specialneedsmom

Meet Sophie the Golden Retriever.

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We have a new puppy, and I am back into mothering mode big time. I decided to let some things go for awhile. I stopped 2 Grandmas and A Microphone and writing blog posts. I have not been posting much on social media unless it included a golden retriever puppy named Sophie. If you don’t care about cute puppies then it is probably best to sign off now.

This is the story of the arrival of Sophie. As many of you know, I have a special needs son named Thomas. He has always been around Goldens. We have had 4 Goldens and a wonderful dog named Kelly. Kelly was half golden and half Chesapeake Bay retriever. When Tom looks at dog books he is interested in Golden retrievers. 2 and 1/2 years ago, our last Golden, George died suddenly of cancer at the age of 7. It was very sad for all of us. Thomas talked everyday about how sad he was about George. My family and I had thought of getting another dog, but my husband wasn’t ready to move on from George. For me, there was something freeing about not having a dog. The house was clean. We could leave and not have to worry about George. Then the pandemic hit, and Tom is home all of the time zooming his programs. I thought this is the perfect time to get a dog. I told Tom that George is his dog angel and he needs to start praying to George to bring us Sophie. Thomas wanted a girl dog. He likes girls. There is a young lady down the street named Sophie. She got a golden a few years ago for Christmas and named him Tom. Tom the golden has the same birthday as Thomas. We thought Sophie would be the perfect name. Sophia means wise. It is good to have a smart dog. Tom started to pray to George, the dog angel and I started to look for a good breeder.

I found Jane Pappler from Redlion Kennels. I gave her a call and left a voice mail. I also emailed her to tell her about Tom and that we were looking for the perfect puppy. Jane called me back. Normally, I would not have answered the phone. I usually don’t answer a strange number. This time, I did. “Mary, this is Jane from Redlion kennels. Would you like to talk about Golden Retrievers ? ” She asked us if we could wait a year. She was receiving 30 calls a day since the pandemic hit. I said I could but I really wanted a puppy sooner. Well, guess what? She bumped us up on the list. George the dog angel was helping us find Sophie.

We picked up Sophie January 12th, at 7 weeks old. Our world has changed. I am so glad that I am not a single parent. My husband is in on the puppy parenting. She sleeps pretty well through the night and she is house broken. I don’t trust her yet but she cries at the door to go out. I started reading The Art of Raising A Puppy by The Monks on New Skete. I love their philosophy and it has been very helpful. The Monks are very grounding. It is so important to have a well trained dog and we are working on it. Sophie is sitting. She is a smart dog. I hope you get to meet her soon. She thinks everyone loves her.

Love,

Mary

Thank you George.

My Miracle Kid.

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Thomas was too weak to breast feed. I pumped for 6 months.

My son Thomas is my miracle baby.  I have been wanting to blog about him but, have been resistant.  I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about dragging up the past, and I don’t want to come across as a victim of  my past. I will give you the short version.

Thomas was a full term baby. I had no idea of what we were heading into. I had a normal pregnancy, labor and delivery. At birth, Thomas was a bit blue and had a white patch on his eye, but no one seemed too alarmed about his condition. That night in the hospital, I woke up in the middle of the night, to find Thomas’ pediatrician standing over my bed. The Doctor told me that Thomas had a seizure and  he recommended transporting him to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.  While I laid in bed shaking, the team from CHOP took Thomas in an ambulance. I discharged myself from the hospital and got things situated for my other son. My husband Dan and I then drove down to the hospital.

Thomas spent the first 13 months of his life at CHOP. He had 11 surgeries during his stay. It was as if he came into the world 3/4 complete and the Doctors had to finish the process.  He came home on a ventilator with a team of nurses set up to help take care of him. Dan and I were also trained how to change his trach, suction him… etc.  It was a life changing year as you can imagine.

Sam has been an amazing brother. He taught Thomas to kink his ventilator hose to make funny noises!

Fast Forward to now. I wanted to write about health and the importance of taking care of yourself and your family.  Thomas is a special needs kid. I want to make sure that his health is optimized as much as I can. I am very concerned about his community. So many of his friends have health issues and are overweight.

Thomas loves pasta , macaroni and cheese, ice cream, chocolate milk.  These are treats for him. He would have spaghetti every day if on his own.

I make a brown rice pasta and give him a serving size along with meat sauce and vegetables. He begins each morning with a smoothie. I will add his probiotic, half of a frozen banana, maybe a few collard greens, and cocoa powder. You can hide a lot in chocolate. He also takes high quality supplements twice a day everyday. He reminds me that he needs his vitamins if I forget. Thomas knows the importance of being hydrated. He tells me when his urine is too dark. “Mom, I need to hydrate.” He goes to bed  basically the same time and gets up everyday at 5:50.

Thomas is an amazing human being. He is really very healthy! I have learned so much from him. He teaches me patience every day.

Thomas Loves a good parade!

Love Your Kids,

Mary