A quiet week here. We have struggled with bedtime for a while here. Particularly B. He will get in bed but it takes him 1-3 hours to fall asleep. I know by the daytime behaviors that my boys were tired. So, a friend tipped me off to melatonin. I checked with our pediatrician and she said go for it. So, I have been giving it to the boys. (I originally got it for B, but Jbird and JB saw him get some and they wanted some - figured why not try it. I do quarter JB's tablet, so he is getting less than 1 mg.) It has worked like a charm. Within an hour everyone is fast asleep. I was worried that they would be waking up early, but they are not. They are getting close to 12 hours every night. I think B actually enjoys it because he knows he does not struggle with going to sleep and it helps to calm it. One of the best things, my evenings are very long and productive. Most days I don't even turn on the computer until they are in bed, because I know I will have a quiet evening. I have also been able to get back to the gym in the evenings, knowing bedtime is not drawn out!

With JB's diagnosis of apraxia, we kept getting asked by the medical professionals if an MRI had ever been done. So, we decided to go ahead and do one, not expecting anything to show up but wanting to answer that question. My precious little 2 year old climbed up on that hospital bed at 7:30 am. He sat there very quietly while they did the blood pressure, listen to his lungs and heart and while they put the numbing cream on his 'future' IV sites. Then he sat back and curled up under a blanket and watched some TV. Once the radiology tech came in, they decided they might try the MRI without sedation, since he was so calm. I told them best if I stayed behind so he would not look to me to 'rescue' him. They carried him out and I prayed and prayed for a calm for him. About 30 minutes later, they brought him in and said he did stellar and he had no IV or sedation. I think a first for them to see a 2 year old so still. He even fell asleep once he was inside the machine. Such a trooper!! The results came back negative or positive (how ever you look at it). It did show a sinus infection though so I guess there is a small chance that it could have had a small affect on how he hears sounds. I don't know how long sinus infections can hang around, but he is on antibiotics to see if we can clear it up.

Yesterday at speech/occupational therapy, the OT said that she thinks what she was seeing as a weakness might be more of a motor planning issue. So, not only is there verbal apraxia, but motor apraxia (or whatever it is called). She has given me some things to work with him at home. Just over the last 5 days or so, we are getting more sound combinations. Not words but like what you would hear a baby as they babble new sounds. The words he has though are still very consistent!

We have been in the mid 50s most of this week. Absolutely unheard of. We have no snow on the ground (other than shady spots). The boys have not been able to try out their new sled. I must say I don't mind the lack of cold and snow but it could possibly make for a very, very dry summer!