Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Weaning Continues...

Yesterday was a "bad" accident day for Lily.  Certainly in terms of her recent near-potty-trainedness, you have to go back several months or possibly even a year to encounter a five-accident day.  But yesterday was one of them.  

Leslie, overwhelmed by people tracking in and out of the house, and the fifth accident as Lily's therapist was arriving and a friend showed up to take Emma to dance started second-guessing the decision to pull back on Tenex.  She's under some stress here because I think she feels that because my recollection of the pre-tenex behavior is different than hers, and because I was more or less happy with the medication, any decrease is "her" decision.

But it's not.  It's ours.  Even though I was happy with where she was at, I see no harm in weaning her off it and taking better notes this time around to see what we're really gaining, as opposed to just assuming we gained something.

Back to yesterday...it has been her habit to text me with the day's results from school:  good day/bad day...potty accidents/no potty accidents...ate well/ate poorly...etc.  

So yesterday was a bad day in terms of accidents, but a GREAT day in terms of her eating and her behavior.  Accidents have always really been a stress point for us for a variety of reasons, but ultimately we DO want her focused.

Leslie expressed her concerns/second-guesses regarding the Tenex and I told her we need to stay the course, that possibly Lily's body IS feeling different with this lower dose, and that she's not really sure how to process it, that once she stabilizes, we might see no difference in behavior/accidents/eating/sleeping...or big differences, but that this was JUST.  ONE.  DAY.  

By the time I got home, Leslie was back in the game again.  

Lily was stuffy.  It was my night to put her to bed, and although there was some minor tooth clashing...she went to sleep without too much trouble.  BUT...she woke several times, whimpering and crying, sneezing and unable to get comfortable.  Anticipating trouble, I went to bed early, fearing for my sleep.

Sure enough, Lily was up at 11, and 12, and 1, and 2...and at 3 o'clock we gave her motrin (she was mildly warm) and she fell asleep for the rest of the night (6 a.m.).  I found myself very impatient with her last night.  Usually I'm pretty mild and positive and supportive even in the wee hours of the morning, but last night I was just in a bad place.  I wasn't as patient with the sneezing in the face as I can be.  So rather than get upset with Lily about not being able to get calmed down or "be healthy" (both of which are outside her control), I woke up Leslie and "tagged out".  

I don't always recognize when I'm losing patience or when I'm not in the right frame of mind to deal with issues...but last night I did.  And luckily, Leslie was able to leap (slowly, in a lazy-lidded zombie shamble) into action, giving Lily the warm body, soothing words, and patient responses she needed to settle down and get back to sleep.  As a result neither of us slept particularly well, but Leslie probably took the lion's share of the work.  And she also typically needs more sleep than I do, so I know she's going to be tired.

Is this the Tenex?  Not sure.  I suspect it's just Lily getting sick that led to the accidents.  Not sure about the tooth clashing thing...that's something she did before we put her on Tenex, but it ALSO might be because she's feeling sick. Time will tell.

Anyway, Leslie just got home and shot me off a text to tell me about Lily's day that I purposely misunderstood because I'm "funny"...


And Leslie was so tired, she didn't even comment.  Or it wasn't funny.  But that doesn't sound right.  Anyway, you'll all be happy to know that Leslie didn't have any accidents today and neither did I.

(But also that Lily rebounded from a five accident day to zero).


7 comments:

  1. Good to hear everyone is staying dry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to hear today was a good day. Hope she's not coming down sick....Liam who is trained often has accidents while he is sick, or when coming down sick. I do however have a question. What was Lily prescribed the Tenex for? I ask because Liam was put on it two years ago when his behaviors were out of control. It made him worse, and within two weeks he was to the point of being hospitalized. I know meds work different for all, was just wondering out of curiosity :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some days are better than others even with the right meds on board. Here's hoping you all sleep tonight AND that everyone stays dry. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're giving me some hope, Jim. I think.... or just making me dread potty training Little Miss all over again.

    Hang in there -- I am definitely rooting for you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good luck with all of this. I can't imagine taking Katie off her meds at this point. We've gone ONE DAY without it and that was enough. Oy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. lol. glad to hear you are accident free. so far N-Zilla is on the potty train. we are down to just poop accidents. Wait...was that TMI ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful post and great advice.
    Potty Training in 3 Days Guide is the most effective choice and great useful for your baby about potty training.

    ReplyDelete