I'm a terrible stage mom. I have a daughter who people have told me since birth should be in showbiz. She certainly thinks she does. Somewhere between her sense of fashion and her inability to exist without a dramatic interpretation of most everything she filters in from the world, we definitely have an artistic child...but you never know. So Rowan takes dance. She has taken a year of music and a season of soccer. Time will tell where her interests and talents lie.
Meanwhile, though, despite being an awful stage mom, there is something that is so soul-filling when you see your kids take to something that means a great deal to you. Even if it never materializes into anything. Between Sean's theatrical background (mostly on the production side) and my theatrical background (mostly on the performance side), there was never any hope for children of ours to suffer the performing arts very easily. TV events with big production numbers are must-watch-TV in our house. The Tony Awards show merits the rest of the world stopping for a few hours while we prioritize the TV and only the TV. While Sean identifies designers he knows personally or whose work he's familiar with, I'm counting up shows, actors and directors' names I recognize. Rowan and Ari have always already been in bed or played in the background in years past.
This year, Rowan was griping about having to watch The Tony's rather than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, until the first big production number. From then on, she was jumping off the couch to tell me which chorus girl or leading lady she wanted to be. She was truly entranced. Equally fulfilling though was watching Ari wide-eyed and smiling at the TV, clapping with delight at every production number. It's so simple. My kids like musicals. It makes me happy and makes me feel like maybe someday I can share things I've learned and they will actually care about them. Nah...I know better...but it is a warm and cozy thought:)
Ari is continuing to do well. My peaceful essential oil blend and epsom salts baths may not be purely magic all by themselves, but I definitely think they've helped. Ari is now on 2 nights of sleeping in his own bed and only crying out when he needs a diaper change. We get some occasional wails still, but he is seeming to be able to self soothe and go back to sleep. And he's settling into a predictable schedule, even going to sleep now in his own bed without having to go to sleep in someone's arms first. I'm so happy my X-man is finding more peace and comfort.
I think his diet has also played no small role in his sleep improvements. The first night Ari slept for several hours at a time was the night after we gave him some very mushy white fish. Ari LOVES fish. He ate a surprising amount and apparently had a happy belly. Other foods that are working well for Ari include:
I know these are details many of you don't care about but for other moms dealing with dysphagia, maybe it will help. All trial and error but I got a lot of these ideas from other folks. Just passing along the learning.
Meanwhile, though, despite being an awful stage mom, there is something that is so soul-filling when you see your kids take to something that means a great deal to you. Even if it never materializes into anything. Between Sean's theatrical background (mostly on the production side) and my theatrical background (mostly on the performance side), there was never any hope for children of ours to suffer the performing arts very easily. TV events with big production numbers are must-watch-TV in our house. The Tony Awards show merits the rest of the world stopping for a few hours while we prioritize the TV and only the TV. While Sean identifies designers he knows personally or whose work he's familiar with, I'm counting up shows, actors and directors' names I recognize. Rowan and Ari have always already been in bed or played in the background in years past.
This year, Rowan was griping about having to watch The Tony's rather than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, until the first big production number. From then on, she was jumping off the couch to tell me which chorus girl or leading lady she wanted to be. She was truly entranced. Equally fulfilling though was watching Ari wide-eyed and smiling at the TV, clapping with delight at every production number. It's so simple. My kids like musicals. It makes me happy and makes me feel like maybe someday I can share things I've learned and they will actually care about them. Nah...I know better...but it is a warm and cozy thought:)
Ari is continuing to do well. My peaceful essential oil blend and epsom salts baths may not be purely magic all by themselves, but I definitely think they've helped. Ari is now on 2 nights of sleeping in his own bed and only crying out when he needs a diaper change. We get some occasional wails still, but he is seeming to be able to self soothe and go back to sleep. And he's settling into a predictable schedule, even going to sleep now in his own bed without having to go to sleep in someone's arms first. I'm so happy my X-man is finding more peace and comfort.
I think his diet has also played no small role in his sleep improvements. The first night Ari slept for several hours at a time was the night after we gave him some very mushy white fish. Ari LOVES fish. He ate a surprising amount and apparently had a happy belly. Other foods that are working well for Ari include:
I know these are details many of you don't care about but for other moms dealing with dysphagia, maybe it will help. All trial and error but I got a lot of these ideas from other folks. Just passing along the learning.
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