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From: Sara
Date: 05 Feb 2008
Time: 11:44:39 -0600
Remote Name: 69.107.51.118
Astrid started Stratford School; this is her 4th week. Sorry for the lack of progress on this big milestone, but the family has been sick and we’re just getting back into shape. She has contracted 3 colds since school, so I’ve had three colds and lucky Eric only got sick once. I was expecting her to get sick but this was pretty heavy. Our whole family needs to get our immunity system stronger, so I guess that this is the way. Astrid is in the Full Time school; she is going Monday-Friday from 8:30am until 5:30pm. It is a long day for her but she LOVES it. When I pick her up at the end of the day she does not want to come home with me and throws a fit as we’re leaving. She makes me feel like ‘mother of the year’. NOT. She is doing really well at school. She is socializing, playing, singing, dancing, talking more, learning structure and comes home knowing a little bit more everyday. It is a wonderful school and we made the right decision sending her there. Her teachers are Miss Lisa and Miss Denise. They are really great! Potty training: it has been a challenge but she almost has it down. She has had a few accidents at school but she always has a change of clothes and they are very good about keeping them in clean clothes. The teachers aren’t allowed to wipe the kid’s butts, so it is a little messy when Astrid poops at school ... she doesn’t wipe herself very well so you can only image what I have to clean up when she comes home. She has been very constipated since she started school (new environment, anxiety, learning to potty train, being a girl …) so I had to take her to the doctor’s last week because she hadn’t gone for 5 days. She has to take this power called Miralax. We are still trying to get the dosage right. The stuff works great but if I use too much … major blow out!! Temper Tantrums: So … who was it that told me that the tantrums go away at 2 ½ years? WRONG!! They only get worse at 3. She can be such an ASS-TURD, and I have lost my cool quite a few times. I have been talking with other moms, and did my reading on the internet, and I am relieved to know that this is normal. I thought for sure that she has become possessed or had some sort of mental problem. It is a daily occurrence, but I am a lot smarter than I was a week ago and I know how to curb the tantrums. It’s simple: ignore it! At first it was very difficult to ignore a screaming crying kid that was repeating, “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy …” over and over again, as she’s slapping my legs, pinching, biting herself, kicking, and raging. It brings me back to that special moment on the plane ride out to Florida back in August. Remember?? Well, I just didn’t know how to cope so I would scream back and cry and reach for my ‘special’ medication. New day, new technique: now I close MY bathroom door, LOCK IT, turn on the hair dryer, sing a happy tune, brush my teeth, wash my face, shower, anything to drown out the noise as she’s pounding on the door, screaming and crying. I wait for it to stop and then I go out and give her loves after it is all out of her system. Magic. It works. It is still a work in progress but she is definitely learning that I will NOT give her attention when she is throwing a fit. Astrid’s size: she is still very small compared to the other kids in the class. She is also one of the more immature kids. She clings on to the teachers and I have seen them carrying her around in their arms. She is very affectionate and sweet and she has them charmed. Since she is so small, it is easy for them to hold her. She has a ‘well child’ appointment next week so she will be weighed in and measured, but I know that she hasn’t grown a lot these last few months. She is still in the same size clothes (18 months), and feels the same in weight. Even those feet of hers which were growing especially fast and getting big have reached a peak. Her head is so much smaller than the other kids in the class and she looks so little and fragile compared to them. Her cousin Jack who just turned one year is bigger and has surpassed her in weight. I wasn’t really worried before she started school, but now that I have a visual comparison with all the other kids in her class, it is a little worrisome. Besides her immaturity, she is doing great and she seems really smart and bright, but I have to admit that her size does concern me a little. Pictures: in progress. Again, with everyone being sick, we haven’t been the most photogenic family. Stringy boogers, flushed cheeks and chapped skin does not photograph well. We do have some photos from her 3-year old birthday party which I hope to have posted by the end of the week. Hang tight.