"Up" date ;) privates discovered

We had some old friends over for dinner last night which was so nice. As they were leaving, they shared that they had been keeping up with the blog over the years and shared that they appreciated the ability to "bear witness" to Ian's development. So often I think of writing but then I don't want to get my brain going on all of these things. It seems where as I used to have to type it out to be able to sleep at night, now quite the contrary, now it gets my brain going in too many different directions. But it's still a head-clearing form of therapy, as well as a fabulous record of Ian's development, that I should really be better about doing.

So, my poor friends had to experience the lastest discovery that my sweet boy has recently realized. His "being in touch with the earth" thing of laying down wherever he is has potentially other "soothing/stimulating" benefits. This awareness and exploration is completely age appropriate, which is great that he's meeting that... but of course the reasoning behind when/where it's appropriate is completely lost on him. As it always has been where laying down is concerned. In the past, when he's needed that connection to rocks, dirt, concrete, the Target floor, he's just done it. And it's been a bit of a struggle when the need comes at an inappropriate time. But, like with so many things in life, I often don't realize that one frustrating or uncomfortable thing prepares me for one of even more challenges.

All of this said, he decided that the place he wanted to "comfort" himself was outside just near the dinner table directly in front of our friends. Needless to say, I tried my best to engage in conversation with our friends in the few moments I could get him to stop and sit up, or get distracted with something else for a minute. As they say, "This too shall pass" I'm hoping ;) But what I'm afraid of is what comes next as he gets older and hormones evolve. In the mean time I'm trying to explain, this is to be done in private, while he's by himself. And if he is in private and someone walks in, I'm trying to get him to understand he needs to stop and sit up. Which I work on regularly. Occasionally it works, most of the time it doesn't.

I'm trying to set up some new behavior intervention with a new agency but it seems to be taking forever. Really hoping I might get some help with this struggle.