Being a parent is absolutely the hardest job in the world. Of course we all know this going in. The decisions you make directly affect the life of this little person. There have been 2 decisions that I have been struggling with this week.
First is Caleb's schooling. As I wrote in a previous post, we had to choose between 2 schools. A creative arts school where each teacher spoke some English and he knew a girl going there and a Reggio Emilio school where his teacher did not speak English and we did not know anyone. We chose the Reggio Emilio school because Caleb is not that into art. We have been praying about a school for Caleb for months. We knew all schools here are 5 days and Spanish speaking. God had blessed Caleb in this school. His teacher is amazing. We love her! She is patient and makes Caleb feel comfortable. She gives him a hug each morning and is genuinely happy to see him! Caleb got off to a bad start with music class. The first class was apparently very loud and this immediately turned him off. So his teacher would take him to another room and play with him. Well yesterday Caleb was refusing to go to school, crying and pleading with me to stay home, it was music day. He kept saying "Maybe I will go tomorrow mommy, ok?" Doesn't this break your heart!! I tried all my mommy tricks and nothing seemed to work. But after about 45 minutes I was able to talk him into going. I talked to his teacher and told her about his morning and she told me she had already talked to the music teacher and they moved the music class to their classroom and they were going to just have a guitar and sing. This did the trick. When I picked him up yesterday he came out saying how much he loved music and the songs they sang, in English!
All yesterday I was second guessing my decision to put him in that school. But the way his teacher went out of her way to care for Caleb was such an answer to our prayers!
Ok, decision 2 was to wean Ollie. I have been struggling with this decision for about 5 months. Ollie has severe food allergies. At Our first visit with the paediatric GI, she directly asked me how attached I was to nursing. I said I was very attached. He was only 4 months. I nursed both Caleb and Elias until they weaned themselves. Caleb lost interest in nursing at 12 months and Elias at 13 months. So I eliminated dairy, soy, eggs, and wheat from my diet. When I had any of these I saw the difference in Ollie. It would affect his sleep, he would take very short naps and wake up moaning, and wake several times during the night. We lived close to a Good Earth market so it was relatively easy to find products without these allergens. Also I cook 5 days a week so we were all allergen free! But when we moved it became almost impossible to keep up the allergen free diet. I tried just giving up wheat, but it did not seem to do enough. Then Monday Brian was home for Labor Day but Caleb had to go to school. So we decided after we picked him up from school he could choose where we all went out for lunch. Well Caleb being a 4 year old chose McDonald's. This of course has every allergen ever! That night Ollie was up every hour. On a good night he is up 3-5 times. When I got up Tuesdays morning I decided I could not do it anymore. After over 8 months of broken sleep at nights and screaming during nap times I just could not do it. So I boiled water and gave him a bottle. We had shipped 3 cans of formula in case I decided to stop or Brian and I went out, etc. I was in a lot of pain for 2 days and would have him nurse a tiny bit each night to relieve the pressure. So when he was up his normal amount I thought it was due to the nursing a tine bit before bed. I was nursing 5 times a day, so you can imagine the pain! Yesterday I was feeling a bit better so he did not nurse at all. But last night he was up at 9:30, 11:30, 3:30(this is when I fed him), 5:30, 6:20, and up at 7. I feel like not much has changed. So I am second guessing the decision. Should I have given up nursing? He was an excellent nurser! Should I continue with formula? I did go out and buy the super hypoallergenic formula today, maybe that will help? As I type this he has woken up twice from his nap. I don't know. I guess that is the hardest part, not knowing!
Lucky we have a God that loves our kids more than we do and does know! Now let's pray he lets me in on that knowledge!
First is Caleb's schooling. As I wrote in a previous post, we had to choose between 2 schools. A creative arts school where each teacher spoke some English and he knew a girl going there and a Reggio Emilio school where his teacher did not speak English and we did not know anyone. We chose the Reggio Emilio school because Caleb is not that into art. We have been praying about a school for Caleb for months. We knew all schools here are 5 days and Spanish speaking. God had blessed Caleb in this school. His teacher is amazing. We love her! She is patient and makes Caleb feel comfortable. She gives him a hug each morning and is genuinely happy to see him! Caleb got off to a bad start with music class. The first class was apparently very loud and this immediately turned him off. So his teacher would take him to another room and play with him. Well yesterday Caleb was refusing to go to school, crying and pleading with me to stay home, it was music day. He kept saying "Maybe I will go tomorrow mommy, ok?" Doesn't this break your heart!! I tried all my mommy tricks and nothing seemed to work. But after about 45 minutes I was able to talk him into going. I talked to his teacher and told her about his morning and she told me she had already talked to the music teacher and they moved the music class to their classroom and they were going to just have a guitar and sing. This did the trick. When I picked him up yesterday he came out saying how much he loved music and the songs they sang, in English!
All yesterday I was second guessing my decision to put him in that school. But the way his teacher went out of her way to care for Caleb was such an answer to our prayers!
Ok, decision 2 was to wean Ollie. I have been struggling with this decision for about 5 months. Ollie has severe food allergies. At Our first visit with the paediatric GI, she directly asked me how attached I was to nursing. I said I was very attached. He was only 4 months. I nursed both Caleb and Elias until they weaned themselves. Caleb lost interest in nursing at 12 months and Elias at 13 months. So I eliminated dairy, soy, eggs, and wheat from my diet. When I had any of these I saw the difference in Ollie. It would affect his sleep, he would take very short naps and wake up moaning, and wake several times during the night. We lived close to a Good Earth market so it was relatively easy to find products without these allergens. Also I cook 5 days a week so we were all allergen free! But when we moved it became almost impossible to keep up the allergen free diet. I tried just giving up wheat, but it did not seem to do enough. Then Monday Brian was home for Labor Day but Caleb had to go to school. So we decided after we picked him up from school he could choose where we all went out for lunch. Well Caleb being a 4 year old chose McDonald's. This of course has every allergen ever! That night Ollie was up every hour. On a good night he is up 3-5 times. When I got up Tuesdays morning I decided I could not do it anymore. After over 8 months of broken sleep at nights and screaming during nap times I just could not do it. So I boiled water and gave him a bottle. We had shipped 3 cans of formula in case I decided to stop or Brian and I went out, etc. I was in a lot of pain for 2 days and would have him nurse a tiny bit each night to relieve the pressure. So when he was up his normal amount I thought it was due to the nursing a tine bit before bed. I was nursing 5 times a day, so you can imagine the pain! Yesterday I was feeling a bit better so he did not nurse at all. But last night he was up at 9:30, 11:30, 3:30(this is when I fed him), 5:30, 6:20, and up at 7. I feel like not much has changed. So I am second guessing the decision. Should I have given up nursing? He was an excellent nurser! Should I continue with formula? I did go out and buy the super hypoallergenic formula today, maybe that will help? As I type this he has woken up twice from his nap. I don't know. I guess that is the hardest part, not knowing!
Lucky we have a God that loves our kids more than we do and does know! Now let's pray he lets me in on that knowledge!
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