A New Family - Day 4

A new day, a new challenge.

Yesterday's challenge was a milk rebellion. I made the mistake of trying to have her eat breakfast as soon as she arrived. Her mom says she wakes up hungry so has a little bit to eat as soon as she gets up in the morning. It must be just enough to make her feel like she has had breakfast. Because she didn't have an appetite at all when she first arrived. No problem - I always give very small helpings when I don't know their appetite. But I do insist that they finish their milk before they leave the table. As soon as they get into this habit, I start gradually increasing the amount of milk I serve until I get a feel for the amount that works for them.

Power struggle of the day: finishing her milk.

It got off to a bad start with breakfast (because she wasn't hungry) and it set the tone for the day. We were both intent on being successful in our individual and differing missions. Hers: to leave without drinking her milk (and I am literally talking between 1 to 2 ounces ... not a huge amount). Mine: to get her into the habit of finishing her milk.

I thought she may not finish her breakfast milk before lunch, she was so determined (it honestly wasn't that bad - but it took much longer than it had to). Lunch, she was half as determined. By snack time (I had lessened the quantity of milk to no more than an ounce by then), she was only a little determined. Today we have a clean slate. We'll start fresh and I think we will overcome that small hurdle.

It is a large amount of very, very small things that all of us adapt to when we 'adopt' a new family member. It all seems so very, very trivial but if I'm not consistent, then the others will quickly adapt the unwanted behaviours (again - all very small ... but when you add them all together it becomes big).

Our biggest challenge of all, is that she puts absolutely everything in her mouth. Everything! I caught her licking a toy car yesterday. By the end of the day, she was hesitating a nanosecond before she put something in her mouth. Almost imperceptible to the eye, but I think the habit of hand to mouth is starting to come to an end???

She fits in well with all of the kids and that is good. She goes with the flow of the day and that is also good. She is a good napper and that is great. Her drop offs go good - just a small distraction from the reality of her mom leaving and she's good. She's a good eater, enjoys the toys I have to offer, plays well on her own and with the kids. She comes full time and that is so helpful in establishing routines (part time kids with erratic schedules are becoming my pet peeve).

With this first week almost behind us, I feel like we are on the road to success. One more entry to this blog, after the week is complete and we'll be on our way. Another 'family member' adopted into the fold.