Guess who woke up on July fourth and decided to make a mind-body connection? Yeah, that kid. The one I was ready to bring to an Occupational Therapist after consulting my friend who is one and after talking to my pediatrician who agreed to write the referral for one without debate.
That kid decided that she knew when she had to go to bathroom and decided she was done with pull-ups. That kid is on day three of having graduated from diapers to underwear. Princess underwear. She can now go on her school field trips and participate in the water play activities in school. Just like that.
Maybe I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe I don't understand how it is possible that a child who had to be removed due to neglect and endangerment and has since been abandoned could possibly have walked away unscathed from a rough first 17 months of life.
I wonder if at some point I will stop waiting to expect a "problem" to emerge and just sit back and relax and realize that CD is just a very normal, well-adjusted child who will likely have normal child challenges and not necessarily ones born out of a difficult start in life.
My CD is a big girl in her big girl bed and big girl underwear now. The other day, she made a really big girl announcement too. "I am adopted. I grew in R's body." Thinking she may be getting confused between her "R" and an "R" with a very similar name who happens to be a teacher in her school and is currently pregnant, I took out a picture of her "R." She said to me, "but CD isn't in the picture with R." To which I responded, "that's true, I don't have any pictures of CD with R." She thought for a second and responded, "I can make one."
My big girl. I am so proud <3
Resilience. It's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your journey with CD. It is obvious that you want what is best for her, and care about her deeply. I love reading an adoption story where the outcome is going to be (overall) positive, and where the child is loved no differently than the person's own biological children (ie -there is no distinction, save for the needed and long sought after paperwork!).
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful how one person (or a family, really) can open themselves up and share with the world their journey - the highs and the lows. The day to day victories, and the challanges.
You have such a wonderful heart. I love your insight. I love how you can articulate and bring to light all the different aspects of raising a young lady. She sounds SUPER cute.
Thank you for sharing - and I am glad that diaper changing will soon be a thing of the past.
It is amazing that CD "found" your family. It give me hope for other children out there, who desperately need a home.
So, in the end, it might have been a motivation issue, after all?
ReplyDeleteIn the end she was ready when she was ready. The normal range for readiness is approximately 2.5 years to 4 years. My eldest was done at 2.5 years, my second was done at 3 years plus, not much younger than CD is now actually.
ReplyDeleteTo be ready you need to make a mind body connection. It clicked for her last week. In the end, there simply was no "issue."
totally agree. Kids are just ready when they're ready and the best thing to do, especially with TT but with most other things is to just back off. I basically think it's just a miracle when they do make that connection.
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