Wordless Wednesday - Bliss

The New Normal

The Boy has had a heck of a spring. And after the fall/winter we barely survived, this is sort of amazing. He's made so much progress in so many areas. He's reading. READING! And riding a bike. And writing his name. And sending "emails" home that he types telling us about his day at school. He's learning so many new skills. He's even been dry at night for the past 5 nights in a row. And that, my friends, is a true miracle.

That boy has never had a dry night in his life. We've spend a small fortune on night time Pull Ups. Not only have they been wet every single morning, but half the time he even pees through them and wets the bed. Laundry is a daily routine. It's hard to believe one small body can produce so much pee. 

We have tried everything. And I mean everything. No liquids after 7:00 pm. Then 6:00. Then severely limited them after 5:00 pm. We briefly discussed going to 4:00, but were afraid that might be considered child abuse. We made sure he emptied his bladder before bed. Then I started getting him up when I go to bed to empty his bladder one more time. I even got him up in the middle of the night to go yet again for a few nights. (that didn't last long, mama needs her sleep) Nothing helped. He ALWAYS got up soaking wet in the morning.

So imagine our surprise when 5 days ago he got up and was completely dry. The Pull Up was dry! We were shocked. And so excited. We made a big deal out of it and the The Boy actually seemed proud. This is an emotion he doesn't show very often, no matter how big his accomplishment. So clearly something was clicking here. We talked about it throughout the day and again when he went to bed. And in the morning he was dry again! 2 days in a row! 

Its now been 5 days and he's been dry every morning. As I texted my sister yesterday: Dare I say, could this possibly be our new normal? He even asked this morning about wearing "unnerwears in my bed". I'm not sure I'm ready for that step. Honestly, it frightens me a little. I know how much pee this kid generates and the thought of it flowing freely like a river ... I just don't want to go there. Yet. But clearly something has clicked with him. I don't believe 5 days in a row is a fluke. Especially 5 days in a row after 9 years of soaking wet every single night. 

I had started to wonder if night time enuresis was just a life time fact for us. I had honestly put this issue on the back burner, not giving it much thought anymore and just resigning myself to daily laundry and morning sponge baths. But once again, The Boy is teaching me that I should never count him out. And that its not up to me. When he's ready, he'll make his move; in his own time, in his own way. I just have to offer support and cheer from the sidelines. You go kid, you go!

Extraordinary

I read a quote on an autism facebook page the other day that I simply love. "When normal isn't normal it becomes extraordinary." It is so true. 

We've been working with The Boy on learning to ride a bike for 2 solid years. Even though he is very athletic and any sport with a ball is second nature to him, riding a bike had continued to evade him. At 9 years old he could not even pedal a bike with training wheels. Its not the balancing. You should see him on a scooter, he's a speed demon with amazing balance. And even on a bike with no training wheels he could push it along with his feet on the ground and then lift them up and coast for yards and yards. He has the balance. It's the motor planning required for pedaling that has been his nemesis. He simply could not get his legs to push down, pull up in alternating fashion.

With the change to the new school last September, The Boy was suddently included not only in PE with his GenEd class, but also Adaptive PE with his SpEd class. He has APE every day and twice a week they work on bike riding. Yay! With a variety of trikes and bikes of every configuration imaginable, they begain working with The Boy on the mechanics of pedaling a bike. 

Sometime during the fall, the APE teacher suggested we get The Boy a "Big Wheel" type trike big enough for him to ride at home. Apparently the angle of pedaling this is different and easier than a bike. So Santa brought him a Razer Rip-Rider 360. We chose this as we thought this was something that a "typical" 9 year old might like and wouldn't be fodder for teasing or stares. (And come to find out, his 11 year old cousin had requested and received the exact same trike for Christmas) We were pleasantly surprised to see him get right on it and pedal away on Christmas morning. 

After several months of watching him ride around on this trike like a mad man, we once again decided to reintroduce the "big boy bike". The Razer 360 is great for riding around our cul de sac, but doesn't really work well for family bike rides which was our ultimate goal. So over a long weekend at the fun house (which has multiple bike paths that lead every where he likes to go) I put on his helmet, grabbed the back of his bike seat and we took off for the river. He did awesome! By the end of that weekend he could ride for a couple of miles with me running along side of him providing minimal support. 

By the time Spring Break rolled around around, he was riding completely independently. We went for a 6 mile family bike ride. A few months ago I didn't know if this would ever happen. I loved every minute of it.  It was simply extraordinary.

"When normal isn't normal, it becomes extraordinary."