Meltdown Avoided

Felix woke up with lots of energy this morning. Before we had even got out of bed, he had already dropped my deoderant into the toilet bowl, and proudly showed us how he could climb up onto our bed without help. He wolfed down an entire bowl of porridge, with soy milk and soy yoghurt, and then wanted to eat my muesli as well. He sat on our bed and did some crazy, head-banging dance moves to some music coming from the TV. He was hilarious! I was very thankful that it was Kindergym day because he obviously needed to be busy (and away from objects he could throw in the toilet).

I was thankful that Nathan was able to come to Kindergym with us last week and today as well. It's helpful for me for Nathan to see how Felix reacts, in different social settings, so he can offer his suggestions if Felix is unsettled or upset. Sometimes it's a team effort to work out what's best. When we first got there today, Felix seemed reasonably settled. He did his usual 'scooting backwards' away from other kids if they came close but, even after one little boy pushed past him, he seemed to be dealing with it OK.

After a few minutes, Felix wandered away from us a little bit which was great. I thought he still knew where we were sitting (only a couple of metres behind him) but, as kids started walking past him on all sides, I realised that he didn't know where we were. I saw his face turn from concern to panic, when he was surrounded by other children and feeling overwhelmed. We quickly called out to him to let him know where we were and he leapt into my arms, like he did at dancing last week, and attached himself to my neck. I gave him a quick hug and then tried to get him to let go of me but, even with Nathan's help, it was difficult and it took a lot of smiles and attempts at distraction before he would start to play again.

Shortly after that, Felix had a close encounter with another little boy. I quickly put on a cheery voice and told him how nice it was that the other little boy wanted to play near him, and how clever he was jumping up and down on the mats. Nathan then rolled a ball over towards Felix and asked if he could throw it to him. Phew! It worked, and Felix's expression changed from worried to smiling within seconds. Nathan and I debriefed later, about the morning, and we both agreed that we are doing the best we can and, that if we keep taking Felix to things, he will eventually get used to it. It was a nice break for me today, having an extra pair of hands too. I always enjoy watching Felix and Nate play together, and it meant I didn't have to climb up on the trampoline!!

After his big sleep this afternoon, Felix wanted to put his Play School DVD on. When I'm home with Felix, on my own, I rarely put the TV on. We're usually a bit too busy doing other things, or he follows me around while I'm doing housework. When the boys get home from school, he points to the TV, and they will put it on for him for a while. Felix can also convince Daddy to put the TV on for him too, which is exactly what he did today. He sat there glued to his favourite dinosaur episodes of Play School. It's really cute to watch him copying the actions to the songs and, his latest thing, is to make a chomping noise with his mouth when they are talking about the dinosaurs eating leaves. All good for his speech development! I'm not sure why Play School is the only programme which grabs his attention. Maybe because the people on it look like they are speaking directly to him? Whatever it is, he loves it and doesn't like the fact that I turn it off once it's finished. Such a mean Mum!