I, by any means, am not the perfect parent nor will I ever be... but I am confounded by the lack of parenting skills I have surrounding me. Why would a couple who tried to get pregnant for a year never EVER spend time with their little baby?! Christina's brother and wife had a baby last fall and they are forever dropping him at grandma's house!! It is so frustrating! Daddy NEVER ever spends time with his son. If mom isn't home, the poor baby gets dropped at grandma's house. This weekend they were moving into a new home. Instead of dealing with the child like a normal family would, they just drop him off. It is 9:30pm on Sunday evening and that poor baby is still at Grandma's house because they can't seem to put away dishes and watch the baby (who can't even walk yet!!). It is exasperating!!! I feel that their kid is a showpiece or a dog that they can just pass around so they don't have to deal with it. Unbelievable!
Sorry for the vent! I'm just frustrated!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Good News!
My sister told me tonight that she's pregnant! I'm the first person she's told and it's still really early. AF is due tomorrow. She has taken two pee tests and then she got a beta done... it was 35. She's gonna get another one this week to make sure it's doubling. I'm so excited for her! When Christina and I were actively trying to get pregnant, I always thought I would get jealous when my sister got pregnant. I knew it would be coming anyday because she's been making comments that they're trying. I'm not jealous at all... I'm really excited. I have always had a problem with Christina's brother and wife having a baby, but I think it is because I don't really like them. We've had a few arguments about it because she gets mad when I make snide little comments about them. Now I will see where she's coming from. Atleast Christina likes my sister and her husband. So it will be a little bit different. I'm really excited for them! I can't wait! She said her due date will be Jan. 21st. I guess I'll have to visit around then!!! :)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sorry I've been MIA
Things have been pretty hectic! Let's see... where do I start. I guess I'll start with my job. I've been working for 2 months and I love it! The people are great and I feel appreciated which is a totally new feeling! I really miss Christina and Tyler, though. Right now I'm living in Charlotte and they're in Raleigh. It's about a 3 hour drive. I feel especially bad for Christina because she is having to deal with him all by herself.
Soo... speaking of Tyler... we got the results of all his testing back. Basically he has every learning disability known to man. Well, everything but dyslexia... The poor thing! The biggest thing is RAD- Reactive attachment disorder. If any of you know of it, it's pretty awful. It's very difficult to deal with. Basically the jist of it is he doesn't trust adults because when he was a baby adults didn't give him what he needed, whether it was food, comfort, or attention. So because of that neglect he is constantly trying to sabotage relationships. He is very manipulative and when he thinks he is hurting us (tearing up pictures of himself, throwing away things we've bought him, etc) he is actually hurting himself. But he doesn't see this and it's very frustrating. The rules of raising a child with RAD is completely opposite from a normal child. You can't go with your gut. He wants to be in control and he will do anything in his power to make sure he is. If he succeeds in being in control, he will trust you even less because if you can't control him, then obviously you can't protect him. WEIRD! It's so backwards it makes my head spin.
We have brought him to a neurologist and a psychologist. The neurologist did an MRI and an EEG. The EEG is normal (tests for seizure stuff), but we find out about the MRI next week. The first thing the technician asked after seeing his brain was whether or not his mother was a crack addict. So we're expecting the worst in the brain department.
We have a meeting with the school tomorrow morning to discuss his IEP. He's going to be put in an LD class the whole day. He just cannot keep up with a regular class. His psychologist seems to think that with a lot of hard work, he will catch up to his age by the time he's in middle school. He's in 3rd grade right now... and not passing.
Now let me tell you about the tantrums we're dealing with. I'm not talking about little crying, screaming tantrums. I'm talking about throwing himself on the ground, beating his head on anything, screaming BLOODY murder, throwing anything and everything, slamming doors, more SCREAMING, breaking things, biting himself, crying crying crying. This is what we deal with on a DAILY basis. It is the most amazing thing. And the hardest part about it is that it comes out of no where! We could be playing a game of go fish and I will casually say, " time for a shower!" and it begins and continues for an hour. Absolutely amazing. I guess the good news is that it means he's starting to heal and trust us.
He's actually getting over his mom... he doesn't talk about her much and he's starting to realize it's not our fault, but it's hers. He doesn't want to go back to her and he calls us his family. Our biggest problem with that part is explaining to him that we are lesbians and what that means. We are trying to find some other gay couples with children so he can see it's not that weird. He hates that Christina doesn't look girly, but yet she's not a man. He wants her to choose one or the other. He's always telling her to put on makeup or he'll say, "why can't you just be my dad?" We constantly try to explain these things to him. I feel bad because not only does he have all these problems, but now he has two moms! Poor thing!
We're making it through all of this. He gets out of school in July and then they're moving to Charlotte. Things will be much better when we're together.
Soo... speaking of Tyler... we got the results of all his testing back. Basically he has every learning disability known to man. Well, everything but dyslexia... The poor thing! The biggest thing is RAD- Reactive attachment disorder. If any of you know of it, it's pretty awful. It's very difficult to deal with. Basically the jist of it is he doesn't trust adults because when he was a baby adults didn't give him what he needed, whether it was food, comfort, or attention. So because of that neglect he is constantly trying to sabotage relationships. He is very manipulative and when he thinks he is hurting us (tearing up pictures of himself, throwing away things we've bought him, etc) he is actually hurting himself. But he doesn't see this and it's very frustrating. The rules of raising a child with RAD is completely opposite from a normal child. You can't go with your gut. He wants to be in control and he will do anything in his power to make sure he is. If he succeeds in being in control, he will trust you even less because if you can't control him, then obviously you can't protect him. WEIRD! It's so backwards it makes my head spin.
We have brought him to a neurologist and a psychologist. The neurologist did an MRI and an EEG. The EEG is normal (tests for seizure stuff), but we find out about the MRI next week. The first thing the technician asked after seeing his brain was whether or not his mother was a crack addict. So we're expecting the worst in the brain department.
We have a meeting with the school tomorrow morning to discuss his IEP. He's going to be put in an LD class the whole day. He just cannot keep up with a regular class. His psychologist seems to think that with a lot of hard work, he will catch up to his age by the time he's in middle school. He's in 3rd grade right now... and not passing.
Now let me tell you about the tantrums we're dealing with. I'm not talking about little crying, screaming tantrums. I'm talking about throwing himself on the ground, beating his head on anything, screaming BLOODY murder, throwing anything and everything, slamming doors, more SCREAMING, breaking things, biting himself, crying crying crying. This is what we deal with on a DAILY basis. It is the most amazing thing. And the hardest part about it is that it comes out of no where! We could be playing a game of go fish and I will casually say, " time for a shower!" and it begins and continues for an hour. Absolutely amazing. I guess the good news is that it means he's starting to heal and trust us.
He's actually getting over his mom... he doesn't talk about her much and he's starting to realize it's not our fault, but it's hers. He doesn't want to go back to her and he calls us his family. Our biggest problem with that part is explaining to him that we are lesbians and what that means. We are trying to find some other gay couples with children so he can see it's not that weird. He hates that Christina doesn't look girly, but yet she's not a man. He wants her to choose one or the other. He's always telling her to put on makeup or he'll say, "why can't you just be my dad?" We constantly try to explain these things to him. I feel bad because not only does he have all these problems, but now he has two moms! Poor thing!
We're making it through all of this. He gets out of school in July and then they're moving to Charlotte. Things will be much better when we're together.
Monday, March 10, 2008
New Job
Today was the first day of my new job. It went really well! I had to take a lot of stupid quizzes and things... safety regulations, driving, etc. But I think I'm going to like it quite a bit. I really like Charlotte too. I like the big city feel. I don't even mind the bad traffic and long commute. It gives me time to think and listen to the radio.
We haven't heard about the baby yet. Christina called the AA sponsor and she's still not back. She said she would call us tomorrow.
Christina had a break through with Tyler. His Psychologist told us not to sugar coat anything that has to do with his mom. She said he'll figure it out eventually and it's better to be truthful. So tonight Christina told him a lot of the truth. And he really opened up to her and told her how his mom used to kick him in the stomach and one time she kicked him in the mouth and knocked out 3 teeth. Poor thing. He said,"moms shouldn't do that, right?" He doesn't even know what a good mom is...pitiful. We love him so much!
We haven't heard about the baby yet. Christina called the AA sponsor and she's still not back. She said she would call us tomorrow.
Christina had a break through with Tyler. His Psychologist told us not to sugar coat anything that has to do with his mom. She said he'll figure it out eventually and it's better to be truthful. So tonight Christina told him a lot of the truth. And he really opened up to her and told her how his mom used to kick him in the stomach and one time she kicked him in the mouth and knocked out 3 teeth. Poor thing. He said,"moms shouldn't do that, right?" He doesn't even know what a good mom is...pitiful. We love him so much!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
I leave tomorrow.
I'm really nervous and I'm going to miss Christina and Tyler more than anything in the whole world. I hope it turns out for the best. The good thing is that I don't have to take much with me to Charlotte. The room I'm renting is furnished and I just need to take my toiletries and clothing.
We still haven't heard about the baby. We picked out a name for her... if we get her. She's going to be Sofia Bean. I wanted her first name to be Beana, but Christina thinks that's too weird. I really want to name her Anabaena, after a type of cyanobacteria (because it's pretty and cool). But Christina thinks that' wayyyy too weird. :) So we compromised and we both think she looks like a Sofia Bean. :) Hopefully we'll hear about her on Sunday or Monday.
We still haven't heard about the baby. We picked out a name for her... if we get her. She's going to be Sofia Bean. I wanted her first name to be Beana, but Christina thinks that's too weird. I really want to name her Anabaena, after a type of cyanobacteria (because it's pretty and cool). But Christina thinks that' wayyyy too weird. :) So we compromised and we both think she looks like a Sofia Bean. :) Hopefully we'll hear about her on Sunday or Monday.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The waiting is killing us!!!
So we won't hear more about the baby until Sunday or Monday. The woman who is sorting it out is out of town. We're trying really hard not to get our hopes up, but it's so difficult! We have a picture of her and she is soooo pretty! We can't stop looking at it. I'm leaving on Sunday for Charlotte, so if we get her next week I won't be able to meet her until Friday!! UGGHH!! This is driving us bonkers!
I'll post the picture if I can figure it out!
Monday, March 3, 2008
It's been a while... and we might have a baby!!
Yes, you read that right. We might have a baby! Tyler's mother's AA sponsor knows a woman who had a baby about 3 weeks ago. She doesn't want it because she's addicted to drugs and she's also a prostitute. Luckily, she only smoked crack 3 times while pregnant with her little girl and the baby wasn't addicted when it was born. The sponsor also has an attorney who is a close friend and he said he would do the adoption pro bono! It's really bad timing, but when is it good timing for a baby?! I'm scared ****less, but I know we'll get through it. We think the baby is caucasion and puerto rican. We can't be sure though because the mom doesn't know who the dad is.
In other news, I am moving to Charlotte on Sunday. I'm really nervous about that too. I plan coming home on the weekends. Tyler gets done with school in July and we'll sell our house an move to Charlotte before August. There's a ton of things to be done. I'm a little overwhelmed. Now we might have a baby... Oh GEEZ!
Tyler is doing really well. He has shown so much improvement! He's also growing like a freakin' weed! He's gone up 2 pant sizes. He's also grown and inch and a half in 3 months. He is just thriving! We're getting him evaluated by a psychologist. She's doing IQ testing, emotional testing, academic testing... basically anything she can think of. He also called Christina mom the other day. We couldn't tell if it was on purpose or by accident. The poor thing is so confused about the situation. Hopefully with counselling he'll figure it out.
Well, that's all for now. If you have any advice... let me know. I value everyone's opinion!! :)
In other news, I am moving to Charlotte on Sunday. I'm really nervous about that too. I plan coming home on the weekends. Tyler gets done with school in July and we'll sell our house an move to Charlotte before August. There's a ton of things to be done. I'm a little overwhelmed. Now we might have a baby... Oh GEEZ!
Tyler is doing really well. He has shown so much improvement! He's also growing like a freakin' weed! He's gone up 2 pant sizes. He's also grown and inch and a half in 3 months. He is just thriving! We're getting him evaluated by a psychologist. She's doing IQ testing, emotional testing, academic testing... basically anything she can think of. He also called Christina mom the other day. We couldn't tell if it was on purpose or by accident. The poor thing is so confused about the situation. Hopefully with counselling he'll figure it out.
Well, that's all for now. If you have any advice... let me know. I value everyone's opinion!! :)
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