Sensory Travelers

It is spring break!  Soon it will be summer break!  Families all over are preparing to travel.  With any child, it doesn't matter if you travel 30 minutes or 8 hours, you have to prepare! 

Espen has always been an easy passenger.  He sits and talks.  He never sleeps.  And by never
I mean we can travel 8 hours in the car and he will be awake.  When he was smaller, he may doze for 15  minutes but otherwise I had better prepare for an awake, alert little boy.  What do we do with him? 

Even before we had a name for Espen's "issue", we were sensory travelers!  Now we know he has sensory processing disorder and we plan our upcoming travel more accordingly.  There is still LOTS of fun.... but we have some allowance for him!

1.  I pack healthy snacks.  Not a lot of sugar.  Carrots, celery, apples, chips, pretzels and crackers all make fun crunchy snacks!  While fruit snacks & fruit leather are good options for chewy ones!  We also have some organic suckers and gum!  When we stop for a rest I will let him get a milk shake or some pudding that he can suck through a straw or a cup of ice!  The oral motor stimulation involved in eating crunchy foods, chewy foods and foods that require a child to suck can satisfy each of these sensory needs.  (read more)
2. We stop often.  I plan on stopping myself to stretch every 2 hours.  I hate riding in the car so if I can get out every couple hours, get air and move.... then I can go another 2!  And the same is true for little ones.  So every couple hours we stop.  We get out.  We run and play.  We go to the bathroom.  We get a drink of water.  Visit with strangers at the rest place.  We get cold drinks with ice.  We walk.  If we can find a play ground we hang from the bars, go down slides, swing.  A lot of rest areas have play areas but if not, a tree works just as great for climbing and a hill for rolling! 
3. igadgets!  We have them.  And I am not afraid to use them.  Espen has an ipod that has games and videos on it.  He can listen to his music either through his headphones or I'll plug it into the car and he can control what we all listen to.  He can use my ipad and watch Netflix.  But just because we are traveling doesn't mean the time limit is lost... he still has a limited number of minutes to watch Netflix and if it is all used in the first part of the trip... that is a real bummer...  But there is no shortage of music and videos and games both educational and nonsense!  Great toddler apps include MONKEY PRESCHOOL LUNCH BOX, and all the TOCA BOCA games but his favorite is JETPACK! 
4. Pack a bag of fun toys and books that he has not seen for a while!  We have tons of cars and toys that he forgets he has!  And several books we rarely read.  I put them in a bag and he can play with some, none or all!  I put window crayons and paper in the bag.  He can draw on the paper or the window or himself.  It makes no matter to me.  He may not color on my car or eat the crayons.  Two simple rules!  Etch a sketch is a new favorite!  We have different hand fidgets.  They help just keeping his hands busy.  A hand fidget can be calming and relieve some of the fidgets!
5. I rarely forget the lovey, fuzzy bear or his weighted blanket or lap pad.  All of these help provide some sense of calm.  And he smells them which also provides him a sensation and a familiar scent!  An added benefit when we arrive at our destination is that he can still smell a familiar scent and the lovey helps him stay calm and in control in new surroundings. 
6. When we arrive we RUN.  We play.  We swim.  We get moving.  Our trip is to short to sit so we hike, explore, walk.  We don't force him to sit for a meal.  We don't force an early bed time.  We shake off the travel by moving our muscles.  Climbing, rolling, spinning, running all help the body get back to a "normal" state.  So we will spend a long day in the car and then we will EXERCISE! 
7. We rest!  We eat a balanced meal and have milk.  We get him a warm bath and let him soak as long as necessary.  We snuggle into a bed with our pj's and the lovey and we rest.  I try to find a place that is as clutter free as possible. We talk about our travel day and we talk about our plans for the next day.  To know what is happening and when is really important.  It helps with transition!  And we wake up to a new day... ready to go!

Enjoy your travels... I will keep you updated on ours!  And please feel free to share your helpful hints for long car rides... never know when I will need a new idea! 

Sensory Easter Ideas

Once again, everyone has been asking me what to put into an Easter basket for my Sensory Kid.  So I put together seventeen ideas for any kid instead of a bucket full of colorful candy!   

#1....  books ~ Espen loves books.  Books are a great gift for anytime of the year!  Every child loves books, to have and hold! 

#2.... grass seed and dirt ~ my son is interested in a garden and things that grow.  Grass grows fairly fast.  And what better place to grow it then in a decorated egg! Add some small shovels, seeds or garden gloves and he is perfectly content. 

#3.... tiny toys ~ my son loves tiny little toys or shapes or animals.  They are perfect to stick into a pocket of a purse for a fun surprise when you need a couple minutes!  They are fantastic in an egg!  He loves the little cars, animals, balls. 

#4.... fresh fruit/healthy bites ~ Espen loves blueberries, blackberries, raspberries as well as apples with cinnamon and orange slices.  As odd as it sounds, my child loves fruit!

#5.... temporary tattoos ~ he loves decorating himself with temporary tattoos!  We never have enough! 

#6.... sidewalk chalk or finger paint ~ who doesn't love sidewalk chalk!  We always need chalk or paint.  We use it on the trampoline, the sidewalk, the playground, the driveway.  He colors his arms and legs.  It is a mess that easily washes off and leaves no harmful side effects!   

#7.... pool toys ~ Espen is a swimmer!  He will be in the pool all summer.  Sinker toys, goggles, , squirt guns or swim trunks.  These make great Easter basket ideas!

#8.... MONEY! ~  Espen likes to buy his own things.  He is learning to manage his money and save for the things he really wants.  But the ability to purchase things with is own money is great!

#9.... Frisbee, kite ~ we like to be outside!  These also help with eye hand coordination!

#10.... crazy socks ~ he likes to wear socks that don't match or mix them up.   Often he refuses to wear shoes but I can get socks on him! 

#11.... CANDY ~ I'm not a total mean mom!  Of course I think we should all have some candy.  We would of course prefer the kind that is free of artificial junk or colors! 

#12.... bubbles ~ we never run out of bubbles!  He likes to do it himself, so the wands are always needed as well!   Blowing bubbles calms and orients kids!  So after all that candy, they may need calming! 

#13.... scented soap or shaving cream ~ my son loves to smell everything!  Small scented soaps work great!  He enjoys baths and can use them himself!  Please consider natural ones!  Shaving cream is just fun to play in and we play in it often!


#14...glow sticks ~ because the day light will end and everyone will be hoped up on sugar.  The glow sticks are fun to play with but also broken apart and put into eggs they make the eggs glow... so you can hunt the eggs into the dark! 
 
#15....balloons ~ water balloons, long ones, fat ones.  Fun for the whole family in the blowing up and playing with!  If it is a warm day water is always a hit!

#16.... games ~   Games that are "smart"... that help with shapes, counting or some fine motor task are just as great as games that are fun.

#17.... Most importantly put a note in the basket.  A simply written note will encourage him to identify letters and words while also let him know you are thinking about him. 

Compulsive little boy

Compulsive - (adj) driven to do something: driven by an irresistible inner force to do something

My little boy is compulsive.  He thinks and thinks about things until he gets satisfaction.  Sometimes it is quick and other times it takes a long while to figure out how to soothe or calm his thoughts.  This weekend we re-modeled his closet into a "fort".  It is nearly finished... needs some paint.  He LOVES it.  Friday night while I was at work they cut a hole into a wall.  He was so excited to show me that even when he slept, his mind held onto the need to tell me.  At 3:30am he woke me told me he had a surprise for me (and we know the last time he did this it was not a good surprise).  So I went nervously into his room and he turned on the lights to show me the hole and the progress.  He then turned on his heel and went back to my bed leaving me standing in his room with the light on.  He settled his mind as soon as he shared his room with me.

On Saturday he was curious about seaweed.  We happened to be going to HIRO 88, one of my favorite Asian fusion places in town.  I told him we would bring him a sushi piece with seaweed.  We did and put it in the fridge.  Late in the evening he woke.  I was asleep but Doug was watching TV.  Espen went in and asked if we brought him a seaweed.  Doug showed him the box and confirmed that we had.  Espen went back to bed.  He ate it when he woke up and did not like it.  Smelled funny! 

His compulsion goes as deep as the need to "tell" people what to say when we are playing to having a fit leaving the driveway without B or fuzzy bear.  He will make the trip a nightmare!  His mind will not rest.  I try and try to hang things in his room... He hates it and consistently removes things.  He likes blank walls.  You can not change the subject to help him forget.  He doesn't.  The force to do something is strong.  Once he has satisfied that drive... he quietly and quickly moves on.  Until the compulsion comes up again. 

Whether it is part of his sensory processing disorder or a separate issue.  It is learning how to manage his compulsive behaviors and understanding when it shall happen.  Nothing is so frightening as a mom as having a child with odd compulsions who likes to bang into you!! 

Peeing on the floor!

Maintaining 2 blogs I was not sure where to put this... I felt pretty broken this morning but some sensory stuff is involved... I have it in both places... sorry if you read both my blogs...
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I slept fitfully and was still deep in sleep at 5:30am this morning.  I "heard" the feet going down the hallway and the lights.  That pulled me from my deep sleep.  With my child one learns to sleep with one ear open!  Then I heard the feet coming back.  I heard his door shut.  And he was standing in the doorway of my room calling MOMMA.  So I said "what Espen?".  And to my horror he said MOMMA I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU.  Well as you can imagine that kicked my brain into HIGHEST of gears!! 

So I stumbled quickly out of bed and blindly went to him.  He was in the hallway, the living room light was on.  I said take me to it then.  And he headed straight to his bedroom.  I WAS VERY AFRAID.  My spidey senses were on HIGH alert, my nose was working.  My mind was reeling.  We went in his room and he sat on the bed calmly said TA DAAA.. and pointed to the floor.  It was dark.  It was 5:30 in the morning and he has room darkening shades on the window!  So I flipped on the light to discover pee all over the floor.  A gallon of it.  His entire bladder. 

The floor in Espen's room is giant foam tiles.  For a variety of reasons I did this (it looks cool, it is soft when he falls, etc).  However when it gets wet, liquid seeps between them and soaks into them from the bottom.  I quickly got paper towels and cleaned up the top.  Then had to peel them apart to get to the bottom where there was more standing pee... like a flood gate of urine had opened.  So I was yelling at my 3 year old for peeing on the floor while I cleaned up the mess. 

He was very calm and smiling.  This is the SPD part of him.  He has no idea sometimes that smiling at the wrong moment is not a good thing.  His smile was not intentionally thought out.  So I got the pee cleaned up and the tiles put in the tub.  I was bleach wiping the floor (under the tiles is a hard floor) and my darling son said "LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE... I SLEPT IN MY BED ALL BY MYSELF ALL NIGHT".  I nearly snapped!!

Sleeping in his bed all night very rarely happens.  Almost a year now we have been dealing with night awakenings and he typically just comes to sleep nearly under me.  He sometimes need that proprioceptive stimulation in the night.  Sometimes he is just hungry.  Sometimes he is just being 3.  I tried for the longest time to get him back to his bed and it consistently ended in a glorious battle in the middle of the night.  So I just don't bother and he sleeps with me.  This morning however he pointed out the bright side.... It was 5:30 in the morning, I was rudely awakened, I was on my knees cleaning up a giant pee mess, I was near tears trying to get him to understand his behavior was naughty and he finds a BRIGHT SIDE...

I finished cleaning and was getting every one into the bed when he so kindly decides to mention the bright side again.... not only did he sleep in his bed all night BUT he did NOT get his pants wet... he was still wearing his dry pj's... ARE YOU KIDDING ME...

So I took away all tv, ipad, ipod, video privileges for the day... none.  Not one split second.  He doesn't watch much but the ipad with some Netflix calms and quiets him for a few minutes.  And it was taken away for the day.... bummer is what mommy said!! 

And when we finally were out of the bed at 7:45am I told him I appreciated his bright side... and we celebrated that he slept in his own bed.  And the dry pants.  With a reminder about where we should be using bathroom!! 

BRIGHT SIDE.... UGH!!