Let's Not Do Yesterday Again Ever

Well, yesterday was quite a day. Violet had her sedation and dental work and everything done in the morning. It all went smoothly and like it was supposed to, but ugggggggh it was quasi-awful. Not truly awful, because I am well aware how lucky we are to have two healthy children that don't have serious medical problems, but still, on the normal scale of my existence? NOT. FUN. AT. ALL.  They first gave her a shot that knocked her out, then took her back away from us (at which point I burst into tears-- BECAUSE OF COURSE I DID) to do the X-rays, put in the IV for the sedation drugs, do the fillings, and so forth. It took about an hour and then she was in recovery where we could be with her again. She started to wake up about 30 minutes into that. And a very small child coming out of anesthesia? That is something I can do without experiencing ever again, thankyouverymuch. Nothing unexpected or bad happened but the poor thing was all dizzy and floppy and blurry-eyed and agitated, trying to throw her 28 pounds of self haphazardly around in a fit of dim, uncertain consciousness.

But now it is done, and hopefully any other cavities that develop can wait until she is almost 4 or whenever we can just do the nitrous. Or maybe our newfound dental diligence and flossing and so forth will stave off further tooth decay? We shall see. She started to really perk up around 4pm yesterday, and today she is just a clingy, fussy version of her typical self, mostly back to normal. Oh, and Grace had her fillings done a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit more tense than her first time (maybe because it was 3 fillings instead of 1?) and emotionally draining for her and me, but thankfully it all went smoothly.

In other Violet news, I haven't ever publicly declared her weaned, have I? When I got pregnant, she was still nursing most days, occasionally more than once a day, but sometimes skipping a day and only very rarely at night. It started to be really uncomfortable for me so I worked toward weaning. I used some distraction and postponement and shortening nursing sessions (telling her she could nurse till I counted to 10 or whatnot); these kinds of techniques worked for us well, just like they did with Grace. Violet was completely weaned by the time I hit the second trimester, but I don't remember exactly when or how, again just like with Grace. It was very gradual and I am happy about that, although it is sad in some ways to know that there was a "last time" that I nursed Violet and I don't remember it. It probably isn't strictly accurate to call what we did child-led weaning but I am OK with that. And now that I am comparing, I have realized that both Grace and Violet nursed until just past their 2nd birthdays, maybe 26 or 27 months each.

In case you're curious, you don't HAVE to wean an older baby because you're pregnant, as long as you have a healthy normal pregnancy.  I think tandem breastfeeding (that's what it's called when you nurse a toddler and a baby at the same time) is fine and good but I don't think it's a good fit for me and our situation and all. It would be different if the spacing of my pregnancies was much closer but at almost 3 years apart, I feel very comfortable with weaning the older child. In both cases, I feel pretty sure that they would have weaned within a few months anyway.

So what a big girl Violet is getting to be! Weaned, usually sleeping in her own bed the whole night, wispy little-girl hair, talking up a storm... She will be 2 and 1/2 next month. We've dabbled in using the toilet but I don't know; I don't see that being a skill she has mastered anytime in the immediate future. We're closing in on the 3-month mark until my due date so I am not sure it will happen before then. Maybe if I went all hardcore potty-training boot camp on her? But is that worth it? Would having two in diapers be all that bad? I have no idea.

Yesterday was also a pretty momentous day for Grace: her last day of preschool... EVER. When we return to school in the fall, she will be a kindergartener. We had a lovely year of pre-K at the Jewish Community Center and I am very happy with how our preschool experience turned out, even if I did plan it on basically no first-hand information while still living in Texas. Yesterday I picked up Grace there for the last time and brought home with us the ziploc bag with a change of clothes that has lived in her cubby all year and a huge final pile of art projects and now it is summer, I guess? The high temperature today is 60 degrees and it is drizzling so it doesn't really feel like it but I am thankful nonetheless for not setting an alarm this morning, not packing a lunch last night, and getting to spend the whole day with my fun girls.