Pictures of Elise

Here's a bunch of random pictures of Elise from the past year:

Elise is turning 4

Elise's Birthday is Sunday March 1. I thought I'd repost the slideshow I made her last year and in a day or two, I'll put up some pictures of her from this past year. I can't believe how big she's getting :-)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Claire update

We got a call from St. John's last week that they had a cancellation. So we got to see them today for Claire's diagnostic appointment. I filled out paperwork for 45 minutes in addition to all of the paperwork we took to Claire's pediatrician last week. We saw a pediatric-psychiatric nurse practitioner today who had reviewed everything from our pediatrician, all the forms that I filled out, and then interviewed/talked with both Claire and I. They have come to the same conclusion: That Claire has a very typical presentation of ADHD without hyperactivity. Her main area of concern is the lack of focus/attentiveness. When the nurse went through the common signs checklist, almost all of them fit Claire. Also looking at her past, she pointed out that all kinds of things that we just thought were part of Claire's personality were actually symptoms of ADHD. She also feels that Claire's perfectionism may be a symptom of her lack of focus. As in, she feels out of control about the way her brain is working, but she feels she can control how her papers look, etc. The nurse thinks this may subside a bit as she begins to feel more centered.

Without going into all of the nitty gritty details, we are very optimistic that medication will help Claire overcome a lot of obstacles that she's currently facing academically and socially. (We are going to try a very low dose of Adderall first. They think that this is the best one for kids without hyperactivity. It also supposedly has less of a chance for side effects.) She is also very excited to try this. We are going to very slowly ease her onto the medication, so it may be awhile before we have the right dose. I feel more comfortably doing this little by little than by starting her at a high dose that will work right away, but could possibly be over-medicating her. I prefer as little drugs as possible in her system. The main side effect we can expect is a marked decrease in appetite. We have to weigh her every week and really monitor her eating habits. Supposedly, the medicine causes you to not feel hungry. There are a few other possible side effects, but the appetite thing is the most common. We will be in close contact with the nurse practitioner as we get Claire started on the medicine and get her dosage worked out. We have to weigh her weekly, fill out a check form each day, and have been instructed to call immediately with any questions/concerns. We have to be back in the office in one month for our first follow up visit. The care they're taking with this definitely makes me feel a lot safer and more supported about this whole process!

So overall, I'm feeling pretty good about this right now. Since we have tried almost every non-medical option, I'm very hopeful that a low dose of this medication will work wonders on Claire. I feel ready to try this, all though I have to admit, I'm still a little scared! I've also talked with several people who have or know someone who has ADHD. So far all have said that Adderall is great. I will post updates as we see how this works. For now, please keep my little girl in your prayers...

Claire

What have we been up to lately? Well, lots of the usual activities, school, etc. And we've also had to make some decisions about Claire. Some of you already know this, but for those who don't, we've been struggling with Claire and school for about a year now.

To make a long story short, she's had a lot of problems staying focused on her school work. That combined with a tendency towards perfectionism, and she's falling behind despite a lot of effort on our part and extra help from her teachers at school. She is a very smart kid, her teacher even says she is much better than your average 3rd grader at putting her thoughts down on paper. She loves journaling, art, handwriting, science, and music. However she's testing at a year behind in reading- mostly due to comprehension (again because she's not staying focused on the story all the way through). She's also not so great with standardized tests- the time limit and the ability to sit and focus on the questions are the main culprits. I know lots of people aren't great on standardized tests, but the fact is that they are a part of education today all the way through college. And its holding her back from achieving her potential as far as grades, confidence, etc.

So we've tried lots of one on one help at home, extra tutoring at school, classes in music and memory (both requiring focus and long term comprehension), plenty of exercise/activity (even though she doesn't have a hyperactivity issue), healthy diet, omega 3 supplements, plenty of sleep, incentive charts... The list goes on and on. So I finally have gone and done something I thought I would never do, I took my daughter to the dr. and agreed to getting her officially diagnosed and to try medication. Here's the email I sent out that explains what happens next:

Just to reiterate, Claire's pediatrician feels that she has a typical presentation of ADD for a girl her age. He thinks (based on our notes and Claire's teacher's notes) that we've tried most of the non-medical interventions for her already. Based on the fact that she does not have issues with hyperactivity, he feels she would benefit from a very low dose of a stimulant medication (ie Ritalin) just given on school days when she needs the extra boost for focus. He says that the medicine is fast acting, only stays in your system a short time and will not cause any long term issues. He feels that holding her back a year in school would not be helpful as a long term solution and could potentially be harmful to her self esteem. He said that the medication should make a dramatic night and day difference. If it does not, he will take her off. But he really thinks it is what will work for her.

We have to go through the official testing at St. John's to get our "diagnosis" Claire has an appointment for Thursday March 26th at 9:00. We are also on their cancellation list, so if anyone cancels before March 26, they'll call us and see if we can come in.

Keep us in your prayers as we make these decisions and try to do what's best for Claire. We'll keep you updated.

Nothing much...

Sorry its been a while since I've posted. Life has been busy lately. I've also been spending entirely too much time on Facebook. It is so neat to talk to all these people. Some I went to high school with (and a few from before that!), friends I don't see too often, and other friends and neighbors from now. I try to keep this blog mostly about what the kids are up to, so its also nice to have a place where I can talk about "me" a little bit :-) Anyway, I promise to get back on here really soon and do another kids post. For now, here's a few pictures:

Emilie with her class's teddy bear

Elise with her favorite Christmas present. You know the $5 last minute stocking stuffer purchase.

Claire with her new apron on her way to cooking class. Thanks Aunt Sarah, Claire loves her apron.

Chloe being silly.