever trip to Whole Foods... And Wow! Now that is a rad place! (The girlies even gave it a thumbs up because they ate their lunch in samples all over the store!) So, here I am, thinking more about food than I ever have in my life. Henry loves his GFCF pancakes topped with GFCF butter and pure maple syrup. You name the food, we have it, but gluten free/ dairy free! Even chocolate bars and ice cream (which are really good)! More fruits, veggies, , meats and potatoes (and a whole lotta organic and label reading). Goodbye processed foods and chemicals.

Yep, this momma's on a mission....
My children are healthy and happy...
And I plan to keep it that way.
And yes, I'm gonna rock the he'll outta trying to keep it this way.