Splat

That'd be my head falling over onto the keyboard.

Yesterday afternoon Q started having a profound startle, sharp intake of breath, seeming to be stuck in flexion. It makes him cry, he seems to feel as though he's falling through space, sometimes it sound as if he's in pain. If he's being held, he sometimes pulls his knees up sharply and just howls. This looks very much like seizures.

As a result, tomorrow morning at eight he has an EEG followed by an appointment with the neurologist. I got part of one of these episodes on video and will take that along. I don't know. It'd be great if the EEG would show something so we could do something, but of course it's best to not have seizures at all. In which case, wouldn't it be grand if he'd stop having whatever it is that looks like seizures?

The swallow study was not a raging success. He had to be strapped down and turned from his back to his side and back again. He did not like the barium (big surprise) and swallowed only what I could dribble into his mouth from the glucose/formula bottle. Does the stuff have to be chilled in order to work? Is it a chemical thing? Because--radiologists take note--I really think babies would take it better if it weren't icy cold. Just a hunch.

The radiologist (unusually personable for a rad) seemed to think that whatever he had seen looked clear for swallowing, reflux, gagging. He said he'd review the video and write notes to the pediatrician ASAP and she was welcome to call him today if need be. Again, unusual, but very nice.

Yesterday was Q's first speech therapy session. He doesn't like having gloved fingers in his mouth. He was generally unimpressed with the whole touching of his face, gums, cheek play. Even that is good, because at least he knows the face is his.

School is going well. We're about to have a week's break (for zoo, aquarium, wildlife viewing, hikes) because we've done so well in the first six weeks. Tra la. We've done art, math, English (grammar, writing, handwriting, spelling, phonics, reading), Latin, logic, some dictation, copywork, memory work. The kids are back from the end of summer break for piano and have resumed swimming lessons. They want to start gymnastics again. Ack. Perhaps I'll let them if they promise to keep a couple of assignments ahead in math and English (ha!). G is loving the reading. They're all doing fun stuff, but G is moving into a more, ah, complex level of literature--he's done Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, has read a bio of Attila the Hun, and will shortly begin The Canterbury Tales. We'll see how that goes in picture book vs. Norton's Anthology of English Lit--any guesses?

I'm going to try out Teaching Textbooks for G's math. I see no need to frustrate the poor kid with having to write and rewrite all the processes when his brain leaps through them faster than his pencil can move. I hope he likes it and that he'll begin to love math like he does science. Even better, I hope that they will all decide that they love math so much they beg permission to work through it at their own rapid paces and I never have to say another word about it because they just love math so much!

Yeah. The sky is a purty pink in my world . . .

I am t - i - r - e - d.

So off I go to persuade the girls to sleep and then I will collapse as well, unless Q is up. Ah, there he is now.

Have a good sleep. :o)