What a week.

Jon has been away for work since 4 a.m. Monday. (Insert whimper.) He’ll be home tomorrow afternoon, and I would describe my status as hanging on by my fingernails. I owe an enormous thank you to my mother, who has made time in her busy schedule to take my son to Vacation Bible School three days this week while I ferry Lina to various appointments. It has made my life much easier than it could have been.

Lina went to Vandy Wednesday to get her loaner hearing aids. They were booked out so far for this appointment that by the time we got in, she had already outgrown one of the custom in-ear pieces. (The ear molds are obviously not loaner, but thankfully, Tennessee Early Intervention is paying for them, as they are not covered by insurance.) They took new ear impressions, sent us home with the one hearing aid that fit, and we’ll go back in 2-3 weeks to get everything set up for the full set of aids with updated molds (which will last for a couple months, until she again outgrows the ear pieces). However, since we’ve been home, I have been entirely unable to keep the hearing aid on my tiny girl. The loaner aid is bigger than newer models, and her little ear just doesn’t hold it in place. Another call to the audiologist this morning, and I’ve learned that wig/toupee tape can do the trick. We’ve ordered some next-day, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Let’s hope it works, because I’ve already barely rescued the thing from the dog once so far.

Pre-hearing aid

Post-hearing aid

This morning was Lina’s first physical therapy appointment. It was… not her best showing. She was exhausted, wailed the entire time and wanted nothing to do with anyone but mommy. But the good news is PT right now is really more for me, anyway. The therapist was able to identify some areas to focus on and suggest specific activities to do at home, which is pretty much the point. Lina loves to stand and extend and does not love to sit or move into a crawling position. She might like to walk before she crawls, which is not great, developmentally. So, we will be focusing on sitting and transferring to a crawling position.

I have a few new additions this week to my collection of parenting war stories. There’s the one about a three-year-old who decided, just as we were getting ready to walk out the door for Vacation Bible School, to smear himself, his clothes and the entire bathroom with bath soap. Or the one about the baby who rolled off our bed…again. (I know, I know. Please don’t call DCS on me.) Or the tale of a reliably potty-trained son who has decided to start intentionally peeing – and pooping, as of today – in his bed during nap time. I poured out my latest tale of woe to my dad today, and he suggested that we may be dealing with some jealousy issues as Lina’s needs begin to absorb more time and attention. I think he’s probably right. Figuring out how to deal with this is very much a work in progress.

There is also much to be thankful for this week. My kids are healthy and really an awful lot of fun. Corin and I have had funny conversations and good times reading stories and snuggling. He is so cuddly now, which I am making a point to appreciate while it lasts. Lina is making strides in her speech and motor skills almost daily, and her smiles truly light up my days. We have family coming into town tomorrow, and it should be a really fun weekend.

So, to finish out our week: Tomorrow is speech therapy at Vanderbilt, and then daddy will be home. Hallelujah.