What is Special Needs Parenting? It is so many things. There are challenges, tears, disappointment, frustration, missing milestones. But there is joy, laughter, celebration, inchstones, pride.
Special Needs Parenting is:
- Calling insurance companies and specialists
- Constant appointments being scheduled and rescheduled
- Therapies to plan and follow
- Forgetting which kid you are calling for and getting birthdays mixed up
- Searching for answers, solutions, suggestions until late into the night
- Driving into a snowstorm at the last minute to pick up a much needed medication, and have a 3 hour trip take 8 1/2 hours due to the weather and road conditions (but dammit you got that medication!)
- Keeping a chart of who takes what medication, what dose, what time, and how often
- Updating that chart often
- Knowing the pediatric specialists in the state, and having favorites
- Keeping notebooks of medical records, diagnoses, medical history, and any notes up to date
- Celebrating the inchstones as they come along. Eating by mouth all day! Only puked once today! Pooped 3 days in a row!
- Having constant conversations that revolve around poop (color, consistency, frequency, changes)
- Having constant conversations about vomit, and being able to accurately estimate how much there is just by looking
- Sitting at Jiffy Lube getting an oil change and suddenly being covered in puke because reflux medication stopped working with one kid
- Accepting your new normal
There is so much to these kidlets. They keep me on my toes, that is for sure! But you know what? I wouldn’t change it for the world!