I took all the kids to the doctor last Thursday. G has gained 11 lbs. and is back at a normal weight for her age and height, which was good news. R has not lost any weight, but he’s gotten much taller without gaining any weight, so he’s much thinner than he should be. The doctor did some blood work, all of which came back normal, and I need to take him back to have more blood drawn for a thyroid panel, too.
He needs to put on about 25 lbs., though, so we’ve got him drinking Boost shakes with every meal. He is the only male teen I have ever encountered who is such a picky eater that he’ll just not eat if we don’t have exactly what he wants on the table. I make allowances for the fact that my brother and all of his friends were jocks and descended on food like locusts on a field at harvest time, and R is extremely sedentary. Still, he’s not eating as much as he needs to eat. I’ve had trouble finding the kind of oatmeal he likes (Quaker Apple & Cinnamon) lately and found some Friday. He responded by immediately sitting down and eating a HUGE bowl—seven packets! That was good, but I have to wonder what will happen if that stuff goes off the market.
And the boy is officially taller than me. I’ve been trying to avoid acknowledging that, but he is now 5′ 9 3/4″. I’m right at 5’9″. GAH!
Katie is right on track. And way too damned pretty for my comfort. I mean, I’m happy that my child is beautiful and healthy—but I’m also just not ready for her to be so grown up.
We had a very rough evening with G. She gets upset about something and then works herself up more and more until she’s hysterical over a relatively minor issue. That scares me, honestly. That kind of out-of-bounds reaction is too typical of BPD. Right now we’re just trying to work with her on understanding that she is doing this to herself, that she can stop doing it, and that she needs to do so. Katie and R both got very upset because she was so hysterical, so they had to be calmed down, too.
While writing this post I received an email message from the UU homeschooling list with a link to an interesting article, Teaching Timidity to Kids. It’s good, and it’s right on, and I do not want to raise bubble children. As much as part of me wants to hold on to my baby girl, Katie has to learn to deal with being a beautiful person who is considered highly attractive in our society, and how she’ll likely be treated as a result (good and bad). G has to learn to deal with her emotions and regulate her own behavior in the long run. R has to learn to eat enough to keep him healthy, whether he can get exactly what he wants or not. Everybody has to learn to own his/her own feelings and let go of trying to “fix” anybody else. Of course, helping them to learn all that while keeping them reasonably safe and healthy so that they survive to benefit from the lessons is the hard part.
I’m finding it very annoying that I didn’t ask goddessinga to take an updated picture of me and sambear together this weekend. Dangit.
I’m very, very sleepy—bed now.
