Beth's mommy instinct story

I love my two year old, I really do.  When I was pregnant with him I was so excited to hold him and get to know him.  Before he was born I read a lot.  I knew I would breastfeed, I didn't like the sound of cry it out, I would wait six months to start solids and on and on.  I also thought I would vaccinate on schedule.  But that just did not feel right.  I distinctly remember when I was reading about vaccines and I would just start crying because I did not want to do that to my baby.

Jay did not receive any shots until he was an older infant (6+months).  Even then they were quite spaced out.  Jay's first birthday came and went and I realized that he has not ever tried to speak.  At his 18 month birthday he had zero words and a few signs.  I asked for a referral for a speech evaluation.  The diagnosis was devastating.  Verbal apraxia.  Basically the brain is unable to send the right message to make the mouth work.  Well, I was not sure if that was the case.  I got a second opinion who is not sure if it is apraxia or not.  We will have to see.  She did let me know about Early Intervention services.  I am so happy we started him on those.  He is a lot more verbal, though I think I am the only one who can understand him most of the time.  His signing vocabulary has grown.  He is happier and more confident.

After my second son I thought I would have him on a delayed vaccination schedule, but actually have felt comfortable with sticking to the doctor's schedule with a few tweaks here and there.  I realize that maybe there was a very important reason to delay Jay's vaccinations.  Who knows?  I am just glad I followed my mommy instinct with this issue.

I have also learned to respect other mommies in their decisions.  I offer my advice as nicely as I can, but if they want to put their baby to bed at 11:00pm that is fine with me.   This comes from having way too many people say "Einstein didn't talk until he was three, you don't need to start your boy in services" whenever they would hear that I am getting Jay some help.

I hope this post makes sense, it has been rattling around in my head for a few days. 

My sweet and wild two year old

Beth