The Neverending Pregnancy, and IEP update

Still here, still pregnant.  I'm sure people are tired of hearing about how I'm tired of being pregnant at this point - especially since I am 11 days from my actual due date.  But I swear I never thought I'd stay pregnant this long.  I'm a relatively tiny person, and this belly has grown and gotten a life of its own - it is incredibly heavy and all in the front.  I get exhausted and feel like I am going to tip over while just walking around.

I am trying to make the best of it, I swear.  But I am just not the girl who is a happy Mother Earth type pregnant chick.  I don't hate being pregnant.  I'm going to be pregnant again at least one or two more times in my life.  But I definitely don't revel in the changes in my body and marvel over each little miracle.  Sorry.  I will power through it to get to the magical baby miracle at the end, but the whole gestating thing just isn't really my cup of tea.  I've been bouncing on a yoga ball, eating pineapple, and drinking cervix-ripening tea to get this party started.  Nada.  Baby Vegas is super comfy in there.  That makes one of us.  We did manage to have another Monday morning of terrible contractions, and these actually got to the point where we were minutes away from grabbing our gear and heading to the hospital.  Then they stopped, I went back to bed, and nothing has happened since.

Little Man had all his testings this past week.  He clearly qualified for all the categories of services they were testing for (speech, OT, PT, developmental therapy, autism therapy) and so I am anxious to see what will be said at our final IEP meeting on August 14th.  They want him to start school on time, so it is going to be a whirlwind of setting up services and getting him into a classroom before the 20th.  With my due date on the 17th, I don't know how much of the last part of this I'll be able to be involved in, so I'm hoping Hubs will be okay taking lead on this one.

Even though sometimes it is hard to quantify how Little Man has improved in the last year, I was so proud to see that he has made definite progress in certain areas that he was tested on.  When he took the ADOS (autism diagnostic) last time, he wasn't able to ask for the snacks inside the tupperware - this time he definitely knew how to "ask" for more cookies.  He also did much better at playing appropriately, reacted positively to the bubbles and the baby doll and was much more engaged.  It was still clear that he is developmentally not ready for the age-appropriate autism test, but I am so happy with how well he did overall.  His behavioral therapist was most pleased with the fact that throughout the various testings, Little Man didn't scream and throw a tantrum when confronted with new people and new surroundings.  Instead, he would cling to me or Hubs for awhile before warming up to the test-giver.  That is a HUGE accomplishment for Little Man, and very appropriate for his developmental age (which is around 2 -2 1/2).

This week promises to be a lot less eventful than last - we have an appointment with a pediatrician on Thursday morning to see if she is a good match for us.  Then of course our usual therapies and OB appointments, but nothing extra.  For the most part I will be trying to enjoy these last few quiet days with just me and my Little Man.