Finding Miles

Miles Patrick is my second born son.  He was born March 21, 2009 at 7:56 am.  He was 21inches long and was 9lbs 2oz, and he could have been bigger if my labor had not been induced 4 days before his due date.

From the moment of his birth he has been a calm and easy child.  In some references the name Miles means 'mild' so his name is very fitting.  Miles goes with the flow, is genuinely happy, unless like most people he is hungry or tired.

May 11, 2010 my husband, Miles' Daddy, was in a life changing car accident.  Miles was nearing 14-months-old at the time of the accident.  A picture taken on Mother's Day (2 days before the accident) captures Miles' sweet face in a time when everything was going right.  He was so young, so it is hard to know what he knew of the situation, but you can't say he didn't pick up on the tension and worry we all felt.  You can't tell me after awhile he did not notice his daddy had not come home, or he did not overhear us talking about his daddy's condition.

Miles just went with life, being easy for his momma, not complaining for more than his basic needs and the occasional need for his momma to be home when Nana came to watch him.  It is not until recently that I have learned how exactly this has changed his life, he never let me know... maybe he did not know either.

March 5, 2011, my husband Andrew was released from his rehab facility 10 months after the accident.  Our house could not accommodate Andrew's needs, he had just relearned how to walk.  I moved the family closer to the rest of our family an into an accessible apartment.  Miles was uprooted and re-introduced to living with his Daddy at the same time.  Not that he did not visit his daddy in the hospital, but other people were taking care of him and not his momma, he needed his momma to take care of him!

Weeks later Miles turned 2.  We were so happy Andrew got to be there for Miles' party since he had missed our son Avery's birthday in October because of being in the hospital.

Like his big brother Avery, Miles still was not talking much before the age of 2, therefore I was not concerned with Miles not talking either.  I mean I know that all children are different, however in several things my children seem to follow the same pattern of development... like walking by 10-months-old.  One month after Miles turned 2, he was still not talking.  I am aware of free services so I had him evaluated and he qualified for services.  I was told he was in many areas developmentally at 12-months-old... and my first thoughts were to correlate that to the accident.

Miles started receiving speech therapy once a week and occupational (play) therapy twice a month.  At first he was opposed to it, did not like when the therapists came over did not want to do what they wanted him to do.  Approaching 2 1/2 nothing seemed to be working for Miles.  I started looking back at pictures of Miles after May 2010 until the present time and all I could see was a lost little boy.  Somehow he looked neglected, but healthy and almost never looked at the camera, not as how I remembered him... happy Miles. On top of this his therapy team suggested that I think about getting Miles tested for Autism Spectrum.

The beginning of 2012 we were in a new house, one Miles loved from the moment we viewed it.  He seemed 100% happier, he started becoming Andrew's little buddy and many other things seemed to change in Miles... it was like he was back.... interacting with us and playing, like he knew he could ask us to meet more needs than getting him noodles and milk from the fridge. I have taken pictures of a smiling happy Miles looking right at the camera.  He still does not say much, but he is working on it.  He will start a preschool when he turns 3 next month and I feel his development will take off!