Taming of the Shrew

The Shrew refers to all of my girls as each of them have their own "special" issues that we as parents have to either alter or deal with.

Lets start with Liana. She has the attentions span of a gnat while eating. If she is starving, she will sit down before the plate hits the table and eat like a horse with a food bag. Non-stop eating, with hands, fork, spoon, whatever she can do to get the food down. If she is not starving, having her sit for 30 minutes is a pains-taking chore that occurs with most 2 year old boys. But she tends to distract when she leaves, by dancing, taking her sister's toys, making a mess, asking for things, etc. NO MORE I said!

"If you leave the table without permission, your meal time is over. I put your plate in the kitchen and you get NO FOOD for the rest of the evening. NO! Not even crackers. Just agua." She just gave me a grin and moved on. Her usual routine is to come back after a few minutes then graze and repeat. So she tried and was surprised when her plate was gone. So I saw her take food from Amanda's plate when she wasn't looking. I had to shoo her away like a stray dog at a picnic. The hard part now is not giving in, not changing the rule.

Amanda on the other hand has an eating disorder called "Me no likey". But that's not the issue I need to tame. This Shrew has a whining issue. Every word toward the end of the day comes out whining. No matter if it is a question, statement, or request. She whines. More so than a mother of a Jewish American Princess planning a wedding. So I ignore her words if they are whining in tone. I pretend not to hear them so she has to ask more than twice. Then I say "If you talk to me without whining, I can hear you." So far no progress is made, and when the tears start to flow I tell her that all negotiations have ended. I will not give into crying as a negotiation tactic (taken from my hard-corp never negotiate with terrorists or children crying stance).

On the Alexandra front she now starts to cry just before her feedings are due. On Tuesday I heard her start to cry just before 9pm, while we were washing before entering the NICU. Nothing would satisfy her other than a nipple in the mouth (I may have to start crying at home and see if I get the same treatment). Yesterday during my visit I talked to the head nurse who said:

"Your daughter's cry is bigger than her body. She's demanding her bottle sooner and she wants more attention. Time for her to go home."

And that's usually the case. As the baby's mature, they demand more attention. Which means they are on a time table closer to what a regular baby is. That is when they send them home. So yes we have been processing her to leave. Performing each step on the long check list. But the doctors want to make sure she has the best medication for her reflux while she is being monitored. Which I agree with. Although more than 2 months of hospital visiting gets more than tiring. Taking trips from house to doctor, to house, to doctor all in a day is even harder. Especially if you are in traffic with a crying infant in the back.