Raising Eli & Zachary

There has been a lot of good news and bad news this week in the life of my family. Everything from my sister-in-law adopting a 1 year old dog from a rescue shelter to slamming and hurting my shoulder, neck and ribs playing hockey.

So let’s start with the dog. My sister-in-law and her family adopted a dog last week! It is a cute little dog, that they were told was a Cocker-Poo but looks more like a PVGB mix. The dog is cute, and will be a great family dog in time, but like all rescue dogs, it has its issues. Clearly the previous owner(s)[?] did not treat the dog well, and that causes issues that the new family has to deal with. Rescuing a dog is a hard thing to do, the first year of a dog’s life is the most critical. This dog “Magic” needs stern training, a lot of love, and most importantly a great deal of understanding by the family and patience. I know they can do it, and I am confident this dog will work for them, if they put out the effort. It will not be easy, but hell, you have to know that when you rescue a dog and not buy a puppy. I truly hope they don’t give up on the dog.

Switching to Hockey and my shoulder. I was racing for the puck to try to cut off a break out along the boards and I think I stepped on the opposing wingers stick, this sent me shoulder and neck first into the boards very hard. The game immediately stopped, I am not sure if the Referee thought I was dead or what but everyone came over to me. I was a bit stunned but got on my feet even though the ref was telling me that I broke my collar bone (which I didn’t). I played a few more shifts before I realized that I was really hurting and couldn’t hold the stick anymore and left the rink. The next morning, the doc took x-rays and said it was a contusion (thank god). A few days later now and I am still very sore and my shoulder is killing me. A few more days should be ok before I can lace them up again.

Eli and swimming, suddenly we can’t get him out of the pool. He is so proud of himself and it is really nice to see him want to be outdoors and playing so much. He actually accepts compliments and even compliments himself on his ability. What a difference a few weeks make! He is a different kid in the water now, and all Jodi and I can do is smile and give each other high fives! Yesterday, he swam with his cousins for HOURS and argued when we wanted leave the pool.

Other news, Jodi is T-6 weeks from giving birth to Ziggy. We are very excited and have a ton of mental and physical preparation to do. I love feeling Ziggy kick and I especially like when Eli hugs her belly and gives it kisses. He is going to be an awesome big brother.

That is all for now…it is 8am and the family is still asleep. I am thinking about my sister-in-law and her family, I know they had a rough night with the new dog and I can only hope they put their emotions in check and put the dog in perspective. It is a rescue in need of love and patience. I hope they do the right thing. No dog is easy work, especially at the beginning. It takes commitment, time, patience, money and love to make a rescue dog feel like a champion. I hope they do the right thing for the dog, and I hope that the dog is the right thing for them.

Update: Turns out the dog when totally nuts last night, attacked my brother-in-law. They can’t afford the dog attacking the kids, and I can’t blame them. They are going to return the dog and look for a puppy. I know rescue dogs can be hard, and my sister-in-law and her family are just not in the position to do what is necessary to rescue this dog, that is nothing against them, because they do want what is best for the dog, but this dog really needs some special help, and with kids in the house, there is no room for taking chances.

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Eli completed another swimming lesson today and it appeared to be a breakthrough lesson! He loved swimming on his own and started wearing goggles!

It is extremely important to Jodi and I that Eli be comfortable around water and self sufficient. Accidental drownings should be a thing no parent has to worry about or face. Although very costly, swimming should be on every parents agenda!

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Eli was a brave boy when it came to swimming when he was a year old. At the YMCA we would participate in classes and thought that this was going to build a good foundation of confidence near water. What we didn’t expect was the second year to be the opposite. Getting Eli into the water from 2-3 years old was almost impossible.

This year we knew the only solution was to get him into a swimming school with a great teacher. We thought, and we were correct that Eli responds differently to teachers than us, and will do almost anything a teacher asks him to do without the tantrums and whining. So we enrolled him into Safety Swim and over the last six weeks we have watched him grow as a swimmer.

Just a quick recap: Week 1-3 was all about calming him down and getting him to stop crying. Eli has sensory issues and hates to be wet. So sprinklers, squirt guns and splashing…. they are all on his not fond to be around list. The good part was Eli’s willingness to try and he really did have a good attitude, albeit he was a big clingly.

Week 4 -6 has been a bit different. Eli will float by himself with his swimmies on, will jump in the side with just a bit of hesitation and goes underwater more, although he still throws a cow. At the end of our first six weeks we realize one thing, he needs another series of 6 weeks and it looks like this is something he will be doing for a long time. The instructors, who have been excellent say that all of this is normal behavior and he is doing very well. I hope that in another six weeks I will come back and look at this and laugh. I hope my kid turns out to be a dolphin, wanting to swim all the time. How else are scuba diving parents going to ever survive if our kids are not water babies.

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Swimming lessons at Safety Swim has really started making a difference in Eli’s approach to water. At first, he would just cry and throw a temper-tantrum but last night he willingly entered into a pool with mom and swam. This is great therapy for Eli on all levels and it is really starting to change his willingness to try new things.

A great example is the fair we went to the other night. He went on the really big slide where you have to sit on the carpet and go over three or four big humps without any fear. He also rode the carousel two times without me having to stand behind him, but the biggest thrill was his willingness to go on the dragon roller coaster with his cousin Nicole. Although he cried when he got off, he survived the entire ride and even forced a few smiles for Mom and Dad (who looked terrified for him).

Eli is really beginning to come out of the fear phase and we look forward to our Sesame Place trip at the end of the month.

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When Eli was younger we enrolled him in a Daddy/Mommy and me swimming class. Our goal was simple, to have Eli comfortable in and around the water at the earliest age possible. At the time, Eli did not hesitate to swim and bounce around with his mother or myself but that changed when he was between the ages of two and three. Eli’s idea of being in the water was limited to taking a bath.

As frustrated parents, we tried last year to make swimming fun, but we were always faced with a screaming, miserable child when going into the water followed up by a shivering miserable child getting out. We needed this to be a happy outlet for Eli, not because it is summer time, but because we love the water and need Eli to be safe and able to swim.

Deciding that maybe having Jodi or I bring him into the pool, we figured going to a class would be best, and we have not been disappointed yet. Eli took his first lesson the other day and it was a great success. He did EVERYTHING he was asked to do, and even got his head wet and jumped into the pool a few times. It was an instant success and Eli is already talking about wanting to go back and do it again. We hope that the future classes will build on his excitement and skill level and maybe, if we are lucky, he will be swimming on his own by the end of the summer!

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