Such a good girl!

Today my Sara had to have a blood draw to test her medication levels. While that seems so routine to most, having a child with several issues... we were prepared for a fight. Early this week, I went back and forth on if I should tell her before hand or not. I decided to tell her.... and then doubted my choice. Tons of screaming and tears about getting shots. For the last several days she has been telling everyone she is getting a shot. Lots of tears and whining (and a little screaming on top of that) every time the subject came up.

We recently found out that Sara will eat refried beans from a little Mexican place on the way home from school. This is actually a good thing because with her sensory issues and the texture of refried beans, we are surprised she would eat them. Additionally, they are pretty fattening and Lord knows my little stick of a child could use the fat. So, we told her that if she was good (meaning no screaming... we are ok with tears, but not screaming) we would take her to get refried beans on the way home from school today.

This morning was a struggle. She knew it was the big day, but did not like that she couldn't have her beloved juice cup this morning (it was a fasting blood test, so no food or drink). So, lots of tears and screaming this morning. I let her choose a snack to eat once we were done and she got in the car finally and sucked her thumb and didn't make a peep all the way to the lab.

When we got there, she was glued to me. We had a bit of a wait, so she climbed up in my lap with bunny, blankie and her thumb and was very quiet, but asked several times to make sure she could have juice and a snack when we left.

When we were called back, the staff was SUPER!!! They did their job quick so she didn't have time to throw a fit. She sat in my lap, they put the rubber band around her arm and found a vein. Another tech came in, held her arm (which is when the tears started... she hates to be held down) and POKE! BIG tears, and then they were gone. They took four vials of blood and the tears were gone before those vials were filled. She watched intently at her blood filling them up. A neon green band-aid and she was done.

Then we got another surprise... time to pee in a cup. Anyone ever tried to get a kid to pee in a cup on command?!?!? In the past, this has been a HUGE struggle for us. It usually requires me to get pretty inventive with putting a bowl in the potty to catch the urine and then pouring it in the cup. But, of course, my little girl shocked me. I got her giggling about not peeing on my hand and she filled that cup up! YAHOO!!! Success!

Last night we all went out to dinner to celebrate the end of a long project for me. She did great and ate like a horse (still not gaining any weight according to her weight last night, but at least she is eating). She has been sleeping well, actually she has been sleeping AWESOME! While we notice an increase in a lot of good behaviors, we also notice that the tears and whining haven't really stopped either. Not sure what that means exactly, but I meet with the doctor again on the 18th, so we will see what they have to say then. She is just VERY emotional, although the outbursts usually don't last very long.

As a another note, she had a GREAT day at therapy yesterday. She actually squished Jello between her fingers and toes. This is a HUGE, HUGE thing as she is usually very reluctant to have anything weird go on with her feet. Very awesome. Since starting therapy several months ago, we have seen an increase in the amount of times she is willing to "try" something. More often then not, she will try new foods now instead of simply turning up her nose. She has zero fear of water (a good and bad thing), and has even started going under water. She still has a lot of issues with going in circles on a swing, but is at least willing to try it each week in therapy, which is progress.

It has been a long week for this family. A work project has kept me at a high anxiety level and cranky and tied to my desk for long hours. Nigel has had work issues of his own and is not his usually joking self. And Sara has had her own worries this week with this blood draw. On top of that the painter was here earlier this week, so our house has been in shambles. Very soon the older kids will be here and there is a lot to get done. BUT, tomorrow, we are taking a break from it all and heading to the beach again. The three of us had such a great time last weekend, that we are going to do it again. It was super relaxing and so nice to soak up some sun. This time I will slather on the sunscreen so I don't get as much sun myself, but all of us need some time where the phone isn't ringing we are only focused on being a family.

Much Love to all who read this.