Long time no talky...

Wow. Just wow.  Rowan is now 14.75 months so it's been over a year since my last post!  It's been an amazingly busy year - raising Rowan, starting my own business, going back to school just to name a few - but a rewarding one none the less.  I will still go back and start at the beginning but I feel I need to first start in the present as it will affect the direction of this blog.

Rowan, who spent 8 months with 'colic' (or GI issues), is in the process of being assessed for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).  Not what we were expecting or planning (for any parent I am sure) but something we are dealing with and now I want to make sure that all of the details are out in cyber space for anyone to see.  She is the most amazing little girl.  She delights us every moment of every day.  But she has this problem.  It means she sees the world a little differently and needs a little help learning things we normally learn through instinct and observation.  I am going to go through all of her development and catalogue everything we noticed here in the hope that it will help even one other person get the early intervention that is needed for a child with ASD.

Welcome!

My daughter, Rowan, is exactly 2 months old today.  The last 2 months have been the best and the scariest of my life.  When I say scary I am not just referring to being a first-time parent (although that's pretty damned scary in and of itself), but to being a parent of a child with pain.  From the moment she was born, Rowan has cried constantly.  This isn't any normal cry.  This is a very loud, strong, high pitched, I am in pain here Mom and you aren't fixing it cry.  The kind of cry that makes even grown men cry, as my dear husband did, when nothing you do helps.  The kind of cry that makes even the most sane person crazy.  Some call it 'colic' (I hate that description) while others call it Reflux, gassiness or just fussy.  The one word I will never use to describe it is 'normal' as that does nothing but infuriate and frustrate worried parents.  That being said, I want nothing more than to have a happy, healthy baby girl and, in reality, she is.  But she has this problem that I can't solve that makes her, and everyone around her, unhappy.  I will, over the next few posts, give a run down of the last two months.  I will describe, in detail, what issues we have dealt with and what solutions, if any, we found.  Hopefully, through our trial and error, we may help shed light on issues that other parents are suffering through.  At the very least, I hope we can take comfort in knowing we aren't alone.  If you, or someone you know, are having similar issues with your baby, please share your story in the comments section!