Today marked the first day of our fall schedule, so summer is officially over. BOO. We have had a crazy schedule these last few weeks, between vacations and out of town guests we have been alone in our home only two of the last eighteen days. Yes, I counted so I could impress you. We've been out of state twice, had one Grandma, two Aunts, and one Uncle stay, and we had a blast...but we are exhausted.
Thus I have mixed feelings about the start of our schedule. On the one hand, I am excited about seeing all of my friends (and Tommy was THRILLED to see his) and starting up some great bible studies, but on the other I sort of feel like I need about a week of nothing to get ready for all of it.
The thing that I was least ready for was dropping Nicolas off in the nursery. It was Nicolas' first time in childcare. It was hard. He's been with us for almost six months (can you believe it?), but I still had a difficult time with this step, in fact, it was harder with Nicolas than it was with Tommy. Nicolas is not a fussy guy. He is one of those kids that you worry about because there is nothing to worry about (for those of you without adopted kids, perfect behavior is a huge red flag because it often means that the child has been conditioned not to complain). Since coming home he has become much more vocal and demanding about his needs and very good about communicating what it is he wants, so I feel really good about his attachment and his adjustment to family life, but I do worry about his needs being met in a large group because I know he likely won't complain in that setting. True to form, when I picked him up the caregivers said that he didn't fuss at all (big surprise), and that he was perfectly behaved (of course). As soon as he came to me it was obvious that he was very thirsty (he has a signal for drinking that is pretty easy to interpret). Now, I am happy that he made that need known to me, but it is hard to know that he had a need and did not seek to get it met. I am not at all blaming the caregivers- they couldn't have known that he was thirsty because he chose not to fuss. I am completely at a loss as to what to do. He is only in childcare situations for two hours at the most a few days a week, so it isn't as though he will suffer any physical harm if he does not complain when he is thirsty, but I don't want his fears of unmet needs reinforced. Anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas?
And for fun...a little picture of Tommy and his Aunt Emily from our crazy few weeks. They are posing with their "Bub" at Tommy's very favorite rib joint. Aunt Emily knows how to speak Tommy's "love languages"- snuggles and food!
Thus I have mixed feelings about the start of our schedule. On the one hand, I am excited about seeing all of my friends (and Tommy was THRILLED to see his) and starting up some great bible studies, but on the other I sort of feel like I need about a week of nothing to get ready for all of it.
The thing that I was least ready for was dropping Nicolas off in the nursery. It was Nicolas' first time in childcare. It was hard. He's been with us for almost six months (can you believe it?), but I still had a difficult time with this step, in fact, it was harder with Nicolas than it was with Tommy. Nicolas is not a fussy guy. He is one of those kids that you worry about because there is nothing to worry about (for those of you without adopted kids, perfect behavior is a huge red flag because it often means that the child has been conditioned not to complain). Since coming home he has become much more vocal and demanding about his needs and very good about communicating what it is he wants, so I feel really good about his attachment and his adjustment to family life, but I do worry about his needs being met in a large group because I know he likely won't complain in that setting. True to form, when I picked him up the caregivers said that he didn't fuss at all (big surprise), and that he was perfectly behaved (of course). As soon as he came to me it was obvious that he was very thirsty (he has a signal for drinking that is pretty easy to interpret). Now, I am happy that he made that need known to me, but it is hard to know that he had a need and did not seek to get it met. I am not at all blaming the caregivers- they couldn't have known that he was thirsty because he chose not to fuss. I am completely at a loss as to what to do. He is only in childcare situations for two hours at the most a few days a week, so it isn't as though he will suffer any physical harm if he does not complain when he is thirsty, but I don't want his fears of unmet needs reinforced. Anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas?
And for fun...a little picture of Tommy and his Aunt Emily from our crazy few weeks. They are posing with their "Bub" at Tommy's very favorite rib joint. Aunt Emily knows how to speak Tommy's "love languages"- snuggles and food!
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1 comment:
I have yet to see a bad picture from Uncle Bub's
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