Like I mentioned in our "catching up" post. Abrial just turned 12 in December and mother nature wasted no time letting us know.
I had my suspisions that the time was coming. She sprouted up like a weed, she started having to wear training bras or I should say the cami's with the built in bras, and she was sleeping a lot. Once a month or so she would say her tummy hurt and she slept right when she got home from school up until dinner time. Then one month after turning 12 the flood broke through.
Luckily, I had been talking to her about this little visit for months prior to it happening. That first talk was hilarious. I began by explaining how her body was going through some changes and explained what exactly was about to happen sometime soon. Her exact words were, "Ewww. That's disgusting!"
I just agreed then I had to leave the room because I was about to bust out laughing.
The school also had just showed their growing girls video and her teacher had talked to her about it as well.
So thankfully between me, her teacher, and the video Abrial was pretty well ready for it. Still, nothing prepared me for that change.
January hit and I still have to get the shower ready for Abrial and wash her hair because she just doesn't get it done right. So one night I walked in there and Abrial was getting in the shower and turns to me and says, "Oh yeah. I started."
No big deal. No crying. No freaking out. Just a "Hey mom. I started. Just letting you know." I was floored. Abrial is not good with change at all especially with anything dealing with her body but this was such an easy thing for her to accept. I'm thinking it's because of all the talking and preparing her for it that helped.
I, on the other hand, walked out of the bathroom and bawled like a baby. As much as I had talked to her about it I wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be. What mom is really? I mean my baby girl is transitioning into a young woman. I didn't like it at all.
The pre-teen years have definitely begun in our house.
If I can offer any advice for moms who are about to be in the same position it's TALK. Talk to your daughter as soon as you suspect the time may be coming. Talk at least once or twice a month about it. Encourage their teachers to do the same that way they aren't freaked out when/if it happens at school. Make sure to pack pads in their backpack as a 'just in case' and make sure they are as prepared as they can possibly be. I'm telling you that has to be why it was so easy for Abrial to accept it because she doesn't accept much that well.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
Autism Banner
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Long Time, No Post. But I'm Back!
It's been awhile since I've posted. Mainly because a ton has been going on with myself personally as well as with the girls. But I'm hoping to get back into blogging more often on this site.
Within the past year my girls have completely sprouted! Abrial just turned 12 this past December and Maddy just turned 11 in January. They are both about to enter the 6th grade in August and both are doing very well. They both still have speech therapy and Abrial still has an occupational therapist as well. Speech therapy is about to be done for both of them...FINALLY! Abrial received speech therapy at first because she didn't talk much, now she talks all the time! Although up until last year she would still walk up to me and just stand there until I asked her, "What?" Now she'll actually come up to me and ask whatever it is she wants to ask. She still mimics her favorite tv shows almost all the time. She also finds one sentence she likes and repeats it at least 5-10 times before she stops or I tell her that I get it. lol.
Abrial seems to have changed literally over night. She went from watching non stop kiddie shows to watching only Disney XD with shows like Jessie, Dog with a Blog, and Lab Rats. She does still like Disney movies thank goodness. We had to buy Frozen the day it came out as I'm sure many parents did. lol. She also sits on her bed most of the time with her laptop in her lap, her iPod next to her, and her headphones on listening to music. Interest in toys is almost non-existent. She still likes some dolls but she doesn't really play with them anymore. She has definitely entered the pre-teen stage.
Madyssen is following right behind her although she still likes playing with her toys, but it's mostly dolls. She plays with her American Girl dolls and her Lalaloopsies but that's about it. Otherwise she's on her computer or her phone just playing away.
Madyssen also just started taking gymnastics. It's something to help her run that energy out and gives her more kids her age to hang around with.
Abrial's diet remains the same. She is picky as ever and only eats maybe a handful of things on a regular basis. She'll try something if I bug her enough but that's it. She's not a fan of hamburger meat of any kind. We haven't gone gluten free with her because I don't feel that she needs it. I do try to keep her away from wheat which is kind of hard these days with them trying incorporate it in everything including some of her favorite cereals.
Madyssen is getting a little more picky but she generally will eat whatever.
Maddy is still on ADHD medications and doing very well with them. Her grades have improved greatly and we definitely have no worries in the weight department. Maddy eats all the time and is still considered at the ideal weight for a 11 year old girl.
Our biggest struggle at the moment is SUMMER! Both the girls are going to sleep extremely late and waking up late in the mornings. It's summer so I'm not pressing the issue much but having a 12 year old and a 11 year old up until 1am to me is not normal. Abrial is usually awake by the time I make it home for lunch (11:30am) but Maddy is still sleeping. I think I'm going to start making them turn off their electronics around 11pm and slowly lower it from there the closer it gets to school time. I just know this will be a big problem when school starts back in a month if I don't do something now.
But like I mentioned earlier, both the girls are doing fantastic right now. We just got back from our beach trip which I'll post about at another time.
Thanks for catching up with us!
Within the past year my girls have completely sprouted! Abrial just turned 12 this past December and Maddy just turned 11 in January. They are both about to enter the 6th grade in August and both are doing very well. They both still have speech therapy and Abrial still has an occupational therapist as well. Speech therapy is about to be done for both of them...FINALLY! Abrial received speech therapy at first because she didn't talk much, now she talks all the time! Although up until last year she would still walk up to me and just stand there until I asked her, "What?" Now she'll actually come up to me and ask whatever it is she wants to ask. She still mimics her favorite tv shows almost all the time. She also finds one sentence she likes and repeats it at least 5-10 times before she stops or I tell her that I get it. lol.
Abrial seems to have changed literally over night. She went from watching non stop kiddie shows to watching only Disney XD with shows like Jessie, Dog with a Blog, and Lab Rats. She does still like Disney movies thank goodness. We had to buy Frozen the day it came out as I'm sure many parents did. lol. She also sits on her bed most of the time with her laptop in her lap, her iPod next to her, and her headphones on listening to music. Interest in toys is almost non-existent. She still likes some dolls but she doesn't really play with them anymore. She has definitely entered the pre-teen stage.
Madyssen is following right behind her although she still likes playing with her toys, but it's mostly dolls. She plays with her American Girl dolls and her Lalaloopsies but that's about it. Otherwise she's on her computer or her phone just playing away.
Madyssen also just started taking gymnastics. It's something to help her run that energy out and gives her more kids her age to hang around with.
Abrial's diet remains the same. She is picky as ever and only eats maybe a handful of things on a regular basis. She'll try something if I bug her enough but that's it. She's not a fan of hamburger meat of any kind. We haven't gone gluten free with her because I don't feel that she needs it. I do try to keep her away from wheat which is kind of hard these days with them trying incorporate it in everything including some of her favorite cereals.
Madyssen is getting a little more picky but she generally will eat whatever.
Maddy is still on ADHD medications and doing very well with them. Her grades have improved greatly and we definitely have no worries in the weight department. Maddy eats all the time and is still considered at the ideal weight for a 11 year old girl.
Our biggest struggle at the moment is SUMMER! Both the girls are going to sleep extremely late and waking up late in the mornings. It's summer so I'm not pressing the issue much but having a 12 year old and a 11 year old up until 1am to me is not normal. Abrial is usually awake by the time I make it home for lunch (11:30am) but Maddy is still sleeping. I think I'm going to start making them turn off their electronics around 11pm and slowly lower it from there the closer it gets to school time. I just know this will be a big problem when school starts back in a month if I don't do something now.
But like I mentioned earlier, both the girls are doing fantastic right now. We just got back from our beach trip which I'll post about at another time.
Thanks for catching up with us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)