The whole week at once.
I swear I still exist.
My time is fairly heavily monopolized by, oh gosh, everything right now.
Philip had his first week of school. It was fantastic. He never cried the whole week, and was fairly excited about going each day. It was also super sweet to see his happy face each day at pick-up time.
I was sort of a mess his first day. I kind of knew that I was going to not want to let go when it was time to put him in school, so I scheduled it for as quickly after he turned 3 as was possible. Which is why he started on Monday when he had just turned 3 on the previous Friday.
I guess I had been dreading it more than I realized, though, because I hadn't even been thinking about it in any depth, and realized around Sunday night that I didn't have the drop-off/pick-up placard, or know anything about how much help he'd get at lunch (and therefore know what kind of lunches I could send him with or what to pack them in) or any of a thousand other concerns.
It all turned out fine, though. I got the placard in his folder that day (which is when I was supposed to get it), the lunch was fine (though he doesn't really get much of any help, they didn't even peel a banana for him on Wednesday) and everything was okay.
Jilly was a bit melancholy about Philip being gone. It's only three hours a day, though, Monday through Thursday, so, it's not as much time as all that. I also learned fairly quickly that there is not an awful lot I can schedule in those three hours. Especially since it's a twenty minute drive there and a twenty minute drive back. Which amounts to an hour and twenty minutes just spent driving. Jilly is not amused.
Nevertheless, that hour and forty minutes in the middle have been sort of awesome. I can pretty much definitively say, at this point, that the experience of parenting one child is just an entirely different beast than parenting two. I can stop anywhere with her. We went to story times, parks and libraries with ease. Grocery shopping was a piece of pie. Eating lunch out with one child was an actually enjoyable experience. Even when she started bouncing around on her seat, I wasn't dividing my attention trying to keep them both okay and from disturbing the entire restaurant, so it was easy.
I wish I could define it as just the differences between Philip and Jilly, but it was more that that. She is often more manageable, it's true. It's more than that, though. It's the undivided nature of the attention I can give. It makes me feel less hurried and anxious.
On Friday we had their 3 year well-child check-up. It went very well.
Philip is 38 1/4 inches tall, and 44 lbs (70th percentile and 99th percentile). Jilly is 35 1/2 inches tall and 31 lbs and 4 oz. (12th percentile and 56th percentile).
They were wacky measurements. Neither kid really stood still for the heights, especially Philip. It was fine, though.
She talked to Jilly about potty training and why Jilly hasn't wanted to. She got Jilly to agree to starting again. So far today Jilly has peed on the potty three times today. Still no poop, but we'll get there. Three times in one day is a record for us right now.
She referred us to a Developmental Pediatrician for Philip, and we'll probably get in sometime next year. It takes approximately that long to get in to see one. It's a weird thing. He is making amazing strides forward. His speech is improving more weekly. He can do things that used to create unbearable stress with pretty much no second thoughts about it, or even have fun. Russell was sort of... second guessing me about requesting a referral. Then the PA asked us to get the kids undressed for the doctor, but leave them in diapers or underwear. This is absolutely not okay for Philip. He can not abide being half dressed. It creates stress in him that is really sort of next level. I told Russell that it would be a problem, but I didn't really explain it well enough or whatever, because the next thing I know Russell is taking off Philip's clothes and Philip is having an anxiety attack that is producing hives.
I guess it was at that point that Russell realized that Philip's problems aren't all gone. Philip isn't just a weird kid. It doesn't mean that he's ~wrong~ it just means that we have to get him help to minimize how tough things might be for him otherwise.
My time is fairly heavily monopolized by, oh gosh, everything right now.
Philip had his first week of school. It was fantastic. He never cried the whole week, and was fairly excited about going each day. It was also super sweet to see his happy face each day at pick-up time.
I was sort of a mess his first day. I kind of knew that I was going to not want to let go when it was time to put him in school, so I scheduled it for as quickly after he turned 3 as was possible. Which is why he started on Monday when he had just turned 3 on the previous Friday.
I guess I had been dreading it more than I realized, though, because I hadn't even been thinking about it in any depth, and realized around Sunday night that I didn't have the drop-off/pick-up placard, or know anything about how much help he'd get at lunch (and therefore know what kind of lunches I could send him with or what to pack them in) or any of a thousand other concerns.
It all turned out fine, though. I got the placard in his folder that day (which is when I was supposed to get it), the lunch was fine (though he doesn't really get much of any help, they didn't even peel a banana for him on Wednesday) and everything was okay.
Jilly was a bit melancholy about Philip being gone. It's only three hours a day, though, Monday through Thursday, so, it's not as much time as all that. I also learned fairly quickly that there is not an awful lot I can schedule in those three hours. Especially since it's a twenty minute drive there and a twenty minute drive back. Which amounts to an hour and twenty minutes just spent driving. Jilly is not amused.
Nevertheless, that hour and forty minutes in the middle have been sort of awesome. I can pretty much definitively say, at this point, that the experience of parenting one child is just an entirely different beast than parenting two. I can stop anywhere with her. We went to story times, parks and libraries with ease. Grocery shopping was a piece of pie. Eating lunch out with one child was an actually enjoyable experience. Even when she started bouncing around on her seat, I wasn't dividing my attention trying to keep them both okay and from disturbing the entire restaurant, so it was easy.
I wish I could define it as just the differences between Philip and Jilly, but it was more that that. She is often more manageable, it's true. It's more than that, though. It's the undivided nature of the attention I can give. It makes me feel less hurried and anxious.
On Friday we had their 3 year well-child check-up. It went very well.
Philip is 38 1/4 inches tall, and 44 lbs (70th percentile and 99th percentile). Jilly is 35 1/2 inches tall and 31 lbs and 4 oz. (12th percentile and 56th percentile).
They were wacky measurements. Neither kid really stood still for the heights, especially Philip. It was fine, though.
She talked to Jilly about potty training and why Jilly hasn't wanted to. She got Jilly to agree to starting again. So far today Jilly has peed on the potty three times today. Still no poop, but we'll get there. Three times in one day is a record for us right now.
She referred us to a Developmental Pediatrician for Philip, and we'll probably get in sometime next year. It takes approximately that long to get in to see one. It's a weird thing. He is making amazing strides forward. His speech is improving more weekly. He can do things that used to create unbearable stress with pretty much no second thoughts about it, or even have fun. Russell was sort of... second guessing me about requesting a referral. Then the PA asked us to get the kids undressed for the doctor, but leave them in diapers or underwear. This is absolutely not okay for Philip. He can not abide being half dressed. It creates stress in him that is really sort of next level. I told Russell that it would be a problem, but I didn't really explain it well enough or whatever, because the next thing I know Russell is taking off Philip's clothes and Philip is having an anxiety attack that is producing hives.
I guess it was at that point that Russell realized that Philip's problems aren't all gone. Philip isn't just a weird kid. It doesn't mean that he's ~wrong~ it just means that we have to get him help to minimize how tough things might be for him otherwise.