I Never Expected This

It is funny how having a son with autism effects our life in unexpected ways.  When Little Prince is up, he is the focus.  We spend all our time trying to keep him safe.  When we decorate, we have to do it with a him in mind.  Will he be able to pull on it and break it?  Will he be able to climb it?  Will be able to move it into a dangerous place?  Will he trip over it?  When he gets up,  all the table chairs get moved to the other room.  The vase gets moved.  All breakable things get put up.  And we put it back when he goes to bed. I never expected this stuff when he was almost 4 years old.  But we are both learning as we travel down this autism journey together.

One benefit of moving the chairs is that the table has become a play house.

Searching for a New One

We're going to have to get Little Prince a new stroller.  He likes shopping as long as he's able to sit and relax while we do it.  He enjoys walks as long as he's riding.  But his bigger stroller broke due to his live of rocking hard when he is out and about.  So now he is in a temporary umbrella stroller. But he is TOO tall and when he decides to, he can just stand up with it attached to his bottom.  I was feeling bad about him being in a stroller until I met up with another autism mommy whose son is 7 and prefers to go shopping and such in stroller too.  We talked about it and she reminded me that I am just doing what he needs.  

Sort of like this:

The Worst Happened

I have mentioned before that Little Prince is a whirlwind when he is up.  He is constantly running and climbing and we are all on high alert to try to keep him safe.  Well last night, I failed and he fell off a chair and hurt his head.  We spent hours in the emergency room waiting to get him checked out.  He actually seemed okay other than the GIGANTIC bump on his head.  He was happy flappy watching tv in the waiting room making his happy sounds.  I was a weepy, worried mess.  I kept thinking about how he can't tell me how bad it feels or if something feels wrong and it was breaking my heart.  As we sat there together, him doing his thing, me crying, I wondered if he was bothering the other people there.  But mostly, I was glad he was happy.  And I was happy when they said he was going to be okay.

Here is a link to a video of him in the waiting room.

http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v649/twisted_cinderella/Mobile%20Uploads/20150831_185502.mp4

When we got home he wanted to spend time with his sisters.  So we piled all the chairs in the kitchen out of climbing range and let him stay up with them a while.  He mostly rocked in the armchair and watched the Wiggles.  And went right to sleep when we put him to bed.

The doctor did warn me that he would be in more pain later and that the big bump would cause a pretty bad black eye.  My poor boy.  He did wake up last night making his sound he makes when he hurts.  So I gave him some infant Tylenol and sat with him until he settled. Then I went to bed and lay there awake worrying while he slept.  He is still asleep now but I hope he's doing better.  I love my baby boy so much!