Sensitive kids group

[OmarsMum]

Daisybee- hugs Hun , mums can be so annoying sometimes, happy birthday Hun, hope you have a wonderful day. So sorry to hear about the meltdown

Thanks ladies for your input, it seems that my theory is out of the window

Yeah I guess it's more related to their nature rather than socializing.

Kel- thanks for the link Hun.

Since we weaned Omar off the dummy, he really changed, he's sleeping for 11 hrs at night, but he's refusing to go to bed early, I'm fine with it for the time being, I don't want to change his routine as we're still not done with potty training. So I don't want to make any more changes now.

He's also not relaxing for a moment during the day, he only sits to watch TV & to take a break when he's eating or having a snack, he seems on the go all day, he's asking for ongoing activities all day. He used to relax & ask for his pillow & cover several times during the day, but now he forgot about them, I didn't see them around for over a week.

In the evening he gets so overstimulated, then he ends up with a meltdown I tried to force a relax time but he refuses to lie down or take a break.

Now he runs around & he acts in a naughty way when he's overstimulated, he used to shut himself out by going to a dark room to relax, but now he goes crazy & he laughs nonstop.

I have a very busy schedule those days, I met loads of new people, we always have something to do.

Tomorrow it's my nephew's birthday, they're having the party at our place, we have two classes, then we have to run back home, I have to wake up early to prepare some food for the party, I honestly don't know how I'm going to cope.

Today I had to call my mum to come over & to look after Omar as I had to cook lunch. He didn't sit until I gave him some cashew nuts, he ended up eating the whole box, everytime I tried to take it away from him, he ended up screaming at me!

30 mins back I tried to carry him to bed, I know he needs to sleep, he cried & cried, he was so stressed out, he pushed me away, when we reached bed, he went down. He's too heavy for me, I can't control him.

I have a cousin who's 6 yrs, he's as sensitive as Omar, they behave in the same way. He's not getting easier while growing up, he's getting more difficult. Each & every morning he wakes up saying that he doesn't want to go to school, he whines for the sake of whining, he's picky with food, & he's getting worse. Until now he needs his mum to feed him with distraction, he doesn't dress & undress himself , he's very dependant. He has 2 older sisters, & his brother is 3. They are all more easy going than him, his brother is very social, very independent & very cheerful.

Everytime we're around them I get comments on how similar they are, they walk on egg shells around him, my aunt is not firm with him, she just do what he wants as she hates it when he screams.

I don't want Omar to be the same at the age of 6 I love my cousin, he's my favorite, but I'm not looking forward to dealing with a similar behavior when Omar is 6!

 

[DaisyBee]

As far as occupational therapy, I have heard such good things about it for kids. And I've also heard that the younger the kids are when they start it the better - as for one it's still a game to them when they are young. I really have thought maybe it would help Megan with sleep issues, calming down, self regulating, etc. Her dr wasn't supporting the idea of ot at all and said no way, not until she is at least 4 or 5. But even dh's cousin who is a physical therapist and works very closely with ot's says no, earlier is better. But since I really don't know if she actually has any issues or if she is just more sensitive to most... I don't know whether I should look into it further or wait. Im very on the fence. The fact that her weighted blanket and sensory chewing toys helps her... I had to figure that out on my own. Maybe an ot would have other ideas that could help her.

After thinking about it - I do think everyone in this group should read the out of sync child books. Im going to reread them myself. Especially with this ot talk..

And Megan is social and likes playing with other kids... She just can't handle the stimulation of it sometimes. Lol She would do horrible in a daycare setting because there wouldn't be enough down time for her, although she would love the social interaction and keeping busy all day. Some times I think she ends up being bored with me, as I probably haven't done as much as I should with her. I think I get lazy sometimes and instead of doing new crafts and projects we just get out play dough or glue. But when I had daycare I had the energy to find new crafts. And when I was pregnant I didn't have the energy and I still dont have the amount of energy I did before being pregnant. I do think a lot of it is Megan though. Lol she exhausts me.

 

[DaisyBee]

Omarsmum -what you are saying Omar is doing now with no breaks... The laughing and running around, acting crazy. Not wanting to take breaks.... THAT is Megan when overstimulated! When I describe her being "hyper " and mil thinking she is ADHD. Like her giggling in the store... Being naughty at dinner. She has been running around the house like a wired crazy person for 2 days. She normally doesn't take breaks and realize she has had too much and gets to this wired point first. It doesn't take her much t get there quite often. It drives me nuts when she is overstimulated. And she melts down easily when overstimulated. And it's when she fights me on sleeping as well. It's like she has too much stress in her body and it's just wired and she can't sleep well. She goes to bed later those nights and wakes up so early. And instead of waking a bit sleepy and taking a bit to wake up. Its like she is wide awake and alert from the second her eyes open.

 

[OmarsMum]

& I think Omar suffers from an extreme separation anxiety! Yesterday when we were done from the class, I told Omar that we have to go to the reception to pay some money, so I thought he was following me.

I think he got occupied with something or he was talking to a teacher, so he didn't notice I was gone, 30 seconds later I heard him screaming for me, & saying mummy is gone, mummy is gone! He was really distressed!

 

[OmarsMum]

Daisybee- I've been thinking of Megan since Omar started to act this way!

It doesn't look like ADHD, he still have full focus & concentration, but it seems that he's dealing with the overstimulation in a new way, when he acts naughty, it doesn't seem that he's out of control, he looks in full control & he's doing it to tease me! He also thinks it's funny, but when I raise my voice or I tell him to stop firmly, he looses control, he gets hurt , & he starts to cry in a distressed way.

 

[DaisyBee]

Omarsmum - I do think he has a bit of separation anxiety. Megan doesn't seem to, but yesterday we talked about school and she started crying as she thought I would be leaving her there ( which we were discussing sunday school in church and yes I would probably be leaving her there while waiting down the hall ) so don't know if when reality vs talking about it, it will be ok or not.

Megan in that state notices everything and giggly and over the top. Not calm state. But shes not doing it to tease me, and she really can't control it. But the naughtyness yes, she is in full control and being naughty on purpose it seems. It's almost like overexcited about things, she seems even more aware of her surroundings than usual. She is almost in a fake good mood. it's so hard to describe it... Don't know if I've ever been able to explain it. Like at the store the other day... Her commenting and noticing everything and thinking things were funny and giggling about them. It's usually my clue that she isn't really herself and in a calm state and that I need to change something or she is going to get too overloaded and melt down. ( which is what happened in the store).

She does finally seem to be over her bday party. Lol it only took a week. Last night she was laughing while hiccuping and ended up vomiting a bit from that. It ended up on her "blankie" and "outer space blankie" ( her weighted blanket and her blanket that she cuddles with every time she is sleeping.) so I had to wash them and they weren't ready by bedtime. I found out how attached she really is to both of them. She wouldn't calm down and wouldn't stop crying until they were both with her.

We have been talking about going and seeing santa tomorrow. But Megan doesn't like santa she says. We went last year and she was ok. Curious and confused, but sat on his lap for a picture. Not sure we are going to get that lucky this year. Haha. She also claims that no, we can't because it's not xmas day yet, and she doesn't want to go to the north pole. Trying to explain to her. Not sure it is working.

If it doesn't snow later today we are going to soft play and pick up our pictures!

 

[cutie4evr01]

I agree with the others about the sensitive kids not fitting the mold in terms of interaction with other kids from an early age. I left Christina at daycare from the time she was 10 weeks old and she does have fun there, but she cried at drop-off until she was over 2 (a prolonged separation anxiety), and she still doesn't play well with kids her age. It may be normal to still be doing more of a parallel play at this age, but even with kids she knows well she doesn't have a great time. She is always so excited when we tell her a friend is coming over or that she's going to play with her friends in the church nursery, etc., but then when it comes down to it she ends up playing on her own or turns clingy, or gets annoyed when other kids try to touch her / talk to her. At the park when new kids approach her she gets very shy/quiet and won't talk back with them - I have to prompt her to say hi and say her name. She also is a bit of a pushover - when another kid takes her toy, she just goes off to find something else. If a kid sits in front of her and blocks her view of the tv, she just scoots over a little to see around them. So nearly 3 years of daycare hasn't done much for her social interactions However, at home, she will stand up to her sister and take her toys back or tell her dad and I to move out of her way, so I think part of it is a comfortability or shyness issue.

Daisybee, hope you visit with Santa goes well! We've been twice now, and Christina won't sit on his lap. The first time she wanted to be held by Daddy, but it was a really great Santa who stood up and talked to her so she relaxed a little bit and at least told him what she wanted. For the second visit, we talked it up quite a bit ahead of time and she said she would stand beside Santa but not sit on his lap, and she did! She looked scared, but she walked on up and stood beside him and told him what she wanted, so I was proud of her. Also, since it was her second Santa visit, she knew she'd be getting a candy cane from him, so I think that helped. We have one more Santa visit on Sunday in our neighborhood that I think will be better for her as there will only be a few kids (probably 10 at most), and Santa sits in an outdoor gazebo without all the bright Christmas trees/presents/decorations all around, so I think she'll do fine (assuming she has a nap of course), but I don't expect her to sit on Santa's knee. Once I get my pictures uploaded I'll post one for you all. DaisyBee that's exciting about getting your pictures back - I'd love to see one!

 

[OmarsMum]

Daisybee- Glad she's over her birthday party excitement

Omar didn't like Santa when he was one, he was a bit scared, but he was fine when we took the pic as his cousins were with him. But last year he refused to go near him, this year he told me that he doesn't like Santa!

I can't deal with Omar's new behaviour, he's so whiney, he goes from ongoing laughing to crying nonstop, he's so emotional all the time. We're having a hell time at bedtime, I can't even get him to lie down on bed without a meltdown. I feel clueless

He's sleeping well at night, but he seems overtired in the evening but he doesn't stop. He's too loud, I'm too sensitive to noise & I'm ending up shouting to get him to listen or to slow down

I'm highly sensitive & I don't like it yesterday I ended up with a breakdown as it was my nephew's birthday, they planned it on Wednesday & I offered to have it at our place. It turned from a small family party to a huge party. I was so overwhelmed when the guests started to arrive, & I ended up in my room crying. Omar was so overstimulated with all the excitement & crowd. He was acting like crazy, running around, getting toys out, etc. he didn't sleep until 3 am

I didn't fall asleep until 4.30 am but I woke up early at 9 am as there was a boat show in the lagoon! We live on the 22nd floor, but as I'm too sensitive to noise, I woke up when the show started. Omar was so whiney today, he was all over the place, he picked on his lunch, & he started to throw food around, then he ended up with a meltdown after a hysterical laugh.

Sorry, I'm rambling here, it's 11 pm, Omar doesn't want to sleep, I'm too tired to handle a tantrum & I'm dreading taking him to bed

 

[OmarsMum]

I agree with the others about the sensitive kids not fitting the mold in terms of interaction with other kids from an early age. I left Christina at daycare from the time she was 10 weeks old and she does have fun there, but she cried at drop-off until she was over 2 (a prolonged separation anxiety), and she still doesn't play well with kids her age. It may be normal to still be doing more of a parallel play at this age, but even with kids she knows well she doesn't have a great time. She is always so excited when we tell her a friend is coming over or that she's going to play with her friends in the church nursery, etc., but then when it comes down to it she ends up playing on her own or turns clingy, or gets annoyed when other kids try to touch her / talk to her. At the park when new kids approach her she gets very shy/quiet and won't talk back with them - I have to prompt her to say hi and say her name. She also is a bit of a pushover - when another kid takes her toy, she just goes off to find something else. If a kid sits in front of her and blocks her view of the tv, she just scoots over a little to see around them. So nearly 3 years of daycare hasn't done much for her social interactions However, at home, she will stand up to her sister and take her toys back or tell her dad and I to move out of her way, so I think part of it is a comfortability or shyness issue.
!

This describes how Omar acts around kids, he's exactly the same.

when another kid takes his toy, if he knows the kid well (his cousins) he fights for it & he tells his cousin "it's not nice, share please", but if he doesn't know the kid well, he ends up either crying or loosing interest in the toy.

 

[polaris]

Daisybee, I'd love to see photos too! Megan sounds like Thomas saying "it's not xmas day yet" - when I was trying to get him to dress up for a family dinner the day before Halloween he was adamant that he wasn't dressing up because it wasn't Halloween yet and he didn't. I thought he was going to resist it on Halloween too but actually on the day itself he wanted to do it! I haven't decided yet about Santa visits and I actually think I might leave it until next year. Is that being silly?

Cutie - Thomas is very similar in terms of his interactions with other children. He is also a pushover in relation to letting them take toys that he's playing with or take all the turns on the slide or whatever. He plays quite well with his twin cousins who are 8 months older than him, but I think that is partly because they are so good at cooperative play with each other and one of them in particular really makes an effort to include him. There is one other boy the same age as him who he gets on quite well with and will play with a little bit. There is another girl who we see almost every week who he doesn't really get on with at all and he always just wants to hide all his toys when I tell him she's coming. She's a really spirited sociable outgoing little thing, not sensitive at all, and he just finds her totally overwhelming I think.

Omarsmum Reading your posts recently I'm just struck by how much you have had going on recently, no wonder it gets a bit overwhelming. I don't have much time now to reply but I will try to write more later. As an aside, have you tried white noise for sleeping? I got a white noise machine, originally for Clara's naps so that I didn't have to keep telling Thomas to be quiet all the time, but I love it so much myself, I'm a very light sleeper and I sleep so much better with white noise! I think I'll have to get a second one when Clara moves into her own room!

 

[OmarsMum]

Thanks Polaris- I play versus from the Quran on my IPhone at bedtime since he was a baby, & it seems to calm him down, he asks for it at bedtime. Taking him to bed is the struggle, once I get him to lie down on his pillow & cover him, he calms down immediately, but when he's overstimulated, I can't get him to stay in bed long enough to get him to lie down. He's too stubborn, when he's ready to go to bed, he comes to me & asks me to take him to bed, but if he doesn't want to sleep he says it's still "awake" time, it's still not time to sleep.

It seems that he's scared to sleep, even when he goes to bed, he tells that he's going to relax, not to sleep, when I agree with him, he gets annoyed & he tells me no I need little sleep

 

[DaisyBee]

I think that's why a schedule works best for Megan. She protests naps and says but it's day, not time for sleeping. But since it's routine and knows she has no choice she stops fighting it. For bedtime we have an exact routine and make it more about the books than "it's bed time" .

And I think Polaris meant white noise for you! I have white noise coming through the monitor as both girls use white noise. My mom sleeps best with white noise, everything wakes her. She is a very light sleeper. Actually I've thought she is sensitive as well.

 

[OmarsMum]

I don't think I can handle it, I will download a white noise app on my iPhone & I will see.

Let's talk about ourselves are you as sensitive as your kids? I'm an adult version of Omar. I get overwhelmed easily, I can't handle crowd or noise, I don't get over excited about something new. My engagement party was the most stressful day ever, this is why I decided not to have a wedding.

I carry my pillow around when I sleep outside my home, I get home sick when I travel, I hate parties. I hate tags, I can't wear wool, it feels itchy on my skin. I can't wear jewelry or a watch for a long period, they irritate me, I get irritated from wearing a bra I have to wear a vest under my shirts when I go out. Shoes irritate me, so I wear socks at home.

I'm a perfectionist, everything should be in a certain order, I'm not physical, I can't dance & I don't try.

I'm bossy & control freak. I was good at school & well behaved. But I didn't have many friends. I became social while growing up, but it' still not my thing.

I analyze everything, I don't act spontaneously.

But I'm positive, & I always find solutions to problems. I don't sleep well, I suffer from insomnia.

I'm very affectionate & emotional, I used to cry a lot when I was younger, but now I'm more in control.

I have a temper but I try to control it.

I was very picky with food when I was young, I have very strong taste buds, & I'm very sensitive to odors.

Every time I discuss Omar's behaviour around my mum, she tells me you were the same.

DH is also highly sensitive, but in a different way. He's picky with food, he will not try something new he doesn't know. He's very social & calm, he doesn't show a reaction to anything. He's a quiet person, but he's very emotionally sensitive, you have to be very careful not to hurt his feelings as he takes things personally. He's so laid back & it drives me insane. He doesn't like to take control or responsibility as he doesn't like to do things wrong.

He doesn't like to try new activities, he hates to go to new places. He doesn't like to go out, he prefers to stay at home. He's a bit negative, if things don't go right, he gives up.

So, do you live in a house full of sensitive people?

 

[polaris]

I don't think I can handle it, I will download a white noise app on my iPhone & I will see.

Let's talk about ourselves are you as sensitive as your kids? I'm an adult version of Omar. I get overwhelmed easily, I can't handle crowd or noise, I don't get over excited about something new. My engagement party was the most stressful day ever, this is why I decided not to have a wedding.

I carry my pillow around when I sleep outside my home, I get home sick when I travel, I hate parties. I hate tags, I can't wear wool, it feels itchy on my skin. I can't wear jewelry or a watch for a long period, they irritate me, I get irritated from wearing a bra I have to wear a vest under my shirts when I go out. Shoes irritate me, so I wear socks at home.

I'm a perfectionist, everything should be in a certain order, I'm not physical, I can't dance & I don't try.

I'm bossy & control freak. I was good at school & well behaved. But I didn't have many friends. I became social while growing up, but it' still not my thing.

I analyze everything, I don't act spontaneously.

But I'm positive, & I always find solutions to problems. I don't sleep well, I suffer from insomnia.

I'm very affectionate & emotional, I used to cry a lot when I was younger, but now I'm more in control.

I have a temper but I try to control it.

I was very picky with food when I was young, I have very strong taste buds, & I'm very sensitive to odors.

Every time I discuss Omar's behaviour around my mum, she tells me you were the same.

DH is also highly sensitive, but in a different way. He's picky with food, he will not try something new he doesn't know. He's very social & calm, he doesn't show a reaction to anything. He's a quiet person, but he's very emotionally sensitive, you have to be very careful not to hurt his feelings as he takes things personally. He's so laid back & it drives me insane. He doesn't like to take control or responsibility as he doesn't like to do things wrong.

He doesn't like to try new activities, he hates to go to new places. He doesn't like to go out, he prefers to stay at home. He's a bit negative, if things don't go right, he gives up.

So, do you live in a house full of sensitive people?

Great idea, I will post later when I have time.

Re the white noise, I thought I would absolutely hate it and at first I used to switch it off as soon as I went to bed. But after about a week I got used to it and now I honestly sleep so much better with it on, I don't wake up with every little noise now.

 

[DaisyBee]

I'll write about me and dh later, but the white noise.... My mom uses a stream sound or something. I would experiment with all the sounds on an app... Fan for example. It's just something to help drown out other noise.

 

[Tacey]

Daisybee, your description of how Megan acts when over stimulated has given me a real light bulb moment today. We were in a shopping centre to see a musical Christmas tree, and it was so busy and noisy. Alice started getting really hyper and wouldn't hold my hand. I felt my head was going to explode, but it was so helpful to realise it was her way of saying she wasn't coping. I think if I'd not realised, I'd have just been really angry. Did you manage to get to see Santa? Alice caught a glimpse of one today, and was very clear she didn't want to go anywhere near him. She's got a thing about people dressed up. Polaris, I don't think it's silly at all to avoid santa for this year. If you're not certain, it might be best to give it a miss, or at least go somewhere he can look at the situation, and choose to go or not.

I hope your Santa visit goes well on Sunday, Cutie. The outdoor set up sounds perfect!

Omarsmum, do you think Omar might be picking up on your stress at the moment? I often wonder this, whether Alice being difficult is making me stressed or if me being stressed is making her difficult! I suspect it's both really. It does sound like you need to find some time for yourself. Is there any possibility of that? I am doing a lot better since I decided to prioritise alone time for me. I consider it like the oxygen mask analogy. You have to make sure you're healthy and capable to be able to look after your children to the best of your ability, and that sometimes means putting yourself first.

We're having big issues at night time. Alice is calling us in 4 or 5 times a night saying she's scared/it's too dark/too light/she's hungry, or the most difficult of all, she's not tired (said while eye rubbing and yawning!). I am not coping at all well with 2am meltdowns because I won't sit in her room all night. We've tried having her in our bed, but she just talks loudly, or tries to wake Arthur, then screams hysterically when we tell her to be quiet. I'm dreading every night at the moment. My responses lately have been very far from the gentle parenting I aim for, and I think I'm making it worse.

I will write about me and DH a bit later!

 

[polaris]

I'll write about me and dh later, but the white noise.... My mom uses a stream sound or something. I would experiment with all the sounds on an app... Fan for example. It's just something to help drown out other noise.

I actually find it a bit miraculous the way it works because when I am asleep I actually don't hear it at all, it's as though the room is totally silent. When I wake up, there is a second or two when I'm half awake that I can't hear the white noise at all and then I wake up fully and can hear it again.

 

[OmarsMum]

Thanks ladies, I co-sleep, so at this point I can't mess up with Omar bedtime routine, if I play white noise around him I know he will not cope with it as he listens to Quran (it's hard to explain how it works, it's verses from our book which is really soothing, I can't sleep when it's on, but it seems that it calms Omar, & even when he wakes up at night, he asks me to play it for him)

Tacey- I do get breaks from Omar, like today I went out with my friends & our housekeeper was with us, she took him to the play area to give me a break. I'm going out with friends a lot lately & the housekeeper is happy to take Omar to the play areas or for walks around us. He really likes her, & he calls her his friend.

At home she also spends some time with him in the evening to give me a break. I try to go for a mani/ pedi & a massage once a month, he stays with his dad at home.

But he's very dependant on me, he will not eat alone most of the time, he drives me insane at bedtime, he whines a lot when we're at home, each & every car journey is a big hassle as he doesn't stop complaining about silly stuff.

Today when we were on our way home he was screaming loudly in the car for no reason, he wasn't crying, he was only making this irritating noise, DH had to stop & he lost control, he smacked him on his legs & started to shout at him

DH never lost his temper before, he's very calm & he understands Omar's sensitivity, but he lost control today.

My cousin who's 6 makes this noise non stop, & Omar picked it from him the last time we visited them.

Does it sound bad that I didn't feel sorry for Omar when DH smacked him

We're against punishment especially physical punishment, but we're loosing control those days

I'm shouting a lot, & I feel that I'm always threatening Omar, I don't feel proud of how I'm dealing with him, but I can't control it

 

[polaris]

Daisybee, your description of how Megan acts when over stimulated has given me a real light bulb moment today. We were in a shopping centre to see a musical Christmas tree, and it was so busy and noisy. Alice started getting really hyper and wouldn't hold my hand. I felt my head was going to explode, but it was so helpful to realise it was her way of saying she wasn't coping. I think if I'd not realised, I'd have just been really angry. Did you manage to get to see Santa? Alice caught a glimpse of one today, and was very clear she didn't want to go anywhere near him. She's got a thing about people dressed up. Polaris, I don't think it's silly at all to avoid santa for this year. If you're not certain, it might be best to give it a miss, or at least go somewhere he can look at the situation, and choose to go or not.

I hope your Santa visit goes well on Sunday, Cutie. The outdoor set up sounds perfect!

Omarsmum, do you think Omar might be picking up on your stress at the moment? I often wonder this, whether Alice being difficult is making me stressed or if me being stressed is making her difficult! I suspect it's both really. It does sound like you need to find some time for yourself. Is there any possibility of that? I am doing a lot better since I decided to prioritise alone time for me. I consider it like the oxygen mask analogy. You have to make sure you're healthy and capable to be able to look after your children to the best of your ability, and that sometimes means putting yourself first.

We're having big issues at night time. Alice is calling us in 4 or 5 times a night saying she's scared/it's too dark/too light/she's hungry, or the most difficult of all, she's not tired (said while eye rubbing and yawning!). I am not coping at all well with 2am meltdowns because I won't sit in her room all night. We've tried having her in our bed, but she just talks loudly, or tries to wake Arthur, then screams hysterically when we tell her to be quiet. I'm dreading every night at the moment. My responses lately have been very far from the gentle parenting I aim for, and I think I'm making it worse.

I will write about me and DH a bit later!

I wouldn't cope well with those disturbed nights at all. I think I am lucky with Thomas in that he sleeps well and very rarely calls us during the night. However I did have an issue with him at bedtime coming down multiple times to supposedly use the bathroom before going to sleep. I've been using a reward chart to great effect to address that issue, I know they are not for everybody but honestly it has saved sooo much stress at bedtime. I was really losing it with him and just snapping at him and we were both ending up totally stressed out and it just wasn't the atmosphere I wanted at bedtime. The reward chart has pretty much eliminated all of that. He usually doesn't get out of bed at all, occasionally gets up once to genuinely use the toilet. He gets two stickers if he doesn't get up at all and one sticker if he only gets up once (naps and bedtime), and when he got twenty stickers he got to go to 2euro shop and choose a toy. OK it might be bribery but it's so worth it not to be losing my temper with him on a regular basis over bedtime.

 

[DaisyBee]

I have a lot I want to say and comment on... But I won't get it all in here. I will write more tonight after the kids are in bed.

We went to soft play yesterday. It made me realize we havent been out much lately at those type of things. Megan had gone with mil a few weeks back. It isn't a huge place, it's just a little place in the middle of the mall. I've heard there may be another big one somewhere else close by, I'm going to find out. Anyway, Megan stopped and looked first. Checked out the whole scene. It wasn't super busy when we got there, but got busier once she was playing. She would go run to one thing and then run back to me, stop and look around at the other kids again. She was taking it all in. Then she went for it. There was a bridge of sorts that she was climbing on and then sliding down the other side. When she went up one side a girl went up the other side. A boy then went up behind Megan. So she was in the middle. She looked at both of them and then panicked. She didn't say anything to them, but started crying and calling "mommy!" so I went over and told her it was ok to ask the other kids if she could get down or say can you please move. The girl was confused as to why Megan was crying and went to her dad who explained why Megan was upset as he heard what I was saying to her. It was interesting to me to see Megan react in that way. She also was a pushover as she was always the one to leave something if another kid wanted it. She tried to say hi to a few girls but the other kids weren't interested at all so she gave up and then didn't try anymore. None of the other kids tried to play with others unless they arrived with the other kids ( like siblings).

I brought her chewy toy and the double stroller so she could ride and relax after that to go get the pics. The chewy toy really helped her and I need to remember to be bringing it with us when we go places!!!

We went and saw reindeer this morning and made a Xmas craft at the library. The town had this whole thing for kids this morning but we only did those few things. It was the right amount for Megan. She had fun, but she wasn't overwhelmed. The librarians noticed that she was standing still. Lol not so crazy acting. And they were right. She was doing great. Which also gives me hope that some of what she has been dealing with is toddler things on top of her temperament vs all temperament. She wrote a letter to Santa there as well. And she has been saying finally what she wants for Xmas. Now that I've been saying she can tell santa what she what's, now she is actually having ideas. Before when I would ask what she wanted she just said presents. Ha. Well she is now saying all the time how she wants a toy train and a rubber ducky ( yellow). no idea where this came from but I think she means it as she isn't changing her answer. Well now I'm thinking I need to get her a train. I thought I was done shopping.

Dh had to work this morning so we didn't go see Santa. We decided we will go to the bigger town near here next weekend and go see the one in the mall that you pay to have them take pics as well. He has a real beard, it's very controlled as only one child up at a time, not rushed. The place today was free, fake beard type Santa, and last night we were debating on it anyway. So probably better for Megan this way as well.

They gave me one digital print so I will try to get that on here tonight as well. Otherwise I would take a pic of the pics and then put them on... I will see what I have time for!