Tag: Parenthood

Change of Weather

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I have horrible allergies and sinus issues. These get worse when the seasons are changing or if there’s rain. I’m also not myself if it’s a rainy day. I think many others are like that too, right? How many times do you hear ‘it’s a perfect day to stay in and watch movies.’ Knowing all of this, I shouldn’t be surprised that I notice a change in ‘J’ on non-sunny days.

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When trying to pinpoint when I noticed the shift, I think it was last year during a windy day. He was having more meltdowns, seemed tired and overall was not himself. I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on until the next windy day when it happened again. Over time, I picked on cues from him on cloudy days, rainy days, a major shift in temperature, etc.

For those with sensory processing difficulties, a change in weather also means a change of clothing. Many people don’t enjoy socks on their feet or sweaters. They may feel overwhelmed in a jacket or get overheated easily with too many layers. We have these experiences on a smaller level, as ‘J’ is not a fan of tags in his clothing.

Sometimes what may not be a big deal for us or something we’ve gotten used to, will be a much bigger deal for someone with sensory processing difficulties. I hope all those that experience more difficulties during weather changes, have a smooth transition as we go from Fall to Winter!

One more thing: I should also mention that almost everyday, when we open the front door to leave the house ‘J’ will say “wow! it’s a beautiful day outside!” even if it’s not. Sometimes he can be a glass half full kind of kid.

 

Breathe, Think, Do

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We often hear that screen time is bad. It’s detrimental to a child and their learning process. I’m of the belief that there’s a great balance between personal interaction, reading, playing and screen time. For me screen time includes TV, movies and apps.

One of my favorite apps I have come across is: ‘Sesame Street Breathe, Think, Do.’ This app has children help a Blue Monster through challenges. For example, the Blue Monster has trouble tying his shoes and becomes frustrated. First, the child helps the monster take three deep breaths. Then, the child can pop bubbles which helps the monster think of three possible solutions. Finally, the child gets to choose which of the three options may best help the monster.

‘J’ really enjoys this app and it’s great at teaching him to stop and think through his challenges or frustrations. He breathes along with the monster. He has fun popping the bubbles and learns how different choices can be made when approaching a challenge.

There are so many great learning apps out there. You can learn letters, numbers, shapes, spelling, the list goes on. ‘J’ has loves playing these “games” and doesn’t even realize how much he learns from them.

What I love about Breathe, Think, Do is that it addresses daily challenges and feelings, which is a lot harder to teach. Especially for someone who has sensory difficulties.

Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Sesame Street.

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Daniel Tiger Does It Again

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It’s no secret that we’re big Daniel Tiger fans in this house.

The lessons, the songs, the content, the books that coincide, we love it all! Recently, “The Daniel Tiger Movie: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” was released and my kids are hooked!

The story centers around the introduction of a new character, Jodi Platypus. Jodi moves in next door to Daniel and lives with her mom, twin brothers and grandmother. The episode touches on topics so many can relate to:

  • Moving to a new house
  • Making new friends
  • Family dynamics
  • Losing a special toy (in Jodi’s case, a book) that would make a child feel like they’re home

With a new story and new songs, this movie is one you shouldn’t miss. And since it’s the same Daniel Tiger series we love, they continue to tie in previous content, like what to do if you have to go potty!

I also love that Jodi is a platypus, how often are platypuses used as characters?! If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out your local PBS Kids station. It’s also available on the PBS Kids app!

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JetBlue Junior Play Area at JFK

On By justmymomsenseIn TravelLeave a comment

JetBlue is an airline close to my heart. It has been since it began operatingIMG_0487 18 years ago. That’s a story for another time. For now, let me tell you about my recent trip to JFK.

Traveling with kids can be stressful. Each of ours flew for the first time within the first 6 months of their lives. We try to fly with them more than once a year. One of the most important factors of air travel is ensuring they get some energy out before being forced to sit in a seat for hours at a time.

Last week we went to Disney (yes again, because it’s in our DNA). We flew on JetBlue out of JFK’s Terminal 5. Our timing was a little tight since we went straight from picking ‘J’ up from school. Luckily the lines at security were short and we were able to get to our gate with plenty of time to spare. In order to get some of that energy out, we decided to keep walking and stumbled upon the JetBlue Junior Play Area.

Here, kids get an interactive experience of what it’s like to work for an airline. They can take a plane into the air, help it land on the runway or go behind the scenes of air travel. How cool is that?

If you’re flying in or out of T5 at JFK, be sure to check it out! Here are a few shots with our JetBlue Juniors!

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Co-Pilots ready for takeoff! Next stop: House of the Mouse!

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Ensuring a safe take-off!

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Sometimes you need to delegate.

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Or try your hand at Operations.

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Soar With Reading corner!

Have you heard about Soar With Reading? The following excerpt was taken from JetBlue.com.

“Launched in 2011, JetBlue’s Soar With Reading program was designed to inspire and encourage kids’ imaginations to take flight through reading. The most recent campaign included partners – Random House Children’s Books, Magic Tree House author, Mary Pope Osborne and celebrity ambassador, Victoria Justice – to inspire a love of reading and help the mission.”

Click here to learn more about JetBlue’s Youth and Education Programs. 

Our pre-flight experience just got better and I can’t wait to visit again!

 

The Potty Chronicles Continue

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Since I have written about my goals of potty training ‘J’ over the summer and how those plans were unsuccessful, I thought I would provide an update. To some, it may seem weird to be writing about this. But for me, this is a major milestone in this house!

Many attempts were made over the summer, as well as on and off for the last two years. Over the summer we’d take a couple of days where ‘J’ would hold it, and go while he was sleeping since I still had a pull-up on him. Other times he would feel like he had to go and become so overwhelmed and hysterical it was hard to continue because I didn’t want it to be a bad experience. You definitely don’t want your kid traumatized when it comes to bathroom habits. You also don’t want them going to High School in a diaper.

We went through lots of ups and downs and then two days before his first day of school, a Tuesday, he finally did it! It was so exciting and I think he got to see that it wasn’t so bad. Granted, the whole next day he refused. Thursday was his first day of school. Considering he had only gone once, I definitely wasn’t sending him in underwear. I didn’t need him freaking out about that on top of first day of school jitters. Once I picked him up and as we were driving home, I told him that after his nap we were going to try the potty again. That was 5 days ago. He’s now gone 4 nights and 4 full days without wearing a diaper.

It definitely helps that we had no weekend plans and no services or school today and tomorrow in observance of holidays.

It’s hard not to be too excited so I’m trying to stay cautiously optimistic. We’ve put a sticker chart into play which he’s excited about, he hasn’t asked for a diaper and he’s… um…done #1 annnnnnd #2. I’m still in disbelief.

Over the last two years I’ve tried everything. No pants, just underwear, standing, sitting, sticker charts, rewards, no rewards, peer pressure, trying to talk out his fears, reading books, watching potty episodes of his favorite shows, the list goes on.

What we’re experiencing now has never happened. Even over the years when he would go, it would be random, one and done and not again for months.

I’m not sure what clicked for him even thought I always knew it would just click at some point. But when you’ve been changing diapers for 4 years and 3 months for 1 child, you start to doubt it. I think the combination of him realizing it wasn’t so bad once he did it, then going to school two days later and seeing that all the kids were using the potty may have pushed him into gear. Whatever it is, I’m happy and so proud of him. Seeing the fear, the hysterics and knowing how overwhelmed he would get, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s hopefully behind us.

 

1st Day of School Blues

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Today is ‘J’s’ first day of Pre-K. The big question is: Who is handling it better, me or him?

For nursery school last year, he went two days a week for 2.5 hours each day. This year he’s still going 2 days a week but this time for 5 hours. So much time (for me)!

Of course I have the normal mommy fears and I want him to be happy and have a good day. Selfishly, I hate leaving him and I want to keep my baby with me. I know that although the transition time may be rocky, he’ll be into the routine in no time and hopefully loving it as much as he did last year.

I left the classroom with him playing with a new friend. Last year, I left him as he was crying so we’re already a step up! I just hope it continues throughout the day. On the drive, he was saying he wanted the “same school” with his teachers from last year. Luckily one of his teachers is the same from last year, which I think will help.

Stay tuned to hear how his day went!

What Happened to Summer?

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I think something is wrong with my calendar. It seems as though we’re in the last week of August, summer is coming to an end and school starts next week.

It went way too fast. I had ideas for the summer, things I would be doing with the extra time we’d have everyday and most of those things didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, we had fun, saw friends for playdates, saw immediate family and some of our adult friends. At the same time it seems like we should have done more. But in the paraphrased words of Carrie Bradshaw, we shouldn’t “should” all over ourselves.

Let’s recap what I had hoped for from my pre summer posts.

  • Potty Training
    • Attempted, no success
  • A daily schedule
    • Written out, happened twice
  • A road trip to visit some of our friends
    • I can’t remember if I wrote about this one but regardless, it didn’t happen

Here we are at the end of summer. As I await details of ‘J’s’ class information, I wonder how his adjustment back into the routine will go. Monday and Wednesdays he’ll have Speech and OT again and Tuesday/Thursdays will be school. He went two days a week last year for about 2.5 hours a day. This year, he will be there for 5. I wonder which of his friends will be in his class again and my hope is that he’ll love it as much as he did last year. I know that won’t always be the case so if we cant hang onto it for now, that would be great. As for ‘Baby J,’ we’ll get back into a Mommy and Me class routine and I’m sure she’ll be missing her playmate around the house during the day.

A schedule is great but I want to hang onto these summer days just a bit longer.

Mets Overload

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This past weekend, we went to a Mets game. ‘J’ has been quite a few times in his 4 years and ‘Baby J’ went once last year. However, this was our first game of the season.

We went with my family which meant three kids 4 and under (my niece is right inIMG_2097 between the ‘J’s’). Knowing the kids probably wouldn’t sit through much of the game, we got seats in the highest section…also known as the boonies. Some more background for you: it was also one of the hottest days of the summer and the game started when nap time is normally happening for all three.

If you’ve been to a game, you know there are lots of announcements, plenty of loud music and crowd chanting. Being so high up, we were pretty close to the speakers. Within a few minutes, the first announcement was made and ‘J’ was freaked out. He wanted to leave and said it was too loud. Him and I went back down, found a shady spot out of the way on the next level down and had a little hot dog and french fry picnic. We talked through it, walked around a bit and he wanted to try again. I’m happy he tried two more times but it was still too much for him.

He definitely has a sensitivity to sound and certain things are very overwhelming for him. What we have learned is that if we keep talking to him and maybe get him to cover his ears, it can sometimes help. The thing that has helped the most has been letting him know there’s a way out and a safe space. We know the signs/cues from him and we don’t want to see him go into ultimate freak out mode especially if the sound is affecting him that much. Once we found a calmer/cooler spot, he was ok.

Eventually the sun started invading our seats and we all hung out on the next level down before heading home. Back in the day, we used to stay the whole game…or at least until the 7th or 8th inning. Now we never make it past two hours. We did manage to get some adorable pictures which was great!

Oh and by the way, ‘J’ was asleep as soon as we got out of the parking lot.

Below are two videos from Sensory Spectacle regarding auditory difficulties.

 

Letter Sounds

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As you know from a previous post, “Mom…Mom….Mama….Mommy,” we waited a long time for ‘J’ to say Mommy and Daddy.

From the time he was 1.5, he was obsessed with letters. Before he was 2, he could match puzzle letters to his name spelled out on paper. We had an app on our phones that was easy for him to tap to go from letter to letter and his favorite show (once he graduated from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) was Super Why. It’s still one of his favorite shows. He always understood everything we were saying, just needed some work on expressing himself.

After I made an appointment for a speech evaluation two years ago, I did what any mom does. I went straight to Google and YouTube so I would know what to expect.

A song we had been familiar with was “Letter Sounds” by Barbara Milne. As I was searching through YouTube I came across a Speech Therapist, Alina Mihai. She had recorded a session with a child where she went through this same song while showing pictures for each letter. ‘J’ was instantly hooked. He knew the song and would slowly start to react to the video. I thought that maybe it would lead to some words, but we had to wait a little longer for that. She also had another video posted “Two Word Phrases: Lego Play.” The title explains it all and ‘J’ loved watching this one. Over time and being involved in our own speech therapy, we didn’t watch the videos as much but would still sing the song often.

‘Baby J’ is 1.5 now and has a good vocabulary forming. One day I put the video on again for them both to watch. ‘Baby J’ was hooked and would repeat what she could. ‘J’ has now memorized the video and can repeat it word for word without even watching it.

It’s times like these when it’s amazing to see how far he’s come. In the Fall it will be two years since we started Speech Therapy. Although it seems like yesterday, it’s amazing that we went two and a half years without hearing any words from Mr. Chatterbox.

I’ve Been There, Buddy

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I was so excited to hear that Muppet Babies was getting a revival. It was one of my favorites when I was young and I was happy that my kids would get to experience an up to date version.

From episode 1, ‘J’ was all in. Most new episodes have come out on Fridays and if you have the Disney Now App, it is waiting for you when you wake up. Not that we ever wake up and immediately put the TV on in order to help mommy and daddy come out of zombie mode from their 6AM wake up call….

Each episode is a half hour, but broken into two different segments. This past week, the second story was titled “Animal Kong.” Animal was upset because Miss Nanny took away his drum sticks during quiet time. If you’re a parent of young ones, you know the tantrum that can erupt when they can’t do what they want to do. This was the same for Animal and because of those feelings, he turned into his larger self, Animal Kong.

This story is an excellent lesson in feelings. Much like Daniel Tiger teaches that it’s ok to be mad and how to turn it around, Animal’s friends talk through different ways to calm down when you’re feeling angry.

Summer sings a song to Animal to let him know it’s ok to feel angry and the feelings won’t last long. The song is called “I’ve Been There, Buddy.” A bonus to this episode and song is that ‘Buddy’ is one of ‘J’s’ nicknames.

I think it’s great that so many shows now not only teach ABCs and 123s, but also feelings and how to handle real life situations.

If your child wants to play along, check out the Muppet Babies Figure Set on Amazon!

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