The next year went much slower for us, referring to hospital stays. There was the occasional 'dehydration' event but other than that we had traveled down a new road on our journey.
In Indiana there is an organization called 'First Steps'. They handled all of Wil's therapies until he was three. Wil received Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapy. We have so many warm memories of his therapists. They were so instrumental for us and for Wil. When you have someone in your home one to three times a week you can't help but bond with them. They become part of your world, your family. It was Wil's speech therapist who helped in getting him to actually try to eat food. The first thing that he ever ate and swallowed were M&M's. This must explain Wil's chocolate addiction. Wil also had a nurse come once a week for about two years. She would check his weight and his vitals. It was sad when she didn't need to come anymore, I really looked forward to her visits. Yet at the same time it was nice to know that that much care wasn't needed anymore either.
In December of 2001, two days after Christmas, I delivered our third son, Asher, via c-section. Every thing worked out perfectly. Except that the doctor told me that I had too much scar tissue and advised me not to have anymore children. I cried. Bryan smiled. lol I think that I was upset because I wanted to make that decision not my body. When Asher was a couple months old Bryan had an appointment with an urologist and needless to say we will not have any more children (unless it's totally by 'divine design'). A month after Asher was born Wil turned two. He also started to crawl right before Asher was born. We were all so excited. He looked like a 5 month old baby, it was too cute.
At that time we weren't feeding Wil on a continuous drip anymore. We fed him several ounces every three to four hours. This was nice because he didn't need to be attached to the tube 24/7. It was a difficult time parenting - having a four year old, a two year old (that physically was 6-9 mos.), and a newborn. Both Wil and Asher required a lot of attention and a lot of work. To make matters worse I went through post partem depression. Poor Saige, he had such a rough time during his toddler years. My heart still breaks for him. I am so thankful that God gave him such a great disposition. What a blessing!
I remember trying to take everyone shopping....what a disaster. I didn't do that again unless I had another adult with me. There was no way I could push around two carts by myself. I could take them all shopping if I were only to buy around five items - but why would I make all of us go out for five items!? Quite a few things had to change in our everyday lives. During this year I felt like we were the most abnormal family. I remember trying to control my jealousy of other families whose lives were 'normal'. They could go on vacations, day trips, even the store or out to eat and it wasn't a hassle. For us everything was a hassle. I got to the point I didn't even like to leave the house. The depression I talked about in an earlier post had gotten worse.
As stressful as that time was, it was also wonderful. I really enjoyed Saige's pre-school years. Wil was on the small side but he behaved in many retrospects like a normal toddler. Knowing that Asher was my last baby, I really made sure that I took enough pictures and learned to let go of alot of things (like the dishes, laundry, etc.) so I could spend more time with him. Someday I may write a blog about all of the crazy things that Asher has done over the years. In some cases taking care of Wil was easier and less stressful than taking care of Asher!!
