In the Beginning...

Our story is, sadly, like so many others. Almost 4 years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Aidan. My husband and I watched him grow, hitting every milestone along the way. It was a wonderful thing to witness. He was always such a happy boy. Friends and strangers would always comment on his bright smile and curiosity in the world around him.  He loved being around new people and places and just always seemed to be such an easy going little guy. 

At 18 months, he had the acceptable amount of words for his age,  but even more sign language. I had started teaching him sign language at around 10 months, and he caught on pretty fast. At this point he could sign some things in complete sentences. He loved music, and he loved to play. I could take him to the park and watch him run around for hours. He was a climber from the beginning, so it was no shock to me how much he enjoyed climbing, sliding, swinging and exploring.  At the park he would run up to others and wave and say, “HI!”  It always made me laugh because he always had an intense way of saying “HI!” We would have play dates with a friend whose daughter was about 4 months older than Aidan. He would always try to kiss and hug the little girl, which she hated, but I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. I had a caring little boy who truly liked to be in the company of others.


I specifically remember having dinner at a friend's house one night, when Aidan let out a little toot. Our friends started laughing and I looked at Aidan and said, "Aidan, what do you say?" and Aidan said, "Excuse me!" Of course it sounded more like "Cue Me" but they got what he said, and where shocked that he actually knew to say excuse me! 

Aidan would point to pictures in books when asked. He could point to all of his body parts. He had a leap frog puzzle with different colored cars on it, and you could ask him to put in a specific color car, and he would do it. He would look at me as I spoke to him. He would get really excited when Daddy came home from work...I had no worries. My little boy was right were he should be, and I was truly enjoying the experience of Motherhood.  Then things began to go South…