Something new we experienced with Cohen was him having a 30 month visit with the doctor. I’m not sure if this is a new trend everywhere or just at our clinic in Shakopee. I like the change though. Especially since I can see how the visit can benefit those kids who might have been a little behind at the 24 month visit. We’re thankful because it gave us a chance to talk about Cohen and where he is at with his communication and other development areas. The doctor went ahead and referred us to Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) through Shakopee schools and a company called Capable Kids. ECFE was our top choice since it is free and they come to your home to work with the child as well as you. The only thing is that the child has to qualify so essentially we were hoping Cohen was “bad enough” to get help. The whole process to see if he qualified took about a month. The teachers came out and tested him in 5 different areas. It was really a neat experience for me to watch Cohen interact with the teachers. He did really well and I was surprised by some of the things he could do. The teachers learned very quickly that when he is done with something there is no getting him interested again. He is just done and nothing you can do about it. We had our results meeting on 3/20 as well as a trip to see an Ears, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor to check his hearing. We feel like he can hear us and weren’t necessarily concerned but he failed the hearing test that the nurse with ECFE gave him. The test checks for how sound bounces back from the ear drum which his wasn’t. She said it could have been fluid in his ears or the cold he had so off we went to find out for sure. At the ENT he passed one test and failed the same test the nurse gave him. The one he passed was actually a hearing test where he indicated if he could hear the technician. So it seems like he can hear. However there was still fluid in his ears. He did have a double ear infection from the bronchiolitis the kids got at his 2/18 check up. So we will go back on May 1st to have his ears rechecked to see if the fluid is still there and do the hearing tests again. If the fluid is still there it is likely he’ll get tubes. All of this could be a contributing factor to his communication delays. So back to our results meeting for ECFE. We got good news that Cohen does qualify for ECFE services. The range most kids fall in on their scale is –1 to 1. They provide services if the child scores –1.5 or lower. Cohen got a –1.6 so just sneaking below that mark. One surprising result was that Cohen also scored –2.4 on the adaptive portion. This includes things like dressing, feeding, toileting, sleeping : how he responds to various demands and normal daily living. It was a little surprising to us but a lot could be tied to his lack of communication. Some things we haven’t attempted (potty training) and others Cohen just gladly allows us to do for him. He’s a pretty laid back kid in some respects. He’ll receive help to improve on these areas until he turns 3. The next step for Cohen will then be preschool. In April/May it will be decided if he qualifies for free preschool. There is a good chance he will since he scored lower than –1.5 on two areas. Hard to imagine my little boy going to preschool but what a great opportunity if it works out.
So besides the communication situation what is our little boy up to at 2 1/2 years old?
In some ways he’s changed so much from the little boy we knew back in the summer/fall.
But in others ways he hasn’t changed at all. He is still very much a loveable little boy. He likes to be near people either by sitting close or cuddling in. He still finds the most comfort in sucking his thumb as well as his bunny and more recently his blanket as well. We used to be able to leave the blanket in the crib but now if bunny goes the blanket surely follows. He is still as picky as ever when it comes to food. The kid is surely not going hungry since he is still a healthy 30lbs 11oz (61%). He’s looking a little leaner due to his height jumping up some to 35.5 inches (42%). Hard to believe he is close to the middle of the pack for his height.
We’ve dealt with a horrible case of teething and are finally coming out on the other end. His molars just seemed to not want to come through fully and he constantly had his hands in his mouth. His attitude definitely showed he wasn’t a fan and there was little he wanted to do besides play on a phone or watch t.v. His love for these two things hasn’t ended but he does find joy in playing with toys again.
However just because he is playing with toys doesn’t mean his attitude has improved. Instead of just being crabby and irritable now he has entered the terrible two’s stage. This is a whole new experience for us as parents. Sevea skipped right through it. Not Cohen. He has attitude and very much shows us he is smart in many ways. If he doesn’t like something he will now often resort to throwing a fit and those fits sometimes include hitting. His victim most often happens to be Grayson. Enter frustration since Grayson loves to be dramatic about the whole situation. So not only do we deal with Cohen being mean but Grayson being dramatic about Cohen hitting him with a feather. Ok most of the time he has a right to be upset! The two of them just remind us that we were crazy for ever wanting them to be born close and that we were happy they were both boys, haha!! (They will grow out of this right?!?!?!)
Even though Cohen isn’t quite where he should be communication wise we have seen a HUGE improvement in him. Right around his 30 month check up he started saying more and more. The biggest difference in him is he will TRY to say things. Before no matter what we did he just would not try if he wasn’t interested. He gets really into certain things and it is fun to see. He was really excited about doors for a week. Every door we saw he’d say “a door” “a door”. He is a little funny in that he will often say “a” before most words.
I’m sure there is a lot about Cohen I’m forgetting but the one thing I know I can’t forget is how much this guy makes us smile each day. It is so hard to believe we’ve been blessed with 2 1/2 years already. Each day he becomes less and less my baby and more and more a little man. Can someone please make time stand still?
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