AJ is getting....

a little brother!!

I'm thrilled beyond words at having another little boy. I know that the autism rate is higher among boys, but we have to trust that we've done everything we could to give our new little boy the best possible chances to avoid autism.

AJ is starting to understand a little that there is a baby in mommy's belly. He surprised me the other day by randomly coming up to me and giving me a kiss on the cheek and then planting a kiss on my belly before running away.

Making room for baby

We are trying to do everything we can to make AJ's transition from only child to big brother as easy as possible. At school his teachers have introduced a babydoll into his day to try and desensitize him from the baby. Hubby and I have already put all the furniture into the baby's room so AJ can get used to it.

At first he was very curious about the crib, then he became obsessed with the rocking chair, and we can't forget how he loved to jump off of the dresser when we got that...lol. After a few weeks he's calmed down a bit, but he does like to spend time in the room.

The other night I was very sore so I decided to take a warm bath. Hubby comes in the bathroom shaking his head and walks out again. He comes back in and shows me his phone. Below is what he showed me.

AJ playing the piano

At my parent's house they have my grandparent's old organ. AJ loves playing on it when he goes there to visit. My parents swear AJ has a musical ear and is the next classical composer. I really don't doubt them anymore...lol.

In this video he is pretending to be the Count (from sesame street) looking for the number of the day. This is the cutest thing I've ever seen...lol.

SIck Boy

Today AJ stayed home from school. When I woke him up this morning he had a temp of 103.7. After alternating tylenol and motrin we got the fever down to 101.3. The poor baby has been sleeping all day. When he wakes up we are going to take a cool bath and get some fresh sheets and lay back down. I hope he feels better soon.

Parent Teacher Night

Tonight we went to AJ's parent teacher conference. Although the meeting was suppose to only take about 30mins we ended up staying there for 1.5hrs. It was a really productive meeting. I addressed my concerns with AJ adjusting to the new baby, as well as his liking for fire, and his behavioral issues.

For the past few months he's been acting out with me. He still obey's hubby without missing a beat, but he insists on fighting with me every chance he gets. Being that I'm pregnant and lacking energy his behavioral specialist thought it best that I leave the discipline to daddy until after the baby gets here then I can resume my pre-pregnancy mommy roll. I left the meeting pretty pleased and informed. Hubby also felt it went well which his a SHOCK since he hates these meetings. We also decided that AJ needs a bit more structure at home so I'll have to sit down and come up with activities that we can do that won't totally exhaust me even further.

While we were at the meeting AJ stayed with my sister and Bryanna. I'm sure he drove Bryanna nuts, but they said he was good. We leave for Canada on Saturday morning to attend my grandma's 90th birthday party. We are coming back on Sunday so 16hrs in two days, I hope he (and me) can take the ride and still be able to keep it together.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share when I get back. I've been really slacking in that department lately. Have a great weekend.

Big Brother Syndrome

One thing that worries me about having a new baby welcomed into our family is this...

I don't want everyone to forget about AJ. God willing my newest angel will be autism free and what does that mean for AJ? My sister said something to me the other day, and I know she was joking but it rubbed me the wrong way. She said that when the new baby comes she is claiming him/her. Now I'm not going to call her a bad aunt because I know she loves AJ very much. My issue is that she has never called me and said "Hey sis, can I have AJ for (insert timeline here) because I want to spend some time with him." or "Hey sis, I'm going to go to (insert place here) and I think AJ would like it, can he come with me?"

I'm scared that if baby #2 is perfectly fine our family will swarm around him/her because they are the typical child they wish AJ would have been. I'm also afraid they will kinda push him aside so they can dote over this perfect child. They all thought I was joking when I told them that if they take #2 they have to take baby #1 as well. But little did they know I was and am very serious about that. I will not allow my children to be treated differently because one has autism and one does not. I will love my children equally and I expect everyone else to love them equally as well.

Are my fears just me being hormonal and overreacting or am I justified?