Great Idea for Picky Eaters!!!

My oldest daughter Taylor has always been a terrific eater, at 2 years old she was eating salmon and steak and now at 4 she loves sushi! I never had to argue with her to eat and I never had to make separate meals for her because she loved everything, including roasted bell peppers! My baby Madison is a completely different story! I dread mealtime because I look ridiculous jumping up and down singing food songs and trying to persuade her to eat. Basically she has three food groups, bread, any kind of drink, and junk! She would be content drinking milk and juice all day long and nibbling on bread and Cheez its! It drives me nuts! She refuses to eat meat unless it is well hidden in pasta or some other carb. At first I thought it had to be some characteristic of Down syndrome considering my older daughter's eating habits but in fact it has more to do with being 2 than any sensory issues. Not to worry I'm not just complaining here....I actually found a solution!!!!

A couple years back I had bought the book "Deceptively Delicious" (surprisingly it was to help hide veggies for my husband!) Well this book came in handy with Madison because I could hand her a plate of macaroni and cheese that was full of hidden cauliflower and she would eat it without hesitation and without a song and dance from me! The only problem is I don't always have an hour to create this full meal with hidden vegetables in it so back to the song and dance I went. Well the author of that book came out with another one called "Double Delicious" it has the same idea of hiding pureed veggies in regular food but this cookbook has a lot more simple and quick recipes. Two nights ago I made the recipe for tomato soup, it was full of tomatoes (of course), broccoli, and sweet potatoes. After it was done cooking I poured the whole pot into a blender and pureed until it was perfectly smooth. Then I poured it in a sippy cup that had a straw instead of a spout and my insanely picky eater drank the whole thing!!! Over 2 cups full of healthy veggies! No song and dance, no 2 hour meal plan to pop out with some spinach chicken nuggets, just 30 minutes, a blender, and my baby was drinking her veggies! I'm thinking I'm going to spend a day making lots of different soups, freezing them, and having them readily available to trick my bad eater into drinking some veggies!

Gratitude

"If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes it's place among the noblest of virtues." Thomas S. Monson

People generally seem to think that special needs moms are some kind of super moms. Not true. By any standard - I am a mess! :) I came across a fun new website recently though, and read a great little article. I've already had gratitude on my mind after hearing President Monson's talk on it in General Conference. But reading about it again in this article really inspired me. I've been trying to be grateful lately, and I've learned two things:

1. Sometimes it can be REALLY hard to be grateful.
2. Being grateful feels WONDERFUL!

I wanted to share with you something I am grateful for. I sat in MK's dance class thinking what a great thing it is for her and all the sweet little girls in the class to be able to dance! Who would have ever thought that girls in walkers and wheelchairs could dance?! Just the idea of it puts a lump in my throat! And a mom next to me told me all about her experience with Shriner's hospital and all the great things her daughter (who has CP) has been able to enjoy because of them (like skiing, and riding a bike!) Then, I saw in the newspaper that there's a karate class in Roy for special needs kids. And I became overwhelmed thinking of all the great resources and opportunities there are for our 'special' kids. What an amazing thing that there are so many people out there who have cared enough, and thought enough about our kids to go out of their way just to make it possible for them to experience all these great things!!! We are so blessed!

November is just around the corner, which means we will be doing a tradition that we got from my sister just a couple of years ago. All during the month of November, we hang up a "Thankful Poster." Everyday, each of us write down at least one thing that we are thankful for. On Thanksgiving, we take down the poster and read it at the dinner table. It is so fun to see all the things we have to be grateful for. There are so many!!! I wanted to share this idea with you because it has been such a good thing for our family. I thought you might like to try it.

One last thing I am grateful for: All of you! Thanks for being here and giving me a place to fit in with my special needs.
Tiptoe Mama

p.s. to you new moms whose pictures haven't been posted in the sidebar yet, please forgive me! Like I said, I am a mess! I'm working on them and will get them up ASAP

Amsterdam International

Hi all, I got this e-mail the other day. Thought I'd share it at Dana's request:

Hi there,

I found your blog while searching for mom (or dad) blogs that deal with raising children with special needs. I have a child with special needs . . .she is 2, she is nonverbal, she can't walk or stand without help, she loves her dog, she's sneaky and hilarious :) I have a small blog where I talk about things with her, things with my family, etc.

Two weeks ago I published my take on "Welcome to Holland" (the traditional poem given to parents of children who are "different")---called "Amsterdam International". I wrote it because I think "Welcome to Holland" is kind of lacking (for many parents). It presents a nice little everything-will-be-just-fine-look!-there-are-windmills type of view, and kind of dismisses (by omission) the terrible turmoil that some parents go through as they process that their child (and life) will always be "different" (especially during the newly diagnosed period).

I thought you might be interested in it, as may others in the different communities/messages boards/ etc that you may frequent. I'm just trying to put it out there, with the hopes that some parents will come across it as they are coming to terms with things, and they might find comfort in knowing that their thoughts are normal and they're not alone. Please feel free to pass it on, blog about it (whether you like it or don't), email it, share it on Facebook, anything that might help it find people who will be comforted by it.

Here's the link:
http://niederfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/amsterdam-international.html

(It was also recently featured on downsyndromepregnancy.org, families.com, the Down Syndrome Centre of Ireland page, and a number of blogs. It's also been shared over 400 times on Facebook.)

Thanks for taking the time to read this :)
:)
Dana & co.

A new special needs dentist is in town!

When I was growing up I had horrible teeth. A dentist was a HUGE part of our back to school preparations. The dentist we had growing up was wonderful and he is still my mom and dad's dentist. I was never afraid of the dentist and yet, still always had cavities.

When Tyler FINALLY got teeth a few of them grew in rotten and missing parts of them. It was horrible. We quickly found a dentist in Arizona and worked to get his teeth fixed. It was not fun. He screamed, cried and in the end we ended up under anesthesia.

When we moved back to Utah it was not top priority. He wasn't in any pain and we brushed his teeth. Last well child visit we were reminded that he needed to go to the dentist. ( Gently reminded.... See, Marisa I listen!)

So, on Tuesday we made the trek and we went on in to the dentist. We had an appointment at The Little People's dentistry. The office is officially a Special Needs Hub. They have become certified in taking care with the extra special kids and are able to give them the dental hygiene that they need.

The office staff is SOOO amazing. The front desk girl is so nice. She knew our name and directed her talking to Tyler. He loved that.

The waiting room is perfect for kids. There is places for the parents but the slides and the play place for the kids made Tyler right at ease. He wasn't even shy and timid.

He was called back to the back and they took him on a tour of the office. Showed him the rooms, offered him a toothbrush ( Super Sleuths Winnie the Pooh) and let him take his time to walk around before our appointment started.

The exam I wasn't too worried about. I was more worried about the dentist. Dr. Stewart was GREAT. He came in and talked to me and Tyler and got some information regarding his past history. He gave me a lot of information in ways that we could help out Ty's future dental health. We knew he was at high risk because of his NICU start. But I now have better information to help the next set of teeth. He was really really good.

The exam. YIKeS! Tyler did pretty good. He did cry and had some major freak outs at the beginning. He wasn't a fan of getting his teeth "counted"but Dr. Stewart was very good. Tyler calmed down when something familiar ( brushing his teeth) but the flossing was pretty crazy!

( Dr. Stewart does do lap exams and does teach them to go on the chair. He does discuss the options as to what is best for YOU and your child!)

As soon as the cleaning was over Ty was back to his happy self. He proudly walked himself out and got a prize and headed back out to play on the slide in the waiting room. He was a good sport and we will definitely be going back!!

The staff at Dr. Stewart's were amazing and very understanding of Tyler and his issues. They were friendly and went out of their way to help him have a good appointment. I would recommend his office and staff to anyone. We have our appointment set up to return!!

P.S They humored Tyler and brushed, flossed and fluoridated Mickey Mouse. Tyler and Mickey were given a teeth healthy bill of health!

To make it even better, anyone who goes to Little People's Dental and mentions Tyler, this blog or Thru the tulips will get $25 off their first visit.

Another HUGE bonus. There is SO much teeth healthy information on their webpage. Stuff you can refer to after you get all the information at the office!

So.. go, get your teeth cleaned, get all the information to keep your kids healthy and happy and smile perfect teeth!

* Dr. Stewart has rights to PCMC and also surgical centers around the valley. *

I have lot's of questions!Answers Please?

So much has changed in my life in just a few short months! First Jonah was diagnosed with autism, then 2 months later reevaluated with a second opinion and was slaped with the label of PDD-NOS (seem so much more fitting) He will start at Pingree next week, but I fear he will not get the socialization that he needs as the ratio is 1:2

Questions~

1) Who did you bring with you to write an IEP??

2)What are the most important things to make sure make it on the IEP?

3) Has your child gone to Pingree? If so what was their experience???

4) Would it be ok to keep in enrolled in and hour class with DDI while following ABA??

5) Has any one tried the GF/CF diet?


Thank you Medical Mommies!!!

A necessary evil, or just evil?

I'm not sure if I'm venting a frustration here, or asking for advice. Maybe both.

I am having issues with medical equipment/supply companies. I hate them all. We have had bad experiences with Praxair in the past. (DON'T get me started!) so when MK needed to get a walker, we decided to try to go through Alpine instead. Long story short: it has been a year since we "ordered" the walker. Our sales rep never returns our calls. Every time I have called him I get a different story. They are waiting for the insurance to go through, they are waiting for the medicaid approval, they have put in the order and are waiting on rifton to process it....yada yada yada. Just now I spoke to the guy again. Apparently, the insurance + medicaid wouldn't cover the whole cost, so instead of letting us know, they just did nothing. The order has never been placed. Meanwhile, we've been sitting here waiting for our little girl to get a walker. It's been a YEAR!!! I'm ready to pull my hair out!

Can any of you recommend a better company to go through? Any suggestions or tips? I called Rifton directly to see if I can order through them instead of going through a company. Caught them after hours and had to leave a message.....so frustrated.

Do Unto Others

Please put some thought and share this with other people.  Also consider this when you are thinking about the healthcare issues we are facing today.
Do Unto Others