Continued from part one.

Why would a child feel a need to hoard, binge or sneak food? What is behind a need like this?

The best explanations I’ve come across center around the same basic philosophy. The child needs to have some control over his life, whether consciously or subconsciously recognized. The child is not yet willing to trust an adult to properly care for him/her. Likely, there were times in the child’s... more

I’ve been following a thread recently on the adoptive parent support forum. Several posters are discussing concerns about their child’s eating issues and hoarding behaviors.

Eating issues with newly adopted children are a very common concern. Still, when it happens with YOUR adopted child, it doesn’t seem to matter how common it might be. It’s a big deal and all parents want to be sure they are handling this issue in a... more

I admit it; I seem to be one of those Mom’s constantly trucking my daughter to the Pediatrician for this or that. Most recently cough, diaper rash , diarrhea and fever… not all at the same time. Despite my common sense telling me otherwise and I may add that so far my Mother’s intuition has always been right on target. I leave shaking my head wondering why I even bothered. I caved to the pressure. The pressure of my husband saying I need to take her to the doctor. The pressure of what if. What if this cough turns into bronchitis and then pneumonia? I... more

Recently at a family function a family member who does not see our daughter on a regular basis claimed my daughter was shy after she refused to go to him. I said no she is anything but shy. She is not be one to crawl into peoples laps and give indiscriminate affection and we are happy about that. But she does not show any signs of being shy. When we go to a store, library playgroup, mall, a new house she has never been to before she walks right in and starts exploring. She is not one to cling to my leg or need constant reassurance.

So long... more

In this corner we have Livi- Aka the powerful princess weighing in at 30 lbs. This reining champion of the toddler world is fast, smart and sneaky. Cute as a button she can charm her opponent with a sly little smile. This beauty is known to outwit and outrun her opponent against the ropes. Undefeated and undeniably cute.

And In this Corner we have Lauri Aka Mama, Mommy or Mom. Weighing in at 132 lbs and in need of fresh manicure and a good haircut. This Mom is relatively new to the parenting scene and is no match for the powerful toddler. She... more

Livi finally started her occupational therapy center based services otherwise known as school in our house .She goes twice a week for an hour each session. We are just getting started and our first week included filling out the sensory profile and a language profile. I will let you all know how things go from this point on. There is just something about your two year old going off to school, putting... more

My daughter has been testing my capacity for patience lately. I consider myself pretty easy going, laid back, not too high strung. I seem to have zero patience these days. My daughter is a toddler who’s newest favorite words are No and Mine. She says no for everything, even for something she wants. She will say ask for Juice, I give her juice she screams “No Juice” so I take it away and she screams “ Juice” again… this scene plays itself out over every little thing these days . She turns the smallest thing into a power struggle and... more

When I take Livi shopping I typically allow her to hold something while shopping in the store to keep her occupied. I will typically grab something from the baby or toy section- something that makes noise and that will keep her busy. Then before leaving we go and put it back and we have never had any issues with this system until the purple ball. We say bye-bye toy and off we go to check out. Recently I allowed her to carry a purple ball while shopping because she recently learned to recognize her colors and purple just happens to be her favorite.... more

In the previous two blogs Weight Issues in Adopted Children and Weight Issues Part II, I discussed several of the reasons that might contribute to weight issues for adopted children.

This time, I want to list some things that you can DO about it!

1. Get active! The easiest way to do this might be as a family.... more

I’m not sure if this is a problem so to speak… not yet at least. I figured I would run it by you all since you always have such great insight. Livi does suck on her two fingers. She will suck on them often during the day, and will suck on her fingers in unfamiliar situations for comfort and occasionally while watching TV. I know its a normal self soothing behavior and I have never kept her from doing it.She does it so much her little fingers are calloused and the nails are soft. Recently Livi found her pacifiers that we purchased in... more