Challenges

I am happy to say that my mentality has changed in so many ways when it comes to working with Colin in accomplishing his skills. I used to worry so much about timelines and the fact that Colin wasn't doing certain things, but now I am much more patient...I am thankful for that.

However, there are challenges we face on a daily basis and that can be very frustrating. I am so happy to say that we have come a long way in the feeding department, but we also have a long ways to go. Nights like tonight really test my patience and I hope that a lot of it has to do with the fact he has two big molars coming in on the bottom. Colin now spits out what he doesn't want including all types of food (including food he likes, but will often finder a bigger chunk than what he likes) and the drinks he doesn't want to drink. Those initial feelings from back when Colin was only a few months old and wouldn't drink that much from the bottle are resurfacing because I worry that Colin isn't drinking enough in a day. I assume that if he were dehydrated, there would be signs, and since he isn't displaying any of those signs, I guess he is fine. However, even drinks he loves like yogurt milk are often spit out these days. When I say spit out, I mean forcefully out...We keep trudging along, but some days are certainly harder than others (especially when there is only a few things you can give your kid to eat!).

Another challenge we are currently facing is that Colin is getting frustrated at times with certain things and the only way he knows how to communicate those frustrations is through nonverbal cues. This means, yelling, crying, having a minor tantrum (I know his tantrums are nothing like what they could be), and on rare occassions, biting. I know that's part of the age, but sometimes I wish he was able to better communicate his needs to spare these types of activities.

We are currently "stalled out" when it comes to Colin's gross motor skills. He pulls to stand if he is in the right position and when it comes to something he is really interested in. However, when it comes to practicing his skills like standing, cruising, etc. he has no interest. I feel bad because when Miss Kathy asks if we worked on such and such skill, we often say no because we may try, but Colin fights us. The only thing I can say about this is that this has happened along the way when it has come to ever single major skill. When we were trying to get Colin to sit, he would force himself backwards because he didn't want to do it. When we tried to get him to crawl, he would roll over and sit up, and now when we try to get him to stand, he forces himself back down to sitting. I know that he will do it, it's just hard when you try to work on something on a regular basis and he just knows how to fight it.

I know a lot of these things are just things that kids do, but it can be challenging to face the same difficulties every. single. day. He will get there, but once awhile, I just need to get it off my chest...thanks for listening :)