Day 8:I'm Tired

Today I realized how tired I am.  This is emotionally exhausting.  Naomi is doing fabulous and I'm thrilled but man is this work!  Yesterday was tough.  It was our second day alone and a few of the meals seriously tanked.  In the whole scheme of things they were good as Naomi didn't "win".  But huge crocodile tears and having to withhold desired rewards was hard as she was terribly disappointed she didn't get them.  However the lesson that mom is boss when it comes to eating and that I won't change my mind is incredibly valuable. Last night was Naomi's toughest night.  She went to bed at 8 but didn't fall asleep until after 11.  Then I still had to tube her water.  Combine the late nights with bringing out episodes of her worst behavior and this is tough for moms, no wonder they make you spend so much time talking to a psychologist beforehand.

Today I woke up tired and so did Naomi.  She did NOT want to get up and get weighed before breakfast.  She almost went down to breakfast in only her underwear but complied with getting dressed at the last minute.  Breakfast went pretty well, volume was a bit low but she tried everything.  Morning snack went well and then lunch was a bit of a challenge, we mixed her chicken and green beans into a stir fry and she wasn't pleased, she sat refusing to try the vegetables for about 20 minutes and only when reminded that she was running out of time to play in the ball pit did she comply, then she did great and had a pretty decent meal.  Afternoon snack was in the cafeteria with some new ways of having foods, we did celery with cream cheese, peanut butter and raisins, she sat down and just went to town and was thrilled with mixing them.  The therapist and I just stared at her and had no clue what to make of it.  Dinner, well, that's another story.  The good news is she eventually did eat, the bad news, she scraped mashed potatoes all over the floor her chair and the window.  She wasn't so thrilled though when she found out she got to clean it up.  Tomorrow I get to go it alone for breakfast with the therapist watching through the one way mirror, that will be interesting and I am hoping Naomi shows some of the intense behaviors she's only been having at meals in our room.

We talked with psych and the OTs some more about Naomi's sleeping troubles.  Psych gave us a book for guided relaxation for kids to read before bed and OT, helped us come up with a better sensory diet to get more input during the day and wind down better at night, which includes some jumping on a mini tramp and heavy blankets for bedtime.

Calling into CHOC radio last night.

I beat mommy again!

Using IV poles to dry our laundry.  I only had two hours to get i done and between a delay with the shuttle to the Ronald McDonald House and the washer not spinning right our clothes weren't dry so the nurse got us some extra IV poles as a clothesline.