tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50054316603014351052024-03-08T05:33:29.905-08:00My Highly Sensitive "Faith"One mom's struggles and rewards of raising a highly sensitive child.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-43041404970602941322011-04-08T02:01:00.000-07:002011-04-08T02:23:07.371-07:00Dormant FaithI finished the other blog and should get to bed now, but I want to record this moment from today before I forget.<br /><br />Faith and I went to see my best friend and her daughter (who is Faith's best friend) and newborn son today. It's about a 40 minutes drive from our house to hers.<br /><br />On the way there, Faith wanted to spell. She was spelling words for about 20 minutes. I would sound them out for her and then did rhyming words so she can see the pattern. She is great with color and number patterns and I was interested to see if she would catch on as quickly with word pattern.<br /><br />We started out with cat. Then bat, hat, mat, sat. We did the same thing with dog and then bog, fog, log. And next to pen, hen, etc.... She just kept going. Then she wanted to spell bridge because we were passing under one. We haven't worked with blends and digraphs yet. I had to break it down a lot for her. We also haven't done the long vowel sounds either. Even though it was a tough word, she wanted to take a stab at it. She did really well. Her word patterns are not as quick as her color and number pattern, but we just started doing this recently. I'm sure she pick it up quick, she always does.<br /><br />After 20 minutes and finally being bored with that, we started talking about the landscape of our drive. We were noticing how lush, me explaining to her, another word for green, it was. I asked her why she thought it was so green right now. We do a lot of gardening so she knows that it requires dirt, sun, and water for plants to grow. We talked about the spring weather lately and how that is optimal for the lush landscape. The I mention the word dormant because she is loves trees that don't have any leaves. I explained to her that when a tree is dormant, it means that the tree is asleep for the winter. I didn't get any response from her. I thought that was strange so I called her name...no answer...so I called again...she giggled and then said, "I was pretending to be dormant." Of course, big smile across my face. The girl took a brand new concept and used it with her own flair to show me she gets it.<br /><br />After that we turned on some music and the song Forget you by Cee Lo Green was on. Once again, she couldn't just sing the words as is, she came up with, "I see you driving around town with the Faith I love and I said, can I get a ride." Such a funny kid! Love her!<br /><br />She loves big trucks. I saw a cool one that carries liquid and it had a tube that looks like a drinking straw wrapped around it and I asked her what she thought was in the container. She initially said air and then I asked her what else it could be in there. I told her to look at the tube that was wrapped around and asked her what it reminded her of. She thought it look like a hose, so she said water could be in there. Then we had a discussion about liquid and air (I didn't use the word gas). We talked about all our senses with liquid and air. It was an interesting conversation. Before I knew it, we were almost to our destination.<br /><br />That little girl never cease to amaze me. I often forget she is only 3 1/2. I looking forward to our many future conversations.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-85319937116933628942011-04-08T02:00:00.001-07:002011-04-08T02:00:22.983-07:00Masters in Education with emphasis on Gifted EducationIt's been a long time since I've blogged. I always have the intention of doing it, but my follow through doesn't always follow through. Once again, I should be sleeping, but instead I'm sitting here typing in hopes of getting my thoughts down and quieting my mind to go to bed. I haven't had the opportunity to follow any of my blogs and decided to tonight because I tried going down with Faith at midnight, but was unsuccessful. I took some Excedrin Migrane around 7 to get rid of my Migrane and forgot how much caffine is in those pills. My heart was racing and that nervous shaky feeling kept my exhausted body up. I logged on <a href="http://raisingsmartgirls.wordpress.com/">Raising Smart Girls</a> to and clicked on "Gifted Families" and found <a href="http://www.solutions4students.com/home.html">Life Among the Gifted</a>. I was reading Melanie's bio and all of a sudden got the urge to look up masters program in education with the emphasis on gifted education. <br /><br />When I quit teaching and decided to stay home with Faith, I always knew I wanted to go back for my masters one day. I just didn't know what I wanted my emphasis to be on. Now, it feels so clear that I should go back to learn more about Gifted Education. I remember only briefly reading and discussing gifted education when I got my credential. Just like most of the teaching population, our focus as teacher, was to help the struggling students and move them up. Why would the gifted students, need any support, they are already "smart!" Now having a gifted kid myself, I definitely understand that not only do the gifted child needs the support, but the whole family needs the support. <br /><br />I would love to learn more on how the gifted minds work. Along the way, I hope to pick up strategies and shine some light on how my highly sensitive faith. <br /><br />I requested some information from some online programs. We'll see what becomes of this quest. I still need to talk to husband about it.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-51944577120164935792010-09-03T02:15:00.000-07:002010-09-03T02:35:21.842-07:00Daily to Weekly GratitudeI'm totally behind on my gratitude journal. I might have to change daily to weekly or even monthly. It gets difficult to keep up daily, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful for all the daily blessings. <br /><br />Husband bought me a <a href="http://www.efxusa.com/technology">EFX bracelet</a> and I'm not sure if it's the bracelet working it's magic or if my shift in attitude. YOu can go to the link for more information on it. Either way, you can't convince me to take off the bracelet. <br /><br />I've been sleep deprived this week because Faith is sick again and having a hard time sleeping. I figured since I can take naps during the day and husband can't, it's wiser to have me sleeping with her. Most morning I wake up exhausted, but after my afternoon nap, I've been feeling really good.<br /><br />Also, as President of Faith's preschool, <a href="http://www.cppp.com/">Campbell Parent Participation Preschool</a>, I was part of the board member team conducting three seperate Orientations for the 4's, 3's, and 2's class. It's a while since I stood up in front of a bunch of adults and presented, it felt great! I forgot how much I missed it. I'm sure that is helping with the mood lately as well.<br /><br />It was a tough day at my therapist visit, because she called me out on some stuff that I really did need to hear. However, you never one someone else to lay out your faults, especially if it's regarding your spouse or your child. She is correct no matter how hard it is to hear. I need to be more considerate and thoughtful of my husband. He is an extraordinary husband!<br /><br />So here are my gratitude for this past week:<br />1. Having an amazing husband who spoils me and loves me unconditionally. I will work on not neglecting him and putting him first!<br /><br />2. Thankful that Faith has amazing uncle and aunt. Thank you guys for baby sitting her this week so I can either rest, go to my doctor appointments, or orientation.<br /><br />3. My EFX bracelet. Thank you husband for always being so considerate.<br /><br />4. The incredible grandmas for loving Faith unconditionally even though she can be bossy at times.<br /><br />5. My amazing Faith who ever cease to surprise me. Thank you for putting a smile on my face each and every day.<br /><br />6. Amazing friends who are always there to lend an ear.<br /><br />7. Finding a wonderful preschool for Faith. I'm looking forward to a great year!<br /><br />8. Having a great board team at Faith's school. Everyone has been so wonderful and pitching in to help one another.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-65407970823593274132010-08-28T02:39:00.000-07:002010-08-28T02:49:35.182-07:00Daily Five- August 26 & 27th, 2010Daily Five- August 26, 2010<br /><br />1. Good night's rest<br /><br />2. Cuddle time in the morning<br /><br />3. Spend the day at Happy Hollow with the kids<br /><br />4. Able to vacuum and mop the floors<br /><br />5. Faith going to bed without a fight, it was probably because it was so late.<br /><br /><br />Daily Five- August 27, 2010<br /><br />1. Another good night's rest<br /><br />2. Faith's hilarious comment today: "Look at my teeny boobies, when I grow bigger, they will grow bigger too." I don't know where she comes up with this stuff, but it's so funny<br /><br />3. Had a chance to work at Faith preschool and send the time with one of the other parent and child who are great friends of ours. The girls but on a great puppet show about horses today. Also, I finally finished my job.<br /><br />4. Spending the afternoon shopping with husband. We spent way too much on retail therapy, but it was so much fun. Of course, most of it was for Faith. I couldn't resist. Gap and Old Navy had huge sales and then another 30% off with the friends and family coupon. Also gave us a great opportunity to work out some of our issues lately. I need to work harder on showing him that he is appreciated! <br /><br />5. Able to have some quiet time to take care of some work I had to caught up on.<br /><br /><br />Can you tell which daily fives I write the day of and which ones I'm recalling from memory?My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-24099221659424386492010-08-25T22:23:00.000-07:002010-08-25T22:41:40.831-07:00Daily Fives-August 22,2010 thru August 25, 2010Daily Fives-August 22, 2010<br />(Sunday)<br /><br />1. My grandma's yummy spring rolls. She doesn't make it often, but it's totally worth the wait. I was close to my own record of 10 rolls. These rolls were pretty big so even though I had 7, I 'm going to count it as 10<br /><br />2. Faith's first time miniature golfing. She had so much fun! Daddy even own a free game.<br /><br />3. 2 hour nap<br /><br />4. Crunchy fried noodles<br /><br />5. Buying groceries to make the yummy cabbage salad.<br /><br />Chinese Cabbage Salad<br /><br />1 med. head cabbage<br />4 stalks green onions, slivered<br />2 pksg "nissen" Ramen (crushed)<br />4 Tbsp chopped almonds<br />4 Tbsp sesame seeds<br /><br />Dressing:<br />1/4 C salad oil<br />1/4 C sesame oil<br />4 Tbsp sugar<br />6 Tbsp vinegar<br />1/2 tsp black pepper<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1 tsp accent <br /><br />"accent" means Ajinomoto which means MSG! I don't usually use it...I substitute 1/2 tsp white pepper. It doesn't seem to make much difference.<br /><br />Add Ramen to salad and dressing just before serving. <br /><br /><br /><br />Daily Fives-August 23, 2010<br /><br />1. Thank you Uncle Loi for coming over and playing with Faith so I can rest<br /><br />2. Wii Fit, Thanks Nancy, this is my exercise now, I know, it's sad<br /> <br />3. Yummy Sweet Tomatoes. We love this place!<br /><br />4. Playing at the park in the dark. Love summer nights.<br /><br />5. Getting to sleep by myself <br /><br /><br />Daily Fives-August 24, 2010<br /><br />1. Faith sleeping through the night with daddy<br /><br />2. Wonderful cuddle time with Faith this morning. I love our cuddle time.<br /><br />3. Had a good physical therapist appointment. He did some tractions on my neck and relieved some of the neck pain<br /><br />4. Great bike ride with Faith and daddy<br /><br />5. Got to finally make the yummy cabbage salad. Thanks, Tania!<br /><br /><br /><br />Daily Fives-August 25, 2010<br /><br />1. Got to see my therapist today. It's always great to talk it out with her. She helps me not take everything and myself too seriously. She also gives me great ideas.<br /><br />2. Able to get some work done at Faith's preschool today. It was nice to have the school to ourselves. Faith and I enjoy the peace and quiet.<br /><br />3. Was able to get some relief from this crazy heat at one of our friends house. <br /><br />4. Finally did a Costco run <br /><br />5. Got to spend quality time at the park with Faith. Love summer nights. We were playing in the dark.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-8120885172271745272010-08-22T01:33:00.000-07:002010-08-22T01:42:47.856-07:00Daily Five-August 21, 2010Daily Five-August 21, 2010<br /><br />1. Went to my amazing acupuncturist and he was able to get rid my migrane.<br /><br />2. Having quiet time after my appointment with my Jamba Juice waiting for Faith and husband to pick me up.<br /><br />3. Celebrating a baby shower with a couple from high school. They are the last couple in our high school group of friends to have a baby. They are going to be great parents. <br /><br />4. Was able to have quality adult conversation.<br /><br />5. Spent some quality time with husband,My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-87222372087109710842010-08-20T21:54:00.000-07:002010-08-20T22:06:48.910-07:00Our ChartsWe created a few charts the last two days. I've been meaning to do a fancy one with actual photographs of her doing all these actions, but have never found the time to do it. So, finally this morning, I just drew it by hand. I'll have to post the pictures once I download them.<br /><br />We make a Mommy Wellness Chart to encourage her to sleep with daddy and let me sleep on my own so I can get some quality rest. I drew a picture of myself and told her I was only at about 40% and so I highlighted 40% of my body in green highlight. I told her that each time that I'm get a great night sleep on my own, we can color in a strip of my picture. When I'm completely green and at 100%, then I can sleep with her again. She was really excited to color a portion of it this morning.<br /><br />The next chart was a Morning Chart. It's everything that she has to do get herself ready for the day. We brainstormed all the task and then I drew boxes in the different colors of the rainbow for each task. I also numbered all boxes in order, drew an illustration, and wrote the description. 1. Go Potty 2. Wash face and hands 3. Brush Teeth 4. Change Clothes 5. Eat Breakfast<br /><br />Our last chart was a Bedtime Chart. 1. Take a bath 2. Drink milk 3. Take vitamins 4. Brush and Floss Teeth 5. Bedtime Stories 6. Go to sleep<br /><br />We'll see how helpful these charts are going to be.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-62310544636510521192010-08-20T21:37:00.000-07:002010-08-20T21:52:03.696-07:00Daily Five= August 20, 2010Daily Five- August 20, 2010<br /><br />1. Looking forward to Faith's future plans. "I'm going to go eat breakfast, grow up, and then go work for daddy so I can make money and he doesn't have to work." <br /><br />2. Had a wonderful day out with Faith at Great America. I was finally able to catch the Snoopy on Ice show. It was so cute, she fell asleep in the car ride home and when I carried her into the house, she woke up briefly to ask, "Wasn't that show great?" Then she fell back asleep.<br /><br />3. Got to have a secret date with the husband to watch "Eat Pray Love." The book was a lot better, but it was still great to spend time together.<br /><br />4. Woke up in bed all by myself. Faith slept with daddy last night. Poor daddy didn't sleep was well as I did, but we're hoping it will get better.<br /><br />5. Have dinner at my favorite restaurant and had my favorite noodle soup.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-36141506763065908682010-08-19T21:57:00.000-07:002010-08-19T22:12:56.509-07:00Daily Five- August 19, 2010Daily Five for August 19, 2010<br /><br />1. Hoping our new idea for Faith to sleep with daddy will work so that I can finally get a good night's rest. We told her that daddy is the best monster/ghost buster in town and that all the monsters and ghost are afraid of him. That means daddy is the best sleeping companion. We also drew her a mommy wellness chart. I told her I was at 40% right now and I need to get my rest so that I can be 100% again and then she can sleep with me again. We made sure not to blame her for me not sleeping well and it was more that I get easily woken up by any sounds someone else makes or even when I roll over and bump her. Crossing our fingers this will work tonight.<br /><br />2. Uncle L. coming over and spending the whole day with Faith so that I can go to my doctor appointment. <br /><br />3. My mother in law making dinner tonight. It was delicious!<br /><br />4. Spending quality time reading to Faith today.<br /><br />5. Looking forward to my date with husband tomorrow. We're planning on seeing "Eat, Pray, Love." I'm so excited! I loved the book.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-65866438555811751572010-08-19T02:14:00.000-07:002010-08-19T02:27:06.116-07:00Daiy Five- August 18, 2010I'm going to finally start my daily five. My friends been listing her daily five on her Facebook page and I thought it's such a great idea, but have never got around to it. I think the right time is the present. I really need to be more positive and focus on my daily gratitude. <br /><br />Wednesday, August 18, 2010<br />1. Got to spend time with my best friend and her daughter. My best friend finally finished medical school and has a break this summer before she starts her job. It's been great to be able to hang out with each other so much. Her daughter is four months younger than Faith so it's great for the girls to see each other as well.<br /><br />2. Had a good time at the mall. Got to eat Auntie Anne's pretzel, drink Jamba Juice, and even got two cute shirts for Faith at GAP.<br /><br />3. Didn't have to cook dinner. We had plenty of leftover from Monday and Tuesday night. My mom also made her yummy vegeterian soup.<br /><br />4. Actually made blueberry muffin from scratch. I know, I actually baked. Faith loves to help. She did a great job measuring, adding, and mixing all the ingredients. I thought it tasted good, but I think it's a little too healthy for the little girl. She likes the out of the box receipe.<br /><br />5. Love the Wii Fit. Found a new game that I'm obssessed with. It was also a great workout. I was really sweating today.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-29223532680787430742010-08-19T01:39:00.000-07:002010-08-19T02:29:25.022-07:00Great Parenting Tips, especially for Terrible ThreesFrom Taking the Lid off the Sun, Alexis had a great post called, <a href="http://www.takingthelidoffthesun.com/2010/04/quirky-crystal-child-ten-parenting-tips.html#comment-form">"The Quirky Crystal Child – Ten parenting tips I’m learning the hard way"</a><br /><br />It's the perfect post for the kind of week I've been having. The Terrible Threes SUCKS! What is going on with my well mannered, matured, delightful child? Faith's tantrums this week has been ridiculous. It's so bad on Monday, that my best friend even had nightmares all night that her darling daughter is going to turn into this scary three year old monster in 4 months. My best friend has never seen Faith act like this. <br /><br />We were at Happy Hollow and Faith insisted in taking the seat belt off for herself on one of the rides. I am usually very good about giving her time to figure things out on her own. This time, I knew she wouldn't be able to do it because it was even hard for me when I first tried it. While she was screaming, I did step back for a second for her to try, but saw that she couldn't do it and had to intervene. I know this part shouldn't matter, but it did, we were the last person still on the ride and there was a line waiting to get on. I'm generally very aware of my environment and didn't want people waiting on us. I told Faith it was too difficult and I had to do it for her. And that was it.......screaming and kicking and yelling...and there was nothing I can say or do to calm her down. I can't remember now how I finally got her to calm down, but afterward, she was so stubborn that she requested to go home and not go on anymore rides. <br /><br />That night we had a discussion about her tantrums and she told me that she "would have done it if only you gave me a couple more minutes." I asked her if I usually let her do things on her own that I know she is capable of doing and she answered yes. I told her I did it this time because it was just too difficult for her. Then she referred back to similar situation, "remember when M and I did it ourselves last time." This last time was a few months ago and it was on a similar ride at Gilroy Gardens. I had to remind her that it was a different situation and for her to remember that I did let her do it last time because I knew she would be able to do it. Anyways, we came up with a compromise that I would give her a few minutes uninterrupted time for her to try it on her own and then I would have to do it for her. I know, I will appreciate this independence and self assertion when she is older. I love that she has such self confidence that she thinks she can do it all, but it's the tantrums of either not being able to do it or not letting me help her that is driving me crazy. <br /><br />There was another tantrum at the mall today because the sales lady told her the high heel shoes were too big for her and that she can hurt herself. I saw it coming this time, but I wasn't able to prevent it. I had to get in her face today and talked her down. I asked if she was embarrassed by the sale lady and that seem to stop her in her tracks. I then told her that she needs to ask to have a private conversation with me and we can work out a solution versus her just going crazy. I then explained to her that she might think she can walk in those shoes, but they really are too big for her and the sales lady just didn't want to see her get hurt. I asked her, if she would like, she can try it on again, but she would have to hold on to me if she wanted to walk in them. She agreed to my conditions and that seemed to work. Thank goodness. <br /><br />I'm not good at handling tantrums because I get so easily riled up by her and it's so hard for me to get myself calm, let alone trying to calm her down. I found these great tips on Alexis' site and you can read the full description on her post. <br /><br />Here's the 10 tips:<br />1 Get rhythm<br />Generally, I'm really good about this one, but there's always room for improvement.<br />2 Balance brain chemistry<br />We got to work on this one. Both she and her daddy are sugar addicts.<br />3 Meditate<br />I have to do this more. <br />4 Clean your own (energetic) messes<br />This one is a tough one for me. I know Faith picks up my negative energy. <br />5 Accentuate the positive<br />I think I'm going to use this blog for my daily gratitude journal. <br />6 Establish routines and predictability<br />I need help with this one. I personally get so bored with routines. I'm more of a "let's see what I'm in the mood for" kind of person.<br />7 Use leverage<br />I love her terminology for this one. We use leverage a lot.<br />8 Assign chores<br />Thank goodness Faith loves to help out. She can work on the cleaning up her toys chores, but otherwise she is such a great helper.<br />9 Stay neutral<br />Another tough one for me. <br />10 Have a sense of humor<br />Thank goodness for daddy. He has a great sense of humor and it's contagious. She's actually really funny too. I try too as well.<br /><br />I'm going to work on these tips and see what happens.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-50343729441606110132010-08-13T06:31:00.000-07:002010-08-13T07:59:27.800-07:00Need to get back on TrackI'm blogging again, you know what that means, we've had a rough month. The good thing this time is that I am aware of most of the catalyst for it:<br /><br />1. Traveling- We went to Lake Tahoe with five other families. It was a great trip, but I'm sure it was overwhelming being surrounded by so many people all the time. The great thing was that Faith was very self-aware the whole trip and would carve out quiet time for herself in our room. When it got to noisy or she just needed a break from everyone, she simply asked to have "quiet time" in her room. We brought her V-Reader, with the Toy Story Game, her Toy Story figures, her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Magna-Tiles-Clear-Colors-piece-set/dp/B000CBSNKQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1281706825&sr=8-3">Magna Tiles</a>, and of course, TEDDY! Can you guess what her obsession is at the moment? It's been non stop Toy Story everything since we got to watch the sneak preview of Toy Story 3 at Pixar. Thanks again, Uncle Sean!<br />After the four day weekend trip to Tahoe, we had two days break before we were off to Kauai for a wedding. Generally, she loves travel and is a great traveler, however, she caught a bug on our last day in Tahoe, and had a fever that didn't break until the morning we woke up for Hawaii. That meant a rough start to our Hawaiian vacation. The time difference in Hawaii didn't help our already extremely late bed time. She didn't sleep until 10pm Hawaiian time, which is 1am our time. We're still trying to adjust back. It's been almost a month now. Last night she went to be at 11:30pm, sounds late, huh? But, that's progress for us.<br /><br />2. Illness- Like I mentioned in number 1, she got sick. It's never pleasant when Faith is sick. She has difficulties falling asleep and then staying asleep. Generally when she is sick we have to drive her to put her to bed. She is so uncomfortable that there is nothing we can do to settle her down. Music doesn't work. She doesn't like to be touch, let alone caress when she trying to sleep. Having daddy walk her around on his shoulder doesn't work anymore. She would wake up constantly throughout the night because she can't breathe. All the interrupted sleep disrupts our schedule so she and I are sleeping throughout the day.<br /><br />3. Bye Bye Binky- Probably not a smart move on our part, but the opportunity arise and we had to run with it. Trust me, I've been very tempted to return it her. So, we've been preparing her for months that the Binky Fairy is going to come soon and that she is going to take away all of Faith's binkies and in return give her a cool present. Yup, we have to bribe our daughter. Things like loosing them, giving them to the babies, or cutting the binkie (making it ineffective) doesn't work on our child because she will just tell you to go to the store and purchase more. We walked her through the whole process with the Binky Fairy and told her that the Binky Fairy thought she was ready since she is a big girl now. We told her stories about our experiences with the Binky Fairy. We even practice how the process when work. She pretended to suck on her binky, the Binky Fairy comes takes the binky, and then gives her a gift. We played this game every day for many weeks. We always told her that she had some say over when she was ready. We wanted her to feel like she has some control over the situation. She also got to request a specific gift from the Binky Fairy. Faith wanted a Lotso Huggin Bear. It smells like Strawberries and he has all these expressions when you press his hands, feet, and tummy. It was in the closet and ready whenever she was ready. Needless to say, she never felt she was ready and became more possessive with the binky and even stressed that it would be taken away at any moment. We almost gave up the idea of taking it away because apparently she wasn't ready. Until it all just happened, we were on the plane on our way home from Hawaii. For some reason, she only had the one in her mouth because I packed the rest in our suitcases when already boarded the plane. My intentions were to take them out and put them in my purse, but in the process of getting everything to the airport, I forgot. At the airport she had a lollipop, I got these yummy organic lollipop in Hawaii that was so good, and some how lost the one and only binky. We didn't realize this until the plane was about to take off. I wanted her to suck on it so her ears wouldn't pop. Oh crap, where is it? It's going to be a long flight, so we thought, but of course, once again she surprised us. She cried for the first ten minutes or so, I was seriously sweating. I thought it was going to be like this the whole flight. I offered her gum for the first time because I really didn't want her ears to pop. I'm sure with the current situation, that would just send her over the top. The gum did help because it was a new and cool experience. She was definitely a big girl now, chewing gum. The rest of the flight was pleasant and she didn't think about it until we landed. The opportunity arise, so we had to take it right? We told her the Binky Fairy thought she was ready and that the Binky Fairy would pick up all her binkies in Hawaii and bring Faith her gift when we got home. It was an hour drive from the airport back to our house. Faith was really excited to see Lotso, I even got it on film. However, like everything else with her, it only worked for a day. The following day, she told me to take Lotso away and sell him because she "hates" him and didn't want the Binky Fairy to take her binky yet. Surprisingly, she never asked the Binky Fairy to bring back her binky. Going to bed, staying asleep, and naps have been rough without the binky. It's partially our fault, we've cheated and been driving her a lot to help her sleep. So, it's natural for her to think that it's the only way she can settle herself down. We had to break this habit because we can't drive her every night. Needless to say, it's been a rough month, but I think we're making very small daily progress. <br /><br />4. Mommy's stress, anxiety,and pain. Faith picks up on my moods very easily. I guess it's not too hard, because I'm not very good at hiding it. This vicious cycle happens every time there is a prolonged period of sleep deprivation. I do not do well when I am sleep deprived!!! I'm moody, depressed, tired, unpleasant, and the list goes on. Faith doesn't sleep well, causing me to not sleeping, causing stress, causing her to stress from my stress, which causes her not to sleep well. I don't think I've slept more than 4 straight uninterrupted hours for the past few months. The lack of sleep is creating a lot of anxiety and not allowing my body to replenish itself and ultimately making me more sensitive to my neck, shoulder, and back pain. I've also had at least 2 headaches/migraine weekly. This discomfort makes it hard for me to get to sleep and stay asleep. This is why I'm up writing this post. Woke up again around 4am. When I'm up, she doesn't sleep soundly, she senses when I'm away and wakes up calling for me. She also picks up on the tension when we're sleep and is restless. We've tried getting her out of our room again only so I can sleep better because I can't make myself comfortable when I try to lay still as not to wake her. This stillness makes me uncomfortable which ends up waking her. I've also had a lot going on this summer. I haven't given her the attention she needs and wants. There's always a change in behavior when this happens. She has been more defiant, aggressive, and whiny because of it.<br /><br />Okay, so enough of that....What are we going to do about all this?<br />1. STOP THE CYCLE! Since, she is the kid and I'm the adult that can more easily make changes, it will start with ME! I will carve out more time for her. I will minimize, if not eliminate the stresses. I need to workout and do my exercises so my neck can heal. Thank you, Larry for all your help, sorry, I'm a terrible patient. Self care, thinking of trying out Reiki massage. Need to make another appointment with my <a href="http://www.newhopecounseling.org/">therapist</a> to get perspective. Need to return to my mommy group with <a href="http://www.mika-mft.com/">Mika</a> for support. <br /><br />2. Increase Faith's activity. We're going to start preschool again next month so I think that will help a lot. She needs more structure that I'm not providing at the moment. I'm also thinking of signing her up for Ballet and swimming classes. <br /><br />3. Improve our diet. I went thorough our kitchen last week and throw away most of the junk food. We need to be more conscientious in what we purchase. I'm sure her diet is not helping with her sensitivity. I'm too embarrassed to even mention all the crap she eats. That will change. It already is starting to change.<br /><br />4. Continue to research more strategies. I've found two new great blogs for Highly Sensitive Children, <a href="http://crystalchild.wordpress.com/">Raising a Sensitive Child</a> and <a href="http://www.takingthelidoffthesun.com/">Taking the Lid of the Sun</a>. There are some great information on it. I'm still not completely comfortable with the "Indigo" and "Crystal" terminology and some of my ideas are a little new to me, but I'm staying open to it. Also, there is no room for judging, this is someones experience and all they are doing is sharing. It's up to you what you want to take away from it. This link is also great with practical parenting strategies on the <a href="http://life.familyeducation.com/behavioral-problems/shyness/40424.html?page=1&detoured=1">Family Education website</a>.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-6646277470798503692010-06-28T01:37:00.001-07:002010-08-12T06:52:32.969-07:00Happy 3rd Birthday My Highly Sensitive FaithNew Addition:<br />I'm sure I wanted to write more when I initially wrote this post and that is why I haven't published it since June 28th. But, now re-reading it, I think it's great as is. The funny thing is so much has changed in the past month and I'll need to work to get us back to a more pleasant environment.<br /><br />Original Post:<br /><br />I can't believe I haven't posted a blog since February. The reason behind the procrastination of blogging is like I've said in my previous post of writing coming easier when I'm stress than when things are going well. Things have been great!<br /><br />My G.E.R.D. is completely gone. We've all made lots of changes. Not to say that I've eliminated all of my stresses, but I'm not better equipped to handle it. I was seeing my therapist every other week until about a month ago. I was also participating in a discussion group for gifted children. It's led my <a href="http://www.mika-mft.com/groupfaqs.html">Mika Gustavson</a>. We also totally gave up with the sleeping arrangement and Faith is in the bed with me and my husband is in her room. It's all about just getting good sleep. <br /><br />My state of mind has completely affect how Faith handles things. She has been incredible. I'm sure maturity is starting to be a factor as well. However, we have been working on a lot of different strategies that I've learn from my therapist and the discussion group. I've helped her to vocalize more with her feelings. We've also been identifying what we're feeling and what is the best method to deal with it. I've also stop over reacting. That one a big one. She used to just get wrapped up in my anxiety and then it became a vicious cycle, with each of us feeding of the other. We've also made time for cuddle time in the morning, right when she wakes up, and at night, right before she goes to sleep. We just lay in bed cuddling with each other and talking about the previous day or what we're going to do for the day. I saw a huge difference in her attitude when I have to take care of business, when I took the time out to give her uninterrupted quality time. This has help tremendously with the clinginess. She is also getting more mature and being able to play on her own, which helps tremendously for both of us. <br /><br />My husband and I are contemplating about having a child because it's finally getting so much easier with Faith. She turned three yesterday on June 27th. She is growing up so fast and has matured so much from when I started this blog. She is still highly sensitive, but less so in the emotional outburst and more in her understanding and sensing others pain and emotions. I know I'm her mom and I'm a little bias, but she never cease to amaze me. She is so wise beyond her years some time that I do truly forget she is three. Sometimes I know I expect too much from her and I have to remind myself that she is still so young. It's easy to forget her age if you just sit and have a conversation with her. She is able to hold a true conversation with comments, suggestions, humor, and thoughtfulness.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-17702828132204848362010-02-27T03:02:00.000-08:002010-08-19T02:29:56.930-07:00Websites with great resourcesI'm working on so many posts right now and it just seems like I never have the time to finish them. I over think everything before I actually publish the post so it takes me so much time to get them out. I'm working on the post of strategies we're trying with Faith that has been working really well and I will get that one posted as quickly as I can. Here is a list of website I've been using to get helpful information on high sensitivity for kids and adults:<br /><br /><a href="http://raisingsmartgirls.wordpress.com/">Raising Smart Girls</a><br />I got a few of these site from Raising Smart Girls and it's a lot more organized on her site. For a more expansive list, especially on giftedness, check out her site. These are the ones I usually refer to. <br /><a href="http://mika-mft.com/home.html">Mika Gustavson, MFT ¦ Adult, Child and Family Therapy</a><br /><a href="http://highlysensitive.org/">High Sensitivity</a><br /><a href="http://www.drtedzeff.com/">Dr. Ted Zeff</a><br /><a href="http://www.thehighlysensitiveperson.com/">The Highly Sensitive Person Publishing Company</a><br /><a href="http://www.highlysensitivesouls.com/board/index.php?sid=472337541f660068d50b48a8629fe8cd">Jenna Avery's Art of Sensitive Living Community Forum</a><br /><a href="http://giftedkids.about.com/">About.com:Gifted Children</a><br /><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/">Hoagie's Gifted Education Page</a><br /><a href="http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Raising_Sensitive_Child/#comments">Education.com: Raising a Sensitive Child</a><br /><a href="http://www.mothering.com/parenting-highly-sensitive-child">Mothering.com: Parenting a Highly Sensitive Child</a><br /><a href="http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html">Sensory Processing Disorder</a><br /><a href="http://www.altmd.com/Specialists/Healing-Highly-Sensitive-Body-and-Mind/Blog/Private-Or-Public-School-For-A-Highly-Sensitive-Ch">altmd.com: private or public school for the highly sensitive child?</a><br /><br />They are not in any order.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-21977372770623020322010-02-04T21:14:00.000-08:002010-02-04T22:04:19.713-08:00What a sweet and considerate little girlEven though Faith has been with grandma a lot this week because I've had so many doctor appointments, she has been so great. All week, she only got upset once yesterday when I had to leave really early for the Stanford appointment and it was only because she woke up too early. <br /><br />She is also wonderful with daddy this week. No struggles with bath time. Generally she wants me to go up with her and then I have to tell her that we're having a bath contest to see who would finish first, before she would let me go without a tantrum. They have been having so much fun. I love watching them interact. No one on this earth makes her laugh the way he does. She is daddy's little girl and she knows it too.<br /><br />Today we had music class with one of our other friend. She was really excited because we haven't seen our friend in awhile. Faith treats M as a little sister. They are only four months apart, but Faith has always taken care of her. I used to baby sit M when she was a baby. <br /><br />We went to pick up M at her daycare. It's the same daycare that Faith went to for four months. M is in a different room now, but we had a chance to visit their old room and Faith's favorite teacher was there. It was nice for Faith to see her teacher.<br /><br />The girls were so excited to see each other. I love how they run into each other arms. Now they are talking, it's so cute to see how they interact with each other. M was telling us that she did in school today, and then Faith said, "then we picked you up," then M said, "yes, Faith." They are adorable. <br /><br />Faith has always been so good at sharing her mommy with M. M's mommy calls me her second mom. Both girls sat on my lap during music class because M wants to do everything that Faith does. They are really like sister. We call them twins. M's daddy was sitting all by himself since both girls were on my lap. Faith got up and went to sit next to him. Then during music class when the teacher brought out the balls for one of our song, she grabbed three balls, one for me, one for M, and one for M's daddy. What a considerate little girl. After we got our balls, she went back for balls for herself. Then during the free time music session where the teacher dumps out a bunch for different instruments for the kids to just play, Faith saw that M's daddy didn't have an instrument and she went and grabbed one and handed it to him. She is so thoughtful and I'm so proud of her. <br /><br />Ever since baby was a baby she has always been so great with sharing her food. At six months, she would feed us food. Then as she got older, she wouldn't eat her food until she handed one out to everyone else. Every parent works with their kids on sharing, but I never had to work too hard on it. She is also wonderful with other kids when they come over our house to play, she never has an issue with anyone playing with her toys, except when she is actually playing with it and they yank it out of her hands. <br /><br />Everyone says she gets this from me and I'm so happy that is so kind and considerate, but I worry that she is going to be too much like me. I don't want her to always take care of other people without tending to her needs first. I definitely don't want her to be selfish, but being selfless isn't good either. It's just like the rules on the airplane, put on your air mask first before you put anyone else's on. I want her to always take care of herself first and then she can be considerate of everyone else. It's been a hard lesson for me to learn. I'm getting better at taking care of myself, but I should be doing it more.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-65882987935127695292010-02-02T23:52:00.001-08:002010-02-03T00:50:58.845-08:00My Independent FaithSo proud of my baby today! She did such a great job at preschool. It was our first official day at our parent participation preschool. February is dinosaur themed and Faith loves dinosaurs so she was very excited to go to school today.<br /><br />However, early mornings are always hard for us because Faith usually sleeps late. For the last few days she slept at midnight, so yesterday I had to interrupt her nap so that she would sleep earlier last night. She slept at 11pm last night, but it would have been earlier if she didn't fall asleep for about 10 minutes on the way home from great grandma's house. Although it was only a 10 minutes nap, it kept her up for another five hours. I'm so jealous of these other mommies when I hear that their kid can wake up from a nap at 5pm and still go down at 8pm. You have to always add about six hours on to whenever Faith wakes up from her nap. Anyways, it took her awhile to get up this morning which gave me some time to load the car and get her dvd player ready. She usually has breakfast with the tv on. It helps her relax and eases her into the day. Since I was rushing her this morning, I wanted to make it was relaxing as possible for her. <br /><br />Since I wanted to give her the extra few minutes of sleep this morning, she had to have her breakfast in the car. She usually doesn't eat much this way, but it's better than rushing her while she eats at home and then having to deal with a tantrum because we have to stop watching to leave. <br /><br />She was very excited when we got to school and she saw two dinosaurs at the door. She loves dinosaurs, especially herbivores, because of Dinosaur Train on PBS. It's a great program and there's a great herbivore song called, Hungry Hungry Herbivore. She loves singing the song and asking for a leafwich.<br /><br />When we got it, there were dinosaur activities everywhere. She went straight to a sorting game and started sorting it into ice tray using tongs. Afterward we did some art using foam stickers. She wanted a picture of a herbivore, so I gave her a triceratops. Then she grab the plants so the triceratops can eat. She was also excited when the teacher showed her, her cubbie so that she can store her pictures and personal belongings. <br /><br />After she put her picture into her cubbie, she ran over to her favorite room, the dramatic play area. The school has this cool loft that has office equipment. She always say she is like daddy because daddy's office is upstairs in the loft too. Another favorite activity is for us to dress up like Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. They have cowboy hats and the horse on the stick. She loves to ride on the horse, and then lift and swing her hat and yell, "Yeeeha!"<br /><br />Then she wanted to go outside and play dinosaur excavation. She had a great time digging for the dinosaur bones. Five minutes is about her limit with most activities. Then we moved to another art project. She made two dinosaurs, a triceratops and a t-rex with glue and glitter, rice, sand, and noodle. After finishing both activities she ran to the sand pit and took off her crocs to play in the sand. She used to hate the sand before we went to Hawaii, but now she loves playing it in as long as her shoes are off. She doesn't like the rubbing of the sand on her feet when her shoes are on. I love that she doesn't care about playing in the sand. Also I'm getting better at letting her just enjoy herself without the need of brushing off sand on her. Yeah, I still need to work on the getting dirty.<br /><br />She was excited when the circle time bell rang. She loves circle time, always has. Although this is our first formal preschool, she has a lot of experience with circle/story time. We started doing music class when she was six months. She also does gym class. We try to make story time every Wednesday at our public library. We have also did a community class once a week for an hour and for a few months this past summer, we did preschool at our house with a couple of our mommy group friends. <br /><br />The kids got to wear dinosaurs mask and march to "We are the Dinosaurs." Faith didn't wear it on her face, but she did put it on her head. The teacher brought out different types of bones for the kids. She didn't care for the coyote skull, but she liked the smaller bones. <br /><br />Then it was snack time. The snack mom was so clever, she cut dinosaur shaped sandwiches (bread, turkey, and cheese). I'm going to have to buy some more cookie cutters. Such a cute idea. Although Faith only ate the cheese and turkey. <br /><br />After snack, I wanted to prepare Faith because although it was our first official day, I had bathroom duty. I was a little concerned that she wouldn't want to play on her own while I was cleaning the bathrooms, but I didn't have to worry I think since this is our third time here and she knows exactly where I'm at, if she needs me, she was comfortable to go explore on her own. <br /><br />I'm so proud of my little girl!<br /><br />She played in the areas when she could still check in on me for awhile and then she got bored and asked to go outside on her own. Of course, I enthusiastically said yes. After I finished, I went outside and saw her playing happily with the teacher and a few other kids. They were taking turns walking up a ramp. I can't even express how happy I am to see her so independent and socialize with others.<br /><br />This parent participation preschool is such a great idea and I really do wished we started earlier. It's helping both of us, because I can relax a lot more as well because all the parents are wonderful at our class. They are very good about making sure their child plays gently and take turns. That is another issue for us. Most kids are a lot more aggressive than Faith and she will never fight back. She is getting better at not letting others grab things from her. We used to have to give her pep talks about telling other kids no and pulling back if people grab her toys. <br /><br />Faith got to ring the bell for our second circle time. She was very excited about that as well. After listening to the teacher read and singing our goodbye song, she even ran up to give the teacher a hug. <br /><br />The best part is that she doesn't want to leave. That's such a great sign. I let her run outside for awhile with the other kids and one of the daddy. She had a great time although she fell and got her stocking dirty. She was about to stress over the dirty, but I had to talk her and myself down. "It's just dirt, it's okay, we can wash it when we get home." <br /><br />What a great day we had! I'm also so proud of her for being such a big girl when I have to go to my physical therapist/therapist/acupuncturist/doctor appointments. She knows and accept who will be home with her, gives me a hug and a kiss, and waves bye mommy, without shedding any tears. Well according to her, she said, "sometimes I still cry." What a big girl!My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-23962052854124969812010-01-26T23:11:00.000-08:002010-01-27T00:29:38.520-08:00UpdateI am so behind on my blogging. I have so many thoughts running through my head all the time. I have so many notes on topics I want to blog about, but once the moments pass it's so hard for me to get myself back on track. I'm going to try harder to schedule time for my blogging. <br /><br />Since I'm making time right now, I'm going to give an update on what's going on. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me with the yucky weather. This rain and the time of the month has not helped my mood lately. The good thing is that I've kept pretty busy with Faith's schedule and all my doctor appointments that there isn't much time to think about how I am feeling. <br /><br />Husband is so wonderful. He's one step ahead of me all the time, he ordered the sun lamp before I even had a chance to. I think I have slight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). For as long as I can remember, the winter seasons are always harder for me. Let's see if the lamp works. Also we should have a couple of sunny days before the rain returns so I'll try to pay attention to see if my mood improves.<br /><br />Beside the weather, the sleep deprivation hasn't helped much for my mood or my body to recuperate. We're trying a lot of new things with Faith. Most of it has helped a lot and I have a separate post devoted to it. I will try to finish that post as soon as possible because that has a lot of helpful strategies. One of the new thing we're doing now is to have Faith on a separate bed next to our bed. I have no problem with the idea of sharing a bed with her, but I really can't sleep when she is next to me. I wake up constantly when she rolls into me. She also loves sharing my pillow and even using me as a pillow. It's been a rough couple of nights. She did the best the first night, she always does well the first night we try anything new. The second night, she woke up screaming and ended up back in our bed. This new bed is a little toddler bed and every time she moves around and bumps her head, she wakes up. She rolls a lot and ever since she was one she has slept on a full size bed so to adjust to a smaller bed has been hard for her. Last night, she rolled off the bed, ended up on the floor and then back on our bed. Then she was screaming off and on all night and woke up really early this morning. After our busy morning at preschool, we took a three hour nap.<br /><br />Preschool is another change for us. I'm doing a parent participation preschool with her. She loves it so much! I wished I started this earlier, but better late than never. I'm even looking into parent participation elementary school for her in the future. I think with her sensitivity, this will be a good option for both of us. It lets her know that I'm there for her if she needs me. She is usually really bold once she is comfortable with the environment and the people in it.<br /><br />I'm making more of an effort to reach out to my friends. Hubby does his best to support me, but I need more on a daily basis. I've always been very social and friends are very important to me. It's hard finding time now as a mom to see my friends or even talk to them. Faith has a difficult time when I'm on the phone so there isn't many opportunities for me to call all my friends and catch up with them. Facebook helps some because it's a quick way to see what all my friends are up to, but it's still not the same as face to face interaction. I had a few play date the last couple of weeks with allows me to hang out with the parents while Faith is playing with the kids. Even with other kids around, she still demands my attention. But some adult conversation is so much better than none.<br /><br />I had a wonderful mothers night out last night with some of the moms from my mother group. We had a yummy dinner at Cheesecake Factory and great conversation. It's always so wonderful when I see these mommies. They are always so supportive and never judgemental. I always feel re-energize after seeing them. <br /><br />I'm going to end this post here, baby is waking up again. I think she is teething tonight.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-23575928372592193812009-12-30T00:12:00.000-08:002009-12-30T01:05:33.874-08:00Coping MechanismsI have a post before this one on how wonderful our Christmas was this year, but it's so terrible how I always procrastinate on writing about the good things and not the bad. It's because writing this blog is a coping mechanism for me. This is why writing when I'm frustrated comes so much easier than when I'm happy. When all is good, I just enjoy the moment and I don't feel the need to record it. <br /><br />So my therapist gave me a few coping mechanisms to help me with I am under a lot of stress, it's funny because I did most of these things when I was younger, but for whatever reasons, I don't do them anymore. <br /> <br />I'm starting to again. I used to journal when I was younger and of course, there was always more frustrating moments than positive ones. This blogging is really helping me. It helps not only to write my own blog, but also read others. I found a few great one, but my favorite by far is <a href="http://raisingsmartgirls.wordpress.com/">Raising Smart Girls</a>. Casey is very resourceful, intelligent, and a fabulous writer. Besides all that, it seems like she is reading my mind because most of what she says is exactly how I feel about being a mother, both the rewards and internal struggles. She is just a lot more eloquent than I am with her words. Blogging is also helping me over come being so self conscious about my writing. I know I'm have a lot of spelling and grammar error and it seems to take a while for my point to get across, but as my therapist said, no one really cares. They might at the moment they are reading it, but who cares. This is for me! I'm sorry if my writing frustrates you, but it's okay, you get the gist of it.<br /><br /><a href="http://raisingsmartgirls.wordpress.com/">Raising Smart Girls</a> has tremedously helped me. Both with resources and my state of mind. Casey has given a lot of wonderful suggestions that I'm currently using and plan on using. She also makes me feel normal again, because all my thoughts about motherhood is shared by many others. It's just not something most mothers openly share.<br /><br />My therapist also suggest dancing to loud music and singing at the top of my lungs. I remember doing both of these things when I was younger. When I used to be extremely stressed out in high school, I remember closing all the windows, turning my stereo up as loud as I could bare it, singing and dancing until whatever was bothering me would go away. Why don't I do that anymore? I should, my daughter would probably enjoy it. I wouldn't turn the stereo up as loud as I used to because it would bother both me and my daughter.<br /><br />The breathing that she suggested to do is really helping. Taking deep breathes so that I fill my whole body. Also counting my inhalation and exhalation so that I focus on the breathing and not letting my brain wander. I usually do it when I'm putting Faith to sleep. It's usually so stressful for me because she goes to sleep so late, but that's part of my doing and choosing. She only sleeps 10 hours. If she went down early, she would wake up earlier. I'm not a morning person! Don't know how I woke up early to teach all those years. Faith usually sleep at between 10-11 pm. I know it's late, but I can't function before 8 am. <br /><br />Since all the parties from the holidays and excitement from having Auntie home, she has been sleeping even later than that. Also she has been in our bed so I have to lay with her until she is completely asleep before I can sneak away. Auntie left back to Japan, but Faith is still in our bed because she is still teething. I swear, teething bothers her for months before an actual tooth comes out. She has been screaming in the middle of the night for the last few nights. This means sleep deprivation for me. This is also the reason for my impatience with her today. Besides having a difficult time sleep at night, Faith is also extremely clingy during the day. The best way to describe it is like having a leech on you. I know that is a terrible description, but it's true. She has to either be sitting next to me or held by me or walking with me where ever I go. Yes, even to the bathroom! I love her to death, but I also feeling like she is suffocating me. I know it will pass, she always goes through this cycle when she is not feeling well and when I'm not feeling well. It's so bad, since we are both sensitive, we feed off each other, in positive and negative ways. Thank goodness we only have two more molars to go. <br /><br />My husband is so wonderful and he is going to sleep with Faith tonight so that I can have a night of restful sleep. I've sent him into her room so that he can get adequate rest for work. Tonight it's my turn. I'm also going to try the TempurPedic pillow husband got me for Christmas. Beside sleeping with her tonight, he got a bath ready for me after I put Faith to bed, with candles and the heater going in case the bathroom was too cold. I was too stressed to put Faith to bed because she does pick up on my mood which usually aggravates the situation. Daddy had to carry her and walk her around for a bit. She feel asleep almost right away on his shoulder because he was a lot more relaxed than I was tonight. It's wonderful how only one of us is frustrated with her at time. This way we are able to calm each other down. Usually it's daddy calming me down. He doesn't get worked up by much. Thank goodness for that. He is an incredible man! Faith and I are extremely lucky girls.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-76911323403378546672009-12-29T13:33:00.001-08:002010-01-11T00:44:12.057-08:00Wonderful ChristmasI don't know why it's taken me so long to finish this post. This will be my third and final attempt.<br /><br />The whole family had a wonderful Christmas this year! Faith wasn't her full self because she is still teething, but she still had a wonderful time with our family and friends and of course, opening lots of gifts. <br /><br />We started the holidays with a party at our friends house. I was a little weary at first because this is a house that doesn't have kids so we made sure to bring some of her books and toys with us. It took her a little bit of time to adjust at first but she warmed up really quickly. She went up and down the stairs with the other kids, had a great time looking at all the ornaments and Christmas decorations on their tree, and watching daddy and the guys play the Wii. Half way through the night we had to give her her binky (pacifier) because it started to get pretty loud and crowded at the house. One of the other mommy brought a Disney movie so that kept her occupied for a while. The cute thing she said that night was when we were about to have the gift exchange, I told her that we were about to open presents and she asked, "Is it Christmas already?" So cute. I've been telling her for weeks that she couldn't peek at her presents because it wasn't Christmas yet. I had to tell her that this was an exception. <br /><br />Our second party was at one of the family that we met at our mommy's group. Most of her friends from the group was there. She did a great job playing by herself. I think she was a lot more comfortable with this group of adults because she is used to being around them. Also, they had a whole play room just for the kiddos. Considering how many kids there were in the room, they were all pretty tamed. I took her by myself to the party so that daddy can rest and usually when it's just me, she is extra clingy, but this time she was independently playing for most of the night. It was nice to be able to have adult conversation without a whining clinging toddler on me.<br /><br />That was a busy weekend because the next day we had a wedding reception and then our long drive to Disneyland. Faith did okay at the reception. Luckily it was at a restaurant where there was an area for her to run around outside the restaurant. Refer to the "what a difference a year makes" for our Disneyland trip.<br /><br />We made a great decision this year and moved our immediate family Christmas dinner to Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. We usually have back to back dinner on Christmas Eve and it's just too hectic and too much food for one day that we end up not enjoying it as much as we should. This year, we finally got smarter! We went to my Uncle's house in Newark to have dinner with my extended family. It took Faith awhile to warm up. She doesn't see the family often enough for her to quickly warm up to them. The first hour she spent attached to me. Once she warmed up, she had a great time playing with her uncles and aunties. Of course, her favorite time is opening presents and then playing with everything.<br /><br />My husband and I agreed that this was one of the best Christmas. The whole family slept in. We opened presents in our pajamas. Once again, Faith is extremely spoiled and got more than she needs. One of her favorite present is a bounce house from Grandma. Of course, we set it up right after we finished with presents. She loved it! It's big enough for me to jump with her as well. We spent most of our morning in it. She even had her snack in there. Then it was nap time. Faith and I both went down for a nap. The biggest reason it was so relaxing this year was because my mother in law did most of the cooking. Thank goodness for her. She is an incredible woman and I'm so grateful for such a wonderful mother in law. The only traditional food items we did this year was the ham and mashed potatoes. My mother in law made eggrolls and Vietnamese salad. We had a wonderful dinner and then we decided to go to the drive in to watch Princess and the Frog. We thought the movie was okay, but we enjoyed the experience.<br /><br />Our last party for this holiday season was at our friend's house in Sacramento. I've been friends with most of these people since high school. It's wonderful how we have kept in touch for this long. It's also great that we every couple, but one has children. For the most part, Faith had a great time. I felt really bad because prior to going up, I told her that this was the house with the school bus. They have this awesome school bus that Faith loves to play with every time we are there. Except, I didn't know that they sold it. First thing she ask when we walked in was, "Where is the school bus?" She remembers things from months ago, let alone just two hours, so I wasn't surprise. She was really disappointed, but she survived. Luckily daddy is so much fun and was playing bear and bear cave with her and the other kids. I really appreciate my husband so much more at parties because he alway plays with her so that I get a chance to eat, relax, and catch up with my friends. He's also really popular with the other kids. Yet once again, she had a great time opening her present. Yes, she is a little spoiled. Okay, a lot spoiled. I think I'm living vaciously through her because I didn't have all that I wanted as a child. <br /><br />It was a wonderful and stressful Christmas this year. It was great having Auntie home this year. She wasn't able to make it home last year and the holidays just isn't the same without her. Can't wait for next Christmas. It's mine and now, Faith's favorite time of year.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-84098796970003313422009-12-24T01:32:00.000-08:002009-12-24T02:41:30.353-08:00Bizarre BehaviorsIt's 1:32am and I can't get myself back to sleep. Faith woke up again in one of her crying fit. Not sure what's wrong. When she is like this, we can't get her to tell us what's bothering her. I think she is teething and I should have given her some Tylenol before bed. <br /><br />I had her in our bed tonight. She started having a running nose at the playdate today, but she didn't have a temperature, so I'm figuring she's teething. She didn't look so good and she was congested so I figured it's just easier to have her sleep with her from the beginning versus waking me up at three when she wanders into our room. She has been wandering in around three for the last few days. Actually she has been coming in every day since we have been back from Disneyland. It's our post traveling adjustment time, plus Auntie is here. Faith is so sensitive to noise when she is sleeping and although Auntie is not loud, she still wakes up when she hears the slightest noise from downstairs. <br /><br />She just sat up crying and I asked her what was bothering her, but she continued to cry. So I got up and held her to try to calm her down. I was successful at first, but then I told her that I had to go pee and that I would set her down for just a second. This just got her so upset and she starting crying louder. I decided to take her to the bathroom with me because I had to pee badly. I sat her on the stool as she continued crying. She lost her pacifier for a second and cried louder until I finally finished and scoped her up to walk her around. We used to do this a lot when she was a baby. I was successful in calming her down, but now instead of peacefully sleeping, I'm up writing this post. I figured writing my feelings down will calm me down enough to get me back to sleep. My therapist says that writing in a journal is just as good as going to therapy. Let's see if she is right.<br /><br />Faith has been acting bizarre lately. I think it's a combination of teething and having Auntie around. She loves her Auntie and I'm so glad that Auntie came home to visit from Japan. She is here for two weeks and will be leaving on Sunday. I'm sure it's going to be rough for Faith then. It's so cute how she follows her Auntie around and hangs on every word that Auntie says. She idolize her and it's so cute to see their interaction. Faith doesn't get attach too many people so it's wonderful to see her attach to someone else beside myself. However because she is so attach, she wouldn't even eat when Auntie is around. She runs around like crazy and acts really silly. It's like she is putting on a show for Auntie. Also when Auntie's friends come around, she is even more intense. <br /><br />The other night, she had three grown adults playing ring around the Rosie's and spinning around on the floor. It was the funniest sight. It was great for my husband and I to watch because she rarely acts like this in front of other people besides us. After calming from our laughing fit, my husband made a comment that made me reflect. He said, "it's great to watch her, but makes me realize how exhausting it is to take care of her." She does require a lot of our energy and we go out of our way to out of our way to entertain her. <br /><br />All this adult interaction is making her forget how to play with kids her age. During the last two playdates, she has been really withdrawn. I think it's just been so overwhelming for her. Instead of playing with the other kids, she just wants her binky and lay with her head on my lap. At yesterdays playdate, she wanted to just watch tv while her friends were all playing. I used to fight this behavior, but now I let her do it because I know she needs to. I used to feel embarrassed that she wouldn't play with everyone else, but I'm get better at accept her for her. I'm not going to push her if she's not ready. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't continue to encourage her to play, but it helps not to feel ashamed and making her feel bad for it as well.<br /><br />It's going to be interesting to see how she is when Auntie leaves back to Japan. It will be a future post.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-36918399160109875012009-12-18T13:55:00.000-08:002009-12-19T15:44:01.888-08:00What a difference a year makeThe first time went to Disneyland with Faith was right before her first birthday. This was totally a different trip than last time.<br /><br />First of all, we made the whole drive down to Anaheim without having to clean up any vomit. We weren't sure what happened the last time, but right when we got to the Harris Ranch area, Faith started coughing and then vomited all over her car seat. Of course, we didn't realize at that point the air outside wouldn't be any fresher. She vomited almost every night for the whole week trip. However, she was great during the day. Not sure what that was all about, but since she had so much fun during the day, we just kept on going. <br /><br />On the first time, we actually stayed in Santa Monica and did a lot. We went to Disneyland, Fashion District, Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica's Farmer Market, Los Angeles Zoo, Getty Museum, and Third Street Promenade. This time we only went to Disneyland. Since she was older, we figured there was more she can do. Even with two and a half days, it wasn't enough. Most nights, she asked to go back to the hotel. It was fun but also exhausting for her because she was taking everything in. She's like her daddy, not a fan of crowds. Also, being more aware, she was afraid of most of the rides, but she did enjoy some aspects of it. It was either too dark, too loud, or there was some component that scared her. We did push her comfort zone a little, because we wanted to let her know that we were there with her and it would be okay. We knew Pirates of the Caribbean would be a little scary, she did spent most of the ride hidden in my arms, but she survived and did like some parts of the ride. <br /><br />Although it was a tiring trip for her, she had so many memorable moments. Her favorite by far was the Princess breakfast at Ariel's Grotto in California Theme Park. We went on the second day of our trip. She was excited all morning because she knew she was going to meet the princesses. We arrived at the Park before it opened so we got to do the count down, that was fun. After making our way through the park and finding the restaurant, she was bursting with excitement. We were greeted by Ariel and got to take a picture with her. Faith still needed some time to warm up so we did a family shot with Ariel. Then the waiter took us to our table and gave Faith a crown and some stickers to decorate her crown. After they brought out our yummy spread. We had a variety of fruit, cheeses, and bread. Then we got some eggs, bacon, potatoes, and waffles with berries and whipped cream. We requested for some extra blue berries, since they are Faith's favorite. They gave her a generous portion and she finished most of it on her own, of course, she had to dip it in whipped cream. The whole time we were eating, she kept asking where the rest of the princesses would come. We told her to be patient, I'm sure you understand, that was hard for her to do. <br /><br />They gave us a adequate amount of time to finish our breakfast before the first princess came out. Snow White made her appearance at last. Faith was so excited, that was the end of her eating. She kept looking around anticipating Snow White's visit to our table. When Snow White finally made it to our table, Faith was beside herself. She was so excited, but still not ready to take a picture with Snow White alone. Daddy did get one great shot, but he was so star struck himself that he forgot to take more pictures. Snow White signaled to him to snap the camera, but he thought she was waving hi to him. I had to remind him to continuously take pictures. He did a better job when Aurora arrived. She likes most of the princess, but it wasn't until Cinderella came out that she was truly in heaven. You should have seen the look on her face when they introduced Cinderella. Her expression was priceless. It was worth every penny we paid for that breakfast. Cinderella was by far the friendliness princess. Faith told her that she was her favorite princess and she asked Faith what her name was. After Faith told her, she called Faith, Princess Faith. Faith was just glowing after that. She asked Faith how old she was and if she was enjoying herself. Faith was so comfortable with her and even let Cinderella hold her for a picture. That was the first time in the whole trip that she was willing to take a picture by herself with one of the character. She also took a picture with Belle by herself afterward, but she wasn't as comfortable as she was with Cinderella. She asked if anyone else was coming out and when we got the princess button she looked at it and said that we didn't get to see Jasmine. We told her that Jasmine wasn't able to make it to the breakfast this time. After the whole event, she was still bursting with excitement.<br /><br />This lead to the second memorable time. We were heading back to the hotel for her to take a nap after we saw the princesses and rode on a few rides at the California themed park, Faith noticed that we were walked to the bus station, she jumped out of the stroller, started walking back toward the park, and crying. It was such a sad, but cute moment. We had to talk her down and convince her that we will return to the park after her nap. <br /><br />The Holiday parade and the rides are also memorable for her. She loved the parade so much that we decided to watch both nights. She loved see all the characters, especially Mickey, Minnie, all the Princesses, and the Seven dwarfs. Her favorite rides was the Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo ride. We rode on both of them twice. She also liked the Tea Cup ride because we kept screaming when she turned the cup. <br /><br />Beside the Princess Breakfast, I think her favorite aspect of the trip was our hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton, about a 15 minutes walk to the park. We got a free upgrade to the studio and it was perfect for her. She had plenty of room to run around. They also had a little fridge in the room and she loved opening and closing it. She also enjoying drawing on the little post it notes from the hotel and putting the notes into the fridge. It was hilarious to watch her. She would draw a picture, run to the fridge, put it in, and then run back after a while to take it out. She did this over and over for three days and never got tired of it. She loved the hotel so much that every night, after she was exhausted from the park she would request to go back to the hotel. It was so cute when we were about 2 hours from home, she started crying and begging for us to go back to the hotel. We had to promise her we would return for her birthday for her to calm down. <br /><br />Although it was a tiring trip for all of us because we don't sleep very well when she sleeps on the bed with us, all the walking, and me not feeling 100%, I'm so glad we were able to make to take this family vacation. She had such a wonderful time and we are so excited to have season passes to Disneyland, we can't wait to come back for her birthday. Hopefully she will overcome some of her fears in the next five months and enjoy more of the rides.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-2136111319841664942009-12-13T08:33:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:24:52.530-08:00Calling all mothers of highly sensitive childrenHi Moms,<br /><br />Is your child "highly sensitive"? Check out this site for more information: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/child.htm <br />You can also take a test on there to see if your child is highly sensitive.<br /><br />This was intended to be a cry out for help. I am in desperate need to find other mothers of highly sensitive children that I can connect with. Others who completely and utterly can understand the struggles and rewards of being a mother of a highly sensitive child. <br /><br />I love my daughter with all my heart. She is my proudest and greatest accomplishment. However, on most occasions, it's difficult being her mother. I feel like a terrible mother admitting that, but it's true! For most of her life, I felt like an incompetent mother. I listen to all these moms talk about how easy their child is, or how so many things that bother my child, doesn't seem to fade theirs in any way. Honestly, I get really annoyed. I know it's my own issue because I am jealous. I really like to hear when parents are having struggles, because it's true, "misery loves company." It's so awful, but it does make me feel better. In those moments, I don't judge my own parenting style because someone else is having problems. I know this is a horrible way to see things, but the first step to getting past it, is accepting the truth. This has been my truth for almost 2 1/2 years.<br /><br />My daughter, Faith is highly sensitive and I am wondering if anyone else notice these traits in their child. Before our friend recommend this book, "The Highly Sensitive Child," by Elaine Aron. I used to feel so isolated that my daughter was so "acutely aware" of everything. Until I<br />started reading this book and it's has brought me so much comfort because I'm not alone. <br /><br />I'm going to do a list of the senses and how they affect her. <br /><br />Sight:<br />-doesn't like extremely bright light<br />-doesn't like complete darkness<br />-notices when someone gets a hair cut<br />-Acutely aware of environment<br /><br />Sounds:<br />-doesn't like loud sounds<br />-loves stories with different voices for different characters or sound affects<br /><br />Taste:<br />-doesn't like overly flavored food, especially spicy<br />-doesn't like her food mixed, if she eats salad, she like the component of her salad separated with the dressing on the side so that she can dip it<br />-Very picky with her food, depends on texture and taste<br /><br />Smell:<br />-doesn't like strong smells<br />-notices different smells<br /><br />Touch:<br />-doesn't like tags on her clothes, I have to cut them all off or she will scratch herself until she bleed<br />-doesn't like certain fabric; scratchy, hard<br />-loves to play with my hair, it's her comfort item (Tugs on my hair, anytime she needs comfort)<br />-very low tolerance for pain; a scratch, a cut, teething, illness (I hoover over her all the time, afraid that she will get hurt or get sick, because it means it will be rough nights in stored for me)<br />-doesn't like sand in her shoes, at all!<br /><br />Sensitivity:<br />-Extremely irritable when she is slightly hunger<br />-Extremely irritable when she is slightly tried<br />-Not being with me, she freaks out almost every time I leave, no matter who is with her. She is almost 2 1/2 years and I have never ever been away from her at night. She truly is afraid that I will leave her.<br />-I was the only one who put her to bed the whole first year. I'm still the primary person. Her daddy can read the stories, but on most occasions, I have to be the one to lay with her<br />-Acutely aware of other's mood<br />-Overly worries about things<br />-Doesn't sleep much<br />-Sensitive gag reflex<br />-Stranger anxiety<br />-Gets bored often<br />-Wants things a certain way<br />-Startles easily, we can't scare her, because she will have nightmares that night<br />-Seems to read your mind<br />-Very cautious<br />-Can't cry too much or she throws up<br />-Very perceptive<br />-Great sense of humor<br /><br />Please reach out if you're in the same situation and would like to form a support group. My stress and impatience with my daughter has taken a toll on me mentally and physically. It's almost three years of sleep deprivation and constantly worrying about her. I'm seeing an acupuncturist and a therapist for treatments and strategies. It definitely has been helping, but I think that finding others mothers out there will be a great source of support. You just can't truly understand something until you have experienced it yourself. This blog has also helped me to deal with the difficult night, last night.<br /><br />ThuanMy Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-57806186054853068272009-12-13T07:47:00.000-08:002009-12-13T08:33:23.520-08:00My incredible "Faith"What an extraordinary child I have! I always tell her that she is the best gift that her father gave me. When she was an baby, I used to ask her, "Who does mommy love most?" and she would pat her own chest. Once she started talking, she would respond, "Faith!"<br /><br />I know the last blog made being highly sensitive out to be such a negative thing, but it truly isn't. It's just more difficult for a parent with a highly sensitive child, but it's not ever impossible. As they say, the harder the work, the more you reap the benefit. I'm sure "they" don't say it exactly like that, but you get the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">gist</span> of it.<br /><br />Faith is truly incredible! I don't know how else to describe her. I know, that I'm a proud parent, but you would just have to meet her to know that she is unique. She has this incredible talent of being able to pick up people's mood, she is so <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">perceptive</span>, caring, thoughtful, kind, intelligent, etc. <br /><br />She takes in everything around her. Even when you don't think she is listening, she hears you. Most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">occasions</span>, my husband and I have to spell things out so that she doesn't fully get what we're discussing. Even then, she knows something is up and when ask a million questions.<br /><br />We have always been able to reason with her since she was a baby. We have always explained everything to her. I used to get stares from strangers when I would give Faith a play by play of our event. It was because we always knew she was listening and taking everything in. As my best friend describes her, "she is very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">cerebral</span>." It's true, look into her eyes (which are beautiful and by far my favorite physical trait of hers) and you can literally see the wheels turning. <br /><br />As a baby, it was important that I taught her how to sign, because I needed to give her a way to communicate with me, and indeed she did. At 18 months she was already signing 70 words. This made it a lot easier because she could always sign what she needed and wanted. In that sense, she was always easy. She rarely had tantrums, because through signing, I was always able to give her what she wanted. There wasn't much baby proofing we had to do, because if you told her not to touch something, she didn't. She was and on most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">occasions</span>, still is, such a great listener. <br /><br />She is such a gentle soul. I think it helped a lot that she always had Mia around. Mia is my best friend's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">daughter</span> and they are 4 months apart. You wouldn't know that watching them interact. Faith naturally took on the role of big sister. She is very caring and protective of Mia. I think their relationship has helped her being so sharing as a toddler. She was used to sharing everything, including her momma, with Mia. She has rarely has issues sharing toys with her friends or strangers. We have the occasional moments when it's a really cool toy. However, she is great with taking turns. She knows that after playing with it, she will hand it to the other child and wait patiently to get it back. <br /><br />Faith is so perceptive with her environment and the people in it. My therapist thinks that she has picked up on how I want her to react to people and that is why she is so concerned, but I truly believe that she is sensitive to other's moods. She always ask if you're okay when she notices that something is wrong. She is more hyper and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">energetic</span> when she sensing something fun and exciting about to happen. She always knows when to give hugs and kisses, which she doesn't give often so it makes them even more special. <br /><br />She is extraordinary intelligent. It's not only that she can speak in full and clear sentences, or know all her <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ABCs</span> and the sounds they make, or count in four languages, or have a wicked memory, but it's the connections she makes. She can take one event and connect it to a completely different circumstance. She continues to stump us with the questions that she ask. I don't know what we're going to do when she gets older because the questions are already too hard for us now. Some times, I just have to tell her, that's just is how it is. <br /><br />Her creativity never cease to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">boggle</span> my mind. I would love to take a peek inside her head just for a moment to see all that is going on. Pretend play is her favorite activity. We go on a lot of great adventures. On most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">occasions</span> it involves her dad and I, but it also includes her friends, some real, but mostly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">tv</span> characters. <br /><br />I know they say too much <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">tv</span> is bad, but I swear she has learn so much from it. We <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">usually</span> are watching it together so there is still so much interaction going on. She will ask question about what's going on, or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">reiterate</span> what just happened, or wonder what will happen next. She also uses the experiences the characters have on the shows to her own life. Any time she encounter something new, she will make reference to the character on which ever particular show who had that same experience. For example, when she first went on a roller coaster ride, she said, it's like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Stompy's</span> (for Ni <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Hao</span>, Kai <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Lan</span>) roller coaster.<br /><br />I am truly so proud of her and on most days feel so blessed to be her mommy. Now it's my patience with her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">sensitivities</span> that I have to work on.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5005431660301435105.post-36772995037680856922009-12-13T06:32:00.000-08:002009-12-13T07:38:50.782-08:00From the beginningDecember 13, 2009<br /><br />It's 6:30 in the morning the day before we are heading to Disneyland and instead of sleeping, I've decided to start a blog. I previously decided to reach out to other highly sensitive moms and see if I can form a support group for moms of highly sensitive children. This decision was made while I was trying to go back to sleep from Faith waking us up again. <br /><br />My daughter is 2, she will be turning 2 1/2 at the end of the month. Even as an infant, I knew she was unique. I love that she was different and I can true appreciate it, because I have always felt different. After our friend recommended the book, "The Highly Sensitive Child," by Elaine H. Aron (http://www.hsperson.com/pages/child.htm), I decided to get a copy for myself. While reading this book, I felt both relieved and terrified. First, I finally realized that my daughter is "highly sensitive." Secondly, I discovered that I am "highly sensitive" as well. This is why my daughter and I have such a strong bond. She is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">momma's</span> girl, always has been and hopefully, always will be.<br /><br />I can kill two birds with one stone with this blog. I wanted to write a message to all the mommies I know and hopefully get to know out there who are in similar situations as I am. This will be a great place to invite this mommies to, as we share our experiences and exchange strategies that can help our highly sensitive child(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ren</span>). It will also be such an outlet for me to share my feelings with people who truly understand. <br /><br />For most of Faith's life, I have felt like a terrible mother. Lots of anger and then accompanying guilt for the anger. I would constantly compare myself to other mothers and compare her to other children her age. I started going to a mommy support group when Faith was three weeks old. In this group, I meet some amazing mothers. Some of whom, I still very close with. It was great having a group where everyone was going through about the same thing, around the same time. We also had discussion boards where we can share experiences, ask questions, and get help from one another. The discussion boards were great at first for me, but after awhile, reading them made me angry and sad. I felt totally incompetent compare to some of these moms, who knew all the answers to their child's tantrums, who's child slept through the night, who's child ate everything, etc. I know that my anger has nothing to do with them, but more of my jealously because my child wasn't like that.<br /><br />My husband and I knew that Faith was unique when she was a newborn. When her eyes were open, you knew that she was taking in everything around her. She was always been acutely aware of everything. "Acutely aware" was the words I always used to describe her before I found the term highly sensitive.<br /><br />I remember feeling comfortable as a parent in Faith's first month of life, although we were sleep deprived, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">adrenaline</span> was kicking in, so we felt great. If you are a parent, you know that all they need at that point is to be fed, changed, and held and they're good. It wasn't until Faith's second month, that all our confidence shattered. On the day of her second month, was when the projectile vomiting started. I don't mean, "spit up!" We didn't know how it was humanly possible for a newborn to even have that much stored in her little tummy. That was probably why it always came up. We are at a point where she was throwing up after every meal. I breastfeed her until she was nine months, and in that time period, I wore vomit quite often. We had all our sofa lines with extra large towels (at least they match with the couch) and thank goodness she was good to always vomit on the towels or the hard wood floor. On some <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">occasions</span> she would get the carpet, and that was never a fun experience. It's been two years and we still have vomit stains on our carpet. <br /><br />Also around this time, the colicky started. She would be fine all day and then around, 4pm, she would scream for hours. We tried everything from holding her, to swinging her, to downloading white noise, to swaddling, and the only thing would work would be the vacuum cleaner. Yup! It was so loud, but it was the only thing that kept her from scream at the top of her lungs. I'm surprise that vacuum didn't break.<br /><br />At four months she started to have stranger anxiety and would only let her "select four" hold her. That was me, my husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law. Some of our family and friends didn't understand this and insist on taking her from our arms. Of course, she would start screaming and then I would swoop in like the over protective mother, that I had become to save her. Knowing what I know now, I'm so glad I listened to my mother instinct and came to her aid. <br /><br />Faith had very few moments of sleeping through the night in her two years of life. That means that I haven't slept well since before I was pregnant with her. That's more than three years of sleep deprivation. It is why my body is failing me now. I know part I have to take responsibility for some of it. For instance there have been many moments where I could be sleeping, but instead, I am up writing in a blog. I guess, I felt that she I have to give some much of myself all day to her, that when she is asleep, it's finally my time to do the things I enjoy, such as watching television, checking on my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Facebook</span>, working on my business, www.onelilsnap.com, etc. I know it frustrates my husband, but he just doesn't understand how important this time is for me. It's truly the differences between my sanity and as my friend says, "slitting my wrist." <br /><br />Faith generally only sleep 10 hours at night and take a 1.5-3 hours nap. Everything related to sleep in a struggle in our household. The process of getting ready to go to bed, the selection of stories for the night, the made up story time, when lights go out, how she gets to sleep, etc. It is getting easier now that she is a little older, but it isn't as effortless as most of this parents, where then can read to their child, give them a kiss and say "goodnight, I love you, see you in the morning," walk out and there child is soundly asleep in about 10-15 minutes. Even in my wildest imagination, I can't see that happening for us. <br /><br />We have tried so many different arrangements for sleep, since crying it out is not an option for us. Remember, vomiting, well, my daughter has the super power of vomiting when she cries too long. There are still nasty stains her bed, that no matter what, we can't get out. I have slept on a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">separate</span> mattress in her room, slept with her on that mattress, slept with her in our room, slept with her on the couch while the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">tv</span> is on, etc. She always sleep better when she sleeps with me, but the problem is, I can't sleep with her. I am so acutely aware of her when I'm next to her. I wake up from every stir and sounds she makes. The worst part is that she used to tug on my hair. I was her comfort item. Most kids have teddy bears or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">blankies</span>, my daughter had my hair. When ever she needed comfort, she would tug on my hair. It wasn't a big deal when she was a baby, it was actually so cute, that's why I let her do it in the first place, but as she got older and stronger, it would hurt so much. Thank you to my wonderful husband, we finally just broke that habit. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Occasionally</span> she would still want to do it, but we have to remind her she couldn't pull. She is allowed to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">caresses</span> my head. <br /><br />It seems like any time we got a method down for sleep and she would go ten hours, something always interrupted it. Either teething, which I swears last for a few months for each tooth, or illness, or nightmares, or travel. She is so sensitive to everything that the smallest thing that isn't noticed by other children, bothers her so much that it would disrupt her sleep. For example, she still has to wear a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">onesie</span> to bed because if she doesn't, when she moves in her sleep with her diaper, it rubs her funny and she will wake up screaming. <br /><br />I know it seems like it's all negative, but being highly sensitive isn't all bad. She is such an amazing child and I'll spend the next post on that. <br /><br />Sorry it's so long, I'm a rambler, once I get started, I don't know how to end things.My Highly Sensitive "Faith"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17469332970080259777noreply@blogger.com4