New year, new me...ntal breakdowns

2022! What a year so far!?

We spent Christmas in Adelaide with my family then we were off to Woolongong to visit Grandma Beryl.

Travelling with children is exhausting, so two trips back to back probably wasn’t the smartest idea!

Oscar is such a sensitive little guy, easily overwhelmed and overstimulated (much like his mama!). Travelling comes with a lot of changes, and it was easy to see that this was quite distressing for him. He gets very upset and clingy, and communication (which he is normally good at) becomes difficult.

The older that Oscar gets, the more signs I am seeing that point towards ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).

Speaking with some friends who also have children on the spectrum has been helpful and validating, and we have started taking the steps to get him properly assessed.

If I’m completely honest, it all feels a bit too much for me to process at the moment. I think that when you become a parent, you just want to shield your child from anything that might make life more difficult/challenging for them.

I am not worried about my son possibly having autism, but I am worried about how that might impact him socially in the future...Will he feel included? Will he be made fun of? Will he remain a bright and happy boy or will his head start to sink down in shame?

Some people have already made comments that don’t sit well with me when the topic of autism is brought up. There is still so much stigma and stereotyping that surrounds neurodiversity.

There is nothing “wrong” with people who have ASD. What’s wrong is the way society views and judges those who are different from the “norm”.

We ended up having to cut our Woolongong trip short because Jordan’s grandma tested positive. We packed up our car and made the 10 hr drive back home- with all of us feeling a bit under the weather.

10 days of isolation later...

Still not feeling 100% but the worst of it seems to be over. I had planned to get stuck into my course after our trip, but I’ve been too ill to do much at all...just a few hours here and there when I’ve felt up to it.

It’s been a rough start to the year, but that’s life isn’t it?...the challenges just keep on coming! 🤪

Comments

Why I still go to church

Most (if not all) of you who know me will know that I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (Mormon). Growing up, I think I was the only Mormon at my school (besides my brothers). I wasn’t afraid or embarrassed to let people know, but I didn’t parade it around either. Especially as a teenager, being a member of the church and actively following my beliefs made me pretty “uncool” and I probably did stand out a bit because there were a lot of things that “everyone” was doing that I wasn’t. I think for a lot of people who have grown up in religious families, those teenage years are really when you start to think for yourself and question your beliefs. Religious or not, its in our teenage years that we really begin to figure out who we are and what’s important to us. For me I think it was probably around the age of 15 that I “gained my testimony” which is a phrase used a lot at church but probably sounds strange to someone outside of it. Basically it means tha

Real life

I’ve been thinking a lot about what topic I should blog about next. Every idea I get I dismiss. I don’t know enough about that subject...nobody wants to hear about that...I’m struggling to think of something that I think people will enjoy or relate to. I think I’ve become a bit too focused on the audience and their opinions which wasn’t meant to be the main focus of this exercise. I wanted to be able to just start writing down my thoughts and feelings and for it to be an open book... for people to read and comment on if they choose. I started this blog because I felt like there wasn’t enough people being honest and showing a true representation of their lives on social media. Yet I find myself reading and rereading my blogs to make sure I haven’t offended anyone... to make sure I don’t sound like I’m complaining too much... cutting out parts that I think people will judge me on. Basically editing my blog to make it picture perfect and exactly what I didn’t want it to be 😅 I’m sittin

“I get by with a little help from my friends”

I’ve never been diagnosed but I’m 99% sure I have social anxiety. It’s not extreme to the point where I’m agoraphobic or have panic attacks, but I definitely do not feel comfortable in most social settings. I HATE being the centre of attention 😅 As much as I loved my wedding day I did feel uncomfortable having all eyes on me. I don’t like parties and especially don’t like hosting them. 🙃 Buuuut at the same time I don’t like spending too much time alone either. I have always valued my friends and made them a high priority in my life. Moving to Melbourne was challenging for a number of reasons and one of the biggest ones was not having any friends close by. I feel that the older I get the harder it is to “put myself out there” and make friends. Fortunately as a member of the church I automatically am part of a group of people I can make friends with. However, for someone like me who is not outgoing, it is still a challenge. I used to get so upset about losing friends but I’m now

Jade.postpartum

Search This Blog