Number 2

As you can see the title of this entry is called, "Number 2;" a significant number in our household these days for several reasons. First of all, Carson turned 2 years old on Jan. 6th! To celebrate we had our immediate families over (a very large group of 14) for one of Carson's favorite meals, lasagna. We have come to realize especially with all the holiday parties lately, that Carson LOVES parties. He is energized by groups of people and loves to charm anyone who looks his way. His birthday party was no different, he was with his favorite people eating his favorite meal and enjoyed it thoroughly! I was caught off guard by how emotional his birthday was for me. It's strange seeing your baby grow into an actual child with a personality! I found myself wondering where 2 years went? The memories from Carson's birth came rushing back, the NICU, the anxiety, the fear, but also all the milestones and achievements Carson has made. While looking back I have realized that I can look forward with hope.

Number 2, Part 2:

Admittedly, sometimes it irritates me when parents complain about potty-training and things like that. I try not to let it annoy me, but it's just one of those things. I think it would be amazing to have the consolation that although potty-training is hard it will work. The child will achieve it and it will be fine. (sorry to be harsh) With spina bifida you certainly do not have this assurance. You try to potty-train without really knowing what can be achieved. You practice walking without really knowing if your child will ever be able to take steps without your help, the list goes on. Well, tonight we had a break through with the potty! Ever since Carson was 10 months old he has been sitting on the potty. I know this sounds silly, but it's part of what he does while attending the Conductive Learning Center. It's hard to know exactly what this has helped and in what way, but it definitely raises the child's awareness of this activity. So for 14 months now Carson has been sitting on the potty doing breathing exercises and other things that we make enjoyable. Sometimes he would go sometimes not, I never knew what we were going to get. But we always tried to bring his attention to what we were doing and we always celebrated whenever he produced something in the potty. Tonight for the first time as I was reading Carson a book he pointed between his legs and said, "poo poo." So we went upstairs to sit on his potty and minutes later there it was! What a break through for us. It is an amazing sense of accomplishment when your 2 year old child with spina bifida tells you that he has to go number 2! (It's also pretty amazing that I can devote a blog entry to poo and be excited about it, but hey, it's progress!)