1st Grade

First I'd like to apologize for not updating the blog before today. I've been rather busy the last few months. I got married and the planning was taking up a lot of my time. So now that I'm back... I have a post packed full of new updates.

Pica sucks. I'll be the first to say that. Emma is still battling it. Although she's not really trying to eat non food items as much... she still doesn't eat everything she should. Dinner time is still a fight if we add something new to the table. She's not up for trying new foods at all. I'd love to eat a steak with her one day. I pray that one day soon we will be there.

Next... the wedding.. Emma was our flower girl. She looked adorable. Take a look for yourself. Our theme was punk. Colors were black and hot pink.

She loved it. I think she felt like a princess.

Next... Emma had her first dentist appointment a while back. She was scared but found out there was nothing to be scared of. Her teeth are amazingly healthy for as little as she eats.

As Christians, my husband and I try to teach Emma the best we can about Jesus. It makes me so proud when she draws us pictures or writes us letters. One night not to long ago... she was fighting me to go to sleep because she felt she needed to write this....

It's from the bible: Proverbs
Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord

 But foolish people hate wisdom and self-control.

My child, listen to your father's teaching and do not forget your mother's advice. Their teaching will beautify your life. It will be like flowers in your hair or a chain around your neck.

My child, sinners will try to lead you to sin. But do not follow them. My child do not go along with them. Do not do what they do.

Simply amazing. I love it.

Behavioral Therapy- Appointment

For the past several months, we decided that we'd hold off to see if Lil Miss continued eating well. She began trying new foods and not fighting us when it came to eating. It seems like she's slid back into her old ways. It took her about an hour of screaming and fighting to take ten bites of her Lucky Charms cereal. I didn't think there was a child out there who'd fight to eat Lucky Charms.

So, on Monday, we will be getting her back into the doctor for her Pica. This journey is so hard. I hate seeing her fight like she does. It makes me fall to pieces inside. I wish I could take the Pica away from her and she wouldn't have to deal with it.

I hate yelling at her in any way shape or form. It seems like I need to bribe her just to eat. I hate it.

Thanks for listening to my vent.

Praying for a better future with the help from West Virginia University Behavioral Medicine. This is where I plan on taking her. I just hope they can really help and change our lives for the better.

So stressing...

Here we are on another update with Lil Miss. Her behavior hasn't gotten better. Although, it's been months I'm sad to say she has yet to go to therapy. Life happened and I feel so bad. I know my daughter's needs are very important. Like right now, I know she needs to go but I have no way of getting her there. My car has been broke down for weeks.

We try to get her to eat more of a variety of foods. But she refuses. I'm not sure if this is linked to the Pica or not. I know Pica will have her crave non food items but no place I have found on the internet says anything about it messing with eating the healthy stuff. At this point, I can make a list of the things she will eat. Which is very upsetting. Every day at dinner time is a hassle. She screams and cries because we give her something new. I've tried everything I could think of. I'm beginning to feel like a failure. I know the Lord blessed me with my wonderful daughter for a reason. I just feel that sometimes it's a bit much.

Her behavior is over-whelming at times. This I think is a mixture of things. It seems that the only way I can keep her from throwing fits (screaming, crying, hitting) is to allow her to watch Netflix when she's home. But I really don't want her on the computer all the time. I want her up moving around and playing. I tried to limit how long she was/is on the computer but she has a huge melt down when it's time for change. Like sudden things happening seem to stress her out so much. She cries that we hate her and that we don't like her. (No idea why this just started)

I think it's a mixture of her getting her way so much over the past five years with others and no limits being put into place. I'm going through a lot myself right now so I'm overly stressed. I just don't think I have the fight in me to enforce a time limit on the computer or TV. I don't think I can deal with the screaming and crying without it blowing up into a fight between myself and her.

I so badly want to find out what's going on and where to even begin fixing this situation. So, I'm writing this today... to ask... for suggestions. How can I get her to eat without it being a fight? How can I get her to actually want to get up and play with the room full of toys? Everything with her is a fight. I don't want anymore fighting. I want to say something and her listen. But how do I get her to listen?

Pica

Most of you already know that my daughter was recently diagnosed with a condition called Pica. I have had several people ask me to explain exactly what it is. Well, in answers to all your questions, I did some research on this condition and put together the most important facts. To learn more, read below:




Pica- a medical disorder where the person craves non-food items such as dirt, clay, ashes, chalk, lotions, sweet smelling item such as shampoo and conditioner/ perfume, and crayons/markers. Pica is most common in women and children. Pica in children can sometimes be fatal. There are several known causes of Pica. Some include: stress and anxiety, iron deficiency or another mineral deficiency, some mental health conditions such as OCD and schizophrenia. Pica is currently recognized as a mental disorder by the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).


The cause of my daughter's Pica is unknown seeing how she doesn't fall into any of the common known causes. The doctor at Children's Hospital suggested Behavioral Health Therapy. This is one of the several types of treatment. This is the most common when it comes to children. They may use the cognitive approach when treating my daughter. (This is in my opinion and comes from my education in the Psychology field. I feel this would be the most beneficial to her.) The cognitive approach is a type of therapy that has been used with children that most had a positive outcome. This approach is usually short term. The doctor will probably watch my child for a series of sessions to see how she reacts to certain items. Then, in a way easy for her to understand, the psychologist will then decide which direction is the best to go. In the mean time, they will be helping her to understand what is going on with her and ways to deal with it. They will teach her how to fight against the urge to eat the non-food item and teach her that food is the way to go.


This may take a while and she may have to do this during her first year of Kindergarten. The school may also be directed to have a student aid present with her at all times to ensure she doesn't take a chunk out of the crayons or drink the glue. Hopefully, we can get this under control before that becomes an issue. As we all know, children these days aren't respectful to other's with certain needs.


Well, there you have it. A small explanation with what our near future holds. I will update everyone when the therapy is began to start.