Made it to Maryland

We finally made it to Maryland.  Actually, we got here Labor Day weekend, which if  you're wondering, it is a really crappy time to move. 

Our stuff didn't arrive until four days later, which meant that we transitioned from living in one empty house to another empty house again for a few days.  Bud did great - he saw it as indoor camping.  I actually ended up sleeping in his toddler air mattress since he preferred sleeping on a pallet on the floor.  Eating while standing was not anything out of the ordinary for me since I have to do that a lot while Bud is up and about. Having no tv WAS out of the ordinary.  Bud was missing his Bubble Guppies and I was missing all of my History channel line ups, Mysteries at the Museum, and various other ghost hunting shows (there's an excellent new hillbilly ghost hunting show now), and the Food Network's competitive chef challenges.

It's a huge relief to finally get settled, but there's still so much left to do.  We had some furniture that got broken during the move it and needs replaced, getting stuff switched over to another state, trying to get Bud set up with the infant/toddler program up here (we're on week 2 now, they somehow did not get him properly set up in the computer system when I first called -  uuuuuggghhh), so as I wait on the state's system this leaves me in kind of a holding pattern as to what services, what days, etc. we will be able to receive.  This leads to getting Bud into another preschool program.  I was told by the infant/toddler program that they would probably be able to help with that - terrific, but he's got to be put into the system and we have to wait on a service coordinator to call and set something up with us.  So, as it usually happens, my own damn self will find something, because I can't depend on the people who are supposed to be doing it anyway.  On the plus side, there are tons of options here versus when we were in North Carolina.  On the negative, stuff fills up just as quickly here as it does anywhere else (just how many kids were born in 2012?) but it's trying to decide which program would be best suitable for Bud's needs. 

There are lots of wonderful private, church run preschools but they are about a million dollars even part-time.  I have managed to narrow it down to a few options:  the Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA) in Baltimore has the wonderful Gateway school, which is completely auditory/oral.  They also have a parent/toddler auditory/oral group that meets once or twice a week.  Baltimore is only a half hour away from us, but I can't get any information about tuition - which is probably not a good sign.  That's like going to a Mercedes - Benz dealership and finding the beautiful, white convertible and you ask the salesman, "How much?"  and he proceeds to go on and on about all of the perks of the vehicle but refusing to give you a quote.  That's kind of what I've been getting with this place.  I have even come out and asked (because that's how I roll) and the reps just act like they never even heard my question.  River School is out - way too expensive and then it takes about an hour to get into DC.  Then there's the Maryland School for the Deaf, which has a campus in Columbia, only 10 minutes away from us!  The reps I have talked to sound fabulous, and the curriculum sounds equally as fabulous.  They teach a "World Concept View," in an effort to get the kids ready for kindergarten.  I don't really know what a "World Concept View" is, but it sounds all warm and fuzzy.  And it's all FREEEEEEE!  I haven't taken the tour yet, but I'm planning to, and I just need to know if Bud could go part-time.  My only hesitation is that they divide the program between spoken language and sign language.  I have no problem with sign language, and I feel like it's a good idea to learn it.  My hesitation is that Bud never really took to sign language, he instantly began to read lips whenever his ears were off, and I'm concerned that he won't get the complete immersion into a completely auditory/oral program.  He needs to be around spoken language to acquire spoken language.

We also have a possible opening for a co-op preschool that is waiting to get enough two and a half year olds to begin in January, so that's good, but what do we do until then?  Also, the Catholic preschools, along with the public run preschools here start when the kids are three years old, and that's not going to happen until a whole year from now. That leads to my other option:  an in-home day care.  Yes, the other day cares either do not have the part-time option, they are full, or they want the kids to be potty trained (I'm not even broaching that topic now, that's a whole other post).  Also, Bud can't handle an all day program.  He is exhausted by noon from running around, listening and understanding what he is hearing.  He still has not built up his stamina yet.  The last thing that I want to do is burn him out before he is even three.  Yes, I understand that you have to push as much language as possible in these early years, but every child is different, and this child is one who will shut down just as fast like a bank on Christmas Eve if he gets tired or bored.

With all of that being said, he has been doing wonderfully with his language just being around us at home during this transitional stage.  He is now saying two to three word phrases, he continues to repeat new words and applies them on a daily basis.  He is engaging in imaginary play, picking up his toy cell phone, holding it up to his ear and saying, "Hewoh?" 

We're excited about his progress, but we know that there's much more work to be done.  It's just the waiting on other organizations, the money (will we eventually have to hire a private therapist?), how many days a week, etc. etc.  I actually made myself sick last week with a migraine trying to plan this stuff out (worrying) which really doesn't do a lot of good, but I can't just sit around and wait for something to happen either - and it's really not the language so much that I worry about, it's the sensory/motor planning issues that I'm seeing that concerns me the most.  Bud's words and sentences are often hard to understand.  You can clearly tell that he is forming sentences, and talking about what he is doing, but you can only make out one to three of the words in his sentences - and he gives you this look like, "Geez, lady, why don't you get it?"  I think that's what's killing me right now.  We're doing a ton of language work and whatever activities that we can, but there's a glitch in his system that's holding him back a little.  Some words he can say as clear as glass, and then within the next ten minutes he'll say the word again and it sounds completely different.  And we haven't gotten help yet - and that's what has me about to jump out of my skin, while I should be enjoying my child, and being grateful of his progress so far.