Melissa (not me) arrived at 2p. Denis was home for Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, and he held onto Audrey upstairs while I led the 2 boys and Melissa downstairs. It was a getting comfortable session for Nikko, so he could get used to seeing Melissa. Ronin was excited and curious about her and whatever activities were going on in the corner, of course, so I had to send him back upstairs while I stayed with Nikko. It was a good thing I had Denis bring back into the house one of the baby gates, which I put in front of the doorway leading to the staircase to help corrale Nikko from going up the stairs. It will also keep Audrey and Ronin away from the areea. We stayed on the carpeted area near a kid table and chairs. Nikko tried to walk away many times, but I was there to swing him back to us. He did follow some requests to sit down, stand up and give high fives. It was very reminiscent of a developmental therapy session. Melissa started out with a matching exercise. When Nikko held a picture of a dog and was prompted to put the dog over the dog square on the table, Nikko didn't do it right away. He said, "Dog. Dog." And then I was amazed to see him sign Dog by patting his leg, just like in the Signing Time DVD. He hadn't seen that sign in ages, so I was very impressed. And then with help he was able to finish the matching game. Melissa wanted Nikko to get comfortable with her presence and get used to her face so she didn't record any activity down or do drills. We just touched on activities listed in the binder, like giving simple commands such as Come here, Sit down, Walk, Touch your head, Touch your nose, Touch your toes. Then he colored a picture of a bear, and then clay play followed. Melissa also gave me some background on herself, how she's going to school for social work and how she really wants to work with kids and loves what she does. That's great to hear, since I am always sitting in the camp of people who wonder what kind of person would want to do what Melissa is doing, that the person would need to have bucketfuls of patience. She said there's lots of people out there who might enjoy the job, but don't know it's out there. Melissa stayed only an hour and then left. Ronin had refused to take a nap and Audrey was really mad that she couldn't be downstairs. I got the kids into the bedroom and read stories to Ronin, putting him down for a late nap. And here I am now, trying to get it all down so I don't forget. Melissa was really lucky today that Denis was home and I was able to sit with her and Nikko during therapy. For tomorrow and Wednesday, Jenna and Maria will have to deal with a crying, kicking, thrashing, wrangling Nikko, unfortunately.
8:04p Nikko got tired in the afternoon, but he wouldn't fall asleep. I tried to keep him up, but around dinnertime he didn't show interest in it. As my efforts to keep him awake were failing, I noticed that he felt a little hot. Sure enough, he has a temperature. So, I relented and let Nikko try to sleep on the couch, but he didn't go without a struggle. It's been 30 minutes or so, and I have to try and wake him so that he will be able to sleep later tonight. I may have to throw the door-locking drill sergeant methodology out the window tonight if he indeed continues to be sick. I'll have to be more nurturing and will probably let him sleep; if he wakes up, I'll stay by his bedside until he falls asleep again. Poor little guy.
10:47p I tried to wake up Nikko to eat something, and even to go to bed, but he was groggy and couldn't keep his eyes open. Perhaps his resistance last night for over an hour caught up with him, plus he was "working" in therapy today. I'll check in on him before I go to bed, but am also prepared for later (3:30) if I hear him cry for a prolonged period of time. The likelihood that he'll remain asleep until 6 or 7a tomorrow seems slim to me. He fell asleep around 7:30p, he's a 9 or 10 hour sleeper, so he should permanently be awake at 5:30a. (shudder)
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