Oh, the Joy of Mealtime

I remember when mealtime was a break. . .at least 10 minutes of quite while Savannah would eat. Not true with preemies! Slowly creeping toward the top of the "issues list" is eating. Being that the girls are both small (barely over 20 pounds) caloric intake is not something I take lightly.

Lila Grace has gone from eating everything to being on an eating hiatus. Then there is the oral motor issues that are greatly affecting her articulation, leaving both mommy and baby very frustrated. Lila's tongue hangs over her bottom teeth, preventing her from producing a variety of consonant sounds. In order to strengthen her mouth and teach her to bring her lips to a closed position, we have started a modified straw program. The only problem is that she hates the straws that I have to cut down so that she only gets 1/2 or so in her mouth. If she is in a mood - and when is she not - she takes the drink and flings it onto the floor. That is after she looks at me just to let me know she is going to do it. I guess she has figured out that it gives her a little more bang for her buck by preparing me for the mess when I can't get there soon enough to prevent it. Just recently she took her smoothie and threw it down the garage steps. One would think this is better than in my house but if you ask my four year old, she will tell you what an issue it has caused. She can no longer come and go without having to penetrate a hoard of flies that "live" on smoothie remnants. Our speech therapist brought a different cup to try that doesn't have a valve and Lila finds it really amusing to watch the milk drip out onto the floor. Last but not least, when she is done eating, she takes the plate (which is usually still full) and tips it over with the announcement, "All Done."

Miss Belle. . .where to start with her eating woes. She just doesn't eat anymore. Thank goodness for Pediasure but something has got to give eventually - right?? We are enrolling her in the Hershey feeding clinic two hours away - oh joy - and have had to keep a food diary over the past three days. To give you an idea of what we are dealing with read on. . .

July 22

8 oz. Pediasure

3 oz. yogurt
2 oz. Pediasure
10 Cheerios

3/4 cup of fruit smoothie
2 sweet potato fries
5 corn puffs

8 oz Pediasure

That is better than she did today. It is incredibly frustrating to have a child that refuses food. YOU can't win, and they ALWAYS win it seems. Even Savannah gets in on the action and says, "Here Mommy, I will just hold her hands down and you can stick it in her mouth really quick." FYI, we aren't force feeding her. I couldn't if I wanted to. I have tried it all, crunchy textures, hiding things in the yogurt, small meals etc. It just doesn't work. Let's hope the people at Hershey can work some magic or this child is going to be walking around with a bottle of Pediasure when she is 10 years old.

Needless to say the ten minutes at meal time that I used to get with Savannah are long gone. Meals are an operation in this house. First I crank the air conditioner because without fail, I am hot and sweaty by the end of it. I make sure everything is on the table and we all sit down at the same exact time. I NEVER get to my food before it is cold and I ALWAYS leave the table a little more cranky than I started.

Not a Good Way to Wake Up

No parent should ever have to walk into their child's room to this. My girls slept later than usual and I had to wake them which is very uncommon. Adeline was asleep on her belly next to a large bloodstain. When I frantically rolled her over, I found her face covered and shirt saturated in blood. I don't know which was more scary, the look of her or the look on my face. Luckily, I didn't scream as my heart dropped to my toes so my sweet little Adeline just sat up and greeted me with her usual morning smile. I guess she suffered a pretty bad bloody nose last night.


As I sit here writing this, Savannah has come in asked me what a sticker says. I read it to her, "All PLAY and no work." She pauses for a long moment and then says, "Well mommy, I am going to put it in your scrapbook (something she has been crafting for me over the past two months) but I want you to know that I am still going to work. . .even though I don't like to. I won't just play."

Sweet sweet girl!

The Beach Adeline Style

I know I have said this before, but I can't emphasize enough how proud I am of the Belle. She was a star on the beach and loved every minute of it. I can't wait to take her back next year!

"That's a whole lotta hair!!"

Those are pretty much the first words I hear when people meet Adeline for the first time. Who would have thought she would have such a tiny body with such a BIG head of hair. She graduated to one ponytail today and I am pleased to report that there is no evidence of the dreaded "preemie head." She had the narrowing at top for quite some time and I always told myself that God blessed her with crazy hair to cover it up. I was quite surprised that after tying all of the curls back,the head didn't look any different than your average kid. . . at least not to her very biased mommy.

Our Weekend at Home!

That's right! We spent our entire Saturday at home and it was fabulous. The weather was dripping hot but that didn't seem to bother the girls. We put them in their swimsuits and out onto the poor man's patio they went. We set up the pool and they kept cool splashing until daddy broke out the playhouse box.

We got the girls a playhouse for their 2nd birthday and decided that since we are going to be in Washington State for the big day, we would put it together early. Much to our girls delight, I might add. Not a second after we pulled the box out onto the driveway was Lila Grace jumping and climbing all over it. Then came the parts - many of them - that needed unloading. Adeline stuck to the pool but the other two were glad to help. Things went slower, much slower, but eventually we had ourselves a lean-two and that was enough for the girls. We finally got the house together during the girls' nap which provided us with hours of fun later in the evening.

After the girls got some play time under their belts, we headed around the corner to see the horses behind our development. Savannah has a sudden love of ponies and asks to see them every time we drive by. They were a big hit, Miss Grace even pet one. Unfortunately, one decided to snort rather loudly which sent all three girls three feet in the air. After that, Adeline was beside herself, Lila was disgruntled and Savannah was torn between wanting to spend time with the horses and her sudden fear of them.

It is amazing how much fun staying at home and hanging with your kids can be. Simple things like watching Adeline drink water for the first time (if you want to call letting it dribble out all over her "drinking") and Lila's new found love of ice tea were moments worth hanging around the house for. We have amazing girls. All three are snuggly, loving and funny in their own little way. May this weekend be a reminder that "home is where it's at."

More From the Beach

Alex left for Dallas with all of my pictures on his hard drive. Now that he is back home they have made their way over to my computer. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to back up your hard drive. We mentioned that we needed a backup for our "backup" and not a day later our external hard drive was dead. Unfortunately, with it went pictures from the last three months (I won't go into why they were on my backup and not on my computer). Let this be a sign. . . back up your computer!!!

Since I have over 1,000 pictures from the beach I am going to have to do some serious weeding. I think I am going to do separate posts for each child.

I am going to start with Miss Grace. She, as mentioned before, had a love hate relationship with the sand. It has become apparent that she has a few sensory issues as well. She can't tolerate anything messy on her body from a drop of yogurt to a grain of sand. She screams until it is wiped away and then calmly says, "All done." That is my youngest, hot and cold.

By the end of the week, she found her beach groove and would play in the water, run around on the sand, and enjoy different pictures Mommmy would draw for her in the sand. When tired, she would find her way back to the stroller and calmly (well not every time) snuggle bunny until she was lulled to sleep by the waves. Quite unusual for her.

Our last night was the 4th and she really enjoyed the fireworks. We could see them up and down the beach. We sat with family while they were lighting their personal fireworks and she giggled as the sparks went flying. I can see her jumping into sparklers next year.

I think next year will be a bit easier on Lila. Hopefully, the sand won't be an issue. I also think that being more stable on her feet will make her more confident which could really limit my chair time. I guess I should be careful what I wish for. The days of napping on the beach are surely gone.

Listening to the ocean in a shell

More from the Oldest

As we were driving home from the Wawa (followed a neighbor down so I could buy milk without dragging three kids out of the car) Savannah had her hand hanging out of the window. We rarely drive with her window down so this was new. She asks

"Why aren't the trees moving - it is windy outside?"

(I wish it was windy. Instead it is a hot, sticky and still.)