Magic (Greyson) Mike

An evening ritual at the Martin house

Greyson is going to love overalls. At least he better, because he’s going to be wearing them round the clock soon. For about a month now, we have had our evening Magic Mike show, featuring Greyson Michael Martin.

It’s the same routine- come home, change his diaper, eat dinner, watch a show or the news before Jeopardy, then BOOM, strip show. Typically G likes to take off all of his clothes, starting with the shoes and socks. He loathes clothing, especially anything on his feet. Cat & Jack (from Target) is a tag-free clothing line, so we try to stick with that brand to make him the most comfortable possible.

The downside of living with “Magic Mike” himself, is the consequences that come with a naked toddler with ASD and Pica. For those of you that have never heard of Pica, it is defined as:

Craving and chewing substances that have no nutritional value, such as ice, clay, soil, or paper.

Pica is not limited to just the items listed above, it also includes feces, which is our current predicament. I think G realizes that it’s gross after he eats his 💩, but he can’t help but eat it. Derek and I try to change him as soon as we realize (or smell) it, but we aren’t quick enough. Seeing as he apparently only does this at home (for now), I think we may continue to give it a few more months with behavior modification until we raise the concern with a doctor.

Meltdowns are also still part of our nightly rituals, along with a migraine a few times a week. The neurologist wants us to avoid using pain relievers for him, so we started using Gatorade to replace the medicine. So far it seems to work, but I wonder how many bottles of Gatorade we will go through before Magic Mike needs an increase in his medications.

I am so incredibly blessed with a wonderful husband and partner to parent this child, because I could never do it alone. Derek really knows how to calm Greyson and I swear he can read his mind. Since he was a baby, Greyson has been a daddy’s boy. Obviously something is working because Derek walks into a room, and G is automatically happy. It’s really cute.

The latest update on mission “diagnosis” is waiting, again. 440 days into the search and I often feel like we will never find an answer. Especially waiting for the results from the full genetic testing has done nothing but test my patience. I have never been a patient person and nearly throw a “hissy fit” when I have to wait for my iPhone to turn restart. Truth be told, I’m not even sure what the genetic testing results will even tell us. We know that epilepsy apparently runs on my dad’s side of the family, but genetic or not, we can’t change our genetic makeup. I’m still not convinced that we will ever find an answer and honestly, I’m becoming more okay with the idea of never knowing.

If there is something that the past 440 days have taught me, it’s that nothing happens quickly in the medical field, and the unknown isn’t the worst thing ever.